Paid subscription plan?

[JAOA49]

Seamus, do you really think someone would want to buy this site just to offer it for free to everyone? Why in the world would someone do that? No, anyone who would spend the money for this site would be doing so with a return on their investment in mind.

Heck, if I were to have in mind just abandoning this, then why not go ahead and try the subscription thing beforehand anyway? What would I have to lose?

Truth of the matter is that I would far rather be able to look myself in the eye in the mirror and say that this site failed because it apparently was just not worth it to everyone then to say that I just quit. I can accept failing, but not just quitting.

BTW, I do agree with you. And as I said, I think people will likely abandon it in favor of something, no ANYTHING, that they could get for free instead. And once the other free resource gets to where I am now, they will face the same problem. Sure, I guess the herd of viewers could eternally jump from one free site to another. And maybe that is what the future has in store. But how many times will that happen before people will just quit posting in all of the many string of BOIs, realizing that it is all wasted effort when the site they posted their stories on just went and died like all of the rest of them? And how many other people will pick up the yoke of something like this with the mines of threatened lawsuits laying all around them besides all of the rest of the BS in store for them?

Yeah, maybe someone else could pick this up and run with it, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that actually happening. Not that I am anything special, but probably not too many people have my level of ultra heavy duty hard headedness.

I would be that stupid to do so However I never gave up easy but it sounds like, to me you are pretty drained out... Might I suggest a vacation?
I think you should just set up a billing method.... charge 5 bucks a month lets see $5 * 12 = $60 bucks..... Hmmmm ? I'd pay it.... I am less tempted to give 60 bucks straight up front... I believe that others would be the same as well... $35 is not a big sum of money BUT to others it can get you "a tank of gas" and other stuff that is needed to support their hobby... but with $5 DOLLARS WEBSLAVE its just a drop in a bucket.... Hell I'll give you $5 bucks but I'd rather finish off my cage and give you $25 bucks.... See its just that easy.....In the long run you can make $$$$ in a year...

I hope you do this instead B/c thats what I'd do If I had this site !
- Jacob

 

[Wraith]

Heck Dan, behind the scenes I get emails all of the time asking me to check so-and-so's IP address to see if they are someone else. How many active threads on the BOI right now have suspicious looking registered members making false statements to try to cloud the real picture? Anyone can do this at any time.

Why do you block the ability of registered users from being able to see the IP address of another user within their post? KS doesn't block people from being able to find the IP address used by others at the time they posted their messages - why should you? I can only assume that this blockage is either a limitation of the software here on FC or you do it deliberately to keep that information away from people? If you are able to arrange it, let any registered member be able to see that IP information for themselves. At the very least it will cut out a nice chunk of work out of your schedule right there as you wouldn't be dealing with the behind the scenes emails on it. Allow registered users to play their ferret games to their heart's content on their own - you should not have to bog yourself down by having to play the hunting game for them.

So something has to give somewhere. ..... Someone forgot their password and can't logon, tough.

Again, telling people what their forgotten password is is something you shouldn't really have to take time out to do on a personal level. Set the site up to be more automated in little things like this.

I don't know the details on how to make it happen - it's possible the software here is designed to allow for it maybe. But a lot of sites have some kind of a form driven email... someone inputs the username they registered on your site and they provide the email address they used to register that name with. Based on that information, the site automatically retrieves that information and emails a letter to that email address (If the two bits of info inputted by the person don't match up according to the info in your database - no email w/password gets sent). Unless someone knows what another person's username is AND the email they used to register that name AND managed to hack into that person's email without their knowing - it's a fairly secure way to make sure that the information only gets to the person who registered the account. Of course it all depends on that person remembering what email they used to originally register with and/or keeping their email address up to date in the control panel as they discard old ones for new ones. Some sites even limit registrations of one username to one unique email address so it's possible to not even have to bother with inputing the username - the email address alone is enough (again it is typically secure as hackers would have to know the email address someone registered with AND have already hacked that person's email - not very likely)


Adrian

 

[WebSlave]

Why do you block the ability of registered users from being able to see the IP address of another user within their post? KS doesn't block people from being able to find the IP address used by others at the time they posted their messages - why should you? I can only assume that this blockage is either a limitation of the software here on FC or you do it deliberately to keep that information away from people? If you are able to arrange it, let any registered member be able to see that IP information for themselves. At the very least it will cut out a nice chunk of work out of your schedule right there as you wouldn't be dealing with the behind the scenes emails on it. Allow registered users to play their ferret games to their heart's content on their own - you should not have to bog yourself down by having to play the hunting game for them.

