On line marketplace [Archive]

BradfordBenn

11-17-2004, 07:11 PM

I'll just copy my post from the other thread over to hear... cheesey I know but it somes up my point.

I would dislike to see advertisements in the forums and on the "members" section of the website. I figure I am paying for the forum and the site with my membership dues so that I do not have to see advertisements. I have no problem with a fleamarket section for members but I would not like to see commercial enterprises.

It is the same reason I started listening to XM almost exclusively, cause I don't want commercials I want enjoyment.

I do like the idea of having some moderation and control over it to keep it from turning into a free for all. I also would hope that there would be a policy against double listing. Basically if you want to list it on BMWMOA it should be exclusive so that no one is listing stuff both on MOA and on IBMWR simultaneously. 1 item is listed in 1 place at a time.

Rich

11-17-2004, 07:47 PM

KBasa

11-17-2004, 08:36 PM

It would be nice if every ad expired in 5 or 10 days. There would be no need to try to figure out what has been sold, and when, just let the ads expire and it is up to the seller to repost their advertisement. 90 days (in advrider) is way too long, it seems one would be sifting through lots of garbage, maybe lots of it that is already sold, to find what you are looking for.

Just a thought.

Good idea. I think what happens is that stuff just sinks to the bottom when nobody replies to it. The seller usually has to keep bumping the stuff up if he (or she) wants to sell it and it's drifted off to the second page.

:dunno

cruisin

11-17-2004, 08:44 PM

The gang over on the BMW Sprort Touring web site seem to have a pretty good system set up that works for their 7000+ registered users.

BMW Sport Touring Clssifieds (http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB2) :type give 'em a looksee they run the site very well over there.

KBasa

11-17-2004, 09:11 PM

dlearl476

11-17-2004, 09:56 PM

I was going to post an opinion on the other thread, but at 4+ pages I didn't think it would be seen.
I think it's a great idea. I would like to see the ON Marketplace duplicated and I'll tell you why. Folks on the East coast get their mags several days to a week before we do in the West and generally the good deals are LONG gone. Having them available at the same time nationwide gives us Westies a chance.
I'm also ALL FOR it being a paid in full, card-carryin' member only, perk. There are plenty of other free, open to the public classifieds already. If I were to post, I'd definitely do so here first, to give MOA members first shot at anything I wanted to sell.
As for the workings of it, whatever's easiest for the managers to manage. Anything will be good.

Hodag

11-18-2004, 01:44 PM

I like the format for the ADVrider and Sportourers forum. Rather than the IBMWR list. However I do like the IBMWR search list feature, but not enough to override the other format.
As far as the ON fleamarket ads, would we even list them? I would say no because it isn’t fair to non-online users that have to wait for their snail mail. But then again is it fair people are selling stuff I have no money to buy.
Mark

username

11-18-2004, 03:04 PM

brad - whats the rationale behind only allowing items to be listed here, and not on other forums/in the paper?

:twirl

i put this icon in just cause i wanted to use it. i like it.

BradfordBenn

11-18-2004, 04:32 PM

brad - whats the rationale behind only allowing items to be listed here, and not on other forums/in the paper?

:twirl

i put this icon in just cause i wanted to use it. i like it.

Iactually took the idea for eBay. The idea being that if someone sees it listed here, it is for sale here. So that if I see that is for sale on this site, it has not actually been sold on another site and just sitting here. It comes to cleaning up the mess, not everyone is real good about that. I have found a few things on other sites that were not available once I e-mailed the lister, they had forgotten to take it down. What was interesting is that all three of the items were listed on seperate forums with different e-mail addresses but were the same person. I asked him how many he had to sell and the answer was one. Kind of inconsiderate IMHO.

However if someone wants to put up that they have something for sale on another site, say eBay, I would be okay with that since it is pointing to one source of information.

:groovy <- same reason...

