The BST forum rules are too confusing

[TooMuchAwesome]

I posted a listing a week ago and added stuff to that listing on Monday because I didn't know you could make a new listing for different equipment after 24 hours. So I deleted all the stuff I listed in my old listing, which was all the way back on pg 4 and not getting any traffic. I made a new listing just now so my stuff would get more exposure on the first page. It makes no sense when I deleted everything I just listed today from my old post! I am not trying to take advantage of the system, but why would I keep my stuff listed where no one reads it? I wasn't trying to break the rules, but they are too confusing to follow and abide by half the time

[just372]

Dude, the rules of the bst are there to keep people like you from doing what you were trying to do, bump your ad. Price your items better and they will sell. If they don't sell then put them on eBay. Why would any other member want to keep looking at your items at the top of the list pushing their listings down? If you want page 1 exposure pm gxgolfer or easyyy and make your for sale ad a reference item and pay the fee, otherwise follow the rules or sell on eBay. Not trying to be a jerk, just saying.

BTW- he 24 hour rule is for separate ads not relisting items over and over again. Time limit for that is 30 days. Place an ad, sell all the items and them place another ad at the top of the list.

The bst is free but you should follow the rules

[Skaffa77]

Really? I've used the BST for selling quite a few items and I always thought the rules were pretty easy to follow.

I don't believe the rules were intended for you to close/delete an active thread (where an item hasn't sold or was taken off the market) after 24 hours and create a new listing. There's 2 pieces here and I'll give you my interpretation:

[b][u]30 Day Rule[/u][/b] - I believe the intent is that you not create more than one active thread per 30 day period.

[b][u]24 Hour Rule[/u][/b] - I believe the intent is that if you have an active thread, sell the item and need to list new items within the same 24 hours...you should try to consolidate those new items in that same thread vs. closing that thread and creating a new one that same day.

If you aren't getting any traffic or offers within the first couple of days...it means 1 of 2 things (sorry if this is blunt): 1. Your item isn't in demand or 2. Your price isn't generating any action. I realize that Pg 4 is less likely to generate traffic than Pg 1, but it's probably a good sign that your initial price should be one that garners that interest.

I personally think the rules are pretty clear and fair. I've seen too many boards with BST that become unmanagable with people continuously bumping their ads or creating new ones.

[stage1350]

[quote name='Cfitz88' date='03 March 2010 - 04:06 PM' timestamp='1267653984' post='2291129']
...I am not trying to take advantage of the system, but why would I keep my stuff listed where no one reads it? I wasn't trying to break the rules, but they are too confusing to follow and abide by half the time
[/quote]

If you want to continuously bump your ad to the top, then you are breaking the rules, whether you realize it or not.

Rules at the top of every BST ad:

- Sellers must combine their Ads and cannot post new Ads unless their previous Ad is Closed or deleted.

-Members are allowed [b]one listing per 30 days of a particular item [/b]and one listing per 24 hours (i.e. no listing of an item, selling it, closing the ad and starting a brand new one a few hours later).

If you have a huge lot of stuff to sell, chances are it's going to hit page 4, especially if you are pricing on the high side. If you want to unload it fast, price it to move. This BST is not conducive to those that want to drop the price $5 every week until it sells. Price it at what you are willing to take and sell it fast.

[forgedforever]

Really? I've used the BST for selling quite a few items and I always thought the rules were pretty easy to follow.

 

I don't believe the rules were intended for you to close/delete an active thread (where an item hasn't sold or was taken off the market) after 24 hours and create a new listing. There's 2 pieces here and I'll give you my interpretation:

 

30 Day Rule - I believe the intent is that you not create more than one active thread per 30 day period.

 

24 Hour Rule - I believe the intent is that if you have an active thread, sell the item and need to list new items within the same 24 hours...you should try to consolidate those new items in that same thread vs. closing that thread and creating a new one that same day.

 

If you aren't getting any traffic or offers within the first couple of days...it means 1 of 2 things (sorry if this is blunt): 1. Your item isn't in demand or 2. Your price isn't generating any action. I realize that Pg 4 is less likely to generate traffic than Pg 1, but it's probably a good sign that your initial price should be one that garners that interest.

 

I personally think the rules are pretty clear and fair. I've seen too many boards with BST that become unmanagable with people continuously bumping their ads or creating new ones.

 

 

Makes perfect sense to me Skaffa77. I see you're quite experienced on here with all that feedback

 

I've been watching the BST section and various threads now for awhile but haven't listed anything yet. That may change within the next day or so.

 

 

[KDMullins]

I actually agree with the OP. Not about the rules being confusing, but about Classified ads getting lost in the shuffle. There is so much traffic on this site and in the Classifieds in particular that ads stay on page 1 for about 5 minutes it seems. In a few day, they might as well be gone. Then you can't add another item to your initial ad because it's buried somewhere in cyberspace. Seems like there ought to be a better way...the problem is people take advantage of other systems, which is how we got where we are now.

[highergr0und]

Pretty straight forward.... you just missed this one..

- [b]Sellers must combine their Ads and cannot post new Ads unless their previous Ad is Closed or deleted.

[/b]So you are allowed to list an item, then can't re-list it for 30 days regardless of whether or not you close the thread.

If you have an open thread, no matter what page it's on, you cannot open another without closing the original.

If the item listed sells quickly, you can't open another ad for 24 hours.

So.... if you want to sell something that is not in the ad on page 4, lock it, get a mod to delete it via PM (or wait for it to happen), and put up an ad for something else. If you want to sell the same stuff, you've got to wait a month.

I've sold stuff more than a week after I listed it. After it's off the first or second page, you've pretty much got to get lucky with someone doing some filtering or looking for your specific item.

