You just can't give them away!

[kbetts]

...dozens of problems in one year to one in two years.

Seems obvious as 70% of the people that were looking, aren't anymore.  I bought and sold many bows but my favorite was trading "stuff" with others....since the change,"0". I miss the meeting of new people through PM's and such.  Not worth $30 every year though.

[Jakeemt]

Well said. My feeling is that we are all guests here. Nobody is reaching out and asking me to come here.      [/QB]

I have to respectfully disagree. The site owner and moderates ask me to come here. The more posts members make and traffic they generate the more sponsors will want to pay for advertising here. They know that a member or two will click on one of the links above do a little browsing and buy something. Same with the little hobby business. They can make all the products they want but, without people to sell them to they can't make a little extra on the side. I just bought some ace  broadheads from Kustom King and some D97 from 3 rivers not all that long ago. I found both those sites through this forum. When I built my first woodies I used supplies from Kustom King, 3 rivers, and Surewood. Then built them with help from this site. So really it is a 3 way street. I needed the site for help on how to build them and where to buy supplies from, those business needed a way fro me to find them, and the forum needed active members to help and direct me so their sponsors have a reason to keep up the advertising.
See my point?

Jake

[foxbo]

I've paid the 30 bucks since there was a charge for the classifieds. I enjoy being able to purchase or sell stuff on this site. I don't believe I've advertised something for sale in the last two years. I believe the site got more action before the 30 buck charge. Not sure I will keep it up as the classifieds seem to be a bit stagnant with the present system. I liked the old system better and taking a chance was the way it was. 30 bucks doesn't guarantee to keep out the undesirables.

[olddogrib]

IMHO the "minimum post" rule took care of the "scamming". It wasn't the mods responsibility to begin with. A little common sense goes a long way, but you're not going to eliminate dishonest people.  I was lucky that I never had a single problem here, not have I had the first problem since taking my commerce elsewhere, with no rules of any kind.  A little research indicating that the majority of somebody's posts is  on a classifieds tells you all you need to know!

[Bowwild]

Quite a discussion.  

While I agree the market is a bit disinterested in buying the past 2 years, I haven't attributed it to the way the Classified's work.  

It would be my guess that most who are interested in buying and selling are willing contributors. Those who decline to contribute are probably less inclined to buy or sell anyway.  Good for them, they probably show more restraint and common sense than I do!  Of course there are exceptions.  

In the case of us lefties, I think some of the bows I own have been passed around a lot.  I can say for sure some bows I've seen in the classifieds (I check em just for fun at least once a day -- every time I log into Trad Gang) I would have bought 3-5 years ago. These days I am much more picky after having tried many.

Accept for a couple people here I've known outside TradGang, all of the people I've met "virtually" and feel like I now "know" have been lefties I've done "business" with in the classifieds; RW, Billy, John, Bucky, and half dozen others.

[PaulDeadringer29]

You want a bow to move quick? Advertise you'll take $5 off a day until it sells :-)

[Tall Paul]

My only concern is that maybe we have less traffic here due to the $30 fee.

I know this is a slow time of year for bow hunting websites, but it seems like a lot of people-that were regulars-have disappeared.

I just wonder if that is partially due to the fee.

[Paul/KS]

There is a similar discussion going on at a muzzle loading site that I,and at least a couple other guys here too   , frequent.
Before I had good buys with no problems but now, at my age I have enough "stuff" so will just save my money for the St Jude's auction and see what comes up.

[Archie]

I agree that the mods shouldn't have to mess with this stuff.  It should be a "buyer beware" system.  BUT, all of TG gets a bad rap when a few bad deals happen.  

So on the one hand, I won't pay the fee just to view the classifieds until I have $30 to give away.  

On the other hand, I thought TG was worth the $ per year just for what I learned from being part of it, so I became a contributor.  Lately, however, I think it has changed a bit.  It seems like I'm seeing less posting by the "old salts", and fewer action-packed bowhunting threads than before.  Previously, I decided to stop buying my trad bowhunting magazines, and spent the money on being a TG contributor.  Now I'm thinking of buying magazines again.