BradfordBenn

11-18-2004, 04:33 PM

username

11-18-2004, 05:22 PM

i like the expiring ad idea. my point being, if i sold my bike, i'd want to feel free to list it on ibmwr, my local paper, on the forum, and in the ON. (although by the time it appeared in the ON, hopefully it'd be sold, so all of this might short circuit that, but that's another discussion...) if my ad expires in this forum, then members are not inconvenienced in the way brad is describing, but i also get to cast a wider net for potential buyers.

i may be a unique person, but were i to sell the bike, i'd have a 'for sale' page on my website, and then i'd post around that it was for sale with a link. if i sell it, i update my website, i tell folks it's sold, end of story.

which gives me an idea that i think visian had - ways to drive traffic to the site. i think im about to have a good idea, that might lead me to agree with brad too... (which is good, because sucking up to the true ruler is essential...) what if i listed my bike here at MOA, and there was a "standard" template for selling a bike. one big photo. four small photos. some text-y description below it. contact info. then i went out to advrider, ibmwr, my local paper, and i say, 'bike for sale, goto moa.org/bikes/1234 and boom it drives traffic to the site. people see my bike for sale, and they say, 'hey, what's this bmw club? this looks cool. wow, they have swag here!' and then perhaps they join.

maybe i sound like a dot com nut from 1998...i dunno.

potential problem - the idea was to have the for sale section in the members only area? i think it should be stuff for sale BY members, but FOR anyone. so my non-bmw club next door neighbor could see the bike/whatever for sale.

this one is good too. i guess tina is doing this? good job with the smilies.

:bottle

BradfordBenn

11-18-2004, 05:35 PM

which gives me an idea that i think visian had - ways to drive traffic to the site. i think im about to have a good idea, that might lead me to agree with brad too... (which is good, because sucking up to the true ruler is essential...) what if i listed my bike here at MOA, and there was a "standard" template for selling a bike. one big photo. four small photos. some text-y description below it. contact info. then i went out to advrider, ibmwr, my local paper, and i say, 'bike for sale, goto moa.org/bikes/1234 and boom it drives traffic to the site. people see my bike for sale, and they say, 'hey, what's this bmw club? this looks cool. wow, they have swag here!' and then perhaps they join.

maybe i sound like a dot com nut from 1998...i dunno.

potential problem - the idea was to have the for sale section in the members only area? i think it should be stuff for sale BY members, but FOR anyone. so my non-bmw club next door neighbor could see the bike/whatever for sale.

this one is good too. i guess tina is doing this? good job with the smilies.

:bottle

I like that solution, all roads point to one place. That would make me happyish. I do like your point about having it available for non members to view but not post advertisements.

MCohen

11-18-2004, 05:53 PM

I like that solution, all roads point to one place. That would make me happyish. I do like your point about having it available for non members to view but not post advertisements.

One of the benefits of the ON Flea Market is that when I place an ad I'm pretty sure the calls I get will be from other members--and we're a pretty trustworthy bunch. I've often sent goods to other members before I received the money and haven't had a problem.

I would never do that with ebay. And I would have to be much more careful and screen callers if the online marketplace were open for public view.

Michael

BradfordBenn

11-18-2004, 06:23 PM

One of the benefits of the ON Flea Market is that when I place an ad I'm pretty sure the calls I get will be from other members--and we're a pretty trustworthy bunch. I've often sent goods to other members before I received the money and haven't had a problem.

I would never do that with ebay. And I would have to be much more careful and screen callers if the online marketplace were open for public view.

Michael

Perhaps it could be an option as to whether or not a listing is viewable by non members? :brow It's just software :stick

KBasa

11-18-2004, 06:36 PM

Perhaps it could be an option as to whether or not a listing is viewable by non members? :brow It's just software :stick

It's an easy thing to set at a forum level, but not at the post level.

If we used our current forum software to manage this, we could use the same permissions we have here: registered members can post, non members can look, but not post.

I think the points made earlier about a standard template are well taken, though I'm not sure how we'd integrate that into this software package. We've got something coming with photo hosting, so we should be able to get folks some help with that as well, which will make the ads that much more useful.

BradfordBenn

11-18-2004, 06:54 PM

It's an easy thing to set at a forum level, but not at the post level.

If we used our current forum software to manage this, we could use the same permissions we have here: registered members can post, non members can look, but not post.

I think the points made earlier about a standard template are well taken, though I'm not sure how we'd integrate that into this software package. We've got something coming with photo hosting, so we should be able to get folks some help with that as well, which will make the ads that much more useful.

