I like them the way they are. but would understand if you changed it to no posting because of a few who are abusing and disregarding the rules of bumping. Somebody should volunteer to be the classifieds monitor, one of you hard ass x marines like Patrick Johndrow.
After I replied in that other thread on the Classifieds board, I double-checked my ad.
I placed the ad in February. Bumped it once on April 7 after the pregnancy was confirmed. Bumped it again April 24 when pups were born. Bumped it last time when the sire had his hips/elbows done May 24. There was no identifieble "spike" in inquiries after each bump.
I'm not convinced bumping ads does anything other than send up a red flag that the pups are hard to sell for some reason. Maybe a sticky with examples of good ad copy and header flags that people could use as templates would be useful.
Remove the bump/reply capabilities, but allow editing, if it is possible. I could have simply added extra lines to my original post with the pertinent information as each "milestone" came up. It sure would have looked a lot less like me talking to myself! :lol:
If everyone would show some courtesy, the current situation would be good. However, some people:
1) can't follow the guideline of not bumping prior to 3 weeks (when they could just edit their original post, keeping all the pertinent information at the top of the thread and give the same information);
2) have a friend ask a simple question or say what a nice breeding, etc, etc.;
3) set up a new User ID and then "talk" to themselves.
I like seeing the pictures of the newborns and then an update of the pictures when the pups are growing....but this could still be done within the guideline time frame.
On another note that goes along the same lines of LVL's post, I recently was looking for a started or finished dog for one of my clients. I went back numerous pages in the Classisfieds and contacted those posters. Many times the dog had been sold, but I found some that were still available. So, just because the ad goes off the first page, doesn't necessarily mean that the ad is not still generating attention.
If people would notify me when their litter has been sold, I would be able to delete those ad which would possibly help to keep some ads on the first page.
Vicky
PS Thanks to those of you who have sent me PMs to notify me that your litter or other items have been sold so that the ad could be deleted. It makes my "housekeeping" easier than having to read each thread's title to see if the word SOLD has been added or if the last post states that it has been sold.
I haven't noticed the problem to be all that bad. And you could alleviate it by creating subforums for the various categories -- I think this would make it MUCH easier to follow as a user. I was trying to look at started dogs last night and I had to filter through all the puppy ads, which is kind of a pain.
If you separate at least a few major categories out, there will be LESS NEED for bumping... And it will be EASIER for users. I'd go with the standard WRC categories if I were you.
Or, you could charge $25. for each litter listing and have them so they can't be bumped. RTF probably has the most viewed online puppy classifieds and it's free! Why not generate some cash to do what ever is needed to speed up the site!
Even if the ads were made non-bumpable, there is still some "supervision" needed as the bumper could just start a new thread if their's started dropping to the bottom. No matter what way you go, there's always somebody going to try to skirt the rules.
I voted to leave as is.
Booty, I would gladly pay to use this site or to be able to post an ad on the classifieds if Chris ever wanted that. But, I think rtf being free is one of the biggest reasons it gets so many ads viewed (and submitted) and has so many great members who many of which contribute greatly to the success of this awesome site. I think the free helps make it good for many.
I personally like the ads being able to be bumped as long as it is within the guidelines. It makes it nice to be able to ask questions or give updates on availablility etc..
Even if the ads were made non-bumpable, there is still some "supervision" needed as the bumper could just start a new thread if their's started dropping to the bottom. No matter what way you go, there's always somebody going to try to skirt the rules.
I voted to leave as is.
I agree with Andy. I hate to see it change because a few allhoses abuse it, BUT I support whatever is the least stressful for Chris and Vicky, even if they chose to dump the classifieds all together, because it is they who lose hours of their life policing the allhoses. It does annoy me when someone's 1st and only post is an ad for a less than stellar litter of pups, but I reckon that's a small price to pay to hear about all the really good ones out there.
Even if the ads were made non-bumpable, there is still some "supervision" needed as the bumper could just start a new thread if their's started dropping to the bottom. No matter what way you go, there's always somebody going to try to skirt the rules.
I voted to leave as is.
I agree with Andy. I hate to see it change because a few allhoses abuse it, BUT I support whatever is the least stressful for Chris and Vicky, even if they chose to dump the classifieds all together, because it is they who lose hours of their life policing the allhoses. It does annoy me when someone's 1st and only post is an ad for a less than stellar litter of pups, but I reckon that's a small price to pay to hear about all the really good ones out there.
Just separate into categories and assign a new moderator for each section -- maybe the people that already police it!! By breaking it down, you're going to decrease the NEED TO BUMP. There's an ad at the top right now that's severely violating the rules, btw...
Breaking it into categories would be a very good idea.
Stud service, started dogs, lab puppies, golden puppies, chessie puppies.
But what about some of the less frequent breeds, flat coat, water spaniel poodle? Whoul they be offended by an other category.
The guidelines should probably be redone to be more specific about when you can repost and handle the specific issues that are popping up as a problem.
Hmm, "Northern Lights Kennel" does seem to be mucking things up for the rest of the folks. How bout zapping folks who do that kind of crap?
I'm willing to moderate the classifieds, but I hate to see it broken up into umpteen categories (maybe "pups" and "older dogs" works for me, just cuz I don't see that many stud ads on here).
Tina
I'd vote for you Tina. A tell it like it is Moderator.
I advertised a litter on RTF that was born on 10/3/05. This was a FANTASTIC place to advertise. I had enchanges with alot of really nice FT and HT folks that didn't end up getting a pup but I enjoyed the interaction. I also sold pups to folks from the site and I was extremely grateful for having the opportunnity to use RTF to advertise. HPW
I'm willing to moderate the classifieds, but I hate to see it broken up into umpteen categories (maybe "pups" and "older dogs" works for me, just cuz I don't see that many stud ads on here).
Tina
Don't you like the job I'm doing moderating the classifieds? *pout*
Sending out friendly reminders doesn't seem to work every now and then, but MOST people send me a positive PM response and I don't have to remind them again! It's just a few that don't understand not bumping the ad more frequently than every 3 weeks. Some people just need to be reminded that they can EDIT their existing post which does not bump the ad....so they are still putting up the new info/pictures/etc, but fully within the guideline.
I would like to see a Puppies section and a Started dogs section. No sence in looking at puppies if you want a started dog, and vice versa.
My pet peeve on all forums is that folks do not post their city & state. Lots of potential there.
I feel that location should be a requirement! :!:
My idea is to have seperate categories under the classifieds. The reason being is if your just looking for dog training videos or bumper launchers etc then you have to look page by page, not everyone has time to get on here everyday to scroll and look whats for sell.
**Add Category tabs or links under classifieds
**if the system has capability maybe have it send a reminder to the seller after two weeksof ad running or a month letting them now that it needs updated whether you sold the item or you delete it from the classifieds
Maybe a format of how the classified item gets entered into the system.
example, description of item, price, contact info, pictures, etc.
Well thats all I can think of now. Have a wonderful weekend brainstorming.
JLR
AKA Comet
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