to sell or not to sell?

michael-king

michael-king

Gold forum user
CAT Member
Messages
4,336
Ok.. I was responding to a thread that vanished... It was asking about advertising on the forum.. And I think its worth a discussion... So here was what I responded:

I can see both sides of this debate, the main 2 issues are...

Awareness of a product/item helps all tiger owners, and I say all owners as you don't need to be a cat member to participate on the forum...though I believe people should as it supports the mechanism that's assisting you.

The forum is a great place to gain support to help remanufacture parts as with the air cleaner project, and it didn't compete with existing vendors or indeed the CAT si that was win/win and was done by guys trying to legitimatly help owners being priced out if parts.

On the otherside if you are running a business I think it'd reasonable that if you advertise your services or products that its fair you pay a fee to do so on the forum, in return you could also have a logo and link to your website/contacts on the side of the page.. Or there could be a suppliers/services category on the forum for those sponsors.

The difficulty I see are those that stradle the fence... They maybe run parts or serivces on the side not as a legitimate business but certainly are making money from the hobby. They also often offer useful and free support to other enthusiasts, so at a certain point do you just say... You can be more open about your services but we need you to become a sponsor... Which is fair if we make others pay to spruke services... Or just continue the grey area where time to time we debate what is information and what us advertising?

I'd love to see some more involvement from some if the restorers and suppliers.. But know currently that can't really do it, or are nervous to...

My personal thought is a suppliers and services section people pay an annual fee to list in.. And then open the door for them to be more open about products and services.

Just my .02
 
My Post

Figuring out the system, not easy even for a guy that has stumbled thru several company insurance IBM systems many Windows versions.

I am working on a poll and something to take to the board and membership meeting. As strange as it seems lots of guys who attend meetings regularly post only on old email thread.

Look for a poll and a thread soon. I can't figure out how to make it members only.

As a director and member who went to nearly every meeting since 2011 and I get lots of feedback as to what guys think and want.

Sure there are a a lot of guys who don't post but there are guys that just pick up the phone or PM or email.

We did not do "Forum Filtering," as Norm's for sale ad was left to stand. The statement is another Norm riddle I don't get.
Rome was not built in a day. I would like to find a place for hobby Pro and even Craigslist finds. SAOCA has a specific section just for internet leads.

Like to move this thread over after I post the poll as you can reply with your .02 cents, "like the Most Interesting man in the world," fictional advert guy yours is worth at least $1.99 AU Dollars. Aussies are too smart to have pennies anyway aren't they:)
 
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michael-king said:
Awareness of a product/item helps all tiger owners, and I say all owners as you don't need to be a cat member to participate on the forum...though I believe people should as it supports the mechanism that's assisting you.
Click to expand...

BINGO! Its about the protecting/promoting and restoring the marque.....not a popularity/political contest.

My vote is for a section that lists only Tiger parts vendors with links and what they offer. Open to all who support the Tiger with parts and services. A one stop shop to find what you need.

The for sale/wanted should be for individuals only.

Some numbers -

1023 - number of forum members.
44 - number of forum members with more than 100 posts.
3162 - total number of threads on the forum.
63% - % of threads in one section.

720 - number of CAT members (2014)
33.5% - % of total club members (2014) that live in CA
66.5% - % of total club members (2014) who live outside CA.

CAT is not a California majority club. 2/3 of membership fees are from members that cannot attend most events or meetings. The forum is where the majority of the CAT club gets advice, information and leads on parts.

Tiger Tales: Should be printed by exception only (those without computers living in a windowless cabin in Montana). Most members should access a members only section for a .pdf. I get MUCH more information from the forum than TT. Its nice to see the events in CA covered but the majority of club members did not attand and thus the interest is low. TT is dated by the time it goes to print so the wanted/for sale section is not needed. This will greatly reduce printing and shipping costs.

Thats my $35 membership worth of opinion.
 
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Ted

Kasinsky is not a member Duke:)

I am stewing on how to do the poll .
 
sell

duke,
you could have read the news letter in the length of time it took you to come up with those stats.
 
Tiger Tales

The push back on mailing TT is from the old school members who think that a online TT would be copied and pasted about to non members and membership would suffer. I'd like to post some of the secretary notes but I'd also like to start rating threads and there is no boring star:D
 
Who wants to have to print Tiger Tails in order to have a copy you can hold in your hands and refer to from time to time? Not to mention, anything I print at home is nowhere near the quality we get from the current printer. It's nice to have the history of the club filed away in hard copy...yes, I'm old school on this issue! Kirk
 
hottigr said:
Who wants to have to print Tiger Tails in order to have a copy you can hold in your hands and refer to from time to time? Not to mention, anything I print at home is nowhere near the quality we get from the current printer. It's nice to have the history of the club filed away in hard copy...yes, I'm old school on this issue! Kirk
Click to expand...