Understand what you mean. However it is possible in a couple of ways, since we are probably going to have cookies for stuff like the forum that same cookie could be checked to decide whether or not a post would be shown. In terms of the template I wonder if a content management system could be made simple enough to do that. :type

dlearl476

11-18-2004, 09:10 PM

>potential problem - the idea was to have the for sale section in the >members only area? i think it should be stuff for sale BY members, but >FOR anyone. so my non-bmw club next door neighbor could see the bike/>whatever for sale.

I disagree. I'd like THIS board to be member's only. There are plenty of other options to reach the general public. I would personally like to give members the first shot, just like the ON Marketplace. For instance, I wouldn't want to post my Vintage Ducati stuff here, and if I had a perfect pair of Buco hardbags for a /5 I woulnd't want to sell them on Ebay until they didn't sell here.
Amoung other things, that would cut down on the number of scam/rip-off artists clutterin up our email.

lorazepam

11-19-2004, 08:23 AM

I would love to see an online marketplace here in the forum. Making it available to members only to me is a plus. I trust other BMW riders as to what they are selling and that their checks will be good. If not, it is easy to out them here in the forum and let everyone know who can and cannot be trusted to give their word. There are too many scammers in cyberland, and if we limit who gets to participate, it keeps the odds of being scammed way down.

rocketman

11-19-2004, 10:36 AM

Iactually took the idea for eBay. The idea being that if someone sees it listed here, it is for sale here. So that if I see that is for sale on this site, it has not actually been sold on another site and just sitting here. It comes to cleaning up the mess, not everyone is real good about that. I have found a few things on other sites that were not available once I e-mailed the lister, they had forgotten to take it down. What was interesting is that all three of the items were listed on seperate forums with different e-mail addresses but were the same person. I asked him how many he had to sell and the answer was one. Kind of inconsiderate IMHO.

However if someone wants to put up that they have something for sale on another site, say eBay, I would be okay with that since it is pointing to one source of information.

:groovy <- same reason...

then why not have a radio button that the seller could check indicating this is not the only listing for the item, if that is possible with vbulletin?

RM

Visian

11-19-2004, 01:00 PM

I think the points made earlier about a standard template are well taken, though I'm not sure how we'd integrate that into this software package. We've got something coming with photo hosting, so we should be able to get folks some help with that as well, which will make the ads that much more useful.

The template would make the listings consistent, so that they could be effectively browsed via database, a la IBMWR Marketplace.

A form similar to that used to submit this post (Reply to thread), written in php, would be the ticket. That would make it fairly straightforward to integrate it with the Forum as a whole, since it is also written in php.

I bet the people at Jelsoft would charge very little to develop something like that.

Also, important.... administering the advertisements is a very significant task. (right, Ritalin Poster Boy? ;) ).

Ian

oldcarkook

12-13-2004, 09:11 PM

This is a wicked sticky wicket for sure.

I am active in other non-bike related forums, and I run a forum for my primary interest in old trucks. In the one that I operate, I have a swap meet section broken into three areas; Parts for sale, Trucks for sale, and Wanted.

I try to keep it simple. It is a forum based posting exactly like these boards where you post up by title and then can put one or two photos and a description in and it seems to work very well. It's searchable and I have a 3 month automatic deletion policy so anything 3 months old is deleted and must be relisted.

Here's the rub: farming. The one common problem that I see with a swap meet is that one or two people may begin to farm the swap meet for their own devices. This has been an issue in other forums I read and in fact, I think that most forums prohibit advertising for this reason. Generally "farming" would be someone whose primary business is selling parts; either used or new or both. While we always want to be fair to everyone, I for one think that professional sellers should be excluded from listing in the swap meet since they are professional sellers and should frankly take out a commercial ad in the ON.

I think directly linking the ON classifieds into an online area is a good idea and I certainly support that. Additionally, I think that we should have a links page linking every paid advertiser who has a website. Easy enough to maintain.

But as far as a swap meet area, we have to remember that the principle reason behind this is to help each other (members!) find things we either need or need to unload. I don't think the spirit is to establish the BMWOA version of eBay and allow every Tom Dick and Harry to start selling stuff there.