The reason I do not allow anyone other then myself and site moderators to view everyone's IP addresses is simple. It is for the protection of the members. There are programs out there that make it possible for someone to take an IP address and from that determine information that many people may not want just anyone to be able to get. I am assuming, of course, that most people would prefer it the way I am doing it.

 

[WebSlave]

I need to address an issue that was brought up earlier that I admitted was a sticking point I had not yet resolved. Well I have resolved it.

The point was made that if someone made a bad guy post about someone and they came to this site and viewed said thread, that they may not want to pay the $10 fee in order to come on the BOI and defend their position. Granted, and I agree that it would be unfair for me to require that of them. In such a case, since it is assumed that they have already registered on this site in order to view the thread about them, I would allow them to have the $10 fee waived for a period of 1 month, or until the issue was suitably resolved, whichever occurs first. If the thread continues past 1 month, it will be rather obvious that the issue is not likely to be resolved anyway, and at that point the person can choose to pay the $10 fee and continue on with the argument, or not.

It will be up to the person to contact me to request this waiver from me, as it is quite probable that I will not be aware of the situation in progress.

I believe this will be a fair arrangement for me to offer.

 

[DAND]

Sounds fair to me. If something couldn't be resolved in a month then there is a good chance it won't ever be.

 

[Bill_Leverton]

This was posted in a another threadBy myself and thought Id bring it more out in the open area Quote:
Originally Posted by lucille
The group that concerns me most is the vast numbers of registered members who have said nothing.
The voting in the polls actually has been good in terms of prior polls on the site. And I appreciate all who have voted in, and posted comments, in my poll. But the fact is, there are MANY people who are simply choosing not to take a stand at all. I trust that ultimately Webslave will choose to do what is best for both Fauna and himself; the decisions are difficult ones and all I can do is be as much of a supporter as I can.
The interplay of opinion, and suggestions made, are valued information in these decisions. Those of you who have said nothing, this may be the time to stand up and be counted. Certainly, once the decision of whatever nature has been made, those who chose not to participate should not be heard to complain.Vote now.


Lucille I was thinking the same thing as I poured my coffee this AM. I thought about when I first got here to this site back in 03 and just read and maybe once a month jump up and post some thing .The reason I feel that the masses arent out in force is that some feel that if they open thier mouths they are going to get smacked down others may feel that they they will go with the flow and wait for an outcome either way ...Rich I want you take this with all do respect.I feel you should roll those bones if it comes up 7 or 11 hey this site will go on if it comes up snake eyes then you get to move on to greener pastures and Fauna becomes a memory this is just MHO. But I feel that dispite the fact some are saying "if this turns into a pay site Im gone" some will maybe ..but in the long run They will be back or someone with the same Knowledge will take their place This hobby is getting younger everyday. And on a another note depending on what fee winds up being I personally will take into concideration (sp) the financial situation of the ones that say they cant afford to pay the years fee and I will sponsor them for that year This is a one time only deal and limited to 3 people
__________________
Bill Leverton Clearwater Reptiles

 

[Wraith]

Those of you who have said nothing, this may be the time to stand up and be counted. Certainly, once the decision of whatever nature has been made, those who chose not to participate should not be heard to complain.Vote now.


Lucille I was thinking the same thing as I poured my coffee this AM. I thought about when I first got here to this site back in 03 and just read and maybe once a month jump up and post some thing .The reason I feel that the masses arent out in force is that some feel that if they open thier mouths they are going to get smacked down others may feel that they they will go with the flow and wait for an outcome either way

25 pages to read through - wow that was a lot of stuff; didn't think I could actually get through it all. In the short summary, all I see is a whole lot of running around in circles.

