£65 donated last week, that's less than a tenner a day from the entire membership. I see Sales Corner is as busy as ever so such a low level of donations is a disappointment.
Eddie
£65 donated last week, that's less than a tenner a day from the entire membership. I see Sales Corner is as busy as ever so such a low level of donations is a disappointment.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
That’s a poor show!
As you say SC is busy!
Maybe the time for a mandatory donation for every listing? There's a number of people on here using this as a free platform to sell and are clearly making profit, maybe it's time the fundraiser benefited more from that free platform?
It's quite easy, I'll monitor donations vs SC activity and if there are people taking the piss (and I know of a few) SC will close. I don't make a penny out of it so it won't affect me.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Ban the piss takers instead? It would be a shame to shut SC due to a few bad eggs.Originally Posted by swanbourne
Close SC access to the piss-takers would be better, IMO.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
There's another £30 :-)
Nice work. If only the p*ss takers would contribute more then there wouldn't be this debate. There some high volume, high value sellers on here whose names are permanently missing from the fundraiser.
I am not sure that's the best idea. Like it or not, but some of the forum's appeal comes from its active sales corner. Closing it down makes the forum as a whole less attractive.
You have set a number of clear and sensible rules for sales corner, however years of experience have shown that there are no consequences if people show disregard for them. I know that you are busy and have no time to micro-police the forum (and the light moderation has a lot going for it), but this is a conundrum that won't solve itself. I bet you the main perpetrators are not even reading this thread as they never stray out of sales corner. And when one of the other members takes action, they get nothing but grief for it. I had a discussion with another member just last week. He says 'why bother if it only gets yourself into trouble'.
I am sure there are a number of old forum hands who are more than willing to assist you, but you would need to tell them how you want it done. It doesn't have to be a forum police force, one could create a closed group where such cases can be flagged and discussed. Or, as has been suggested before, just make access to sales corner a subscription model: no pay no access. I am sure there are available tools for vbulletin.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
I think that moderation is safest in Eddies hands rather than the ‘old forum hands’.
Whether you agree or disagree with him, at least he is consistent.
Take a look in the BP and ask yourself which ‘old forum hands’ you would rather have as moderators!
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
No one, the boss knows best and his word is final.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Lunatics running the asylum springs to mind.
Got to agree, the last thing the forum needs are a few brown shirts...
SC generally works fine, and it does drive traffic to the forum and therefore is a shop window for TF as well.
The issue, as pointed out in the OP, is that some (most) dealers aren’t contributing to the fundraiser and that Eddie was expressing his general disappointment that more people aren’t contributing to something that is obviously very important to him.
Ban the former, and the latter just need to make more of an effort to do it.
There is no need, in all honesty, for all the handwringing or root and branch reform as then we risk throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I love that the forum is unregulated but if you want donations driven from SC sales then something has to change, I personally don’t think shutting it down will help at all, there will be no donations coming from it then!
I would start by making a strong banner at the top of SC asking for a donation if you wish to use this platform to sell, it’s up to the individual to abide by that but it would point out the piss takers.
I don’t think you would have to police it as others here will happily point out the members flouting donations.
Either way, SC is the best platform on here to boost the fundraiser.
What about a sticky that any buyers can fill in saying how much they paid and to who, then it would be easy to compare, I bought a watch for £5200 listed on SC on 6th July, first thing I have bought for ages. on the other hand I am happy to pay a subscription or annual donation to be a part of TZ.
The main problem with the SC is that anyone selling a decent watch stands a massive risk of getting attacked by the self appointed police. It must induce a feeling of "why should I pay into the system after having the micky taken out of my sale in such a bloody spiteful manner".
Therefore keep the BP but charge an annual fee for anyone who wishes to enter it and a much larger fee for those who want to write into it. Also charge, say £25, for an entry in the SC. That way the vipers in the BP subsidise the rest of us, as well as donating to charity, in return for being allowed to conduct themselves in the way that they do. Also by charging a fixed advertising fee of £25 it will put an end to the smelly old sandal for £30 type of advertisements.
That would generate an income for the Fundraiser.
QED
Good idea in principle but I have found over the years quite a few buyers who want to stay anonymous - to the extent of asking me NOT to leave H&V. It'll be a hit and miss system.
One is taking the piss right now...
Oh yes.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
The forum charity is not just for sellers to contribute into, it is for all of us who enjoy the forum.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
If it's mandatory, it's not a donation.
Thank you for the pedantry, doesn't change the fact there's a lot of p*ss takers on here.
Not being pedantic, your comment is a contradiction. It's along the lines of being volunteered for a task. Also, if you have to pay, how is SC a "free" platform?
As to the pee takers, just ban them.
I think you’re missing the point by a country mile. I run a benign dictatorship in my organisation, same principle.
I have no fight with you, I only want to see the FR benefitting from those that take the piss routinely.
How does one contribute.?
Sent from my iPad using TZ-UK mobile app
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fun...15&isTeam=true
EDIT: Thats the link if you can't see the big red banner. ;-)
R
Last edited by ralphy; 31st July 2019 at 09:16.
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I suspect as they posted with Tapatalk they can’t see the banner.
Or use an Adblocker
Don't think it is an ad.
Just click on the big red banner at the top of the page, easy.
I imagine part of the problem is the banner doesn’t appear in mobile mode and if you browse via new posts you don’t see sticky’s. We should all try and remember to drop a bit in now and again, myself included!
Edit: donation made.
Last edited by dougair; 31st July 2019 at 09:49.
Regular name and shame list to highlight the piss takers?
Currently there are 4 multipage sticky threads atop the sales forum. I haven't any of it.