So, all the posts here have merit and there are some great ideas. The ones I think make the most sense are:
Selling ONLY by members (must have verification system)
Buying by anyone who has internet access and finds the swap meet
No professional (dealers - junkyards) selling
Duplicate all ON for sale ads in the swap meet as conditions permit

Just some brain droppings for the Kook. :type

Bobmws

12-13-2004, 11:00 PM

This is a wicked sticky wicket for sure.

. ..........Snip................
So, all the posts here have merit and there are some great ideas. The ones I think make the most sense are:
Selling ONLY by members (must have verification system)
Buying by anyone who has internet access and finds the swap meet
No professional (dealers - junkyards) selling
Duplicate all ON for sale ads in the swap meet as conditions permit

Just some brain droppings for the Kook. :type

I agree with this basic format. I would not agree to being limited to posting an item I want to sell ONLY on this forum, that's way too elitist, IMHO. Salvage dealers could be identified, and at the very least required to become MOA members, they frequently have many reasonably priced items.
Placing excessive limits on this will kill it.
Just my 2 cents..... :dunno

SheRidesABeemer

12-14-2004, 01:17 PM

If we were to have a marketplace here, I would expect to mirror the rules and requirements for the magazine; give subscribers the right to post. Purchases should be open to all. No matter the forum, we are all suseptable to scamming. Don't be naive in thinking fellow members can not potentially scam you.

Personally, I would continue to use IBMWR market place; it's the place to list and find BMW items much like Ebay is the place for general merchandise. This is not to ignore the fact there is competition for both.

In consideration of opening a market place here, let's consider our goals. Is it to gain more exposure for the club, by directing new people here? Is it to benefit members by offering them first refusal for merchandise? This seems like a quaint idea, but many of us will post were we can get the best price and largest audience. Is the BMW specific market place a need not being fulfilled? Hardly. For my membreship dollars, I would vote not to build and maintain an online market place.

ian408

12-17-2004, 01:00 AM

I've sold one item on the BMWSportTouring site and even though it's
"public", feel that doesn't detract from the value of classifieds or change
the risk of selling to someone you don't know.

Over time, you get to "know" people (as well as meet them) and, accordingly,
take reasonable precautions. Be the same here too.

What I like about the SportTouring site is that ads are moderated. Meaning
there's nothing other than the ad and the "sold" entry. Everything else is
behind the scenes via PM. While this is a lot of effort, it's sure nice.

Regarding exclusivity, remember, someone's trying to sell something. If they
post in a few places, it helps them sell the item. Artificially limit it and
people will likely not place ads on the site.

I haven't bought or sold anything on advrider's classified section but it's
similar except un-moderated.

Cheers,
Ian

ian408

12-17-2004, 01:15 AM

I bet the people at Jelsoft would charge very little to develop something like that.

I'm going to play devil's advocate and suggest that MOA not spend money
on software that doesn't earn some sort of a return on that investment.
Others have proven that maintaining an active "classified" section does not
require this expense or effort. After all, it's a transaction between two
private parties that MOA facilitates--no more and no less.

Ian

Visian

12-19-2004, 04:04 AM

"...some sort of a return on that investment."

Would the satisfaction having an efficient search and browse experience, which would lead to an enhanced perception of value in a BMW MOA membership, count as ROI?

The point was to create a simple data entry form, very similar to what the IBMWR Marketplace (http://www.ibmwr.org/market) has, that is intergrated with the vBulletin software running this Forum, for the purpose of providing a consistent and therefore superior on-screen appearance to the on-line classifieds. Simple things such as a consistent method for placing contact information, the name, description, pictures and price of the item for sale make the reading experience more effortless, and therefore more useable enjoyable.

The form that was suggested, which would probably be almost identical to the "Reply to Thread" form used to write replies to posts, or to start new threads, would make the classified advertisements just that more useable to more people.

In talking with a number of people about the BMW MOA Forums, trying to get them to use it, I get a lot of "it's so hard to read or find something" comments from many. While most of the people who are *frequent* users here are computer proficient (which is far less than 5% of the club's total membership), many are not, and anything we can do to make this Forum more useable to more people justifies the investment, even if it can't be quantified purely in financial terms. When more people use what we invested in making, the cost/member figures drop precipitously.