I agree that some are probably keeping their mouths shut to avoid getting smacked in the face by someone else perceived as intentional or otherwise. But I think there is also a larger issue. People today when it comes to involvement in some cause seem either very gung-ho and into it or are the opposite: have nothing but apathy/indifference. Those later types are just gonna go where the flow takes them. They won't care one way or the other what ultimately gets decided until it truly becomes an issue that they can't avoid and by then it's probably too late to do anything about it. They will then stay here and put up with whatever guidelines are set forth or they'll move on to other places if its too much trouble or effort to stick around.

I for one will not vote. Voting won't solve anything here. Discussion however, can possibly help, but even then it still comes down to one person making a choice about what he wants to do with his site. No one can tell him what choice to make. No amount of voting will make that decision for him.

I kept seeing something of a reoccuring theme in a lot of Rich's statements:

I have about had my fill of people who I have suspended who simply register as someone else and are right back on within the hour. I have said time and time again that some sort of paid membership is the only way to control this sort of thing, but have felt that it just wouldn't fly with most people. Maybe the "no fly" still applies, but I'm at the point where I don't think I really care.

I will be honest, I'm getting tired of the time and effort (not to mention the cost involved) of doing this virtually for free. Yeah, the banner ads help, but I am still a long way from being in the black on this site. This has either got to start giving me some return, or I really need to be thinking about how better to spend my time. Between the hate mail and people who can't remember their passwords, this is getting to be more then just a passing fancy.

No matter what I do, I am certain I am going to piss off someone. I guess the decision I need to make is whether it is time to stop worrying about that, and look more into the future to do what is best for the long term. Sooner or later this site is going to outgrow it's current server's capabilities. That could start to get REAL expensive. So do I start planning for that, financially, now? I've been trying everything I can think of to avoid charging members an admission fee, but is it going to be enough?

And what do I do when the time involvement here takes away from the business that actually pays my living expenses? (Which certainly IS taking place somewhat even now) Do I allow this site to run away with my life? For free?

Yeah, this is a tough one. Something that I have seen coming for a long time but keep on turning a blind eye to it. But I can't help but think I am being stupid about it. Maybe if this site was pulling in more money, there could be so much more that I could do here. Maybe I wouldn't feel so foolish about spending as much time and effort as I do here if this site were helping the pocketbook more.

Those are the choices, I am afraid. Read the cards and come to your own conclusions about what is needed. And please excuse me if I begin to get a glimmer of an attitude of "what is really in this for ME?" The pat on the back and a heartily proclaimed "Good Job, WebSlave!" isn't going to cut it forever.

Yes, I would like this site to continue to grow, but we are reaching a point where some decisions need to be made to make this realistic. This site has been a LOT of work for me for a LONG time. I just don't think it is fair that I be expected to keep it up forever (with the increasing workload that more members brings) on my dime. Yeah with the sources of income that this site is bringing in, I may actually be operating in the black (if I take into consideration ALL of the expenses that have come out of my pocket over the last several years, might be much further down the road), but as an hourly wage for the time I spend on it, it REALLY sucks.

I don't know, maybe my age is showing. I'm just thinking more about what I really want to be doing with my time. It's been a long time since this was just FUN to do.

Not to mention that apparently some people here rather pissed off at me for even having this site have bombarded my email addresses with SPAM. Fortunately, the guards I have in place clear up most of them, but still, it's one more unnecessary aggravation I have to put up with to give you all this site.

Of course there are a lot more questions that need answers before I can seriously consider implementing something like this.

What is to keep the trolls from posting their garbage in other forums, making the workload increase substantially for myself and the mods?

How do I "look the mods in the eye" asking them to volunteer their time and efforts here when I am pulling in some money off of this site?

Will topics that SHOULD be posted in the BOI then start cropping up everywhere else instead, simply because the people posting don't want to pay that fee in order to do so?