[TooMuchAwesome]

Thank you for you're help, that is exactly what I was confused about.

I don't need anybody else's 2 cents telling me my stuff is priced too high. Sorry "dudes", I guess I didn't comprehend the rules as well as some of you geniuses!

[Skaffa77]

[quote name='highergr0und' date='03 March 2010 - 05:07 PM' timestamp='1267657661' post='2291276']
I've sold stuff more than a week after I listed it. After it's off the first or second page, you've pretty much got to[b] get lucky with someone doing some filtering[/b] or looking for your specific item.
[/quote]

Actually, maybe I'm the only experiencing this, but the filters don't seem to be working 100%. If you filter on something like "Irons", it'll filter the results. The filtered results are fine on page 1, but if you try to navigate to another page, it appears that the filter is lost and it's the full array of listings on that page. I have yet to figure out how to navigate to other pages while using the filters.

Maybe it's just me...

[TooMuchAwesome]

"Dude", I'm not trying to bump stuff I already had listed for a week or so. I'm trying to get new items on the first page instead of adding them to my listing on pg 6 where no one will see it. I think "people like you" are confused about what I was confused about. Thanks for you're opinion though.

[TooMuchAwesome]

Had the same problem the other night with the filtering system

[drpino]

If you want the exposure of the first page of the BST, you can always PM Gxgolfer about having your ad pinned to the top for a fee.

The BST is a free and valuable service[b] for personal use.[/b].. seems that fact is often forgotten. Members have a responsibility to read, understand and abide by the rules. If you have a question about the BST, post in the Website Help section.

Apparently we still need to sort out the filters.

[stage1350]

If you add items to your original classified, you will not get to the first page.

If you want to get to the first page, list your new items. But realize that you:
1) must close/delete your original ad
2) wait 24 hours
and
3) can't relist your old items for 30 days since they were originally listed.


The only thing I'd like to see is the elimination of non-golf items from the BST. Too many people selling jewelry, video games, watches, etc. That might cut down on the volume.

[Hairpie]

The rules seem pretty simple to me....Just price your items right and they'll sell....If anyone really wants it they'll find it...I know I've bought items that weren't listed on page one many times...

[HeadonaStick]

The rules seem fine to me. I don't have any problem selling stuff, and once in a while when something doesn't sell I drop the price and it goes.

It is a free service and the idea is not to let any one member hog the bandwidth/page 1 space. If you want it pinned to page 1 you are welcome to pay for that privilege. The only problem I see is that there are so many paid ads pinned that there are few spaces left for the free ads. But then again, they're free...

[Geo]

[quote name='Cfitz88' date='03 March 2010 - 04:12 PM' timestamp='1267657954' post='2291288']
I don't need anybody else's 2 cents telling me my stuff is priced too high. Sorry "dudes", I guess I didn't comprehend the rules as well as some of you geniuses!
[/quote]
[quote name='Cfitz88' date='03 March 2010 - 04:16 PM' timestamp='1267658174' post='2291297']
"Dude", I'm not trying to bump stuff I already had listed for a week or so. I'm trying to get new items on the first page instead of adding them to my listing on pg 6 where no one will see it. I think "people like you" are confused about what I was confused about. Thanks for you're opinion though.
[/quote]

I think I know why you might be having some problems. You're either an incredibly awesome person in real life who's having a difficult time conveying said awesomeness online, or your interpersonal skills online are an accurate reflection of who you are. Whichever the problem, I hope you get it sorted out, otherwise I doubt you'll be selling anything regardless of where your ad is located.

[drpino]

[quote name='Skaffa77' date='03 March 2010 - 06:15 PM' timestamp='1267658112' post='2291294']
[quote name='highergr0und' date='03 March 2010 - 05:07 PM' timestamp='1267657661' post='2291276']
I've sold stuff more than a week after I listed it. After it's off the first or second page, you've pretty much got to[b] get lucky with someone doing some filtering[/b] or looking for your specific item.
[/quote]

Actually, maybe I'm the only experiencing this, but the filters don't seem to be working 100%. If you filter on something like "Irons", it'll filter the results. The filtered results are fine on page 1, but if you try to navigate to another page, it appears that the filter is lost and it's the full array of listings on that page. I have yet to figure out how to navigate to other pages while using the filters.

Maybe it's just me...
[/quote]

BST filters should be functioning 100% now (i.e. filtered results span past page 1). Skaffa77, please check to confirm. Thanks.

[Dizz]

[quote name='Cfitz88' date='03 March 2010 - 06:16 PM' timestamp='1267658174' post='2291297']
"Dude", I'm not trying to bump stuff I already had listed for a week or so. I'm trying to get new items on the first page instead of adding them to my listing on pg 6 where no one will see it. I think "people like you" are confused about what I was confused about. Thanks for you're opinion though.
[/quote]

Then delete your old thread and start a new one. But you cannot re-list any of your old items. Simple rules, easy to follow and they make the most sense of any other board I've been on. Its free too, so I don't see what the problem is...

[Buzzkill]

[quote name='KDMullins' date='03 March 2010 - 02:56 PM' timestamp='1267656978' post='2291251']
I actually agree with the OP. Not about the rules being confusing, but about Classified [b]ads getting lost in the shuffle[/b]. There is so much traffic on this site and in the Classifieds in particular that ads stay on page 1 for about 5 minutes it seems. In a few day, they might as well be gone. Then you can't add another item to your initial ad because it's buried somewhere in cyberspace. Seems like there ought to be a better way...the problem is people take advantage of other systems, which is how we got where we are now.
[/quote]

That's the breaks - nothing you can do about it. If you have an item which someone is interested in, they'll be able to find it using the search function. Doesn't matter if it's on the first or last page.