About the Forum Only Selling / Trading area

[Hoss]

Hi Corralers!

I have been receiving many PM's over the last couple of days in reference to this very area of the Good Ol' Corral.

I'd like to have a serious, but friendly, discussion with all of you about what we can do to make the Corral a better free sellers/traders place.

Some folks are asking for a revamp of the rules here in this area, namely the thread limits. Some think it helps keep "an even playing field" for all of the sellers, while some think that with more threads per seller, competition would flourish. I'd like to hear more about this topic if you have any input.

A couple have asked for a seperate selling area altogether, with no threads to mess with, just individual stores. This would really allow our sellers to post as many or as few items as they want. It would also provide tons of seller options like invoicing, paypal billing and feedback scores. I think we can also manage to keep it a free area for all of you to use, with advertisement support and/or donations.

Another "off threads" idea is a classifieds area. What do you all think of that? It's simpler than stores, but will still leave our sellers with a lot of leg work managing sales, shipping.

Of course, I'm all ears for your suggestions/ideas as well...this is YOUR selling area, so you guys and gals are in charge!

Thanks for taking a few minutes to give me some feedback on the selling area, so I know what you all need to succeed!

On another topic, some have said that the Corral just doesn't have enough traffic to make good sales. I think there are a couple of sellers who would say otherwise, but these guys have put in hard work and time to make it happen. I don't think they have just waited for the sales to fall into their lap they have:

Participated in the Forums:

You should participate in the forums, and not just be a "seller only" presence here. I'd be more apt to buy from someone who has put in his or her time here, and gotten to know folks here, than buy from someone who just pops in to update his/her for sale thead!

Helped the Corral Grow:

Are you telling people off the Corral about your items, or are you just pasting ads all over the internet hoping someone will take a bite? The Corral is not the busiest forum there ever was, but word of mouth is letting us grow a little more each day. With my work schedule, I don't have as much time as I
used to trying to to drive folks over here from other boards/websites, so if you want to get some eyeballs on your ads, you should try to plug your ads wherever you can. It's probably easier to sent folks to one place than it is to several/many places (I hope you try and send em here, tho!).

These are just a few ideas I have though of, but I'm sure others could suggest ways to improve your sales. Anyway, please take a few moments to give some input here. I want all of you to be satisfied and also to know I am willing to give anything a try to help you guys put some $$$$ in your pockets. I appreciate every one of you and I want you all to succeed with your sales here!

Hoss

[alamocity]

Since I'm relatively the new seller here, I'd like to chime in first if I may.
I'm from the old school of Usenet. Not certain how many here remember rec.arts.comics.marketplace? That preceded this particular style of forum. It was simply postings of collectibles for sale that dealt with comic books.
A daily posting would look something like this: FS - FANTASTIC FOUR 58-60 - KIRBY - $20 OBO
A seller could post individual, custom listings such as this example and therein would lie the beginnings of competition. Another seller could have the same issues and immediately post a lesser cost. It would be up to the buyer to filter through the titles of the postings or their favorite sellers. Yes, it could get hectic but if you're a buyer looking for great deals, this is the way to go.
The FS posting would essentially diminish the need for threads. Either a person buys the item, makes an offer perhaps, and then the posting is closed. The sellers would have to manage their postings whenever inventory is sold, and that is the only cumbersome task I can envision.
It's up in the air. I found Usenet to be fun and engaging.

Mark Gordon
Alamo City Collectibles

[kenmacny]

I'm happy with the results I get with just a single thread that runs the length of the current sale. By the time I think its too cumbersome to manage most buyers have enough in their "carts" to end the thread with everyone satisfied. I'm a big fan of nature taking its course for the most part. If a sales technique or sellers' general feel doesn't appeal to the masses they won't get sales and they will move on.

What I do miss from the old corral was the one page that you could show that had all the latest posts from all sub folders in chronological order on one page. Can we still do that?

And my #1 wish still remains a simple bulk uploader for a comicbids or whatever store format offered. I know they are expensive but I can still dream.

As always Hoss, thanks for letting me play in your sandbox. Ken

[nocutename]

Hoss, here's my take for what it is worth. I am not a true seller in the typical sense. I buy to read and then sell off parts to fund more purchases. For me I like the forum style sales threads over a store. It is easy to start up and non-cumbersome for new members. I had opened a store last month only as a dumping ground for slow moving items. I tried doing 30 day buy it now on ebay and got hit with 15% fvf so I figured I would try a store. It turns out that I don't have enough inventory and do better listing my odds and ends on craigslist.

For me as a buyer, I enjoy looking at the sales threads and when I do have the funds to purchase, it is fun to see what else is going to be offered. If we only had stores then it would be like the equivalent of rack shopping and figuring out what you want. Personally, I would get bored and move on. I am more of a end-cap compulsive buyer that is lured by bright pretty covers.

[comicart4u]

As a buyer, I really like the format as it is. It's exciting waiting to see what comics will be put up for sale each day and it's very easy to ask questions or comment. Much more personal than a store. The sellers get a sense of what the buyers want and can act on that rather than putting up a bunch of random stuff at once and hoping for the best.

:take: Ha!

[comicguy]

I have to admit I like the current format for buying and selling. List it and take the bites modify the list and then move on. This has worked for me, but I am not opposed to trying something differant as well. I like looking through threads to see what is offered every couple of days and decide if it is something I want to buy or not. Hope that helps? Thanks for letting all of us sell here, I know I really appreciate it. It has helped me to get rid of a bunch of comics as I downsize my collection.

[grininbarrett]

Some folks are asking for a revamp of the rules here in this area, namely the thread limits. Some think it helps keep "an even playing field" for all of the sellers, while some think that with more threads per seller, competition would flourish. I'd like to hear more about this topic if you have any input.Why not bump it up to 2-3 threads per seller. That way a seller could differentiate between horror/everything else, Bronze/moderns, $1 books/$3 books, or whatever floats their boat. 3 threads per seller may become unwieldy, but we could try it out and drop it to 2 if you think that works better.


A couple have asked for a separate selling area altogether, with no threads to mess with, just individual stores. This would really allow our sellers to post as many or as few items as they want. It would also provide tons of seller options like invoicing, paypal billing and feedback scores. I think we can also manage to keep it a free area for all of you to use, with advertisement support and/or donations.Can you do this without diluting the value you have here? How much of a benefit is it for paypal billing? otherwise you just send the buyer a paypal invoice? what was the traffic like for comicsbid? sales seemed pretty slow and it just didn't catch on. I think that may be the end result again.


Another "off threads" idea is a classifieds area. What do you all think of that? It's simpler than stores, but will still leave our sellers with a lot of leg work managing sales, shipping. I like this idea

Hoss, thanks again for such a great site!

[korfcomicsgroup]

I like the current format. I've ran a couple of threads in the past and have enjoyed the process. As a seller, I like the fact that things are kept easy here.

[Drakesfuture]

I like the current format too. It is a bit of work, but kinda fun to list all my funny books and see who takes.

I do think it is best when the sellers participate elsewhere on the forum too though.

[dc kev]

Another vote for the current format. It seems to work for just about everyone.