I like a hard copy if it has info I want to reference. I would print the pages I want. Would it be great to have every TT ever produced online for reference??
 
Newsletter is a different discussion.
I have done editorial roles for these on several occasions. I think teae has the best solution, a different rate if you get digital or printed copies. I like printed for the aforementioned reasons.

Also reading event reports is also useful in encouraging people to attend meetings and shows the club is social and active entity.. Not just a parts and tech resource.
 
sell

duke,
every good accountant I have known has always asked one question. how do you want the numbers to read? every way is still legal and correct.
 
65beam said:
duke,
every good accountant I have known has always asked one question. how do you want the numbers to read? every way is still legal and correct.
Click to expand...


Very interesting indeed.....

The original post by Norm is long gone...so be it for whatever lame reason.
For those that are interested the car is sold for $40k with a complete interior
and will eventually ship to Australia after a right hand conversion and some mods that were done on my Tiger. Final price somewhere around $65k....
There is so much lacking from this forum that is all most a joke.Oops I can expect some nasty emails in the morning

Moondoggie
 
Really?

Moondoggie said:
Very interesting indeed.....

The original post by Norm is long gone...so be it for whatever lame reason.
For those that are interested the car is sold for $40k with a complete interior
and will eventually ship to Australia after a right hand conversion and some mods that were done on my Tiger. Final price somewhere around $65k....
There is so much lacking from this forum that is all most a joke.Oops I can expect some nasty emails in the morning

Moondoggie
Click to expand...


It's good the car is sold the car. The only thing changed on the post is the riddle is gone XXXXX'd out . I am guessing that the Facebook link got the buyer, shoot it could have come from anywhere. A member told me he looked at it several months ago. You do not have the insight to even realize when someone is working towards a resolution of a problem that your marketing of transmissions was the first to feel the pain of rejection.
 
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Back to the original point, I think that there could be a dedicated page where vendors can register to have their contact info available. Maybe not advertising per se, where CAT charges a fee because some guys do stuff as side work or more for the fellowship and love of the cars. That's for you all to decide.

Maybe you have categories on that page and if a guy wants a fiberglass hood or a sway bar for Tigers, then you click on that topic and those vendors are present to contact. I would say that each vendor fills out a form with their contact info, categories that they participate in and you all 1 image that is limited in size.

Then they have no rights to even list in the "for sale/wanted section". Also, that could be passworded for paying members only to access to prevent a non paying member from fishing there. Then you have members who are trying to buy from one member and resell on Ebay at a profit. Nothing is perfect. But this at least keep it separated.

This forum is great and guys give advise and recommend people but word of mouth can be slow or someone may not like guy X, so they say to go to guy Y, etc. This method allows options for a guy to explore on his own.

Just my $.02
 
Another board has - "Buyer/Seller Feedback Thread. Post your experiences here."

It is very effective and self policing.
 
TT

For some info TEAE has most Rootes review online going back to 1976 .
All the one they can put their hands on.

That lot of hard work , and asking a lot to all the people that does voluntary work .

Gilles
 
Come on fellas , Not about Tiger Tales

We have discussed this at meetings several times. I would be happy to give my recollection of the reasons why things are the way they are. In a sense I threw a bone into the hungry Tiger pit and I am responsible for it.
D, Wilson and the TT editors over the years do a huge amount of work as VOLUNTEERS. My number is in the Roster only Warren in California and in the TT newsletter as well.

The by laws provide for meeting minutes in a old school manner.
 
I'm relatively new to the forum and club and don't fully understand the issue, but I get the idea there is some propriety issues with posting goods or services for sale on the forum without a fee. While I can understand that to a degree, seems to me that the businesses that this rule applies to are largely members too. I have seen a number of posts from those folks offering helpful suggestions without compensation so isn't this a give-and-take/win-win for Tiger owners? Vendors/businesses bring value to the Tiger community just as the folks making the repop pieces. Provided that vendors aren't posting their complete catalog and can operate with discretion, I don't see the point in operating underground.
I agree with all the ideas about a special vendor list etc if that's whats required.
The more information and resource available to the Tiger community the better...

"That's how it seems to me; I might be wrong..." -Dennis Miller:cool:

Cheers, -Kevin
 
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