BTW, this same form could be easily adapted to enter data such as Touring Tips, Camping Tips, Favorite Roads, Gear Reviews, etc... leading to a Forum browsing experience that is somewhat more consistent than it is right now.

Ian

Visian

12-19-2004, 04:23 AM

Others have proven that maintaining an active "classified" section does not require this expense or effort. After all, it's a transaction between two private parties that MOA facilitates--no more and no less.

On your other point, I can tell you from my experience as an IBMWR administrator, and the IBMWR Marketplace is the most active classified section out there, that administering an advertising section takes a LOT of effort if the desire is to have a successful user experience.

I'll not bother ya'll with the war stories, but suffice it to say (and I think that our BMW ON Fleamarket friends would attest) you have to keep a constant eye on what's being advertised and by whom if you want to provide your users with a satisfactory experience.

Ian

ian408

12-19-2004, 10:59 PM

Would the satisfaction having an efficient search and browse experience, which would lead to an enhanced perception of value in a BMW MOA membership, count as ROI?

In principal, I agree with you. But there are 2,930 registered users of the
MOA site. Which suggests (to me at least) that the value gained by
enhancing the search experience is little to none. By comparison,
bmwsporttouring.com has 7,381 registered users and seems to be good
with moderated/approved posts. Advrider has 10,885 registered users and
is doing well with a less moderated forum.

You've indicated IBMWR maintains a more active classified section yet when I
look at the classifieds, it's no better than any of the examples I've cited except
the ads are sorted by category.

With regard to searching, the advanced search feature is pretty good.

To the effort required to administer anything, I agree. It's a pain. But don't
make it more complicated than it needs to be. That's my point.

And I would add to my argument that you must walk before you run.
Start with basics and improve on them as the useage goes up.

Ian

KBasa

12-20-2004, 12:41 AM

I'm with ian408 (as opposed to ian404 :D) and think we should just open a barebones forum and let folks post their own ads for a bit. This would allow us to gauge interest before we go build an entire set of code for it.

I'm not certain which way would be the best way to moderate it, though. The ST forum doesn't allow for posts on the threads, which I think prevents questions from being asked in a place where all folks can benefit from the answers. On the other hand, it keeps the amount of noise in teh forum to a minimum.

If we had an operating flea market forum and it proved to be busy, perhaps we could build a form that would standardize the ads to some degree. I can see a place to insert picture links, price, name, that sort of thing.

But first, we need to finish the site split so we can put this up for registered members only.

When we get the site split done, we're going to run validation against the user tables on the forum. If you get tagged as not having a valid MOA member number, you'll get bounced. Just a word of warning there.....

Visian

12-20-2004, 03:15 AM

I'm with ian408 (as opposed to ian404 :D) and think we should just open a barebones forum and let folks post their own ads for a bit. This would allow us to gauge interest before we go build an entire set of code for it.

Oh... I buy into that. Testing is good. Usability testing is even better. The IBMWR Marketplace is on its second set of code, and the rules of the road have been learned via hundreds of thousands of posts.

It's not a good practive to put something into production on anything that hasn't been designed and tested first. That's a methodlogy for web dev that's guaranteed to spoil your day, your month, your year...

Ian

ian408

12-27-2004, 11:42 AM

The buy/sell forum at fredmiranda.com (http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10).

At the upper left of the page are the rules. There's a disclosure section as
well as guidelines for creating posts.

Ian

Galne Dansken

01-05-2005, 07:27 AM

Greetings,

Over in the gear forum there has been a bit of chat on having the 'MOA offer members the place to post items for sale.

The issue is not if but when. How about you chime in with how you think this should work? What key features would you like?

Thanks,

The Swedish BMW MC Club have exactly the same Forum as you do :)

For the Market Plaza did we buy (cheap) a nice application;

http://suppl.bmw-mc-klubben.se/annonser/ (http://suppl.bmw-mc-klubben.se/annonser/)

Should be easy to get a English version also for a fair price..

basketcase

01-05-2005, 08:15 AM

Personally, I'm fine with whatever format a marketplace takes. No matter how it looks, it will have the basic information: Item description, price, location, contact information, etc.

