Raising funds - how should we?

TTony

This discussion was created from comments split from: Guitars4You - 3 stunning deals - all sold.

guitars4you said:

@Ttony can we move this on to 'Gear' and 'Guitars' - or start a new blog

Done

TTony

So, you can sell close to £10k worth of guitars in a day on the forum.

I struggled to sell 60 calendars in a month to raise the funds to keep the forum going.



There's a message there.

Bridgehouse

TTony said:

So, you can sell close to £10k worth of guitars in a day on the forum.

I struggled to sell 60 calendars in a month to raise the funds to keep the forum going.



There's a message there.

We're not very good salesmen?

Actually I think there is a really strong message there.

How much grumbling do you think there would be if you did what they do over on Basschat? £7 an ad, or £20 for unlimited ads per year?

They get just as many ads per day over there as well.....

guitars4you

TTony said:

So, you can sell close to £10k worth of guitars in a day on the forum.

I struggled to sell 60 calendars in a month to raise the funds to keep the forum going.



There's a message there.

The forum generates a tremendous amount of interest - no 2 ways about it - I would not post products on there if they did not sell - But all three sales on this occasion did not come from the forum entirely - Slight distorted to a degree as the customer who purchased the LP was via my own site - However 2 or 3 strong contenders probably would have, or could have, purchased it - so it is a powerful tool

guitars4you

Bridgehouse said:

TTony said:

So, you can sell close to £10k worth of guitars in a day on the forum.

I struggled to sell 60 calendars in a month to raise the funds to keep the forum going.



There's a message there.

We're not very good salesmen?

Actually I think there is a really strong message there.

How much grumbling do you think there would be if you did what they do over on Basschat? £7 an ad, or £20 for unlimited ads per year?

They get just as many ads per day over there as well.....

valid comment - My initial comment on this is based on how to admin it - In principle I would not object to a small fee, assuming all that the one off fee allowed, updates, alterations. comments etc etc as it does now, so the fee is for 1 posting - I'm saying this as both a retailer and a private seller - Life has no guarantees - neither does opening a shop door everyday, so neither will listing a product on FB - It would need to be an easy admin regarding payment - One reason I use interparcel so much is that it is so easy to work

DrCornelius

@TTony ;Maybe to keep the admin down you just asked people to consider paying a voluntary PayPal donation once something has sold via the site , even 1 pct of the sale value of gear sold on here would make life a whole lot easier I'm sure. I'd certainly pay it 

Colms2005

A voluntary contribution paid upon a successful sale is expected on many other forums such as the UMGF. This website provides a great service to people in the U.K. and Ireland as well as continental Europe. i would perhaps stay away from a fixed percentage idea however as it might be counter productive.

dindude

I'm finding the classifieds increasingly difficult to sell things, there are people who will go after an absolute bargain as a punt but it's rare to find a good old match of someone who actually what's said item and is willing to pay a realistic price for it. There simply isn't the footfall of e-bay and the like - unfortunately any charge I fear would just tank the classifieds further.

I do still appreciate it being there though..........!

Brize

andyoz said:

I''ve never seen a 2003 Braz LP for south of £5k...private or dealer

Yeah, but notice that they hang around for ages and are then probably sold for well under the asking price. Braz boards have more value in the minds of sellers than buyers, and I say that as an owner of a 2003 LP with a Braz board.

TTony said:

So, you can sell close to £10k worth of guitars in a day on the forum.

Yep, if priced sensibly.

Deadman

This is obviously worthy of debate elsewhere as this thread keeps bumping but I'd like to see frets binned and replaced with something, maybe a star? for each (£10-£20?) contribution. For all it's faults the FDP does it and I think it works. I didn't want a calendar but wouldn't hesitate in adding to the coffers.

danny_777

Colms2005 said:

A voluntary contribution paid upon a successful sale is expected on many other forums such as the UMGF. This website provides a great service to people in the U.K. and Ireland as well as continental Europe. i would perhaps stay away from a fixed percentage idea however as it might be counter productive.

On TZUK, we specifically ask for a contribution of 10% of sale proceeds to charity if you're a dealer selling on the forum.

digitalscream

DrCornelius said:

@TTony ;Maybe to keep the admin down you just asked people to consider paying a voluntary PayPal donation once something has sold via the site , even 1 pct of the sale value of gear sold on here would make life a whole lot easier I'm sure. I'd certainly pay it 

This isn't a bad shout, actually. We'd have to be careful - we don't want any stigma attached to people who don't make the donation, even though we'd like them to.

Bridgehouse

We have to be careful that those that do contribute and donate to the site (including the admins) don't end up subsidising the ability for others to sell and potentially make money on here I think...

Adamski

I think that's all a bad idea and is setting up for some bum hurt along the way! 

Why not something like a yearly fee to the classifieds? Maybe when you join you can use it for 90 days for free, then to have access you pay something like £5 a year. That way you get to use it and see what it's like for selling stuff, then you can choose to have access for a nominal fee. 

I dunno. Whatever is done it's gonna be a sore subject with some....

Bridgehouse

Adamski said:

I think that's all a bad idea and is setting up for some bum hurt along the way! 

Why not something like a yearly fee to the classifieds? Maybe when you join you can use it for 90 days for free, then to have access you pay something like £5 a year. That way you get to use it and see what it's like for selling stuff, then you can choose to have access for a nominal fee. 

I dunno. Whatever is done it's gonna be a sore subject with some....

Basschat does a yearly access fee as I mentioned above.

It will be a sore subject, yes, but equally I guess it's a sore subject for the admins and it's their resource after all...

musicman100

What is the rough cost of upkeep on a forum like this?

ourmaninthenorth

If this forum is struggling for funds, a yearly subscription membership - giving access to the classifieds and the off topic & speakers corner, seems to be something to explore. 

I'd certainly take up such a membership. 

Dopesick

I'd happily pay a fee every six months. A tenner would be fine.

Knowing my luck I'll pay the fee and 'inexplicably' be happy with my board and never buy anything again.

Bridgehouse

Of course, there's a fretboard PayPal gift address that people could donate to at any time in lieu of a formal membership fee..

And I suspect the cost is more that people realise - remember, fees go up as traffic increases.. 

The bit people forget about is the time and effort that goes in to keep it running which would cost a hell of a lot if it were charged for which the admin team give freely at the moment..

Chalky

Bridgehouse said:

Of course, there's a fretboard PayPal gift address that people could donate to at any time in lieu of a formal membership fee..

And I suspect the cost is more that people realise - remember, fees go up as traffic increases.. 

The bit people forget about is the time and effort that goes in to keep it running which would cost a hell of a lot if it were charged for which the admin team give freely at the moment..

Charging people does not automatically mean people will pay. As for the Classifieds, places like Gumtree will remain free so its not like there is nowhere else to go.  Got no problem with trying to monetise a site, but don't get arsey when a lot of customers leave and don't come back. Once usage enters the downward S-curve its too late (plenty of erstwhile famous .com businesses learned this bit the hard way).

DrCornelius

I hear you Chalky and I don't know about you but I've bought and sold quite a bit through the site this year and pretty much every transaction bar 1 has been smooth as silk and I've met some cracking people at the same time.

Ive had stuff on Gumtree and on here simultaneously with Gumtree at a higher price and have hoped it would sell on here first because of that very reason. I'd pay for that clubby feel any day of the week