What has happened here? Please read
 

I was going to post this under the questions and comments section but since it appears that section is more for the illusion that we ( the members ) are being listened to I figured it was better to post here.

I have to admit that I do not post much and rarely ever comment on anything. However that being said I read almost all of the posts. I quietly gather some of, in my opinion, the best data in the world for what all of our collective hobby is…performance boating. Being a college student and owning an 18 Donzi I have been into performance boats since I was 15 years old and I have loved every minute of it. But since I am a student my budget is not always as large as some of the other members. One of the ways over the years I have tried to stretch my budget was by buying used parts. When I first came to this board its best feature was the parts for sale section. Finally a place where people could get rid of their unwanted parts and people looking for these parts could get them at a more reasonable price. Over the last few years I have slowly watched as the parts for sale sections have cut down little by little. Every time a section goes away there is a small outcry and sometimes you even concede and give us a little back. However given a couple months that concession quickly goes by the wayside and more sections are canned or restricted.

I know that you are trying to make money and this is a business but I ask you as a member, a student and a person can you please try to make money some other way then restricting the parts for sale section. Any restriction on the parts for sale section essentially kills it. What the members need is a place where they can easily and quickly post used parts they have at little to no inconveince to them. As I said I know this is a business and someone needs to make a profit but how about we come to some sort of compromise. Unless we open a for sale section to the public with no required fees there will never be the free flowing plethora of parts there once were. So what I propose is that you ask for a $10 donation from all members. In return the parts section is back, free and its only restriction is that it be used by persons not businesses. I know there will always be a few people who would just say let the other guy pay the $10 but judging by the caliber of the members here I think you would have enough honorable people that would come forward and send in the few $ to have the section back. I know this is what you have tried to essentially do with the platinum memberships and so forth but unless every Joe can post in that section there never be the availability of parts we have come to like.

Hope this makes some sense

Chris Allard
Webb Institute of Naval Architecture

You might want to simply look at becoming a Platinum member. It's only $20 more than what you offered to pay, and you get several more benifits than simply a classified section.

It;s$$ well spent.

my .02 at least

I would have no problem with that but it isn't the point...

I can become a platinum member all I want but that still doesn't let the guy who just happens to be lurking around and have a box full of parts in his garage post them. I don't care if I can post there. I care if other people who are selling stuff can.

I think his point is that non members can't post cheap stuff and don't want to pony up for the Platinum fee, thus they don't put parts for sale.

Sorry I don't have the same feeling as you guys. I've never looked for or had any use for the little things posted.

I guess I can see your point, but that's what ebay is for.
Or Nort's site. what's the name? Boatparts.com or something?

If I had to pay $10 up front to become a member here I wouldn't be here right now. Although it would be my loss. I wouldn't have taken the opportunity to see the value in this forum if I had to pay originally. This would have kept me away as well as others I am sure. This site gets several new members every week that probably wouldn't be here right now if they had to pay. That would be our loss as well as their's.

I feel that if we have an up front charge that new membership will start declining a lot.

While I do see the value in $$$$ spent here for Platinum Memberships and so on, a new member may not. Paying the membership fee to take further advantage of the privelages here are not a problem for me. But I don't think someone looking at the site from the outside would be as quick to join if they had to pay to enter.

Buck
#183

Yeah, you could do that: www.OffshoreBid.com

It's an auction site though, not a clasifieds site, but it's free.

I feel that if we have an up front charge that new membership will start declining a lot.


I lurked for 6 months because I figered it would caust to join. I was so addicted from lurking I payed up for a Platnium membership.

I do miss the under $200 and feel it would be nice for the casual lurker to be able to post sales of there cheep junk they have lying around. Because it could be others treshers (sp)

Also love Nort's site layout just wish more people could find it and post stuff that they whant to get rid of. I think there is only about 10 items. Charlie

I also think the $200 parts section should remain free. Like Chris pointed out, someone just breezing through may decide to post some parts he wants to get rid of. The small fee would probably change his mind.

