It would obviously not be popular with some, but in much the same way as ebay has a listing fee it could provide some, no doubt much needed, income for STW towers.
I’m not thinking a lot, maybe 50p per add, with perhaps wanted adds staying free so people still get to sell their kit if someone else needs it?
I could see the wanted adds degenerating in to people trying to offload their vaguely relevant stuff, but I’m sure that would be self policing by the more vocal classifieds users.

What do you think, would you be willing to cough up? I would, especially if it was a nominal amount like 50p, I think it would stop a lot of the overly optimistic adds, & make finding stuff you need at sensible prices easier.
Perhaps the adds could have a time limit?

I don’t know if STW is THE secondhand market now, but since the demise of the old forum, and the ability to ‘sort by topic’ rather than by last post, I find it very hard to use & the constant ‘bumping’ means a new add only stays on the front page for a few hours.

Your thoughts?

No.

No.

NO.

No, if they start to charge it will become less of a place for “mates” to trade gear and everything will just become at least 50p more expensive, and people will not bother offering low value stuff on the basis that someone else might want it/be interested.
I also suspect that it might not be worth the faff for STW for the income.

Seems reasonable to me. 50p per week?

Could be though that admin of such could be complex and cost money meaning a charge like 50p per week wasn’t enough.

What do Mark/Chipps think?

No, send them a pint if you want to say thanks but keep it voluntary if you want the volume of traffic that the classifieds probably generates.

If they started charging we might as well just use ebay.

If I were selling a lot of stuff then an occasional donation would be a ‘consicience clearing’ gesture I suppose..

Seems reasonable to me

BLASPHEMER!

BURN HIM!!!

“…all I said was, ‘that fish was good enough for Jehovah…”

There’s a lot of discussion going on at the office regarding how to handle the classifieds – particularly the bumping issue. So far nothing manageable has really popped up. As soon as we’re able to do the sort by post time it will be implemented, which should solve the issue. But don’t hold your breath for it…

Any easy way round it is to RSS feed the classifieds by topic (Classifieds Topic RSS Feed)

If there’s going to be a charge for the adds, will there be a charge for the subtracts as well?

If there’s going to be a charge for the adds, will there be a charge for the subtracts as well?

Poor, very poor. Is that your coat?

Yep, I’m on my way out.

^ I always pay for takeaways…

I don’t think the admin would be that tough, just use paypal to get through to the ‘add new’ page, the time limit would be tougher, but I suppose there must be a way of creating a filter that automatically deletes posts after a set time. I also do think a time limit wouldn’t be necessary if new adds went to the top of the page, & subsequent bumping of old adds didn’t put them back to the top, it would also mean people would make much more use of the search facility.

I’d love to know how much the ‘buy us a pint’ generates, but I bet its not enough to keep the forum free. By the looks of the amount of traffic in the classifieds, people are using STW instead of ebay, not a bad thing but I don’t see why STW shouldn’t benefit from it. I also understand that particularly cheap goods may not be worth selling, but if wanted adds were free, then there is no reason you couldn’t sell anything provided someone has asked for it.

I’m sure its all doable, I just don’t know if its worth doing.
Perhaps Mark will enlighten us by gracing us with his presence on this thread, if he sees it.

No, donations are fine. Also ads are adding to revenue

dont think so either,
not because i’m a skinflint,

how would wtd ads work, would they have to pay if a transaction goes through???
i’ve posted up free stuff before, i would be less likely to see if anyone wanted my junk before i threw it out.
would that mean that traders would be allowed in, as that would only be fair then????

too many minefields, even on the old site classifieds disappeared off the front page pretty quickly,

Just seen tomdebruin’s reply, I guess that will sort out most of the problems if & when it’s implemented.
I still don’t see why STW can’t earn a few quid from it though 😉

Jenga – Member
If there’s going to be a charge for the adds, will there be a charge for the subtracts as well?

your right though should only the seller pay, what about the buyer that has used the site, should they pay a fee for using the classifieds
where does it all stop???

tom, if you’re looking at this thread, can you tell us whether the search function will be changed at all? It might just be me, but it doesn’t seem to be quite as good at finding what I’m looking for (eg ‘Hope Pro II’) as on the old forum.
And I know, looking a gift horse in the mouth and all that, so feel free to say it’s fine and won’t be changed 🙂

colande….I think you missed the point somewhere!

