Official Luthiers Forum!

How much interest is there in a dedicated "auction" site for the OLF?
We use to have one way back when we only had maybe 300 members and it
was not cost effective. It was making penny's a month and costing a pretty good
fee for the software licence.
Now with 7000+ people I am thinking it may be worth opening back up?

How this effects the classifieds section I'm not sure right now.


Any thoughts?

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I like the idea. I am always surfing the classifieds.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Can you explain what you mean by auction site. Like ebay but just for guitar stuff?

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MK5acoustics.com

Yes

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I think it would be cool if you had the option to sell or auction. maybe at least in the classifieds you set up a buy it now butten.
that way you know if its sold or not. that way people don't get mad when some one PM's the seller and we have no clue if its been sold.

well in that case I'm for it. I think with proper marketing it could be successful. It won't turn into anything huge because the market is is just not all that big. But it would be nice. All the stuff on the classifieds here could be sold there, along with a good deal of the stuff currently on eBay, possibly even get some of the forum sponsors to put stuff on there. I know a few already market on eBay (rctonewoods ahix tone woods etc) they could have their stuff on there as well. Also it could be a good place for luthiers to market their custom instruments?!? If the word got out and the right traffic I think it may be a good place to sell completed luthier built guitars as well as guitar making supplies.
Would you have the option for a buy it now as well as the traditional auction methods?

Yes for sure

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Nah, it's good like it is... classifieds for paying members, and ebay for auctions. You can always post a link to your ebay auction in the classifieds for the folks here, plus having the wider audience of ebay. I don't think the sort of "exclusive" aspect of the classifieds is really necessary for auctions. Easy enough to work out deals directly on things that don't have a firm price.

I think it's a really good idea lance. Maybe a small proof of concept test is in order? I don't know much of anything about websites and what it cost to create and upkeep one, but if feasible a "test run" would give a lot of valuable feedback as to how to set it up and if the market is there.

I prefer the classifieds. I've come to believe that if people can't bring themselves to pay $12 a year to access them, their loss.

The old auction site had a pretty bad interface. It was terrible to browse and near impossible to list.

From a buyers perspective I like the way it is now. That is, if you see it first, you get the item for the advertized price, rather than waiting while the price goes up... and then being dissapointed that you got out-bid for the item. Leave auctioning to ebay...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

The Classifieds section works fine for me and I buy stuff there quite often. Would I be even more interested if I could bid on items and play the auction game? No.

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George :-)

I like the way it is now, too. Plenty of stuff on ebay. People who post in the classifieds here usually price their items right. The reverse auctions that happen here are always tempting and fun to watch. How about just letting people post ebay links in the classifieds?

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

+1

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Lots of great responses here! Thanks guys!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Couple of thought I have developed from the responses so far:

1. Most people feel as though it would replace the existing way the classifieds work.

I disagree, by having the buy it now feature you would still have the ability to purchase at a said price immediately just as on the classifieds now, but I feel by having the auction feature it would draw the eBay type auctions into one site that would be easy to look through instead of sifting through the thousands of eBay listings. You would not have the "revere auctions" like Casey mentioned but you could still put in a bid lower than the buy it now price if you were more comfortable doing so.

2. Making the existing classifieds visible to everyone would increase traffic and make them better.

Yes I agree that it would increase traffic in that section, but it would also, I believe, reduce the number of subscribers to that area. If you see an item you wanted to purchase one could simply PM the seller and purchase without ever having to pay the $12 subscription. Therefore only those wishing to sell would subscribe, cutting down on the funds that support the OLF.


Just my thoughts.

Maybe have the Classifieds open to all, but charge a fee to the seller?

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Doesn't seem worth the hassle. I doubt you would make money off it Lance, or if you did it would be very small as well as a hassle for guys who use the classifieds as they are now.

I wouldn't use it personally.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Are we allowed to "auction" stuff in the classifieds to the highest bidder?

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Pat

I'm with Filippo. If there is a way for folks to have, say, read only, access to the classified section, and have a rule that all initialization of sales must happen in the thread, and notthrough a PM, that would allow someone who was interested in buying, or selling, sign up for the annual fee. It would, however, be a hook!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I'm with Filippo and Waddy

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That's how The Gear Page does it, so it's possible.

I have to agree , and the other question would be , how would it affect sponsors? would you be creating a issue there ?

$12.00 a yr is best deal on the planet . Able to read for free , post and buy ... pay $12.00

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I see I see. Hmmm well I'm up for the proposed changes to the classifieds as long as rules are in place to assure things aren't getting sold by PM to individuals who haven't paid their $12. That's a very small price to pay for the benefits of using that area. I don't want I see the OLF lose out on funds ya know.