I agree that there are a lot of Parts People out there missing out.
I used to look there/sell there all the time, but have not looked in months because there is not the wide variety of things I cant find anwhere local. The deals have dwindled and the odd parts I did not know I needed dont come up. Every great site has a free swap/ parts / classified of some sort that is nickel and dime related. Leave the big expense to the classified with boats etc.

I thought about Platinum because I felt guilty with all the incredible changes and all. But I did not see myself getting any benefit from it. I did not join the Charter when it came out because I did not want a sticker. I feel like I need to toss a check in the mail to pay my fair share with all the restricted areas being built. There are not many posts in those restricted areas...who s gonna go there. I feel more inclined to give to the drambuie charity thing than a membership. Thats worth my time.

Phantom you beat me to it :D:D

www.Offshorebid.com should really be taking off better then it is!!!! As Phantom said it is a free site. Just there to help out his brothers on the water :D:D

Jon

as BTO said.........gimmie your money please
nuff said......everyone should already know my feelings in this

meander77.... well put.... I agree with your basic premise & admire the manner in which you voiced it....

The advertisers are steering that ship. Advertising dollars from parts and service vendors cannot be generated if the parts-for- sale section looks like a swap meet. OSO is a commercial business. I was told directly to back off from chastising an advertiser for ****ty practices experienced by OSO members. The advertiser threatened OSO to go legal. so, who's zoomin who?
I use whatever to my advantage but have decided to keep them out of my pocket. I paid a few years back to become a charter member but OSO is punishing me by not re-instating it.

Unfortinatly, Fred, I think we got the answer when the under $200 section was deleted. We fought pretty hard to get that section and it made sense. When I saw it get pulled, I just gave up and figured why bother. It's pretty obvious that the purpose of the board is to turn a profit. :(

Chris,

Thanks for your post your thoughts. Personally I agree with your comments. I would like to see the "parts for sale" forums open to all as I believe it is benifital to the performance boating community and poses no real threat to the advertisers on this site. I also realize that this board is a business and the owners must do what they believe is in the best interest of their venture. My view on the Platinum membership is that it is a small way I can help to help keep this board up and running because I value the information available here and not for any certain perks the membership may provide. Phantom's www.offshorebid.com can be a great resource for people. It would be great if this thread ends up generating some more activity there.

Well said by a lot of you.
If it is a business, thats fine, they are doing a great job.
But I do see the site losing its grass roots feeling. The main discussion board still remains the strongest...but its free and unlimited. See the relation there??
I think the site still needs that swap meet section. It can be a powerful parts resource for inexpensive parts average folk want to get out of the garage, and parts ya cant find.
The boat classified section has dwindled as well.
But bring the cheap classified back, I always checked it for the odd item!

I'm staying out of this one this time. BUT YOU ALL KNOW MY FEELINGS ON THE FORSALE SECTION

meander you just alerted the gestapo........

I am with all you guys on this one, HOWEVER it is time that we realize that there are more options out there for the sale and purchase of those "cheaper" parts. It could be that they have a vision of the board that non of us understand. It could be that they want us to go some place else to sell our stuff that is cheap. As I think it was DanL said to help the advertisers of the board. Just tossing some maybe's out at you guys.

Jon

Thanks guys.

I just wish we could get some feedback from the powers that be...

I guess they will just let the thread come and go. If this is considered a business then that isn't good customer service.

Chris

Umm yeah, I paid and still can't post due
to some e-mail name confusion.:mad:

Chris believe me they are looking and trying to find a happy medium btwn what the advertisers are asking for and what the guys who post on the board want. It is not as easy as you would think.

Jon

Here we go again.

DanL and Back4More you have been e-mailed concerning your issues.

Others,

It started off as everyone posting classifieds, when we started charging for classifieds and the under $200 section was added there were not nearly as many ads and some people even had 10-20 parts all under $200. The original complaint was that no-one could sell a $20 part, under $200 was then free and there were only a few $20-$50 parts but there were a whole lot of people with a $1000 worth of parts all less than $200 a piece. We think that the fees are nothing compared to what you get .

Platinum Membership:

You get to watch a 1hr and 56 minute race video that costs over $59 to buy.

You get a T-shirt that when you wear it it will make more people come to the site and buy your parts.

