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The Corroboree
Torsten

The future of SWAPnSELL

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LOL naja, I don't write the software. I just pay money to use it :blush:

However, I do agree with exactly the same shortcomings and will put this to the developers.

I am intrigued at how little the swap function is being used. If I' know that that feature was of so little interest I would have opted for a standar auction software with a lot more flexibility.

Gomaos - don't feel bad about aksing questions here. I struggled a little bit with this software as well - although, mind you I struggled with ebay when it first started too.

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You're not the lone-ranger there!

I've joined up and will put some stuff up soon, some will have no reserve as I want to de-clutter my life somewhat and hopefully pick up some cash so I can get out of this shithole and start living again...another of Bruce Lee's philosophies "Hack away the unessentials"

Thanks for setting the site up T I think it's a great little spot and I'm sure the swap feature will get used when us old timers get used to the site :wink:

Any chance of having a "links" link on the forum main page for things like this and other affilliate sites for those who sometimes have to wipe their hard drive and have to rebuild their bookmarks :P

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View sold item details: Click that and then u will see written in green " MESSAGE BOARD" Click that and ur home free

yeah I knew that... problem is, sometimes ALL the sold items just don't come up, that's why I would like a mailbox where ALL different messages are together, not just messages attached to items...

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ran into a little problem using the 'trade' function...

put a pere up for trade got offer today - trouble is a) i can't see which member it is, & B) i need to communicate with offerer re details of offer, but ony have the options to 'accept swap' & 'reject swap', no communication available. What to do? :scratchhead:

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DQD - which item # is it? have you sold other items before and are you aware of the normal communications feature?

you should also be able to click the item number on one of the admin screens and from there get the bid history list. just not sure if this includes swap bids.

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item #145

have sold many items on ebay, but first on sns. can't use normal communication feature as i have no idea which member it is making the offer.

nope, doesn't include swap bids, no normal bids hence no bidding history.

bit stuck here :scratchhead:

if offerer is a member here perhaps pm? :)

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Bah ! How about going back to grass-roots trading ? Ethno idealism aside, a quirky half-cousin (SnS) of the mighty E is still subscribing to the concepts laid down by multinational opinion-makers.

Where exactly did the person-2-person trading concept fall down - when the baker left town with the fishmonger's wife ?

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Bah ! How about going back to grass-roots trading ? Ethno idealism aside, a quirky half-cousin (SnS) of the mighty E is still subscribing to the concepts laid down by multinational opinion-makers.

Where exactly did the person-2-person trading concept fall down - when the baker left town with the fishmonger's wife ?

where do I start. Firstly, you are about a year too late. The discussion about pros and cons was pretty much concluded a year ago. The money has been spent, the effort has been made and your appreciation is noted :angry:

Secondly, this community is growing and that may require a different approach. Many of the trades are not completed or even followed up to completion. many forget to do their side of the deal. the trading software provides a rating and feedback system where repeatedly slack traders are identified and good traders are rewarded. This currently does not exist on the forums where 'shaming' rarely happens even though it is frequently deserved.

there are also many members who don't just swap stuff these days. many members want to recoup some of the costs of their plant addiction by selling stuff themselves. Maybe just one or two items, but it keeps a small cash flow going. Rather than repeating threads of 'XXX for sale' they can now simply put it up on the swap site.

Also, just like I separated the forums from the commercial site last year, a similar separation of supply and 'instructions' may be needed with expected toughening of legislation.

Ebay is also toughening their list of unacceptable items and it's only a matter of time before most of the commonly traded plants and seeds will no longer be welcome there. In fact, as their policy is that if it is prohibited ANYWHERE in australia then it does not belong on ebay, if they ever read the canberra drug legislation we would reach that point instantly.

So yeah, there are lots of reason for this move, and I've only listed the newest ones here. For the old ones that originally supported this decision UTSE.

And no, I am not happy this software is not as easy to use as it seemed at first. It was however the best of only 3 that offered the swap function and the previous discussions emphasised this choice.