However, I do want to comment on an idea mentioned way back at the beginning:

1 item is listed in 1 place at a time.

Basically, it boils down to this: When (or if) the MOA elected leadership, or the Forum moderators, come out with a rule that says to the (dues paying, voluntarily loyal) members, "You can advertise with us, and only with us," I predict a rapid and unavoidable exodus of people, loyalty, and money.

My goal as a seller is to move the item, and I'll advertise the item where I think it is most likely to get the needed exposure, and in as many places as I determine it needs.

If a potential venue for advertising the item starts dictating to me the places I can advertise, that venue has just been dropped from my list.

Just food for thought.

BradfordBenn

01-05-2005, 08:14 PM

My intent on the 1 item in 1 place is too keep items from being listed on seven different sites, and being sold on one of them but then still listed on the other six sites. I have been burned a few times by that and it gets a little disappointing after a while

If the advertising was something like,

I just posted on eBay a listing for this way cool BMW farkle

and it was posted on an MOA marketplace that would be fine with me, cause then I can go there and see whether or not it is still available.

So the item could be posted in as many places as you wanted, but all the places would be updated when it sold. By placing links to one central respository that would allow you the user to advertise where ever you want but for the purchaser to be able to go to one central location for the information and status.

Make sense?

ian408

01-05-2005, 10:24 PM

The 'problem' with links is that you have to follow them.

I see 'farkle for sale', I want info and not a link elsewhere.
If there's anything I hate it's having to click over god's
creation to find what I'm looking for.

Having a 14 day (or less) limit on an advert is one way to
deal with that.

Ian

basketcase

01-06-2005, 08:45 AM

Brad, the simplicity of the idea is appealing, and I see the issue you are getting at. Personally, on the occasions when I've sold something via a web posting, I've gone back after it sold and either edited the post to note it was sold, or deleted the post altogether. (If nothing else, to keep me from having to answer useless inquiries).

However, I still want to post my items on various places, and an advertising policy that says to me, "You can only advertise here, and no where else," guarantees I go somewhere else.

In fairness, looking at it from the web hosting perspective, I can imagine a server quickly becoming cluttered with out of date ads. The several other boards I frequent deal with the issue by some type of automatic expiration. GWRRA ads clear in about a week. The IBMWR site is on a 30 day cycle.

As a general rule, consumers like choices, and respond negatively to the vendor who tries to seize complete ownership of their patronage. So I really think the guidelines need to let the seller have the opportunity to post his or her stuff, but with the understanding it will be their responsibility to re-post it after it drops off the board within a reasonable, specified period of time.

As always, this is JMHO.

FredRydr

02-25-2006, 06:12 AM

Any progress?

Fred

KBasa

02-25-2006, 08:49 AM

Yep. They're working on the last bits and doing some testing.

SIBUD

02-27-2006, 11:28 AM

SIBUD

02-27-2006, 11:31 AM

I'll just copy my post from the other thread over to hear... cheesey I know but it somes up my point.

I do like the idea of having some moderation and control over it to keep it from turning into a free for all. I also would hope that there would be a policy against double listing. Basically if you want to list it on BMWMOA it should be exclusive so that no one is listing stuff both on MOA and on IBMWR simultaneously. 1 item is listed in 1 place at a time.

No offense, but why would you want to limit a MOA member to listing on MOA only? It seems to make no sense to me. The more places a bike can be advertised the better chance of selling it. Aren't we trying to help rather than hinder?

BradfordBenn

02-27-2006, 11:37 AM

No offense, but why would you want to limit a MOA member to listing on MOA only? It seems to make no sense to me. The more places a bike can be advertised the better chance of selling it. Aren't we trying to help rather than hinder?

My concern is that after something has been sold that it be removed. So having the limitation in there makes it more likely that the listing will be removed after being sold.

KBasa

02-27-2006, 11:40 AM

No offense, but why would you want to limit a MOA member to listing on MOA only? It seems to make no sense to me. The more places a bike can be advertised the better chance of selling it. Aren't we trying to help rather than hinder?