I'd make one locked Sticky Post with the SC rules that everyone should read and agree and adhere to for access to the SC.
One rule ought to be:
1. When an item sells, mark your sales post as SOLD and Donated.
Obviously following an appropriate donation to the fundraiser.
It should also be obligatory to give the price the item sold for.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Annual subscription to the forum like the GS Forum I'm on would be a good idea and I'd happily pay it, the fee would cover Eddies admin/IT costs and he could donate from that amount as he likes to the fund raiser, plus enforcing the dealer tax in SC that I'm sure the some of the known dealers just don't pay would be a good start.
Plus the continued support on here from people just making donations or raffling/selling items for the fundraiser etc
That is a real eye opener... and prompted action£65 donated last week, that's less than a tenner a day from the entire membership. I see Sales Corner is as busy as ever so such a low level of donations is a disappointment.
EddieI didn't want to chip in to a discussion about how Eddie runs his forum. BUT I'll just say this...
For the majority of sellers that are not 'dealers' but more than likely just 'facilitating a habbit' they are not profiting from SC. Yes, it's currently free... so there's a benefit. But the real benefit is the trust that this forum allows freedom to comment, a healthy feedback system, and some hoops to jump before gaining privilege. This makes it a safe and interesting place to enjoy the hobby, which for most involves experiencing many watches, and hopefully quite a few from Eddie's shop front
Any views about sellers not ponying up do apply, but also there are many buyers benefits too... not least some great, and some amazing deals... and the other side of all the other forum benefits enjoyed by sellers. Why don't people ever lay any guilt on the buyers to chip in!?
For the majority of sellers that are not 'dealers' but more than likely just 'facilitating a habbit' they are not profiting from SC. Yes, it's currently free... so there's a benefit. But the real benefit is the trust that this forum allows freedom to comment, a healthy feedback system, and some hoops to jump before gaining privilege. This makes it a safe and interesting place to enjoy the hobby, which for most involves experiencing many watches, and hopefully quite a few from Eddie's shop front
Any views about sellers not ponying up do apply, but also there are many buyers benefits too... not least some great, and some amazing deals... and the other side of all the other forum benefits enjoyed by sellers. Why don't people ever lay any guilt on the buyers to chip in!?
But there in lies the problem, watches (straps/winders etc) are the only items which is a direct link with this forum which should be an interest to most of us, everything else is OT and still being advertised for free.
An example is 3 pimped up Landrover Defenders advertised in the last week with a combined value of over £35K, some of the sellers might chip in to the fundraiser, but there is no guarantee the fundraiser would benefit from such high value items..
Absolutely nothing is 'OT', see the first line of the first sticky on SC:
"A man of little significance"
I get that, but it was written 16 years ago when there was a completely different clique to the forum, "any item" in 2003 has now grown into a monster.
You should PM Eddie immediately and tell him he needs to change the way he runs the forum. Aside from the lack of charity donations, SC works fine as it is.
"A man of little significance"
Look, what I mean is the forum runs fine and if Eddie thought it needed changing he would change it, there's no point discussing something that's been discussed again and again and again to no end.
"A man of little significance"
SC needs to be moderated better and updated in several areas. If it continues the way it is then Eddie has to take some of the responsibility for the lack of donations. We can't rely on goodwill especially when it comes to money and the internet, that has been proved many times on SC. Threatening to shut it down is disappointing to see. It's the fault of the dealers/profiteers not donating, so ban them and do better at making sure you don't get to the point of having to ban people again.
Some of the comments flying around the forum at the moment seem distinctly uncharitable.......the place gets no better in that respect and it's the same minority (Draft Thread Gang)who cause most of the trouble.
A 'tax' on Bear Pit posts might help the Fundraiser, especially if it could be automated.
As for SC, I don`t think anyone could object to a listing or selling fee going automatically to the Fundraiser. That would be hard to administer, but an automated PM 'reminder' might be possible. Possibly a buyer's premium too? These could be set and capped at modest levels, anyone who felt obliged to put more in could do so.
I have never used Sales Corner (I will be shortly, but that's a different matter). I do however seriously enjoy this forum, on many levels. I've just pop in 15 to the fund as a token of this appreciation. When I hopefully sell a couple of watches, no flip flops, in the near future I will make a donation to the pot as it's the decent thing to do IMHO.
J
There is of course another angle to this,
As a forum we are fortunate enough to have generous members who pick up popular watches on their travels and offer them to the forum at extremely competitive prices, those who manage to bag a hard to get watch in this way ought to consider dropping a few quid into the fund as a sign of appreciation given that the seller is going out of their way to provide an otherwise hard to obtain item.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Those same individuals sell a lot of watches though and openly stated the making of a profit on a recent occasion. Why should the rules be different for them, it’s got to be a one size fits all approach or it doesn’t work.
I was with you 1000% right up to the bit about seller going out of their way...
These super deals and facilitators should abide by the rules... just because they are doing folks a great deal they still need to do their bit.
AND (this is where I'm agreeing with you here) buyers should be encouraged to drop a few pennies in if they have benefited from a great deal. Not talking rules and all that... just guidance
With a little more thought I find myself agreeing with you guys,,I was with you 1000% right up to the bit about seller going out of their way...
These super deals and facilitators should abide by the rules... just because they are doing folks a great deal they still need to do their bit.
AND (this is where I'm agreeing with you here) buyers should be encouraged to drop a few pennies in if they have benefited from a great deal. Not talking rules and all that... just guidance
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Was that three people agreeing on an SC related discussion... we ought to create a certficate.With a little more thought I find myself agreeing with you guys,,
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