Rich,

I think you need to decide first what it is you want this site to be for you. Do you want it to be a hobby or do you want it to be a business. Under the current system you can't treat it like both and stay sane. If you want a hobby then cut out the excess fat that is not needed or being used. Trim it down to the bare basics if necessary just so long as you have it be more along a managable level for you. If you want a business, then make people pay for banner ads and for the use of the classifieds. Hire people with that money to help you run this site or bring in more volunteer help to take up the slack and give you some breathing room. If you make money off the help of help of volunteers what's the problem? If they expected to get a cut of the money you make off this site then they wouldn't be volunteering for free - they would have asked for a job. They volunteered for a reason and that reason was not to make money. If you still feel guilty about making money off the site through their help then reinvest that money into buying more bigger and better servers to make the site more functional for the users.

Now, far as I can personally see, making the site a subscription pay-for-use site is not going to stop the troll problem. Look at America Online - that's a subscription service and they have troll problems like crazy throughout large portions of their service. Trolling is an inherent behavior in all people and all sites/services. Even the best folks out there have the troll inside slip out once in a while. If people are forced to pay for the privelage of posting here (not reading) in the BOI - they'll post whatever they want in the 'free' areas of the site all the while saying to hell with your rules.

I know you don't want this site to become another KS, but really that is what you will have to do if you want it to keep growing. It will happen simply because the site is already getting too big for one person to handle as a hobby. You are going to find yourself doing a lot of things that KS did that you thought you'd would never do. Simply to try and attempt to keep things running smooth, you already are doing a lot of those things now - like bringing on moderators.

You've got increasing membership to keep happy. You've got paying advertisers to keep happy. You've got tons of classified forums. You've got tons of discussion forums covering topics that are outside the scope of the BOI. All that adds up to a hell of lot of work and one person simply cannot do it alone. Even with a couple of moderators around - you can't expect them to see and catch everything. It is impossible. You need people - lots of people to make something this big work and to allow you the ability to take a few days off here or there or a nice 2 week vacation. Even Jeffie knew that or why else did he go to the trouble of bringing in outside people to help run his sites? I think it's fair to say they took a rather nice chunk of the day-to-day responsibilities off his shoulders.

The catch-22 is that the more "staff" you add, paid or otherwise, you'll get caught up in new problems associated with members claiming abuse of power, etc. You already have been put in positions of having to defend your moderators actions - mostly for doing what they were supposed to do - upholding the rules of the site - YOUR rules. I don't envy the work your moderators do here just like I don't envy the work the moderators on KS do. No matter which site, they all get stuck having to put up with crap from all sides of the spectrum. They get to deal with human nature at its best or worst.

You can't make everyone happy so don't try to make everyone happy. Do what you want to do. Do what will make you happy. If you don't want the headaches involved with a big growing site, then stop treating it like a business and scale the site down to just the essentials that can be handled as a hobby. Don't keep trying to build it up and up without having the support it needs to run properly (manpower and technology).


Adrian

 

[Python Dreams]

Wraith,
That was pretty much the point to my post earlier. It really comes down to what Rich wants out of the site. Does he want The BOI to be available to all users and remain the type of tool that it is? Or does he want to turn this into a big business like Kingsnake? Is it a vision that Rich has for Fauna or nothing at all? I agree with trimming the fat and it would be so much easier to handle. But, if the goal is to be the largest Reptile related site online, I dont know if being a membership service is the way to go. The only real draw is the BOI that sets the place apart from other websites, and I think that once their is a membership fee, the effectiveness of the BOI might suffer. I guess Rich just has to state what he wants out of the site before anything can really be discussed. If income is needed without a doubt to pay for the time and effort that has already been put into the site, then I guess their is no option, but to start charging. If headaches and time and effort wasted are the problems, trim all the fat, and heavily focus on The BOI, and charge a small $10 yearly rate for classifieds. This would cut out most of the work and bring money in. Especially with the service to send out Fauna or BOI products with no hassle to Rich.
Tom Baker

 

[Glenn Bartley]

Rich,

I think this is an original idea, hard to figure after so many posts in this thread:

I think if you seriously want to or need to make money off of the site, then the BOI really may have to go, but not away altogether, just moved to its own domain. Take the BOI out of faunaclassifieds.com. Then set up a new site faunaclassifiedsboardofinqury.com, or faunaboardofinquiry, or boardofinquiry.com whatever. Do it fast save a name like that for your domain.

