Trade forum suggestion

[Scapexghost]

Cory has been talking about making a member-only trade forum. This is a fun and exciting idea and im glad Cory found a way to make it work. However, i have a suggestion id like to propose. That is, instead of completely locking out non-members, make posting member-only but allow non-members to still view and replay to threads. Basically, only allow members to sell but allow anyone to buy. That way, non members can still get fish from other hobbiests and make it so members have more people to sell fish to.

I get that there might be some huge problem with this that i might not realize, and i respect that Cory and the coop are taking on a huge risk implementing this at all. I am a member and a don't plan on selling fish anytime soon, so im not suggesting this for my own benefit. I just wanted Cory to hear this idea if he hadnt already.

[Fish Folk]

A “Trading Floor” would be amazing. I might re-up my membership if I could see a way this would make some money. Right now, we’ve tried to zero out all recurring memberships online to control money flow. 

[WhitecloudDynasty]

I think its better to keep it just for us member, yea it'll be less fish and less variety. But more people will only cause more problem, at least everyone here feel and understand each other.

[Tihshho]

On 5/16/2022 at 9:27 AM, WhitecloudDynasty said:

I think its better to keep it just for us member, yea it'll be less fish and less variety. But more people will only cause more problem, at least everyone here feel and understand each other.

Not only that, but it allows people to get vetted by the Admins easier. If someone is constantly scamming someone, as a member you're providing your name, billing address, and a payment method that can be reviewed in terms of who is who and not just an obscure username. This would provide the people looking to buy some security as in if someone is removed for scamming, they are not going to just create a new account when they think people forgot about it and start scamming again. 

What I would like to be able to do though, besides trade, is setup a Random Acts of Kindness (ROAK) section where if someone has something they are looking to giveaway, the receiver just pays shipping to get the items. It allows us to go through and give back to the members within the group, and with shipping being covered it is a win win for the gratious individual giving something away and the person getting it.

In terms of trading, it would be nice to have a traders section that also included local subforums for the areas or states. I personally am not a big fan of shipping. It's too much risk with lives when you don't do it regularly and have not invested in the packing materials to have on hand. Especially now, with the price of fuel and freight, shipping without a contracted discount rate sucks for the buyer. It might go outside the scope of what Cory was talking about, but with regional sub forums it allows people to post local without getting swarmed with the messages and PM's of "why won't you ship?" or "DM me if you change your mind on shipping." I'm sure he knows all about that based on his Miranda Right style disclosure on his videos on how the store doesn't ship fish, or during a Dean Fishroom video having to make a clear disclaimer that Dean doesn't ship for just anyone. In addition, this would allow the ACO Trading Members to work on being able to build their local community and setup local swapmeets with users in the region. I can't tell you how nice it would be to be able to setup a mini swap/auction with the locals on the forum. 

[Dancing Matt]

I definitely think it is wise to keep it members only, I think it would be a worthwhile system to pay for and could limit "bad actors". I am not a member (I quit you tube a few years back) but would join for the chance at getting fish from forum members I have seen their breeding journeys and trust (thinking of Mountian puffer keeper, Whitecloud dynasty, and Fish Folk to name a few). That seem especially valuable to me.

I'm specifically thinking of certain Betta Imbellis fry... 😉