So, the long and the short of it to me is, I think maybe we should determine whether we want to be contributors to TG or not, and take the benefits (or lack thereof) with it, instead of thinking about paid access to the classifieds.

[LongStick64]

Here is what 30 bucks got me

1. Trust
2. Knowledgeable buyers
3. Trust
4. Smooth transactions
5. Dealing with people who are awesome to deal with

I've tried the other sites, and the experience is not the same as what the 30 bucks gets me here. But now that I sold all of the bows I wanted to, I guess I'll just enjoy browsing.

[Burnsie]

It all comes down to priorities.  I obviously don't know the financial situation of any Tradgang member,  but I can tell you I am a man of modest means and I know I piss away $30.00 on a lot less worthy things over the course of a year. Well worth it to me.  I spend $30.00 at the concession stand watching my kids High School sporting events.
I think it is more of a matter of principle for many folks.  They just don't think they should have to pay to use the classifieds, wouldn't matter if it were $5.00.  To each his own.

[Blackhawk]

10-4 Burnsie.

BTW, if you are spending your $30 just to look at the classifieds, then I think you are wasting your money.  For folks who want to sell a bow or some other hunting stuff occasionally...or buy something...then it's money not wasted.  

Yeah, it's been slow, but if the item is not overpriced, too heavy, too light, wronghanded, too short, too long, blah, blah, blah...then it will sell...I think.   :rolleyes:

[beaunaro]

I don't think $30 is to much to ask for all the knowledge, great people, respect, sponsor access, hunting stories, and fun tradgang has to offer.

I wonder how many users would be willing to pay $30 for full access, (not just for the classifieds)?

Would that make it seem more like you were getting your money's worth?

It's $2.50 per month.

I'm not a contributor at present because I have plenty of bows...(racks are overflowing.)

On the other hand, I never did quite figure out how paying $30 was eliminating dishonest sellers.

If I was a crook, I would just pay the $30, keep on dealing till I got thrown off.

Someone has to explain to me how a $30 fee makes it safer.

I never got a bad deal either way, so I'm not sure.

Then again, there are a lot of things I can't figure out.

[jhk1]

I like the way Archie put it at the end of his last post.  I pay the $30 fee and I use the classifieds, but I think of it as paying $30/year to subscribe to the entire site.  IMO the mods do a good job and the $30 fee helps keep this a great site without the free-for-all atmosphere of other places.

[Burnsie]

Because dead beat, dishonest people are typically lazy and usually broke.  Probably aren't willing to lay out the $30.00 bucks in hopes that they "may" be able to scam someone.  They want to scam for free,  which runs true with the way they think in general. Proof is that the fee has run off a lot of rift raft and the mods are much happier.

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by jhk1:
I like the way Archie put it at the end of his last post.  I pay the $30 fee and I use the classifieds, but I think of it as paying $30/year to subscribe to the entire site.  IMO the mods do a good job and the $30 fee helps keep this a great site without the free-for-all atmosphere of other places.

X2

[Burnsie]

double post

[Babbling Bob]

I didn't pay on time last fall but got er done. Didn't cost no more than the gas to go to a good 3D shoot, or to and from a camp out with the little grand-dudes, or a drive down the road Saturday night for a flat-iron steak.  I may be the last member to be even able to buy another bow, but I bet I'm the best member here at watching the ads. I'm already very blessed and very thankful to have a bunch of good ole Bears to shoot.

You can bet-ur booty I'll find a way to get er done and be a supporting member next fall too.

[daveycrockett]

Originally posted by Babbling Bob:
I didn't pay on time last fall but got er done. Didn't cost no more than the gas to go to a good 3D shoot, or to and from a camp out with the little grand-dudes, or a drive down the road Saturday night for a flat-iron steak.  I may be the last member to be even able to buy another bow, but I bet I'm the best member here at watching the ads. I'm already very blessed and very thankful to have a bunch of good ole Bears to shoot.
 


     
You can bet-ur booty I'll find a way to get er done and be a supporting member next fall too.

         

[longbow fanatic 1]