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Originally Posted by Edwin  10 pounds is hardly going to deter the people who (from seeing their lists of domains for sale) have spent thousands already on regfee or worse no-hopers.
Perhaps there needs to be a limit to the number of threads per week that can be started in the for-sale section by any one poster (this can be done programmatically with a vBulletin plugin/mod, I believe). For example, 4 posts per week per poster. Means they can have a new sale starting every 48 hours (with any number of names per thread), but it's also impossible to drown out the forum with a barrage of new threads.
Similarly, I believe there is a plugin that will allow only one "bump" per 24 hours (or whatever time period) and that might have merit too. All subsequent posts within that 24 hour window either get auto-merged into the previous post (if they're sequential posts by the same author), or they get tacked on the end of the thread, but without bringing the thread back to the top of the list again.
Some of the above would cramp certain kinds of sales (I'd have been impacted by the second suggestion during my recent 24 hour sale) but I believe it's worth considering a few sacrifices to make the overall Acorn experience that much better...
One non-programmatic idea - and hence IMO less appealing - would be a rule stating that any given domain can only be flogged once in a week (or two week, or whatever) period. So if there are no takers the first time, it can't be the subject of a new thread until that stated time period had elapsed.
Setting restrictions in the software (or, to a lesser extent, in the rules) may have a more direct effect than imposing a fee, especially since then the gut instinct is to try and "amortise" said fee by extracting maximum value from the forums (= posting as frequently as possible to try and sell more names) |
Yes but what some of you fail to realise is this is a business to a select few who flog to the people on here who like domains at their price or fresh catches at the right amount or even old names to new onlookers. A lot just do this out of full time work hours and they moan at people trying to earn their living.
Therefore you have to continually try and gauge the audience present at the time and adjust your offering either in a bulk manner, or by lowering and yes even highering prices to make the deal suit the varied interested parties who ARE interested but at their level.
Yes you could plan your approach better, hit them low constantly or go high and gradually reduce over an eight week period but domains should get the amount they deserve, hence three forums,
portfolio for packaged - people get confused on that one and list all sorts,
priced for individually priced domains and
offers and auction, ultimately the buyer wants a good deal, the seller wants a good deal and both want to be happy with the result so updating threads obviously has its use and the quicker the better sometimes for both parties.
Time and time again I have requested a forum which can really be a sales forum with adjustments that are reasonable and proper, like price lowering several times in a day to get the sale. I find it absurd the suggestion that you should edit a post and not reply post and somehow expect someone to know the price has been lowered, how's that work then? Also sometimes very quickly you can judge the long term response by the initial one so to get the sale and profit you may turn an offer into an auction and to do so you need to update and alert people to that fact, all very nice is the bidder would reply to the post but 70% they do not. There's more reasons for regular updates as well.
You can leave a post up all week with a domain in, it aint going to sell itself is it? it's a waste of time for everybody. people have to be able to market and sell their domains but also be responsible. I try to be, I do a post every 24 hours as permitted, yes I lower prices or make new packages maybe a little too often but I need the sales now not next week. What good is next week when this week it's vienna and next week amsterdam, I have to pay for that with sales today.
Acorn added a bargain forum upon request, why not add a flog your domain forum as well, where prices can be adjusted and blagged and sold. Maybe there's a vbulletin mod that enables a post to be shown as edited and that will get around the reply post option to draw attention to a price drop or repackaged deal rather than the current way. maybe an rss feed can be implemented in some form or another for updated prices which people can be informed of?
Either way, there's many types of different domainers on here, people with jobs and who do this, people who do this full time, people who sell only to end users - the bigger catches, and those in the middle who turn a fair load of domains during a year to both end users and domainers and web designers / businesses who frequent the board who have to sell their wares continously so as to bring in the money to put food on the table.
Bring in your restrictions if that's what the majority want, but you will only stifle the forum, domains don't sell themselves, not even the good ones, ask Michael Toth. Is there a solution, yes, find a way to show posts that have been edited and make it clear that means offer changed or simply take the for sale posts out of the new post section and offer an alternative search result page for those looking to buy domains that can also be instantly clicked.
In my view domains should reach their level in a good and reasonable time period for buyer and seller to agree, unfortunately eight weeks or even two weeks don't cut it, there has to be a solution but how on earth can people find out an offer has been changed just by editing a post and how do I get a £1000 in two days, when I'm expected to not be a salesman and to instead wait for someone to knock on my door.
There has to be a legitimate way to be pro active with sales on here. And we all know what a tat domain is and what an over priced domain is, one person's rubbish is another man's treasure, I don't like how some people look down their noses on other's trying to make their living, we all know all sorts sell on here, sedo and everywhere, good luck to all.