eBay links.....?

[PhatBasstard]

This is not to challenge any Mod or even Paul.
Also, if this has already been covered and I missed it (or is in the wrong forum) I'm sorry.

Anyone else find it strange that we aren't allowed to post a link to our eBay auction when eBay itself has links to auctions for gear near the bottom of many (if not most) of our thread pages?

And I'll bet most (if not all) of those sellers aren't even TB (supporting ) members!

Seems a little unfair to me, but maybe I'm not seeing this right.

Discuss.

 

[bongomania]

Ebay pays Paul for those links.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Ebay pays Paul for those links.

Of course they do! That's not in question.

It just seems...odd..to me that people who support this site are prohibited from even putting a simple link in their for sale thread, yet any random person who happens to be selling music gear on eBay (I don't know how eBay choses who/what), and probably has no idea of TalkBass, gets a marque shot for their auction on this site.

If you and I are both selling the same item X on eBay, and I am prohibited from putting a link to it in my thread, but your auction hits the eBay lottery and gets a "marque" link (especially if it shows up at the bottom of my thread, in unfair compitition, which would really p*ss me off), that is unfair. Especially if you happen to not even be a supporting member.

I think a better rule would be:
You can post a link as long as it's for sale here also, at a fixed TB price that is equal to or less than any "Buy It Now" (if listed) price. TB'rs get priority and the eBay auction could be ended early if a sale is made here (EX: "Buyer has ended this auction early because the item is no longer available"). Happens all the time.

Otherwise, if no TB sale, the auction concludes normally.

 

[bongomania]

I don't disagree with your point per se, but just to put the whole Ebay-paying-for-space thing in perspective:

TB gets money from supporting members only once a year, and it's a more or less fixed amount. TB gets money from Ebay every time any visitor to the site clicks through one of those links, and they get more money any time one of those people buys anything off Ebay within 30 days of clicking through the link. TB gets how many tens of thousands of visitors?

IOW it makes good financial sense for a high-traffic site link this to have paid advertising; your argument hinges more on 'principle' than 'practical'. IMO.

 

[PhatBasstard]

.....your argument hinges more on 'principle' than 'practical'. IMO.

Well, fairness (principle) should always be addressed, especially since it's not impractical to do it the way I suggested above and make it fair for everybody (you know, the ones this site is supposed to be here for ).

As for how those eBay ads/links work...still no revelations there.
I know I, in the interest of fairness, will never click one of those eBay links below.

 

[EricF]

If you want a link to a for sale item in your sig, post your item in the TB classifieds and put a link to that thread in your sig. If you want to advertise to TB members, have the item for sale on TB. This means you have to be a TB Supporting Member, and TB benefits. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[PhatBasstard]

If you want a link to a for sale item in your sig, post your item in the TB classifieds and put a link to that thread in your sig. If you want to advertise to TB members, have the item for sale on TB. This means you have to be a TB Supporting Member, and TB benefits. Seems pretty simple to me.

1. I am a "supporting member", and.....
2. Did you even read what we were talking about (i.e. subject matter)?!?

Apparently not too simple to you.

 

[Son of Magni]

I never see any ads here. Maybe you need to get better at setting up your browser....

 

[PhatBasstard]

I never see any ads here. Maybe you need to get better at setting up your browser....

Right.
They're near the bottom of many (if not most) thread pages (between the last post and the quick reply box), with links to specific auctions. That's why bongomania is defending them.....because they're not there!

Maybe you need to get some better glasses (or maybe it's just real dark where your heads at ).

At least bongomania has seen them and can intelligently address the issue. I wonder if you others pay any real attention to what you're looking at.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Well it is easy to block ads - if you set this up !!

If you are going to be hostile to people - I don't see how you expect to get answers...

 

[David Wilson]

It just seems...odd..to me that people who support this site are prohibited from even putting a simple link in their for sale thread, yet any random person who happens to be selling music gear on eBay (I don't know how eBay choses who/what), and probably has no idea of TalkBass, gets a marque shot for their auction on this site.