As for being the quirky half cousin... almost everything on the internet is a quirky half cousin of some multinational opinion making project. So let's shut down the forums, the whole website even! ahh heck, let's shut down the whole internet in protest and see how that advances our cause.

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Yea ! Shut down the whole WWW shebang, now you're talking ! Let's tear down the Woolworths stores as well. It's time for a retrospective revolution anyway. When the entire content of the internet becomes a commercial venture (in about six months), PBL will buy everyone out anyway :)

Sorry Torsten, for coming across as I have on the subject, the 'cynical bastard' creeps out of me far too often. I think what you contribute towards the ethnobotanical community is very altruistic, not only with the launch of SnS, but also the forums, the store, your contribution to events and the sharing of your knowledge. I also imagine you spend considerable time & expense on launching projects of this nature without a hope in hell of recouping.

Again, my apologies, I've been a cranky shit of late and I should reconsider my statements before rattling on within the forum.

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LOL, take some GABA it really levels out crankiness (look like I didn't have enough yesterday either :blush: )

btw, as I pointed out earlier, I would like to see BOTH forms of trade stay available for as long as possible. So anyone who really objects to the ebay style concept can use the other option. It would just be nice for swapnsell to get enough support to remain as a viable alternative for those who would like a choice and for those who realise that the previous system probably can't remain for much longer (ie, ever wondered why you don't see any swap forums on overseas sites?)

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The use of the swap function may actually be ocurring 'under the table' without going through the official SnS process and therefore not showing up on your stats.

An example: I recently noticed someone had a desirable item on SnS and were requesting a swap for an item which I had available. However the auction was already being bid upon by a newbie user, and I didn't feel like taking it from him. So I pmd the seller through SAB. It turned out he had more available, we did a trade. SnS facilitated this and everyone ended up with what they wanted. This set of events is fairly unique but these sorts of trades can occur, and while they won't show up on the system they are still being made possible by SnS.

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creach - yeah, I am well aware that there is quite a bit of trading going on that doesn't show on the stats. I myself have done a couple like that.

DQD - here is how to check on trade offers:

Log in.

go to 'selling' page (not 'sell' page).

under 'opened auctions' find your item. go along the row to the "max Bid" column. Here you will find a link that says "swap offer from trader". If you click this you will be taken to a page that details the swap and you will need to chose accept or reject.

I can see a major shortcoming here. The swap offer does not outline who the swapper is. It may do that in the next screen, but does not give any indication of what's to happen next. Please keep us updated on how you proceed with this and what the steps are, so that the next person will know what to do. Thanks!

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creach - yeah, I am well aware that there is quite a bit of trading going on that doesn't show on the stats. I myself have done a couple like that.

DQD - here is how to check on trade offers:

Log in.

go to 'selling' page (not 'sell' page).

under 'opened auctions' find your item. go along the row to the "max Bid" column. Here you will find a link that says "swap offer from trader". If you click this you will be taken to a page that details the swap and you will need to chose accept or reject.

I can see a major shortcoming here. The swap offer does not outline who the swapper is. It may do that in the next screen, but does not give any indication of what's to happen next. Please keep us updated on how you proceed with this and what the steps are, so that the next person will know what to do. Thanks!

cheers for the directions t but no need as I've already done the above repeatedly :P

ok, update:

The lack of ability to comunicate with trade offerers hampered me a good deal. I suggest that when posting an item you get trade offers sent by email etc, that way both parties can talk.

Because of this inability to communicate the trader failed to answer my queries regarding details of the deal by auctions end, so the offer became null. Also the sucessful bidder (who got a steal I might add :lol: ) wants to talk via phone which I'm not comfortable with, so next time I'll also add the proviso that all communication is via web or snail mail only please :blush: .

If I had posted pics of the pere in question I think I may have had more bids, all the more reason to get a camera at last!

Honestly the only problem I found was the trade communication issue, other than that it all went smoothly, or smmooth as to be expected. Will stick to cash in the meantime, so watch out for the pere's little brother!

t, you've done well here, just a few wrinkles :wink: . Apart from that I'm really bad with compliments so I'm not going to give you any :P

... well alright, maybe one...

thanks t...

:lol:

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