You get a decal same as above.

You get unlimited FREE Classifieds in both the Classifieds section as well as the Bulletin Board section for a year.

You get 20% off store clothing.

All this for $49.95 for one year.

If you see no value in this then you are only here to sell your parts and not to be a part of a fraternity of boaters. You get expert advise here from some of the most knowledgable people in this industry. Forget parts, people get to Post their Poker Runs, Pictures, get togethers, etc for free. Events that they make money off of or raise money for. This website is more than just about parts for sale not to mention how expensive it is to operate.

To the people that are Platinum and Charter members we thank you as most of you have thanked us for providing a playground that is essentially free of charge.

Audio was able to speak to a professional boat builder at 11pm on a conference call because he was afraid he had a problem with his gelcote curing, the call was initiated by OSO after seeing his concern and frustration posted. Any value there? Thank you Charter member Audio.

We are just not going to see eye to eye with everyone and there are other sites out there to go to. If you believe in us and want to be a part of this sight growing and being prosperous for all including those of you selling parts then you will trust that a nominal fee is par for the course.

As far as the advertisers there is absolutely no competition in the parts for sale section versus the advertisers. Two completely different topics totally unrelated.

The Charter/Platinum Member forum does not have many posts because it is designed mainly as a read section for us to announce things that are necessary to those members.

Anyone who is in Miami please feel free to stop by and visit our office so we can show you cost, manpower, equipment, and time that goes in to this site. I guarantee you when you leave you will feel differently.

For those of you that have given to this site and have not gotten what you were promised we are a phone call away.

OSO

Now I know how slow of a typer he is and that took him almost a week to type :D:D:p :p

:eek:

Guys - Let's agree that we'll never reach a 100% consensus on this issue. Steve and I have tried to find the right balance between the desires of the membership and the operational costs of the site.

Every "for sale" website on earth that has any kind of decent traffic charges something to advertise. It is a very simple premise. You are receiving a service and there is a cost related to that service.

That being said - look at everything else OSO offers. We're not just a classified ads site like Boat Trader. I'm not going to reiterate everything Steve mentioned as he made it quite clear. OSO is clearly so much more than any one thing. We're not just a website for classified ads or a website for boat clothing. OSO is a very comprehensive site for the powerboating enthusiast and we are constantly improving on that premise.

We realize that we will never be everything to everyone. That is clear. We do believe that we can offer everyone something. Maybe some of you might not be 100% satisfied with the way we operate our Classifieds - but you love the Board. The point is that we cannot make everyone happy. Everyone's situation is different.

We welcome the comments and everything is always taken into consideration. Not everything can be made a reality - but everything is considered.

Well said guys!!! I love OSO! I'm looking forward to becoming a triple platinum member as soon as it is available. Now, back to boating (I wish).....okay back to surfing OSO.

Thanks for all your hard work! :) :) :)

I disagree that the advertisers don't consider the independent parts sales when committing ad bucks. I had a fair number of hi-po blocks and heads left over from the race program and got an email from an OSO advertiser warning me to pull the ad because the parts were too cheap. That was 3-4 weeks before you killed the free classifieds. Sounded to me like the advertisers were made a promise about this very thing being taken care of. The timing was suspicious. I have always obliged you and your motives, but Jeffrey, you did make a promise to keep the site free and non-commercial.

Did Jeffrey say free or not-for-profit?

I have the opportunity to speak to someone that knows about building websites and after him looking at this one he was telling me about some of the costs (servers and all the computer mumbo-jumbo that I dont know about) and wow is all i can say, it aint cheap.

I know i will take up that open invitation when i am in Miami.

OK now I feel like ****. I am not a platinum, charter or whatever member who donated money so I dont rate. This Is the impression I am getting. I cant tell ya how many frickin people I have personally made register for this site since OCTOBER 2000.
I remember when it was the old board and the PIT BULL incident was the hot issue.
Then the new board came out and I did not get up early enough and was the 104th person to register. I couldnt wait to verify my identity, because I was jb...not some made up name. Identity was also a hot issue in early 2000(before October when we started registering).I was pissed Miller beat me...he was member number 13.