When we talked with folks about online classifieds, the majority expressed a desire to maintain the trusted, member to member sale experience they have with the flea market in ON.

One of the advantages of our on line flea market will be that it will be completely free of Nigeran scams, bad cashier check schemes and the other items that plague more open advertising scenarios.

Additionally, if you could get unlimited on line ads, directed to a known enthusiast organization, how much would you value that at? Annual dues for the MOA are half the price of an 11day ad in Cycle Trader.

SIBUD

02-27-2006, 11:41 AM

My concern is that after something has been sold that it be removed. So having the limitation in there makes it more likely that the listing will be removed after being sold.

I think that a short "purge" cycle would take care of that problem.

Not to hijack this thread but I was surprised that there were so few MOA member registered at this site. Less than 10% of membership?

Wonder why?

KBasa

02-27-2006, 11:46 AM

JimBud

02-27-2006, 05:41 PM

This benefit is primarily for the sellers...make it easy for them at first to build up the site....have the listings run for at least 2 weeks...maybe three..it's a pain to re-list....let anyone buy...open to all buyers..as the magazine is...

Don't lock the format...let the listers do whatever they want...its easier that way...I like the ADVrider format...

Split the listings by bike type....its a pain to see it all...

allow listers to list in multiple places...you can't police it anyway...although members will try...and that will be devisive...

See how it goes and adjust as needed...

I'm selling things now, and never think of the ON magazine...it takes too long for results....priced right...stuff sells very fast for BMW bikes..

SIBUD

02-27-2006, 06:28 PM

Right now, we're at about 25%, though I'd suspect the number of active members is significantly lower.

In an earlier post in this thread Ian408 stated there were approx 3,000 forum members. If that is correct are you then saying MOA membership is 12,000?

I looked at the forum membership list. 290 pages, 30 members per page. Total of 870???

These numbers just don't make sense to me.

Since I'm not the brightest bulb in the tail light, can anyone shed some light on this subject ?

KBasa

02-27-2006, 07:27 PM

Go look at the main forum page. Down at the bottom, it shows 8980 or so registered members.

Hodag

02-27-2006, 08:47 PM

youse guys better get going with the clssified section we got wanted ads popping up all over, I'm half tempted to mention my sweet '97 landcruiser thats for sale

SIBUD

02-27-2006, 09:26 PM

Go look at the main forum page. Down at the bottom, it shows 8980 or so registered members.

LOL at myself Dave. :doh :doh

Seems that 290 X 30 is 8700 !!! :banghead :banghead

Seems like this old man forgot how to do math. :gerg

I'll go back to sleep now.

GregFeeler

02-27-2006, 11:47 PM

I think that a short "purge" cycle would take care of that problem.

Not to hijack this thread but I was surprised that there were so few MOA member registered at this site. Less than 10% of membership?

Wonder why?

Mostly because this is the best kept secret in the 'MOA. :cry However, with the coming addition of an on-line market place, and other changes to our web site proper, there will be more opportunities to see the Forum promoted in the Owner's News. The April issue should have a full page article about the Forum, which will be more ink than it has ever received there before.

GregFeeler

02-27-2006, 11:48 PM

youse guys better get going with the clssified section we got wanted ads popping up all over, I'm half tempted to mention my sweet '97 landcruiser thats for sale

Dang, I'm so glad you resisted that temptation! :eek

Visian

03-01-2006, 07:16 AM

The April issue should have a full page article about the Forum, which will be more ink than it has ever received there before.

Interesting coincidence. ;)

Ian

wuli959

03-01-2006, 10:10 AM

Go look at the main forum page. Down at the bottom, it shows 8980 or so registered members.

Minutia for the day :dance
Depending on who you define "active participation"

Forum/MOA Members 5834 members have = 0 posts ~65.0%/16.2%
2003 members have > 0 & <10 posts ~22.3%/5.6%
906 members have => 10 posts ~10%/2.5%
310 members have => 50 posts ~3.5%/0.9%
181 members have => 100 posts ~2.0%/0.5%
79 members have => 250 posts ~0.9%/0.2%

(nice search function by the way) :thumb

Hodag

03-01-2006, 10:29 AM

79 members have => 250 posts ~0.9%/0.2%

i'm putting a 1% patch on my stitch....

wuli959

03-01-2006, 12:11 PM

i'm putting a 1% patch on my stitch....
http://wulimaster.smugmug.com/photos/58194803-S.jpg

:laugh :laugh

MCMXCIVRS

03-01-2006, 06:01 PM

i'm putting a 1% patch on my stitch....

