I agree with a lot that you say here, but going by Eddies OP its either more donations or close SC, I dont want to see SC disappear as I'm sure you dont or the rest of the forum so ideas are being banded around to help the FR and keep SC open.
A little boost of the FR today is just an Elastoplast to a bigger problem, if Eddie wants the FR to benefit on a regular basis then it needs fixing, and dare I say it the rules might be out of touch with a 2019 TZUK
Or use an Adblocker
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
Eddie - how hard would it be to put in some software where any thread anyone tries to open in SC automatically includes a box where you input how much money from or a percentage of the sale you intend to stick in the fundraiser, and that information was included in the sales post? Make it compulsory to stick in a minimum of a quid and a maximum of whatever anyone wanted to put. Absolutely no one would complain.
"A man of little significance"
Relying on folks voluntarily doing the right thing simply doesn’t work.
£25 annual fee to access SC... okay it’s a set figure and won’t be pro rata fair but it’ll raise £5k a year, maybe a good bit more.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I don’t think that the business sellers who aren’t on the list (and that’s virtually all of them) will even look at the thread, let alone the list.
Even if they did, I seriously doubt that they’d be embarrassed; they’ll just carry on as normal until Eddie either shuts down SC or bans them.
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'.
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 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
Perhaps the dealers that dodge the agreed charity donations should be outed here and a subsequent villain post added. I wouldn't want to deal with somone who doesn't pay up as agreed and would hope most of the membership would be with me.
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.
Trying to get a dealer to donate is unfeasible. They'll just put the extra on top of the buying price. Of course the fundraiser will get the money which is the ultimate goal but it will be the buyer paying the donation while the dealer walks away with another free deal. I guess it depends on whether the fundraiser is more important than the thought of a trader being slimey.
This isn’t a commercial sales platform, despite some treating it like one.
If it starts being treated as such, ie a sales platform with a forum attached, it won’t just be fund raiser donations sliding down the pan...
Fair point, but I disagree, I think the price is what it is, if a 'dealer' asks more he won`t necessarily get it.
Hopefully, as a result of this thread, things will get better. Best way for the forum to support Eddie at the moment is by improving standards of behaviour and that includes donations, it's a matter of respect really.
No listing fee generally these days and 10% of final value fee and postage. 3.9% PayPal fees too.
There is an upper limit of £250 (unless that’s changed recently)
Often though, as this weekend, there’s a £1 maximum final value fee offer.
Fee limit of £250 is in place (it was gone for a while a couple of years ago).
https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/...g-fees?id=4364
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.