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kal Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 17850 Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:23 pm Post subject: Selling working projectors for parts? Should it be allowed? |
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While Curt has the final say in something like this and I may just be me, I don't really see the difference between selling a complete working projector, and selling one described as "perfectly good" but parted out as parts.
Curt makes a living off of selling CRT projectors and parts. He doesn't allow the sale of working CRT projectors here but for some reason he does allow parts sales (I wouldn't myself, but Curt's a nicer guy than me).
A posting like this helps sell the entire thing as a unit as everyone knows that it's a completely functional projector (as that's what it says). Someone could simply offer (say) $500 for the entire thing instead of $800 for the parts as listed and off they go...
I've seen a lot of people do this recently as a form a free advertising: They post that they have a functional working projector that they're parting out. I bet most of the time it just gets sold in a PM fully intact. I'm sure many don't do this on purpose (sorry if I made this sound like I'm pointing a finger at you Greg - just wanted to use your post as an example) but I'm just wondering if Curt should reconsider the rules.
Whatcha think Curt? Just a thought....
Kal
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Curt Palme CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 24296 Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I think I'll put a cap on that practice. It's no secret that sales for me are way down this year, so I'm doing some sound installations to supplement my income. Greg and I have done a lot of business in the past, so I wasn't too concened, (and as Pete said, it's an AMPRO!) but allow one, and the rest will follow.
I know I've lost some sales when parts are sold here in the quantity that they are being listed, but OK, from now on, the projector parts listed here MUST BE PARTS. None of this 'the projector is whole and working, but it's being parted out' thing.
Trust me, you don't want this site to go down due to my sales going dead, do ya?
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draganm
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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yeah well a system with rules means sooner or later the rules will be broken. I like the forum but don't find the FS area of any use IMO. I have listed stuff here, waited 2 weeks, then sold it within a day or on Videogon (same price). Maybe others like the FS area but ineviatably some folks will take advanatge of Curt's generosity so maybe it's time has passed. You could just lock it, let the remaining adds run their course, then eventually delete it? Just a thought
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jkruger
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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I would just put a stop to the ads with a whole projector (working or not) in them. That way you couldn't sell a projector that was simply disabled temporarily.
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Z-Photo
Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 2753 Location: Huntsville - Alabama
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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I still have a hard time believing that an AMPRO was actually "working"....
_________________ Engineer by Day
Photographer by Night
My Portfolio
The Only GOOD AMPRO - is a Dead AMPRO.
wait - are they not all DEAD already?
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jkruger
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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yeah... I've never seen a functional Ampro.
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betel
Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 448 Location: Maryville, Tennessee (Just South of Knoxville)
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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I think Curt should try to make money on the "Buy & Sell" section. Maybe only site members would be allowed and then for an additional fee. I question if Curt would actually lose sales if he allowed projectors to be sold. Mainly because Curt is not just selling a projector, but more importantly, he is selling service and piece of mind. Some people value that and some don't. Part of the sale is better than none of the sale. If someone wants to buy an unsupported projector, the fact that Curt doesn't allow it on this site is irrevalent.
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kal Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 17850 Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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betel wrote: | I think Curt should try to make money on the "Buy & Sell" section. Maybe only site members would be allowed and then for an additional fee. I question if Curt would actually lose sales if he allowed projectors to be sold. Mainly because Curt is not just selling a projector, but more importantly, he is selling service and piece of mind. Some people value that and some don't. Part of the sale is better than none of the sale. If someone wants to buy an unsupported projector, the fact that Curt doesn't allow it on this site is irrevalent. |
That wouldn't make much money because (a) there are very few club members, and (b) as someone else stated above it's easier to sell off of sites with more traffic. I doubt anyone would become a member just to sell CRT projectors or parts.
I think Curt should simply not allow any CRT projector sales or CRT projector part sales at all. It's much easier to udnerstand if the rule is: "no sales of crt projectors or crt projector parts please".
It's really a win-win situation as when post elsewhere like videogon they will often include links to Curt's site which just ends up generating more interest in the site and possibly sales for Curt.
Kal
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betel
Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 448 Location: Maryville, Tennessee (Just South of Knoxville)
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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Anytime I do a search for anything that has to do with crt projectors, I'm immediately directed to this site. I doubt there is another site with more traffic for people interested in crt. I'm just saying if someone wants to buy an unsupported projector or part they will. Doesn't matter if they buy it here or somewhere else.
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rod
Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 418 Location: Northern Ontario, Canada
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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I think Curt should allow PJ sales (working or not). I also think members only should be allowed to post (I think my membership is paid up). I also think a small % fee for posting a PJ would be reasonable.
_________________ Rod
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Curt Palme CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 24296 Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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Tough call. A fee to post in the classifieds $1-2 each would have been $1600-3200 in my pocket (50 views per page, right, 32 pages currently). Cheaper than eBay or Videogon, a captive audience geared towards CRT and home theater.
I'll leave it the way it is right now, parts sales are allowed, no complete sets, working or not. THe odd person has asked me about posting complete nonworking sets, usually these are obscure (JBL, Harman, Kloss), and I have no problem with that, as that doesn't affect my bottom line.
Keep in mind here people, THIS SITE IS MY INCOME. Maybe not forever, but my mortgage, food and a couple of scheckels to take the g.f out to McDs once a year comes from this site and my eBay activity. I'd have a totally different outlook if I started this as a part time CRT collector if I was retired or won the lottery. But right now I'm not buying lottery tickets and I'm not retired.
