Breeders space

I have a suggestion that I think will benefit most members here, I think it would be a good Idea to have a breeder's section where they pay an annual fee and have their own selling space (similar to what sponsor's have), that way breeders can advertise what they want on their own page and the buyers can sort of trace back the history of the seller through past transactions.

This should generate some money for the running of the site, and I think buyers and sellers will appreciate this system as well.

I would definitely buy a space if this was available.

Cheers.

I think its a good idea!
Two things to worry about is do you have it as a flat fee as that would discouuge some or % of sales to make it balanced but some may be on a budget would they be able to pay a monthly or yearly fee.
Some people only have a handful of fish would they be grouped into breeders? or do you have to have 40 plus fish to be include this could cause a clash of the haves and have nots.
Most people that have been around for a while will know the bigger breeders and know there a trusted seller from feedback and point system.
A future to come fry ie:- in a month breeder LBN i have x,y and z fish available would be just as helpful as people on budgets etc can save or plan a new home/make space instead of getting pm's about i am getting paid tuesday week can you hold fish than a week later they pm you back and say they cant do it may stop alot of the crap pm's all get over the years. ( with a date of approx posting )

From memory I think shops pay something like $150 a year (each forum is different) which I think is a fair price as every site has to recover cost for maintenance.

It is up to the individual if they want to pay the fee for their own space, the classifieds will still be there. This is just an extra option that will benefit the site, the breeder and the buyer.

This is just an idea, it is still up to the site owners. As far as I know, if this happens, this would be the first time breeders would be able to buy space on a forum.

It would have to offer something alot more than space for selling. it is a good idea but when you have a free classifieds its gonna take alot for someone to pay to sell their fish.

its nice to think that maybe those that make a lot of sales from sites will pay to advertise their goods, but generally people don't.
we have the advertisers packages which are offered for commercial sellers so that they can post lists of what they have. like mikew, he breeds/resells a lot, so wanted to pay for an advertisers package, but it was hard to decide whether he needed to or not, where do you draw the line between those that breed a few fish (geeman, irene etc) and someone who would be classified as a commercial seller?, luckily for us, Mike said he wanted to pay for a package so we didn't have to think too hard about it.
ultimately, for the future of the hobby, we want to promote breeding on here, so i would see it as counter productive to charge breeders to sell on here.
we want everything to be accessable to all members, for free, but as every penny for the site had to come from mine and Lisa's pockets, we needed to introduce some fee's which is where the need for the advertisers package comes from, we dont want to have to charge for anything, but at the end of the day, the site isn't cheap to run, and with limited numbers of subscribing premium members, we decided that those set to make money from the site should be the ones that help fund it, and for everyone else, they have the option to pay, in the way of premium memberships, to help us fund the site.

saying that, i do think there could be a call for something like your idea, maybe without the fee. will post in the staff lounge and see how the idea sits for something like a tank bred/ breeders section in each of the classifieds.

I may have looked over it, but how do you become a premium member?

dirty said:

I may have looked over it, but how do you become a premium member?

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On the navbar there is a link that says usercp, click that then look at Miscellaneous items and paid subscriptions is there. click that and follow instructions

i dont mind paying to advertise a link to my web page of homepage for purchases but i dont like the idea of having to pay to advertise in the classifieds im sure it would be good for those who have to pay because they are a power seller but not for the others!

plus it saves those who have to pay to set up and run web pages

so i would say im not a fan

No one is suggesting to charge to sell in the classifieds foti

BluE SnipeR said:

I think it would be a good Idea to have a breeder's section where they pay an annual fee and have their own selling space (similar to what sponsor's have),

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Ummmm defo not. I breed fish for a HOBBY and not to make money. If I have to pay to advertise them then it becomes a business and not a hobby.

Just a breeders directory that people and update and lock. That way you dont get all the chav,s spamming up the threads and if anyone wants to buy something then they can pm the breeder in question.

I also think a fry exchange amongst breeders is a good plan.

Cheers

thegeeman

thank you FF
ill keep it short people who are always selling fish have to be financal members so this would benift them but no one should refer to there buisness page to PP

you want a web page do it else where and pay to advertise it here like everyone else simple!!!!!!!

thegeeman said:

Ummmm defo not. I breed fish for a HOBBY and not to make money. If I have to pay to advertise them then it becomes a business and not a hobby.

Just a breeders directory that people and update and lock. That way you dont get all the chav,s spamming up the threads and if anyone wants to buy something then they can pm the breeder in question.

I also think a fry exchange amongst breeders is a good plan.

Cheers

thegeeman

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I wouldn't really call it a business, it will always be a hobby no matter how you look at it. I have kept and bred fish for a while and have never achieved to make a profit from selling fish, but I do manage to stay in the hobby at a much lower cost.

What I am suggesting is to have a separate section like a breeders registry but the owner is able to sell and promote what they have in their own space, the classifieds is still there to be used as a free service.

Had a look at the commercial sponsor and it was like £120 per year for the top package, I think I paid £12 to be a premium member so something like £20-50 per year would maybe get more interest.

I thought an idea like this had to go to a top forum like this one, as I would say this is the best pleco forum around right now. But all good, doesn't matter what happens, this is always gonna be a top site.:clap:

Cheers everyone.:thumbup:

Oh yeah, I think a fry exchange program would be a great idea Gee. I use to be part of a saltwater forum and they use to exchange coral fragments all the time, worked really well.

Actually, when I think about it, I'm broke because of my pleco addiction:wb:lol.

BluE SnipeR said:

What I am suggesting is to have a separate section like a breeders registry but the owner is able to sell and promote what they have in their own space, the classifieds is still there to be used as a free service.

Click to expand...

I like the Idea of having a directory but if you going to charge breeders to use it and keep it updated then IMO it wont work. They could just carry on using the standard classified section for free. If you then tell them they must use the breeders section and pay a fee they will just sale they fish elsewhere. Plecoplanet is here to promote the well being of plec,s therefore encouraging breeders to trade is what this site should be about.

Love and group hug

thgeeman

Just an update, We have been discussing this also in staff room, and do have a couple of plans forming:thumbup:


Thankyou for all the feedback:yes:

Ok guys, We have finally made a couple of decisions. We won't be having a breeders directory at the moment and the main reason is because We are worried about filling the forum with too much, making it difficult for people to navigate round. We do like the idea of a breeders directory but we don't really have the resources right now to make it work. However, If We come across any vbulletin addons which could help prevent this then We will have a rethink.
We will however add a sticky thread at the top of each buy/sell for fry exchanges and see how that goes.

Thank you for the initial suggestion and all comments. Please do keep suggesting ideas for improving Plecoplanet as We do consider everything that is suggested and if it is thought they will work then we will try them.

Just to add, there is the option to add what you are currently breeding in your profile. The profile of any member can hold a lot of information and its well worth filling out all the fields imo.

From what I see, is that there has been a commercial seller package added. Can you explain what extras there are Doodles.

If I am correct, you get a different color user name and title.

Cheers.:thumbup:

If I am correct, you get a different color user name and title.

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Yup plus all the benefits of a Premium membership and you can have a link or banner in your siggy to your website. This package is for commercial traders and has been added to the sponsor/advertisers thread.

*UPDATE*

We have decided to try a fry exchange sub forum for each buy/sell. The forums are now ready to use.