I'm almost there.

MCMXCIVRS

03-01-2006, 06:02 PM

I'm almost there.

Getting closer :clap :clap

GregFeeler

03-01-2006, 07:08 PM

Minutia for the day :dance
Depending on who you define "active participation"

Forum/MOA Members 5834 members have = 0 posts ~65.0%/16.2%
2003 members have > 0 & <10 posts ~22.3%/5.6%
906 members have => 10 posts ~10%/2.5%
310 members have => 50 posts ~3.5%/0.9%
181 members have => 100 posts ~2.0%/0.5%
79 members have => 250 posts ~0.9%/0.2%

(nice search function by the way) :thumb

Apparently, they also serve who only sit and lurk. :brow

Certainly everyone would like to see more participation from those who have access to this forum, but it seems common on lots of web forums and email lists that the vast majority of people just lurk. After all, you can still get all the information content by just watching and reading. Plus, you are a much smaller target if you don't draw attention to yourself. AMHIK :hide

SIBUD

03-01-2006, 10:57 PM

Hodag

03-01-2006, 11:10 PM

KBasa has almost 6,000.

5,753 of those are this smiley only

:banghead

KBasa

03-02-2006, 12:35 AM

KBasa has almost 6,000. Record holder?

BTW What search function did you use?

I think so. I can't shut up. :groovy

Oh, it's not really a search function, if you go to the members list, you can sort it by posts: http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/memberlist.php?&order=DESC&sort=posts&pp=30&ltr=

wuli959

03-02-2006, 12:53 PM

KBasa has almost 6,000. Record holder?

BTW What search function did you use?

Oh yeah. Almost a class of his self with only three over 2000 :buds

Kbasa 5,997
BradfordBenn 4,630
Lorazepam 2,817

Including them, there are only 12 with over 1000 posts. :blah

(makes you wonder who are they talking to?? :fight )

:D

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:21 PM

Oh yeah. Almost a class of his self with only three over 2000 :buds

Kbasa 5,997
BradfordBenn 4,630
Lorazepam 2,817

Including them, there are only 12 with over 1000 posts. :blah

Makes

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:22 PM

You

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:22 PM

Want

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:23 PM

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:23 PM

run

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:24 PM

your

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:25 PM

numbers

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:25 PM

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:26 PM

somehow.

Mika

03-02-2006, 01:26 PM

:nyah

wuli959

03-02-2006, 03:43 PM

only if you have to have one of these for your jacket :groovy

http://wulimaster.smugmug.com/photos/58194803-M.jpg

for the three I guess we'd have to make it the 0.0085714286 percenters
:stick

JCBR1150R

03-02-2006, 03:53 PM

LOL Now we finally know what a 1% er really is.

KBasa

03-02-2006, 05:07 PM

(makes you wonder who are they talking to?? :fight )

:D

Everybody. :wave

Mika

03-02-2006, 05:14 PM

:wave KBasa

bullit7801

03-03-2006, 11:03 AM

:lurk

(blatant attempt to run up my number of posts, but not like M1ka)

:D

tb

GregFeeler

03-03-2006, 01:33 PM

:lurk

(blatant attempt to run up my number of posts, but not like M1ka)

:D

tb

Cool! :groovy (Hehe - another notch on the 'ol counter!)

BradfordBenn

03-03-2006, 07:27 PM

Posers... :nyah

HexST

03-03-2006, 07:47 PM

Having bought and sold stuff on Advrider and BMWST sites I like the format of Advrider better except for the 90 day thing two weeks would be better. The not being able to resond on the forum of the ST site gives you only a 24hr window to catch what is for sale, and the thread basically dies unless you do a search.
I like the idea of only being able to sell to members of the forum as there are less scam artists because you can search their profiles and usually get snapshot of them from previous posts.