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garyfritz
Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12024 Location: Fort Collins, CO
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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This is the best place to reach knowledgeable CRT owners. Videogon and eBay reach more people, but I think most people here would prefer to deal with people here if possible. We know each other.
How about a commission basis? Curt gets 5-10% of any sales, or something like that? eBay gets something close to 5% for a $500 item, and I'd much rather pay Curt than eBay. That might make it worth while to *encourage* people to sell their gear here. It'd probably have to be an honor system, or it's be a pain to manage.
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repairguy
Joined: 30 Oct 2008 Posts: 10
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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garyfritz wrote: | This is the best place to reach knowledgeable CRT owners. Videogon and eBay reach more people, but I think most people here would prefer to deal with people here if possible. We know each other.
How about a commission basis? Curt gets 5-10% of any sales, or something like that? eBay gets something close to 5% for a $500 item, and I'd much rather pay Curt than eBay. That might make it worth while to *encourage* people to sell their gear here. It'd probably have to be an honor system, or it's be a pain to manage. |
I would agree that Curt should get a commission on anything sold on the site. Preferring to buy from here is true because we know each other but as you can see sometimes people come on and post something for sale and havn't posted much at all. Under that situation you still dont know who your buying from because they are new.
I would suggest that for now no working projectors for sale but make it a CRTer's code to donate 5 or 10 % of a sale of anything on the site to Curt. Its still the honor system but honorable people would gladly pay. If after some time this process works, then maybe consider doing the same for working projectors. Then at least Curt is still getting a fare share.
I'm sure none of us want to see this site disappear.................................
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mike calcott
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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Sales of any type should be restricted to "members" only, this would prevent blow ins with no commitment to the site just logging in to get a free ad.
_________________ Old dog learning new tricks
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wallace123456
Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 2236 Location: Northwest VA area
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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I post stuff for sale here and it's not just crt parts. Not sure if it's tacky for me to do that or not, but I would rather sell something here for a cheaper price than on ebay for more.
I'll be more than happy to go along with a "posting fee" for a percentage of the posted sale amount (regardless of what it eventually sells for).
Now, you all dont mind if I post some dirty socks I have laying around, do ya'?
wallace
_________________ Life Is Good, But BBQ Is Better! BBQ Competition Team
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Curt Palme CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 24296 Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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Link Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:08 am Post subject: |
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I'll have Kal check on what's required to set something like that up. The honor system might work for 25% of us, but it's way too easy to 'forget' to pay, esp when times are tight.
Last thing we all need is for the costs of running the site to go way up. Thinking outloud without 'thinking', a one time insertion fee per posting in the classifieds might work, heck, that might even increase traffic. My thinking is that someone will think: Well, if it costs me $1.00 (or whatever) to list, I may as well go through the closet and go through all sorts of stuff I wanna get rid of and list it the one time rather than coming here once a month to list something. THose of us that go through a lot of crap a/v wise might list multiple things regularly. Have a 30 day expiration on all classifieds so you can't bump to the top for years at a time.
Again, just thoughts off the top of my head. I'm sure if a listing fee applies, we'll see the complainers and whiners come out of the woodwork quickfast..
Also thinking out loud, we all barter and trade like crazy, so the final 'price' of an item is probably not what it's listed for. Therefore, getting a small fee up front to simply expose the fact that you have something to sell/trade will cover whatever it goes for in the end.
Heck if we can run eBay out of business, I'm all for it..
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mike calcott
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia
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Link Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: |
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Great Idea Curt
_________________ Old dog learning new tricks
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wallace123456
Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 2236 Location: Northwest VA area
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Link Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:16 am Post subject: |
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Curt Palme wrote: | I'll have Kal check on what's required to set something like that up. The honor system might work for 25% of us, but it's way too easy to 'forget' to pay, esp when times are tight.
Last thing we all need is for the costs of running the site to go way up. Thinking outloud without 'thinking', a one time insertion fee per posting in the classifieds might work, heck, that might even increase traffic. My thinking is that someone will think: Well, if it costs me $1.00 (or whatever) to list, I may as well go through the closet and go through all sorts of stuff I wanna get rid of and list it the one time rather than coming here once a month to list something. THose of us that go through a lot of crap a/v wise might list multiple things regularly. Have a 30 day expiration on all classifieds so you can't bump to the top for years at a time.
Again, just thoughts off the top of my head. I'm sure if a listing fee applies, we'll see the complainers and whiners come out of the woodwork quickfast..
Also thinking out loud, we all barter and trade like crazy, so the final 'price' of an item is probably not what it's listed for. Therefore, getting a small fee up front to simply expose the fact that you have something to sell/trade will cover whatever it goes for in the end.
Heck if we can run eBay out of business, I'm all for it.. |
Seeing how I just posted 2 items FS , I'm good with whatever you come up with.
Again, I sell stuff on ebay, and used to on *vs. But, I find it more comfortable on this site (whatever the hell that means) to sell and buy stuff.
And when it comes time to cleaning out the closet, get ready. You might be able to retire of the fees you'll make from me! I am a terrible pack rat!
wallace
_________________ Life Is Good, But BBQ Is Better! BBQ Competition Team
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Brooklyn
Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 494 Location: Morgan Hill, CA
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Link Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: |
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I like the status quo... however if you were to add buy/sell thread fees, whats to stop people from editing/bumping the one thread they paid for with new items for sale? It would be more moderator work...however the buy/sell traffic is not too high, so it shouldn't be bad.
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bbfarmht
Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 1273 Location: Where the Mississippi runs east to west!!
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Link Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:54 am Post subject: |
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I think you should at least be a member to sell items on the site!!
_________________ Adam
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both"
Benjamin Franklin
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