Then you can charge a fee for either one or both sites. If you charge a fee for the BOI it could be $10 per year; if you charge for faunaclassifieds.com, it could be for banner ads, herps for sale ads and wanted ads OR, it could be whatever fee system you decide upon. You may wind up attracting more retailers,dealers, breeders = advertisers who pay money to advertise at faunaclassifieds.com because the BOI is not directly part of it. At the same time you would not loose the BOI, it would be on the net in full force but as its own site. If it does not work to your satisfaction after a trial period of about 3 to 6 months, then put them back together again, they are not Humpty Dumpty and I think the pieces would fit well again but I guess it would be a gamble. Then again, it does not seem to be working the way it is now. You now have the best of both worlds - maybe. I don't have that crystal ball either, but maybe this is a thing to think about trying.


All the best,
Glenn B

 

[WebSlave]

Glenn, thanks for the suggestion, but it would not work. You would be amazed at the number of people asking about putting banner ads on this site who specifically asked that their banner ads show up in the BOI. The advertisers want their banner ads to show up where the most people are congregating.

Like it or not, the BOI is part of FaunaClassifieds. The good, bad, and ugly, all rolled up into one.

 

[WebSlave]

Level 1) Free - status = "participant"
a) access to BOI to search and view - no posting
b) access to all participate in reptile and animal talk forums
c) access to view classified

Level 2)10.00yr - status = "Member"
a) everything included in level 1
b) Ability to post on the BOI
c) access to user "CP" (avatar and profile included)
d) Private messaging enabled
e) ability to participate in auctions
f) Able to use the "Live Chat" room

Level 3)25.00yr - status = "Contributing Member"
a) Everything included in levels 1 and 2
b) Access to "hell"
c) Ability to give and recieve "reputation points"
d) Free link to personal Web page under Avatar
e) access to post in higher forums ( feedback forum,legal forum, etc..all forums)
f) ability to contact "moderators/Rich" meaning reporting bad posts,problems. and other issues...this would keep the complaints dowwn to a minimum and less whining to listen to.


Level 4)35.00yr - "Full Member"
a) everything included in levels 1 through 3
b) Ability to post classified Ads
c) Ability to post thier banner on every classified ad they post.
d) Ability to link thier ads to thier BOI Reputation "if they want"
e) free picture hosting for thier ads

If you dont agree just say so, please dont slam my rep points.

I like this basic model. I may use it in my ponderings, if you don't mind. Anyone else willing to expand on this idea and come up with some ideas that might be workable (and able to be swallowed by most people)?

Thanks.

 

[Otter_23]

Being a hobbiest and a member here for about a year I'll throw in my 1 cent.
First off the value of this site is immeasurable to both the businesses and the hobbiest. I have personally purchased from a few ads posted in the fauna classifieds, which would not have happened if this site did not exist. If not for this site I would not know who the reputable breeders are and would have just quit reptiles after my first horrible experience of purchasing on line. The knowledge I have gained from those with experience would not have been possible without this site.
I would have to say I believe the fuana is most valuable to people like me who are just starting out in herps. I believe this site has a major influence on the growth of this industry. I also believe that those on the business side could attest that having a positive reputation on this site and banners has increased their business. As for those who are banned and come back it has always been a matter of time before they were gone again, and I highly doubt that they truely serve much purpose in the herp industry.
As for the membership fee I think in the end it will hurt this site and the industry. It has been said that if there was a fee many newbies wouldn't join which I would have to agree with, but if the boi remained free, the discussion forums and viewing the classifieds I do not think it would impact the number of visitors. I do hope in the future to give monies toward the fauna but at this point I am not able to do so. Rich has done a great job with this site and I would completely understand if he does choose to charge a fee it would just be a little while before I would be able to come back.
I have not read all of the posts so I don't know if some of these ideas have been brought up but in case they haven't I will throw them out there.

