Feedback on new Personal Classified sections

[shocky]

price-crashing and OT was an inevitable part of the previous system, but i do feel the mod have done an excellent job of keeping them down, to the extent most regular members would know how to restrain themselves, even when asking price was way too high. :bsmilie:

 

[blackdrakes]

I feel that-
1) 1 username = 1 thread in each section. (1 in canon, 1 in nikon. etc.)
2) The thread can be edited and deleted by the user.
3) Maybe a 1 mth thread expiry too?
This way, the BNS section will be clean with only posts of things on sale.
but if i got 10 nikon lenses to sell, i will need 10 pics up there. so i guess the picture upload limit must be removed as well.


But i prefer it when it was camera/lens section instead of nikon/canon section.
This is because if i'm looking for a film compact camera for example,
i will be going to the camera section and see what people are selling first then i do my research.
I will have no target brand, but only the form of the camera.

Just my thoughts.

 

[nightwolf75]

I do agree with the that upz is a large wastage of bandwidth. However, since many people don't faithfully close their threads, the upz somehow serve to indicate that sale is still on.

It also allows more active users to bring their threads more forward, if they are in a hurry to sell compared to others, who may be in no hurry and just putting up the sale item, to sell if a good price can be gotten.

Next about updates, if normal users are neither allowed to edit their post, non allowed to post a reply, then how do they update? BNP reduced, closing deal in XX days, found new hairline scratch on lens, throw in free stuff with purchase etc there are just uncountable ways why updates are required.

So, if members need to update but cant, what do they do? start a new post then. What next for the admin? Restrict number of new ad a registered member can make a day? Then what will those who have more to sell do? Register multiple accounts and post to the limit of how many new ads a day. The same exact thing happened in HWZ classified, and it was rather messy, everyday 80% of the new ads are exactly same as the day before.

Thus, my conclusion? The previous system was just fine.

Make changes with a specific goal, not for the sake of change please.

i believe Darren has already address some of your concerns in his earlier postings in this thread.

bottom line is still caveat emptor - buyer beware. we hope that we will encourage the sellers to be more forthcoming with info abt the items that they are selling by being as precise and detailed as possible. dat said, Darren and Edmund are still tweaking the system. We are all helping in monitoring this new system. as Darren said, give it a little more time for people to get used to it. our Admins will tweak it along the way.

i believe this change for the buy/sell to brand-specific has been requested every now and then over the last couple of years, when Buy/Sell became the main place people visit CS in the first place. most recent request for our Admins to consider the change was this - http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392181

give it time, people.

 

[sytan81]

We all buy lenses based on the Mount. Even if we are looking out for 3rd party brands, we still search based on the Mount.

Therefore, it is a very good move to categorise based on Mount or Camera Brand. However, having a separate category for 3rd-party lenses is akin to the old system. I propose for these 3rd party lenses threads to be part of their respective Mount categories. This would greatly help both buyers and sellers to find each other.

Yes, upping a thread can be wasting bandwidth. So why don't we ban it? If ever a seller/buyer needs to update his thread, he must do so with concrete information. Information such as bids and FAQs are impt to others. Those who try to post with just a few smilies should have their threads deleted. Repeated offenders will then have their accounts banned from BnS.

If we totally disallow the buyer/seller to post in their threads, what will happen is that there will now be tonnes of PMs flying ard. These will also eat bandwidth and database resources.

It's about putting the right information at the right places.

 

[hazmee]

I love the new segmentation of the Personal Classified. I get better results now when doing a search. The new classified will make buyers/sellers think twice about posting their ads. I would rather see ads which are carefully and well written to get the desired attention unlike the previous B&S where sellers/buyers sometimes post rubbish and missing information. Kudos to the mods for this. Just typing this 'WTSell gear type brand' in the appropriate search section gets better results.

Give it a bit of time to learn the new system. I only took a few minutes to adjust to it.

 

[NoMoney]

I like the new layout of the B&S section. I do not have to search too long for a Pentax lens as previously many brands are being placed under one section which make it a little time consuming in searching for the lens I am looking for.