You ARE allowed to put an ebay link in your for sale ad - once it has been up for one week on Talkbass.
http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/TalkBass_Classifieds_Rules_and_FAQ

Threads started with the intent to advertise an auction will be deleted. Links to auctions will only be allowed if posted as a reply to an existing (at least one week old) thread originally advertising the direct sale of the same item.

Putting an ebay link in a TB classified is using TB resources (bandwidth/storage) to generate revenue for another site (ebay), so the rules seem a fair enough compromise to me.

 

[PhatBasstard]

You ARE allowed to put an ebay link in your for sale ad - once it has been up for one week on Talkbass.
http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/TalkBass_Classifieds_Rules_and_FAQ

Not sure if this is new or not. Better, but still not quite the same.

Putting an ebay link in a TB classified is using TB resources (bandwidth/storage) to generate revenue for another site (ebay)...

...and so is the sponsored eBay link...but at our expense as we pay for much the same to this site as eBay is doing.

Plus, since I always insert the "Proud member of TalkBass.Com" logo and link into my gear auctions (a practice I'm going to reconsider), I would think it's working the other way around also and should be considered in policing this rule.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Well it is easy to block ads - if you set this up !!

If you are going to be hostile to people - I don't see how you expect to get answers...

You, like the other two, are still missing the point: I can't block the competing eBay ad/link to you. That's where it counts!

Also, I was not hostile as I was equally condecending to two that were hardly posting "answers" (this excludes bongomania as he, unlike many, at least sees and understands the subject correctly).

 

[David Wilson]

Not sure if this is new or not. Better, but still not quite the same.

This has been the policy for at least three years now.

If your complaint is that a non-TB member may get their item highlighted in an eBay banner ad, then this is still the case whether you can put an eBay link in your classified on day zero or day seven. Apologies if I'm not understanding your complaint correctly.

 

[EricF]

I mis-read the original post (yes, I read it and the other posts) and assumed you were wanting to put a link in your sig rather than in a for sale ad. I apologize for my error. And, yes, I did notice that you're already a Supporting Member. I could try to make my point more clearly, but I still fail to understand exactly what you're bitching about, and your bad attitude isn't very encouraging for further discussion.

 

[PhatBasstard]

I mis-read the original post (yes, I read it and the other posts) and assumed you were wanting to put a link in your sig rather than in a for sale ad. I apologize for my error. And, yes, I did notice that you're already a Supporting Member. I could try to make my point more clearly, but I still fail to understand exactly what you're bitching about, and your bad attitude isn't very encouraging for further discussion.

Not bitching. No bad attitude. Just don't like the condesending tone of "answers" given by people who haven't even comprehended the subject matter (one dunce actually said it was my browser...there supposedly are no eBay ads/links ). It's very irritating.

It just seemed strange to me that some random person, that may not know TalkBass from anything, but happens to be selling on eBay gets a marquee shot (and not just on only one thread as ours would be ) on this site while we, the "supporting members", have restrictions put on us.

Seems to go against fair trade to me. Sorry.

 

[PhatBasstard]

This has been the policy for at least three years now.

If your complaint is that a non-TB member may get their item highlighted in an eBay banner ad, then this is still the case whether you can put an eBay link in your classified on day zero or day seven. Apologies if I'm not understanding your complaint correctly.

But we can't put it in on day zero, even if we give TB'ers priority. The random (probably non-supporting non-member) seller that happens to be selling the same or similar gear doesn't have that restriction....but his/her auction gets plastered, unrestricted (not even TB'er priority) all over this site.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Not bitching. No bad attitude. Just don't like the condesending tone of "answers" given by people who haven't even comprehended the subject matter (one dunce actually said it was my browser...there supposedly are no eBay ads/links ). It's very irritating.

Sorry that was your own misunderstanding! So what was being said was that it is possible to block ads if you set up your browser in that way!

You just misunderstood what was being said!

 

[David Wilson]

moving to Customer Service

 

[yodedude2]

here's a crazy thought...how about if a small space were created (top, bottom, side, whatever...just keep it small) and random items from the TB classifieds (titles with thread links) were advertised!

that would be cool! later, ron