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Feedback: Create an auction section

Discussion in 'Website Items, Issues & Feedback' started by Kungpaoshizi, Aug 13, 2015.

  1. Kungpaoshizi Well-Known ReefKeeper

    561
    davenport
    Ratings:
    +39 / 1 / -0
    I've been with girs a number of years, though my membership lapsed, it's still been awhile.
    Over time I've seen people come and go, but the sales threads have always been around because it's a great place other than ebay, craigslist, facebook, etc.. To sell items or discount them greatly for our fellow local reefers/hobbyists.

    I created a thread for an auction, but evidently someone had a problem with it, so the rules of trades were adjusted just to snuff out auctions. :|

    I could very well just leave, which I'm sure some might say "bye!" as there's not much that's sacred on the net anymore.. :)

    But it really does bother me, that this type of sale isn't allowed. One person said "this isn't ebay!!" to which I have to say, 'That's why I'm here!'. I consider sales here, more than a sale, or getting some money back from the investment. I consider it a way to give local people here in Iowa, one heck of a deal on some equipement/corals/fish, and not even go very far for it or have to succumb to the negatives of shipping.

    I've given away a lot of things to my fellow reefers over time on this site, and the very first time I make an auction the rules are changed to prevent the auction.

    I'm not sure what happened or what was said behind the scenes, but since I only want to sell certain items at bottom-dollar prices, yet of course get a decent amount for it, an auction is the only way. There's some uncertainties yes, but this is the case with ALL sales to people on the internet.

    I'm also afraid overall, unless GIRS adapts to the growing tide of auctions vs jacked-up sales, or the continual lower-price adjusted posts, the exposure of sales will go down because some will just merely leave.

    I'm a bit conflicted about, but one of the major reasons I think auctions are great, is because you can start the price pretty low, and it's "valid" for more time, thus allowing more hobbyists to see it.
    I really do believe it would be a smart move, and in the best interest of GIRS, to allow auctions, and even create a new subsection for auctions only.

    Thanks for the opportunity.
    /soapbox
     
  2. Armydog

    Armydog Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +738 / 8 / -0
    I think this would be a great idea!

    Im one of the admins on facebook for the frag auction place they have a great template in there for auctions
     
  3. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    I know there are strong opinions out there mostly against this so lets keep this thread clean. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but keep any bashing, sarcasm, snarkiness, etc out of it.

    That being said, several people have said both here and in personal discussions that this site is become more and more a trading post. Look at the threads, they're 90% "for sale" ones. To me this does not necessarily drive people to the site.

    I would much rather people focus on creating useful content as that adds value. There is a Resource section where people can create articles covering all aspects of the hobby to share their knowledge. You could start a thread detailing your system and how you do things. A lot of these things are covered on other sites like the big boards, but people both here and on Facebook typically ask the same questions over and over.

    It's my opinion that this community should be able helping people and advancing the hobby.
     
  4. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    I'll be straight with you. I searched the forum (which anyone could do) for the word "auction" and I didn't find an example of a similar thread to yours. Maybe one or two that were like "think of it as an auction" but not one that was clearly intended to be a true auction. I did state that the rules would be updated to include the wording but this was not really snuffing out, rather clarifying something that was generally agreed upon in the past, possibly in a face to face meeting and was just not documented well. So I don't fault you for thinking there was nothing wrong with posting an auction thread.

    This is of course not what we want.

    Good point.

    I'm glad that you see it this way.

    These are good points and you make a valid argument.

    Forums are essentially in a battle with social media, mainly Facebook groups. Personally I think FB groups are good for some but they are not the proving grounds for problem solving and learning. So it ends up being like one of those mega RC or R2R threads where people end up asking the same question over and over again.

    There are addons that can be used to detect things like shilling (duplicate accounts) and such but you can't account for all shenanigans. Things would have to be structured in such a way that the involvement required by the Board of Directors, moderators, etc would be next to nothing. Because, and I think I speak for everyone on the board or anyone who has every served on the board, drama like that is what drives people away from the positions and prevent people from volunteering.
     
  5. DangerJ Well-Known ReefKeeper

    894
    Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +322 / 4 / -0
    Yes, if we could have a 'facebook-style' action page I think it would be great! I try to follow Armydog and JTFraggin's stuff but the overwhelming volume of other posters makes it difficult.

    To have a local auction page would be great. It could help the guys with overstocked frag tanks offload some and get the 'best' price they can from it.
     
  6. wouldtick Well-Known ReefKeeper

    381
    waukee
    Ratings:
    +85 / 3 / -0
    I think it would be fun and don't see a negative aspect to it. I love that for the most part this is a local community and would think that we could eliminate a lot of problems by not allowing non-local members to auction off items. I would think the board would have to develop rules if this is to become an actual thing. Why not create an online pole to see how the paid members feel? A vote per say. The majority vote can dictate the community site. That way everyone has a voice and can't really complain if a majority is for it or against it.
     
  7. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    Verification of location is simple enough, either by IP address or personal verification. Allowing only "verified" users would be feasible.
     
  8. Armydog

    Armydog Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +738 / 8 / -0
    I can see your point Bud and the others that feel that way but as an admin on the frag auction place i have to approve new people to the group we get 10-20 new people daily which brings more activity and interest to the page.

    If we did this here i believe that we will get more members joining which will bring more hobbiests to the club which will bring more discussions to the page.

    Sometimes the old way doesnt work bringing new things to the page can and will bring more attention to the club
     
  9. Armydog

    Armydog Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +738 / 8 / -0
    There are a lot of people in the Des Moines area that are not on girs if they found out there was a club that did exciting new things like this, our meetings, and the resources already on here that just draws more interest
     
  10. Fence13 Experienced Reefkeeper

    Des Moines
    Ratings:
    +300 / 1 / -0
    I'm sure if Armydog and Kungpaoshizi (and anyone else who wanted to be involved) could put together a proposal including some auction rules and guidelines and we could always review it for inclusion then?
     