I was at the first OSO meeting at the Miami boat show. Worth it right there!

Currently, I do not see the value of Platinum for what I want. I have no boat to sell, and the 'pay per' sections did not tickle me at this time. I DO think the Platinum is a good value for some , not all. But that is fine(OSO knows it cant be everything to everyone)

I personally would rather Pay to be a member, not a 'pay and you get special privelages member'.
I would gladly send a check to pay my fair share. I think about it everytime I log on. But I want my title not to be PLatinum, or Charter, but the more important...Paid, cause I love this place...title

Where do I send a check?

Thank you for recognizing the efforts Mark.

We have changed the Gold Membership to $29.95 for one year instead of six months. If you sell one part you paid for it and the rest of the year is free.

50% of the visitors per day (6,000 total per day) use the Bulletin Board and 50% use the Formal classifieds. If you are trying to sell your parts keep that in mind.

OSO

Also,
I jumped in on this thread earlier to speak regarding the parts section, thats it. I have no problem with any other aspect of the boards current situation.
They created a great little business. Advertisers take notice.
The information, stories, good times, and people are priceless.

Dan - If OSO were to remain "free and non-commercial" as it was before - we would still be enduring the days of "Neuspeed" and a bunch of other knuckleheads who would be ruining it for everyone. Where do you think the funding would come from to maintain the integrity of the site and to continue to upgrade the software and benefits you are receiving. The old OSO would have been eaten alive by competitors, hackers, and anyone else willing to take a shot at us. The bottom line is that everything you see and experience here is a result of hard work, dedication, and dollars. You are one of the most active participants on the Board. I am surprised that your support is marginal when the site - as a valuable form of entertainment and a plethora of information for you - has really never cost you anything. We're talking about the equivalent to dinner and movie one night! Is that all OSO has been worth to you?

JB-

We would rather you go to the OSO Store and purchase a t-shirt and be proud when you wear it. We refuse to take money from you and make you different from anyone else. You can put whatever title you would like under your name in the user options section of your profile.

OSO

Simple Stuff Here.................
 

This site is FREE.

You don't have to become a "member" to ask a question about your outdrive.......it's FREE!

You don't have to become a "member" to post a picture of your boating weekend.......it's FREE!

You don't have to become a "member" to answer a question about an OSO get together.......it's FREE!

You don't have to become a "member" to tell you boating buddies about your "girl" problems.......it's FREE!

You don't have to become a "member" to tap the vast knowledge of your boating peers.......it's FREE!


YOU SHOULD BE A MEMBER TO:

Post all the clasified ads you want (do you know what Boat Trader, News Papers or even EBay charges....gezzzz!)

Get an awesome discount on all the OSO clothing (it's all I wear now and I've saved a ton on clothing).

You get free T-Shirts........(this is above and beyond the normal clothing I wear mentioned above).

You get a free sticker.............(use your left brain and figure out where you can stick that!).

You get to download an AWESOME offshore video...........(we know how all you LOTO people will feel when watching this AFTER winterizing your boat).


All in all..............www.OffshoreOnly.com is THE only offshore site there is that makes sense!

Re: Simple Stuff Here.................
 

Why do I have that AIDS/Adidas Joke in my head right now :D:D

Jon

I just wrote a 2 page reply and the page expired,dammit!! Hey, Jeffrey and Steve, I'm not belly aching about the evolution, just the experiences along the way. Its your forum,your brain child, but the collective member knowledge and the ability to sell some un-needed stuff was the motivation for me. The board is evolving into a commercial entity but you may just not want to admit it outright. You can't walk into my place and tell me how to run it. I commend your progress and decisions. Jeffrey, remember when you said some will resist change, I'm probably one of those people. I believe the overall perception of OSO is a grand one. Newbies that roll in here must think they've gone to heaven. I only wish you were doing this 10 years ago. Would have saved me a lot of mistakes and money. Anyway, I probably should have stayed out of this one.

ME TOO

JB-

I apologize for not saying thank you for your offer to donate in my last post.

OSO

Dinner and a movie for my wife and daughter tonight $60.00 .....

the time I've spent on OSO ..........priceless