Would it be possible for flyers to be put on willing vendors tables at herp shows. The flyers would explain what the fauna is and what people can get from it. These same tables also donate 5-10 percent of each sale for that show to the fauna.
Would herp socities be willing to kick some in as a sponsor of this site? I have seen some banners on KS and frankly in my opinion this site provides much better information than KS for buyer/sellers, care etc...
I did see the idea for t-shirts and other merchandise. I do like that idea as well.
Is it also possible to delete accounts that haven't been active in 6 months or a year. I know it says 16000 members but I have seen many that have changed names and their old names remain in the member list. If these accounts were deleted after a certain amount of inactive time would this free up things some?

Regardless what you decide Rich, this site has immense knowledge and has been very useful. I think this is evident by the number of people viewing it.

Thanks for listening
Mark Westberg

 

[peachstategeckos]

I think paying wouldn't be that bad as long as it's not too much. I think levels of payment would be good. So many beginners go online in a hurry looking for answers and then having to pay and everything to ask simple questions like "what does it eat" we won't get many new subscribers. What if you make like:

Free- to post simple questions on like a "general forum" for each type like snakes, lizards etc.

$10- Post in BOI, get access to reg forums.

$25- Everything above and be able to post adds.

Hopefully everything will work out. This is a much better forum than KS IMHO so I think alot of people will be willing to pay just because of the friendships, info and the fun stuff too. :laugh:

 

[Milwaukee Reptiles]

I love the idea of the BOI Lite!!!!

It's simple, yet you can learn about a company or person very quickly.

 

[WebSlave]

I thought about implementing something like that a while back, but it would be a lot of work on my part.

What I had figured I would do would be to set up a forum where only I could create new threads. The thread would be only one of two formats (or maybe both): (1) A simple poll, with NO replies allowed,or (2) if the person in question is a registered member here, provide a link directily to their "traders rating".

The forum would be set up to be in alphabetical order by business or personal name. The ONLY option a viewer could make would be to either vote on the poll for that businesss or person, or add feedback to the Trader Ratings. That's it.

If I felt ambitious, I could also add in links to threads on the real BOI, but I think the "Similar Threads" list at the bottom of each thread would do that automatically.

But like I mentioned, this would be rather labor intensive on my part, so I haven't really pursued it.

I also have a graphic icon that I could possibly attach to this section as well. It would be numbered to match up with an ID number for each thread in the section and the business or member would be welcome to put this icon on their website linking back to that thread that is providing feedback for them. Kind of a Better Housekeeping (BOI) Seal of Approval. Kind of proactive rather then reactive for people to know who they are dealing with in advance.

Yeah, sounds like a real pain in the butt to do this, doesn't it?

 

[Milwaukee Reptiles]

Sounds like a wonderful idea.... but a COMPLETE pain in the butt to implement.

 

[nicolai]

Do I mind???

I like this basic model. I may use it in my ponderings, if you don't mind. Anyone else willing to expand on this idea and come up with some ideas that might be workable (and able to be swallowed by most people)?

Thanks.

I am actually glad you even considered my idea and I will sleep better tonight just knowing I helped even in the slightest. Whatever you decide to do I will go along with and support you. If I were a millionaire I would put you on the payroll just to keep this site going.

 

[Glenn Bartley]

Rich,

If you already responded to my suggestion for this type of feedback, sorry. I don't remember seeing it, but know I suggested something like this a few days ago or so. This time I think I have added a twist that might make it more amenable to Fauna.

I thought about implementing something like that a while back, but it would be a lot of work on my part.

What I had figured I would do would be to set up a forum where only I could create new threads. The thread would be only one of two formats (or maybe both): (1) A simple poll, with NO replies allowed, or (2) if the person in question is a registered member here, provide a link directly to their "traders rating".