 

[tthiang]

how come no more "quote", "multi qt" and "Q-Reply" any more lei....

 

[lippie]

This new classification looks good, this way pple can sell camera together with lenses in the same thread. Item search has also improved. :thumbsup:

However, to make the classified ads more dynamic, we can probably add these features:
- Editable thread by creator for info/bid/price updates
- An "Upz" button (at most once every 4 hours?)
- Automatic closure of thread in 30 days

 

[miraiyuki]

I'm an IT person who used to do system design as well... so here's my personal opinions regarding the change:

1. Categorization by brand - it is very good to have. But it would be more useful if you provide the flexibility for users to select what they want to view by filters: camera brand, equipment type (lens/camera/flash/accessories), type of lens (zoom, full-frame, prime). Just consider the scenario: I might want to look for a wide angle lens for my nikon/canon mount digital/film camera but I have not decided which brand (nikon/Tamron/Sigma/Vivitar/etc). I'd want to compare prices listed by the classified ads. This is a feature that is still not available.

How do you classify a tamron lens for nikon mount? Apparently I want to see any thread on all equipment usable on my Nikon camera to be displayed for me. But now once I go into the thread for Other brands, I get to see all classified ads of whatever I might not need... and what I need to see is probably pushed back to next few pages.

2. Disabliing post reply once it's being done - Any updates or correction to the post becomes impossible. Also, now we can no longer 'up' our threads. This is very unfair to those who have posted just 24 hours ago, as their ads are pushed to the back. Well, with a filtering system suggested in my point (1) could solve this problem of course, as potential buyers can filter out what they don't want to see and only compare prices for similar products, regardless of when they are posted.

I agree that seller should be careful in putting in details of the products they are selling. But I would want to have the ability to update any revision of price or additional freebies to the ad. Humans are humans, we cannot expect human to be error-free.

3. No more transparency in bidding. This is a double-edged sword, and it's up to the the seller if he prefers open or closed-door bidding. In the first place, should the threads be considered as Classified ads, OR, Auction ground? Or would it be better to give sellers the option? If you are regularly selling mint, new items, or you are a registered 2nd-hand equipment dealer, a classified ad is definitely sufficient.

But if you are selling an item one-off and you wish to allow open bidding, then the system should support this for transparency. Again, the filtering system would help to let readers pull out the relevant auction threads very quickly, no matter when they are last updated. You can make the seller responsible for moderating the replies to their bidding thread if you like. That would keep OTs and bid crashers minimal.

4. In general, I find that you should have a survey conducted among the members before you implement any changes. The members would be able to tell you what is good and bad of the current system, and give you a better insight of what new features they would support if you implement them.

Thanks for providing this feedback channel!

 

[senthiljams]

The changes are definitely a good effort. I like the way, Buy N Sell post have been categorised on the equipment brand. (But seriously, I thought I was banned from the site when I found I could not post replies to my thread.)

But, I do have following suggestions (which has already been covered above, but still just wanted to give my feedback).
1. Allow the poster to edit (atleast their original post). This will be necessary to correct errors, set closing date or to have some kind of auction type sale.
2. Increase the PM quota size, mine is at 10 PMs capacity currently.

So, If want to update a post or change anything, I will have to close the old one and open a new post.

I mostly use the Buy n Sell section. If the Point #1 is not addressed, I am afraid people might move over to a different forum(including myself).

BTW, the 'New Thread' button is misleading. Threads generally are supposed to have a conversation consisting of replies and quotes.

[Why fix things when it is not broken]

 

[livetofly]

Chang in layout/segmentation is definitely a good idea, fully support.

But the disabled reply funciton is very very very disapointing, even though the starting point may be good, but it just makes the trade between seller and buyer more difficult. Especially for the TS, he/she cannot update his/her sale/buy information in time, this can cause a lot of misunderstandings or troubles which can be avoided if the information can be updated in time.

I do hope that the TS can be given the right to edit their threads to allow them update their sale informations!

 

[binbeto]

I remembered that editing and deleting of thread was implemented to prevent any dispute on the "free gift" and condition/history of the item. This is to prevent the seller from backing out of what is promised when the ads is posted.

