Dealer ads in classifieds

[daveb]

Jage I really don't know. At the SMB meet in California I felt that I could leave camp without the worry about a member stealing something, and hell, I knew they would guard my camp! I felt I could give em the keys to my van. You don't see that much nowadays. Of course these are quality members with a common goal. As big as this site is, I’m sure you get hits from non-SMB persons that are great folks as well, probably a big majority who visit. But once the site becomes commercial (even a part of it) who knows what will happen? It’s your baby. Now I'm talking advertisements as a rule so where does a dealership fall into? Maybe I'm off topic. I feel there are other sites for ramped up advertisement. But IMO even links to non SMB stuff is questionable. When I go to a link that has a SMB related item for sell, I don't want to see a whole bunch of other junk for sale that has no value in the SMB fourm world. I've already posted my concerns about this. A motorcycle or Jeep can be of value and is OK in my view but a Hummer pushes the extreme. I might have my Harley for sale and it might be a great deal for a member, something I would like to pass on to a friend, but it has no place here IMO. Soon it might bring in folks that have no intension of ever owning a SMB even though there are lurkers here. I'd hate to supply more candy. I like the vendor tag. If someone has a skill or business that can benefit members, they can add the link to their avatar signature that's flagged as a vendor and as long as they are not out to become some kind of obnoxious salesperson continuously supplying links to their product, I'm OK with that. You don't see that behavior with Dave at Aluminess or Greg with Espar because they are professionals. Others have been questionable. An out of control businesses can be moderated. If I know they are a business that has something to offer me and are knowledgeable I can PM or Email them. Only my views and I guess if I had to vote I would say it’s OK to supply a link but if they push, push, push a product, or keep coming back with countless crap to sell like a dealership, well it’s something I don’t want to see. So for ads, NO.

[Velogeo]

It's tough. I really don't like the idea of the site becoming more commercial and less community. I'd hate to loose that vibe we all know and love. On the other hand, how many Sportsmobiles are actually up for sale at a given time? How over run could we actually get? We get a fair amount of traffic from folks looking for vans. Making it easier for them to find what they're looking for wouldn't be such a bad thing. I would limit ads to only Sportsmobile vans for sale, as much as we like to include other brands, and would have some strict rules about format and labeling. If it gets out of hand or sleazy, then can it.

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by Velogeo

It's tough. I really don't like the idea of the site becoming more commercial and less community. I'd hate to loose that vibe we all know and love. On the other hand, how many Sportsmobiles are actually up for sale at a given time? How over run could we actually get? We get a fair amount of traffic from folks looking for vans. Making it easier for them to find what they're looking for wouldn't be such a bad thing. I would limit ads to only Sportsmobile vans for sale, as much as we like to include other brands, and would have some strict rules about format and labeling. If it gets out of hand or sleazy, then can it.

I concure

also, the accesories and misc mod stuff that is availalbe

example:
i was hunting for flashlight holsters to attach in inconspicus places around the rig
simple basic stuff
by ACCIDENT i found a vendor that has over 100 diff styles, belt loop, clip on one light, tools etc

what i am getting at is the gadgets that we find that WORK and are applicable to Us

Vehicles already outiftted
rigs ready to home brew
parts to mod or home brew
gadgets

ya think?

[jage]

Based on this feedback I've created the following sections. Please post appropriately. Feel free to continue the discussion and critique my interpritation. Thanks!

Member Classifieds
Buy, Sell, Trade, Wanted - private listings only. Use the Dealer and Online section if the items for sale or wanted are not your own.

Subforums: Dealer Advertisements, Online, Craigslist, eBay and Local Ads

Dealer Advertisements
Any Sportsmobiles for sale at dealerships, whether found online or if you are a dealer go in this section. IF YOU ARE A DEALERSHIP YOU MAY ONLY POST SPORTSMOBILE BRAND VANS.

Online, Craigslist, eBay and Local Ads
Share ads you found anywhere online. This section is for listings and deals which are not your own, for anything you want to share with other memebers. This section is not restricted to vehicles.

[BroncoHauler]

I like it. This way, people who are not interested in the postings contained in the sub-forums, never even have to look at them.

A few questions.
1) Let's say Dave at Aluminess wants to advertise something. Which (sub)forum would it go under?
2) Do we want the Dealerships to get a "Dealership" tag?


Herb

[jage]

If Dave was selling items that didn't directly support the forum as a Vendor then he would post in Member Classifieds, the "Vendor" banner indicating that he's not just some guy selling a used ladder.

The same for other Vendors, such as adventureduo with his Trasharoo the Member Classifieds is the correct section- they're advertising their own things.

If you think the language can be clearer let me know.

I thought about a dealership tag, but it's really more work for me both creation, maintenance and especially enforcement. If jdbimports (or any Dealer) wants to talk Sportsmobiles I don't think he needs a "Dealer" tag to differentiate... it's not quite like adventureduo going "There's this great solution for trash, look at trasharoo.com" where someone might not realize he was the one selling trasharoos. (Not that he'd ever do that, but we've had to ban people in the past)

Dealers... well hopefully it will be more obvious as if they are following the rules in the first place they'll only list Sportsmobiles in the dealer section and their conversation either will or won't tie directly back to that ad. The goal is transparency, so if it becomes a problem we can always create a tag too.

I'm guessing jdbimports will be the only game in town for quite some time and he seems like a pretty good guy.

[billwilson]

cool

where do we post gadgets and such?
bbg
lights
jacks etc

[surfgeek33]

I'm guessing the regular member classifieds, unless you are trying to pass on a good deal to forum members from CL, eBay, etc. and that goes to the sub-forum.

Ray

[jage]

Unless you just want to discuss it instead of tell everybody where to buy it, then "Gadgets and Accessories". Otherwise, what he said.