Suggestion to improve Buy & Sell Forum

weeguy · 29th February 2004

Hi,

Been surfing around the Buy & Sell forums recently trying to get myself a second-hand camera. Anyway, I observed a particular trend that seems to be going on. I'm not too sure about this, but I believe the majority of the users here are Singaporeans. However, with the growing popularity of ClubSnap, there has been an influx of foreign users as well. Of course we'ld welcome them and we don't have the right to stop them from participating in the Buy & Sell forum.

As such, when they attempt to sell/buy items, certain users are misled by the price they quoted since they're quoting in a different currency.

Well, to prevent unneccesary disappointment/misunderstanding in the future, maybe we could add a clause to the guideline, reminding users to quote prices with appropriate currency symbols such as US$, S$ or RM. Or maybe other users have better suggestions?

togu · 29th February 2004

Thread moved to Feeback.

The_Cheat · 3rd March 2004

As for the suggestion of currency, I think it's rather hard for Singaporeans to add a S before the $ sign, since we rarely do that. The moderators may add that clause into the guidelines, but *seriously* how many people actually read those guidelines?

Think a better way would be to request foreigners to state their price in their currency, like US$ or RM.

Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, on the topic of improving the Buy & Sell forum, have the admin thought about decentralising the forum? The marketplace seems to be attracting a lot of viewers at any one time, and a post that's posted in the morning could be pushed to the 3rd or 4th page within 24 hours!

I propose that maybe the Buy & Sell forum could expand, and people sell things according to different types of equipment... maybe a forum for buy and sell of digital camera, one for film camera, and one for other accessories. This would enable the people looking for certain item to shorten their search, somewhat.

However, I do foresee two problems. (1) having more forums mean more work for the moderators; (2) sellers may have to go into more than one forum when they sell a long list of unrelated goods. These are however small problems that could be easily work out, with careful and deliberate thoughts.

I really hope to see some order in the Buy & Sell forum.

Regards,
Adam

swimcraze · 3rd March 2004

can i suggest some form of rating system for buyers and sellers?

Darren · 3rd March 2004

Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding the currency symbol, not a lot we can do to enforce that members prefix the appropriate symbol. Will add in something to the guidelines to alert buyers and sellers though.

On sub-dividing the Buy&Sell into additional categories - we shall investigate and discuss if that makes sense.

Ratings - don't think that there is any frequent buyer or seller that does enough volume to justify having such a rating. Could also be a double-edged sword - being a frequent buyer/seller possibly identifies a person as an equipment junkie.

The_Cheat · 3rd March 2004

Originally Posted by Darren

Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding the currency symbol, not a lot we can do to enforce that members prefix the appropriate symbol. Will add in something to the guidelines to alert buyers and sellers though.

On sub-dividing the Buy&Sell into additional categories - we shall investigate and discuss if that makes sense.

Ratings - don't think that there is any frequent buyer or seller that does enough volume to justify having such a rating. Could also be a double-edged sword - being a frequent buyer/seller possibly identifies a person as an equipment junkie.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Would love to see changes in the Buy & Sell forum soon...

weeguy · 3rd March 2004

yup. no matter what the outcome is, just glad to know that the problems have been made known to the admin side. Thanks and do keep up the good work!! Gambatte!!

sfhuang · 3rd March 2004

Originally Posted by Darren

Ratings - don't think that there is any frequent buyer or seller that does enough volume to justify having such a rating. Could also be a double-edged sword - being a frequent buyer/seller possibly identifies a person as an equipment junkie.

A rating system is not based on the frequency/volume of sales or purchases that a buyer or seller makes. It's a fact that the buy/sell forum is the busiest and most visited in Clubsnap, and I think that a rating system is good for clubsnap and the people using the forum as an avenue to make their sales.

... and being labeled as an equipment junkie is not necessarily a bad thing. All IMHO.

Edmund · 17th March 2004

We are in the midst of planning for an improved Buy/Sell section and will take all these suggestions into account. Thanks for the thoughts and keep them coming!

29th February 2004	#1
weeguy Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Jurong, S'pore Posts: 196	Suggestion to improve Buy & Sell Forum Hi, Been surfing around the Buy & Sell forums recently trying to get myself a second-hand camera. Anyway, I observed a particular trend that seems to be going on. I'm not too sure about this, but I believe the majority of the users here are Singaporeans. However, with the growing popularity of ClubSnap, there has been an influx of foreign users as well. Of course we'ld welcome them and we don't have the right to stop them from participating in the Buy & Sell forum. As such, when they attempt to sell/buy items, certain users are misled by the price they quoted since they're quoting in a different currency. Well, to prevent unneccesary disappointment/misunderstanding in the future, maybe we could add a clause to the guideline, reminding users to quote prices with appropriate currency symbols such as US$, S$ or RM. Or maybe other users have better suggestions?

3rd March 2004	#3
The_Cheat Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,263	As for the suggestion of currency, I think it's rather hard for Singaporeans to add a S before the $ sign, since we rarely do that. The moderators may add that clause into the guidelines, but seriously how many people actually read those guidelines? Think a better way would be to request foreigners to state their price in their currency, like US$ or RM. Just my 2 cents. Anyway, on the topic of improving the Buy & Sell forum, have the admin thought about decentralising the forum? The marketplace seems to be attracting a lot of viewers at any one time, and a post that's posted in the morning could be pushed to the 3rd or 4th page within 24 hours! I propose that maybe the Buy & Sell forum could expand, and people sell things according to different types of equipment... maybe a forum for buy and sell of digital camera, one for film camera, and one for other accessories. This would enable the people looking for certain item to shorten their search, somewhat. However, I do foresee two problems. (1) having more forums mean more work for the moderators; (2) sellers may have to go into more than one forum when they sell a long list of unrelated goods. These are however small problems that could be easily work out, with careful and deliberate thoughts. I really hope to see some order in the Buy & Sell forum. Regards, Adam __________________ Send me a PM if you need me to comment on a picture or a series.

29th February 2004	#2
togu Moderator Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: http://www.gvmedia.com.sg Posts: 5,565	Thread moved to Feeback.

3rd March 2004	#4
swimcraze Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: my heart in san francisco Posts: 2,256	can i suggest some form of rating system for buyers and sellers?

3rd March 2004	#5
Darren ClubSNAP Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: ClubSNAP HQ Posts: 7,483	Thanks for the feedback. Regarding the currency symbol, not a lot we can do to enforce that members prefix the appropriate symbol. Will add in something to the guidelines to alert buyers and sellers though. On sub-dividing the Buy&Sell into additional categories - we shall investigate and discuss if that makes sense. Ratings - don't think that there is any frequent buyer or seller that does enough volume to justify having such a rating. Could also be a double-edged sword - being a frequent buyer/seller possibly identifies a person as an equipment junkie.

17th March 2004	#9
Edmund ClubSNAP Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: ClubSNAP Posts: 2,065	We are in the midst of planning for an improved Buy/Sell section and will take all these suggestions into account. Thanks for the thoughts and keep them coming!