  11. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    Should be other sites with stated policies. Links to them would be a good road map.

    At this point I'm not necessarily for or against this. Just hearing it out.

    As far as voting goes, we'll discuss the process in the BoD section so let's not worry about that aspect of any potential implementation at this time.
     
  12. xroads Veteran Reefkeeper Vendor

    La Porte City, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,014 / 6 / -0
    I am in the camp of dont like it.

    The site is getting less & less used all the time. 17 current posts on the front page are buy sell trade.

    If we start auctions, there will be 19 out of 20.

    The site needs more substance then buying & selling, and that is what is making many of the people not even log on anymore. Why would you if you arent looking to buy or sell?
     
  13. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    Yes, but adding function AND driving people to produce other content here instead of elsewhere - why not do both. Also there is the ability to exclude BST threads from the "home" page.
     
  14. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0
    You can do auctions on ebay and on Facebook every day of the week. I would hate to see GIRS turned into nothing more than an auction place. That is not what it was designed for. On the other hand if a special event auction were to be held twice a year, open to all people who want to sell and buy, with a small percent going to GIRS, held in between Spring Fest and Fall Fest it could be a fun event to look forward to and the talk about it would generate people checking out the site and hopefully seeing interesting things they want to come back for. The money could be used for making meetings more fun, paying for corals to frag, equipment to be shared, or what ever the club decides.
     
  15. xroads Veteran Reefkeeper Vendor

    La Porte City, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,014 / 6 / -0
    Now that is an idea I could stand behind!
     
  16. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,821 / 14 / -0
    Other things can be done to limit rights to posting BST or auctions that we did not have before so keep this in mind, we can prevent "ruining" of the site. Things like a post count required to even view BST threads, length of membership requirements, "like" count (community feedback requirement), trophy/award level, location requirement, membership requirement, plus anything else you can think of- I can find a developer for custom requirements, no problem. This doesn't have to be opening the floodgates. Also as I mentioned you can exclude entire sub-forums from the "home" page. This all coupled with a push for people to post actual content could work.

    For those against it, times are changing. What was something not even worth considering 2 or 3 years ago now may be something that must be considered.
     
  17. Maureen Experienced Reefkeeper

    Urbandale, IA
    Ratings:
    +329 / 0 / -0
    I am not against change but change takes time. I agree that hearing everyone out is good before making decisions, especially in this hobby. After all..... Nothing good ever happens quickly in the saltwater aquarium hobby.
     
  18. Armydog

    Armydog Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +738 / 8 / -0

    Screenshot_2015-08-13-12-45-12.png

    Screenshot_2015-08-13-12-45-22.png

    Screenshot_2015-08-13-12-46-29.png

    Heres the rules of frag auction place and the auction template
    --- Auto-Merged, Aug 13, 2015 ---
    Which we could incorporate almost all of it here also
     
  19. blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Ratings:
    +738 / 5 / -0
    This ^. GIRS is a club and a community of members. Not a trading post for reef tank goodies.

    This could be something to look at though.
     
  20. Kungpaoshizi Well-Known ReefKeeper

    561
    davenport
    Ratings:
    +39 / 1 / -0
    GIRS is a club and a community of members. Not a trading post for reef tank goodies.
    This^ breaks my heart.. We all know how much gear is needed at times for certain setups. What's the first suggestion usually when starting out in aquariums? "Get ahold of a local club and check out the used gear"
    We shouldn't be afraid of the number of sales, that shows activity. If the club got rid of the sales section, I guarantee people would find another way albeit CL, fb, etc, to meet up locally and trade/sell gear.. And then on top of it, they probably wouldn't come to the site just for advice or stories of experience, the site doesn't allow sales, so how much can you really learn from those who don't address a very real aspect of the hobby? (the passing of gear/specimens is just as worthy as a story of advice or experience; they go hand in hand)


    I guess I can't understand why more buying/selling would be a bad thing. Inevitably fb/reddit/instagram will overpower traditional forums, that's a given. But I bring this up because in my own interests, I know supply and demand gears sales. If I'm looking to unload some corals I think it's about time I frag or old hardware, I really hate putting a price tag on it to local members, who I consider more buddies than random people on the internet. Also, auctions will help because it adheres better to the supply/demand ideals, and more people will be able to sell(as long as starting prices are not too high) and more people will be able to afford things in the hobby, vs not being able to buy it because someone asks for almost retail price.

    Another aspect that bothered me, again it's just an observation, is someone mentioned a tax by GIRS on the auctions. To which I have to say again, fb/reddit/instagram will drive this place into the ground if the club starts taxing.. lol (I think it's a given)

    As more time goes by, local clubs (I've seen plenty of non-aquarium clubs) go the way of the Dodo.. More and more pipelines exist on the internet to provide social/service/advertising/entertainment scenarios, but without adapting a website goes under. I feel that's pretty much how supply and demand has influenced the LFS's vs ordering off the net. There's no incentives anymore to buy locally when you can get something cheaper off the net, and pay 5-20$ to see it tomorrow, when it would have been 30-40$ more locally. (my gripe with amazon vs the lfs selling pumps etc with a 60$ profit markup lol)

    I do find myself missing the old days when the net first came about and the widespread-general public, corporations, and advertising were not on it yet. But again, as seen with many aspects in the world, things evolve against our preference. While you're thinking about that, I'm going to check my myspace page! :D (totally joking lol)

    It might be good if someone hopped on facebook and created a GIRS group to help promote the club/site. There's a few clubs around the country that have done it and they see more members and discussions everyday.
     

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