Is it just me or does it seen this this forum in turning into a big online store??

The C5 general section is clogged everyday with vendor post for items for sale or specials there running. To me it’s taking away form what the forum was intended to be I find myself logging in and getting right off when all I see is F/S threads and nothing relevant for conversion.

I used to be vendor here but if you’re only using this forum as a way to generate business them I think you need to refocus your marketing strategy.

How does everyone else see it?

 

In before

It really doesn't matter what we think, The site is here to make IB money.
For what the vendors pay they need to try to sell.

 

Yep! You are right Bill its kinds sad if you remember how this forum use to be. I am sure this thread will get locked..

 

It really doesn't matter what we think, The site is here to make IB money.
For what the vendors pay they need to try to sell.



I just wished they would sell stuff in the for sale section, unless they are introducing a new product.

 

You've been around as long as me but dont forget that the contributions the Forum vendors make keeps this Forum free for the rest of us

I for one can live with the commercials to keep the expertise alive

Oh and some of the products are awesome and the vendors can be trusted to look after Forum Members

JMHO as always

 

I don't really mind it. Most of the time, I'm here looking for ways to improve my C5 both cosmetically and from a performance standpoint. Vendors participate in that discussion and so far most of the mods I've completed are a result of forum member and forum vendor feedback.

When people ask me where I got my information and where did I purchase my mods, I tell them "on-line through Corvette Forum".

 

I agree the vendors do provide great products and services but posting constant F/S threads in the general section can be a bit much.

 

I can tell you this much - as a vendor, I am afforded the opportunity to target market a specific group of people....C5 and C6 owners that are the enthusiasts....not just owners of the cars. The enthusiasts are the ones most likely to mod their cars, buy logo merchandise and buy the products that I and other vendors offer for sale.

If you were a vendor - then you know that this privilege comes at a high price. I don't know when you were a vendor, but I assure you that it costs more today than it did back in the old days when Troy Roberts owned the site.

Besides being a vendor - (which I have been now for almost a year), I've spent nearly seven years posting as a member and then a Supporting Member primarily right here in C5 Gen. I cannot speak for anyone else - but I feel like I've paid my dues (not to mention Lifetime Supporting Member fees, St. Jude's donor every year I've belonged here, been Arizona Events Coordinator and now a Supporting Vendor) for the privilege to be here. I have over 12,000 posts, and very few of them are Vendor for sale posts. I still spend every day here trying to help members - and not just with products for sale, but with lots of advice and sharing of my experiences.

So - I guess I resent your implication that I shouldn't be allowed to post products for sale anytime I want. I've earned and pay for that ability. There are a lot of very dedicated vendors here that give a lot of free advice and help besides me. So if you or anyone else doesn't like it - take your comments to IB or Jim (savewave) or Jesse (Cor08vette) who are the admins, and hear what they have to say on this topic. Without the supporting vendors, you no longer have a free forum. Oh yeah - MHO of course.

 

Of course we are all entitled to our own opinion. That sure is not a nice way to speak to members who may be perspective customers. Attitudes like that are what is wrong with this forum say something you don’t agree with and because you pay to advertise tell members to go away and shut up if you don’t like it nice.

 

Well said Dave and

Chuck

 

Hey, this is a commercial enterprise. Newspapers, magazines, "free television (whats that?)", they all survive on advertising revenue. I can live with it as long as it doesn't become too stifling. I enjoy the open forum aspect more than anything else. I could have more to say but it is probably best said in "off topic".

 

Its all worth it in the end

 

I never said shut up and go away - I merely stated my opinion. You are entitled to your opinion, as I am entitled to mine. And I wasn't speaking to all of the members - I was speaking to you. I suggested that if you have opinions on the improvement of this forum - take them to someone that is responsible for making changes, members here do not have the ability to be agents of change.

I am passionate about what I do - and I don't offer that statement as any form of apology. Too bad you chose to interpret my comments as anything other than what they are - my opinion.

 

SMH @ this thread & your sellfish comments, why don't you just go to another forum.

 

I'll also add that most threads about sales are obvious from the title, and if I'm not interested, I don't click on it.....

 

Items for purchase should be relagated to the for sale section. Thats why we have a for sale section isnt it?

 

Sorry didnt mean to upset you we are all brothers on here that have something in common Corvettes.

I was just posting how I have seen this forum change over the years thats all.

 

I checked the C5 General section a few minutes ago and noticed there were 17 vendor sale threads out of 72 on the first page of the directory. That’s about average at almost 24 percent, although I have seen it approaching 33 percent at times in the past when I’ve made spot checks.

Razor2430, if you are a former vendor, then you know there is a set of rules each of agreed to follow when we registered and that there is an additional set of rules that governs supporting vendors.

Those additional rules tell vendors, among other things, that they should avoid having more than three active sale threads on the first page of any section directory.

Our practice is to caution vendors if they exceed that number. I noted, by the way, when I checked the C5 General section tonight that there was one vendor who had more than three sale threads in the section and I have sent him a caution.

If we had a vendor who persisted in ignoring that rule, we’d have to impose sanctions. That has not yet been necessary in the 10 plus years I’ve been associated with Corvetteforum.

I’m puzzled, Razor2430, by your assertion that “its sad if you remember how this forum use to be” and “it’s taking away form what the forum was intended to be.”

I’m also taken aback by those who seem to object that there is a profit motive in operating Corvetteforum.

Troy Roberts established Corvetteforum in 1999 as a business designed to serve as a discussion site for Corvette enthusiasts. The business model was to use paid advertising by supporting vendors to cover the considerable monthly bandwidth charges so that participants wouldn’t have to pay monthly fees to participate.

Troy always allowed supporting vendors to post sale threads in the generational sections and Internet Brands has honored that commitment although vendors on many of their other sites are confined to posting in designated sale sections.

As a businessman, Troy expected that he would make money on his investment of time and money. The site is owned by IB now, but it is still a business and there has to be an expectation of profit if the site is going to continue to exist.

That’s the American way. If we had no profit motive, there wouldn’t be any Corvettes, we wouldn’t have the money to buy Corvettes and there would be no need for an online Corvette community.

If you object to the fact that Corvetteforum is a business and, thus, has to make money to operate, or if you have questions about the way Corvetteforum operates, you are welcome to let us know via PM or e-mail as per the rules you accepted when you registered.