Paying for Classifieds

[CUTUP]

Maybe the answer is selling threads in the classifieds. Make it a flat rate such as $5 or $10 per thread.

I really like this idea

I think the price should reflect how many items you are able to sell as well. Like if someone is going to sell between 1-2 items make it a cheaper flat rate then someone selling 2 items +.

That would make it very easy to regulate instead of trying to follow a percentage based rule

[Who?]

I really like this idea

I think the price should reflect how many items you are able to sell as well. Like if someone is going to sell between 1-2 items make it a cheaper flat rate then someone selling 2 items +.

That would make it very easy to regulate instead of trying to follow a percentage based rule

That may be too hard to regulate, placing a max on the number of items one can sell in a thread could help that.

[CUTUP]

That may be too hard to regulate, placing a max on the number of items one can sell in a thread could help that.

Thats true, I guess keeping it as simple as possible is the easiest way for all

I just thought a two tier pricing structure would be better for the members which rarely sell items to get a better deal, then those who are always offering their wares.

But the more easy and streamlined the process is the easier it will be for the community to accept

[andrewislasorad]

I predict classifieds drop by at least 50% once fees go up..

I can only see this making the classifieds worse off; creating a much smaller selection of items for sale. Must tread lightly or we might ruin a good thing and sadly, that seems to be the reality of it. I'm sure there is a better way for this site to make money out there. I would personally rather pay the members fee, then be taxed along the way..idk

[Chant]

andrewlewisroad, Eternal : yes, maybe but you don't know actually. And you think in this way because you see the fee as an additional cost (to avoid) and not a way to support the site. Be seen the actual amount of donators, you're maybe right though.

I think that a percentage on the item's value is the best solution (if it's easy to implement), it doesn't matter that one drops the price - on the contrary it would help people to find the right price from the very first beginning, or take the risk to put on sale an overvalued item.

[Chant]

Just read the poll again : fees should be 1%, shouldn't it ? It's close to nothing, even on high amounts.
And there's a benefit to post here rather than on SuFu (or here and there) : passionate people + slow moving market.

Problem of the link in the signature to sale threads located elsewhere could be avoided by forbidding this kind of announcements in them.

[lowrey]

links in signatures and spamming good finds etc can be moderated.

however, I still think that charging a percentage or transaction based fee is not realistic, its too complicated, if a fee is implemented it needs to be simple a straightforward.

[nictan]

i second andrew's suggestion. i would rather pay a membership fee, than to pay specifically for the classifieds. an annual classifieds/membership fee is fine though, but a per listing/per transaction isnt such a good idea. like someone mentioned, soon we'll see $500 + paypal + shipping + SZ listing fee.

im not sure how appropriate this example will be, considering how much more passionate most members here are towards the forum. but few years back, when i was still interested in streetwear, a popular local forum for it started charging classifieds fee. and when i meant popular, i mean like a local SZ for streetwear. within months, the forum turned into a dead-zone. listings dwindled, reduced viewership and membership. with this, participation in discussion topics was nearly non-existent altogether. for me, i paid the fee, but could hardly sell anything there as the traffic was at an all-time low.

just my 2 cents.

[Faust]

Thank you for all the comments. I know I cannot satisfy everyone - it's impossible. But I don't think the classifieds will drop this drastically. As Christian says, there is a clear benefit in posting in classifieds here - it's not the only place, but it is the ultimate place go buy things of a certain esthetic without wading through piles of shit. I don't mind if this weeds out those who just want to use SZ to sell.

I also agree with Christian that ranting at something as nominal as 1% fee is quite strange. I mean, Ebay charges nearly 10%. People make money by selling - SZ provides the selling platform.

Like I said before, I want to dedicate myself to SZ full time. We already get exclusive previews from certain designers, inside looks at showrooms, photos, exclusive articles here and in partnership with Scoute. I get so many complements on the quality of the forum from the people in the industry. It can only get better from here, but I need the forum's support.

[Faust]

I don't think you really have thought through the above post, Eternal. By not charging a membership fee for access to the forum, as others have suggested, I am doing exactly what you want me to do, keeping it free in general. By charging for classifieds I am doing exactly what you want me to do - taking a cut from those who benefit monetarily from the forum. This has nothing to do with fashion discussion on the forum - this is a separate thing.

But, if you think that I don't put work in this forum and that anyone can replicate the level of access to privileged information we have here, please feel free to start one and see how easy it is.

[TheNotoriousT]

I don't think you really have thought through the above post, Eternal. By not charging a membership fee for access to the forum, as others have suggested, I am doing exactly what you want me to do, keeping it free in general. By charging for classifieds I am doing exactly what you want me to do - taking a cut from those who benefit monetarily from the forum. This has nothing to do with fashion discussion on the forum - this is a separate thing.

But, if you think that I don't put work in this forum and that anyone can replicate the level of access to privileged information we have here, please feel free to start one and see how easy it is.

But how many people selling their stuff on here really benefit from that? Most people selling there old pieces do not really make any money of it, myself included.
Its like a second hand market most of the time, people selling stuff they don't need any more to get new pieces.
I wouldn't mind paying a small fee though.


Concerning the second point and please don't get me wrong, I really appreciate that you and other people created this place and for sure put a whole lot of work in it but ain't it all of us who make this place special? I mean this privileged information you are talking about is provided by far more people than you and the other moderators, no?

[Faust]

Oh, don't get me wrong - of course I appreciate the members contribution - they are INVALUABLE. I really don't mean to sound that I am doing ALL the work. But I do bring in content that other members cannot, and so does lowrey through Scoute. It's not just about posting pictures found on other websites - we now have access to Paris showrooms, interviews, exclusive photos, etc. - this is no ordinary web surfing, but real work that used to be reserved for professional fashion journalists and photographers only.

[TheNotoriousT]

Oh, don't get me wrong - of course I appreciate the members contribution - they are INVALUABLE. I really don't mean to sound that I am doing ALL the work. But I do bring in content that other members cannot, and so does lowrey through Scoute. It's not just about posting pictures found on other websites - we now have access to Paris showrooms, interviews, exclusive photos, etc. - this is no ordinary web surfing, but real work that used to be reserved for professional fashion journalists and photographers only.

Okay, I can see / agree with that.

As for the payment for the classifieds I guess you just have to go for it and see how it goes from there.
If we are really talking about something like 1% I really don't see what we are talking about.

[marco-von]

I can't think of anything more beneficial too someone trying to sell on unwanted/unused clothes than this.

Take away this and ebay and try your luck at the pawnshop dudes.

Barry the pawnshop guy : "i'll give you 40 quid for the boots"

SZ example A : "BUT BUT i paid 1000 euro's i got email print out invoice!, do you know who the fuck XXX is?"

Barry the pawnshop guy : "ice cube from the movie?"

SZ example A : "............."

Barry the pawnshop guy : "good luck with rent/mortgage homeslice"

this all hurts my brain more than child birth hurts vagina's.

[CUTUP]

What if the classifides were still kept free, but special privlages where given to those who paid a fee?

ie. Highlighted posts in the classifides to draw more attention to your items, the ability to bump more often then the rules would normally allow, letting you put links in your sig's to your items ect..

Kind of like a basic selling package vs an enhanced/priveliged one

Maybe we can get the best of both worlds? or am I suggesting the impossible??