I miss the old trading post - Page 19

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

Insulting MDC with such a comment is truly inappropriate. Other than the Trading Post selling privilege, this forum is a free resource. Your freedom to post should not be used to attack the very entity that provides you with that privilege. We do not tolerate such posting against MDC anymore than we would posting in such a way against a member.

She wasn't insulting MDC, she was giving honest feedback. Isn't that what this forum (q&s?) is about, and why this thread is over a dozen pages long?. I get the whole thing that this is place is free, but the feeling and vibe that you perpetuate on the boards - one resourcefulness (bartering, reusing, second hand purchases, trading, etc) - is essentially gone now that we have to PAY to use that feature. It's a valid point.

I also understand why people feel frustrated having to pay money to sell things that could help their families financially, but the main issue I'm seeing is with people who feel cheated that the wonderful resource that MDC used to be is being replaced with something that is more and more commercially driven. A lot of people are sad about that, and it's not an insult, it's just people sharing how they feel.

[knowerofnada]

Originally Posted by knowerofnada

With that said, I do not like the new TP because it has lost the community feel, as I said before it seems very commercialized and cold now, a real pain in the ass. I never find anything I want anymore, nor does anyone answer ISO ads. If you could keep the tiny tiny fees and ditch the format, it would be great :

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

What has changed from the previous setup (and by that I mean the very first TP forum we had) is that categories have been placed. Is that what you are referring to as "a real pain in the ass?" You would prefer everything be posted in one single forum no matter the items being sold? I think the format is being carried over because there was a request for more organization to ease browsing for specific items.

Yes, that's what the "pain in the ass" was referring to. The whole thing is just too tedious. I actually DID prefer the non-categorized, random ads. It was much, much easier to navigate. And it seemed more like community-type ads vs. commercial ones. I don't know if this is making sense. I had never experienced anything like the (original) TP before, and it was SO refreshing.

Thanks for trying to clarify, Cynthia!

[Satori]

Originally Posted by knowerofnada

Yes, that's what the "pain in the ass" was referring to. The whole thing is just too tedious. I actually DID prefer the non-categorized, random ads. It was much, much easier to navigate. And it seemed more like community-type ads vs. commercial ones. I don't know if this is making sense. I had never experienced anything like the (original) TP before, and it was SO refreshing.

Thanks for trying to clarify, Cynthia!

I have to agree, I liked it better this way as well. It was also much faster to quickly scan what was up for sale rather then going though different forums.

[knowerofnada]

Since there seems to be so much strife over the fees (even though I wholeheartedly disagree that they are unreasonable), what is the possibility that people could be charged ONLY if their item sells? Just a thought...

[kriket]

are we still doing feedback? I think its very valuable. I've done it on other boards where you have a "feedback" forum and when you do business with someone you start a thread with their name and leave your comment. It works really well, if you are going to buy something you can search for there name and read what others had to say about them.

Just wondering I think feedback is very important. I trust most people on mothering, but some can be... flaky

[AllisonK]

Not really sure how I feel about this but it was mentioned that a plus of the $30 fee was a digital subscription. I have a paper subscription (and like it, its mobile ) so what are other benefits besides trading post access?

Also soon I am re doing my business signature membership would I need to buy 2 memberships then?

ETA: nevermind I went and read the info. I understand now.

[caedmyn]

I don't have a problem with the fees now that I understand that you can still bump your threads and sell your item beyond the week or 6 weeks or whatever that you pay for, although I think I'd still prefer to pay, say 20 cents per item to list it. Most of the time it wouldn't be worth it to me to pay $1 to list one item, but I'll just wait until I have several items to sell and list them all in that week. Sure it's nice not having to pay fees, but there are lots of free forums out there (diaperswappers.com and thebabywearer.com for starters if they haven't already been mentioned) and these fees are much lower than the fees on the other pay-for-listing boards I've seen. It would be nice, though, if you could post an ISO without paying any fees. I rarely find whatever I'm ISO through posting, so paying for that wouldn't be worth it to me.

[beansricerevolt]

Thanks for explaining the fee. I was under the assumption that the thread would be pulled after the 1 week or 5.
Now that that is cleared up, I don't think the fee is to much but am sadden about a fee in general. Manly for the same reasons pp have mentioned.
I do understand why you want to charge and am very thankful that the "old" TP has kinda came back.
So THANK YOU!

[traceface]

The thing is,when the old Trading Post was up and busy and at its height, I wouldn't have minded paying these fees, which really are fairly minimal.

But now, 1) after this other-style format which didn't work out, 2) waiting many months to get the old-style back and 3) a lot of disappointment over fees -- I'm not sure I want to risk paying a fee to list stuff when the Trading Post forum just isn't very active anymore.

Essentially, with a listing fee, you are paying for a large number of eyes seeing your "for sale" posting. The new members who have joined over the past year may not even *know* there's a Trading Post on MDC. Their 1st go-to place for buy and sell may be diaperswappers or elsewhere - and they come to mothering.com just to talk/research.

I don't know, if it gets busy again with a lot of great listings and many "views", it may be worth it to me to buy the subscription.But the ship may have sailed on this one. There's a question of momentum: you can't just have a service essentially disappear for one year, then expect it to pick right back up.

[Cynthia Mosher]

Comments appreciated, both negative and positive. We'll review and respond. Thanks!