This sounds very similar to the feedback left at Ebay and other large auction sites like GunBroker.com and AuctionArms.com. You get to click off something like: Good, Neutral or Bad, then you can add a few lines (at most) of comments. The person you are rating has a chance to reply in like manner with a few lines of reply. Anyone can rate another person, for example the buyer rates the seller and the seller rates the buyer BUT only if you were actually involved in a transaction of some sort. The deal did not have to go through but you had to have committed to the deal to leave feedback. As I understand, this would be completely automated and your work would be minimal; although I do know that in rare instances a company will edit feedback at the request of the person who left it. All of the feedback is accessible by any site user for viewing. A link under the user's name, who you want to check, goes right to that user's feedback.

If you somehow could get a system like this in place, it would save you lots of work and lots of headaches with the BOI. It would cut out all the crap left by people who only want to get into the fight and sling mud as only two people's comments would be listed for each sale for either party in that deal. Now in order to do that they actually would have had to bought something or at least initiated the deal. The deal initiation could be through a buy it now button link. Of course since this is not an auction an item could have been sold already, so dealers would have to keep up on eliminating items from the for sale list if already sold. This should be something they would be able to do just by clicking a single link on a list of all items they have listed (not a bad idea in itself). Is making a list like that available to sellers a feasible idea? Of course a dealer may say this would be a problem, because he may have forgotten to immediately remove an animal if he sold it in his store, or through another site. This really is not a problem, or should not be, as the potential buyer who loses out because of that could click on feedback and indicate an animal was not available by your having a fourth option to the three above. This feedback option would say: Item Already Sold. The failsafe for the dealer is that you could set this up so that the first time this button is clicked on any particular sale item, it will not register but will send notice to the dealer to get that ad out of the classifieds because if he/she does not remove it then anyone else who initiates a deal by clicking on the buy it now button clicks the Item Already Sold button will have their feedback register as a black mark against the dealer. Of course to prevent someone (a real jerk) from trying to circumvent this failsafe by trying to leave feedback on a single deal multiple times, once feedback is left by either a seller or buyer for a particular item or for a particular deal (if more than one was for sale and there could be future deals), it can not be left again for that same deal. This would require the system to generate a deal number which would take the place of an item number on the auction sites. Same could go for want ads for people who say I don't want it anymore.

My guess is that this would dramatically change the current format of the for sale/wanted ads at fauna, and maybe the whole site. Yet there maybe a great benefit to it because dealers seem very willing to accept this format of feedback. You may have some of your advertisers telling you they want the BOI as is; however, I would be willing to bet there are a lot of people who will not advertise on fauna because of the BPOI. I am also willing to bet that most of them would find a feedback system like this to be acceptable, but then I am not too lucky at gambling. From what I have seen of the feedback systems at the three sites I mentioned, it works pretty well and it warns both potential dealers or buyers of possibly unscrupulous people who may be trying to strike up a deal with them.

All the best,
GB

 

[Milwaukee Reptiles]

I think that this idea would work great. I think you would almost have to provide support for all PAYING members, not just the level 2 and up. I'd be pissed if I paid $10, something didn't work, and I didn't have a way to fix it. Maybe the help forum would become the new place to report issues, but I think there has to be SOME support for any paying member.

My only addition to the plan would be to add an option for someone to post one single ad for $2 (or some other amount). This would allow someone who has one animal for sale all year to post a classified ad.

 

[SPZOOLOGICAL]

I have followed the various threads and read or skimmed nearly every post. Lots of info. It's been touched on briefly, but I don't think anyone has elaborated extensively on the issue. If this were my site, I'd seek to generate revenue by taking a percentage of the actual sale from the classified ads. I'd also install auctions for each category on the site. They seem to be popular, but I don't know anything about what it takes to get this done. The ebay model obviously works. It's also fair that people should pay a small cut when they use your site to make money. Just an idea. Maybe the commission paid could be less for those who are contributing members. Yet another incentive for joining. Just a few thoughts...

I'm sending my contributing membership dinero tomorrow.

Sean P.