Ive bought and sold a few bits and bobs over the years which for me is how the classifieds works
Buying and selling from mates – everyones happy

Its pretty obvious that some people run it as a business though

In which case it only seems fair they pay their way as they must be saving shedloads on ebay and paypal fees

Maybe youre allowed a handful of free ads then are asked to make a donation for any extras?

TBH i’d probably go and use the bikeradar classifieds if there was a charge on here (though i have donated a little bit by paypal).

Jenga – Member
colande….I think you missed the point somewhere!

haha 😀

nah, i understood it!

it will become less of a place for “mates” to trade gear

all my mates consider STW to be ar*e*ole paradise and never visit it 🙁

and everything will just become at least 50p more expensive

why MORE than 50p extra ?

and people will not bother offering low value stuff

could have things under a tenner still free ?

simonfbarnes – Member

it will become less of a place for “mates” to trade gear

all my mates consider STW to be ar*e*ole paradise and never visit it

You do realise what you’ve just said there, don’t you?

simonfbarnes – Member
and people will not bother offering low value stuff

could have things under a tenner still free ?

hope wheel for sale £9.99 + postage (unfortunately postage will be £60)

Be great if it was an areole paradise 😉

As soon as the word ‘Paypal’ was mentioned I switched off. I wont go near anything with Paypal as payment. Once bitten by their Customer service forever shy. I was once bitten by Dave Hinde’s customer service. Same applies.

The volume of traffic generated through the ads being free probably does have a benefit for STW. Selling advertising space on the site is enhanced by the number of ‘hits’ the site receives; the busier the classifieds are, the more ‘hits’ are recorded, the better to gain revenue through commercial advertising.

I use it quite a lot, but would like to think i contribute to other areas of the forum enough to be a true member of our community. What kind of riles me is people who register and the first thing they do is put a FS ad up,(three like that on the FS front page now, and one very notorious Evil-owning member as proof).

Another (non bike) forum I visit started charging for their classified ads, it went from a place you could get good deals and do people favours to a ghost town in under a month, no one uses it now ’cause it’s too much hassle. keep it free I say, donations work just fine.

I agree keep it free, but maybe have a time/posting limit that you must reach before you can post classified ad…?

There was a figure quoted, not too long ago, about the donations total. Think it was before the hack, but IIRC donations for a month amounted to £40. That won’t go very far towards running costs.

Its not a bad idea.

It might stop people constantly reposting the same ads day after day pushing the ads by less impatient people down the list.

Of course the tight ar$es wouldn’t like it (and there are plenty of them on this site) and would probably go elsewhere, such as Bike Tragic.

hora – Member
As soon as the word ‘Paypal’ was mentioned I switched off. I wont go near anything with Paypal as payment.

I’m sure most people would be happy about that Mark 😉

How about allowing subscribers to the mag to post for free and then allowing non subscribers x items or posts per year/month or pay for more adds?

I’m sure there was a thread disussion the donations system. If I remember correctly, somebody from the mag said that donations made in total, since it was introduced, was less than £50!

I once gave a tenner after selling a grand worth of broken up bike (smugly pats himself on the back), which I thought was more than fair. eBay would have been a LOT more than that…

Junkyard, I was shot down a long time ago for suggesting a two tear forum, you don’t want to go there 😉

resurrection, £50 probably wouldn’t buy them all a pint & kebab each, I think they deserve better.

I really can’t believe that 50p per add would stop someone advertising something, it may stop some of the more optimistic posts though. Hora does have a point, paypal ain’t the best, & that may put off more people.

Come on STW, give us your perspective.

I addicted to the classifieds at the momement and have bought ST a beer.

I’m completely non-plused as to why anyone, other than a few blokes in an office in Todmorden, would even think charging for ads is a good idea, bizarre.