For the PM issue, my opinion is if you think PM is too small, you can leave your contact number or email.

For the auction issue, my opinion is that the forum is never meant to work like an auction site. There is no transpancy and precise auction close time. If you are not firm about the price you are selling, you can state price is neg. Or, you can use other auction website and post a link here.

I believe the changes are neccessary to prevent too many flooding post in B&S, which slow down the forum.

As suggested, 24 hrs to edit a post is good. Even if it affect the rest of the forum. (My 2 frames worth)

 

[shinken]

I'm sure the mods and admins would have to deal with the restlessness of forumers for a while, but I applaud and welcome the change. The classifieds is now very intuitive and free of distractions. Cheers, and sincere thanks to the team.

 

[HLL]

Please allow replying to threads. Posting offers on thread is more open. As a defense against "self-bidding" - Careful bidders can always check the previous threads of that sellers to see the same "bidders" always bid on that sellers items to "self-bid".

One way to avoid too many upz is to allow other members to click somewhere to report thread for upz abuse. I once reported a thread from someone selling handphone. That thread was soon deleted by admin.

 

[CYRN]

I think CS would like to Classified section to be roughly like those Ads you see in the newspapers. It only serve as a platform to inform others that you have something for sale or are looking for something. So it's 1 post and that's it, clean and simple... the rest is off-line so as not to load the board. This is good.

However, there is a potential down side to such system when implemented here. Because the posting is "free", any mistake or follow up can be simply made by opening another thread.

The 24hr editing of thread is arbitary figure due to the fact that editing of post in B&S is pretty sensitive and have issues in the past. However, I believe that the time for editing can be tweaked such that it's a balance for the entire board...lets say 1 week? (another arbitary timeline)

Anyway, why not everyone give this new system a try first, it's just like posting an Ad in the papers... no editing and follow-up are off the forum. It's buyer's and seller's responsibility for a smooth and ethical transaction (supposed to be responsible in the first place anyway).

 

[CYRN]

1. Categorization by brand - it is very good to have. But it would be more useful if you provide the flexibility for users to select what they want to view by filters: camera brand, equipment type (lens/camera/flash/accessories), type of lens (zoom, full-frame, prime). Just consider the scenario: I might want to look for a wide angle lens for my nikon/canon mount digital/film camera but I have not decided which brand (nikon/Tamron/Sigma/Vivitar/etc). I'd want to compare prices listed by the classified ads. This is a feature that is still not available.

I believe that a search for a particular item for all brands is possible. Just use the advance search function and search the Classified Section instead of the respective sub-forums.

 

[L-plate]

Only my $0.02 worth of thoughts.

Segmenting according to the various brands is a great idea but not being able to post is kind of a hassle as how are we able to make bids transparent? There won't be any proof if the seller decide to pull a fast one if he says he receive a bid only slightly lower than mine via sms?

Well.... unless CS is trying to abolish the bidding system. Then, I'm all for this new improvement.

 

[hazmee]

The B&S (I think) was never a bidding system in the first place. I personally hate bidding because you don't have control and it is a hassle to keep up. For me, I post my items for sale at a price I am comfortable with. If I don't get a response, it simply means my price is either too high or I have not met my potential buyer yet. Let's keep it simple for now.

 

[miraiyuki]

If it is clear that it is not meant to be a bidding system then it's easier and simpler to sell, which I really also support

I still think categorizing by camera mount, as well as separating camera category from its peripherals is more intuitive. Right now it's quite a rojak within a Nikon Equipment thread, for example.

I'd also like to highlight to the administrator/webmaster that your website traffic comes a lot from users' "upz", bidding and checking of sale status. Given that these activities are now 'disabled' and perhaps done via PMs and offline, the website eyeballs would probably be lowered quite significantly (because there's no longer a need to keep going back to a classified ad to check status of sale anymore). I hope it would not affect your advertising revenue.

 

[moby]

I like the new format, but please give ability to post responses.

That is all i need. To be able to posts responses. :thumbsup: