Z4-forum.com

Hello,
What about making the "cars for sale" section chargeable to new users? Maybe a tenner donation if you have less than 20 posts, or have been a user for less than 30 days (as an example)?
There are a lot of people using this forum as free advertising to try to sell their cars with no intention of getting involved. I understand the thinking of "it could be a way of encouraging new members from the sale" but doesn't seem to be happening.
If a small "donation" was required it would still give the seller a more focused audience than main stream selling sites for less outlay and would help the coffers, surely?

It is a shame that some people only join to sell their cars and have missed out on a great community, but at the end of the day if a forum member ends up with a cracking motor at a good price then I’d rather have them here than not.

At a tenner a time it would be a deterrent to advertise here and I would stick to Facebook marketplace for free. At £2/2.50, it would probably generate more people willing to advertise.

gadgetJunky72 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:33 am It is a shame that some people only join to sell their cars and have missed out on a great community, but at the end of the day if a forum member ends up with a cracking motor at a good price then I’d rather have them here than not.

This is my point of view their loss our gain

I think forums like this are a free to use resource..my past experience of charging anything deters most people.

Forum members get access to Zeds they may not have seen elsewhere.

Just regard it as an act of benevolence!

I've been on some sites where you have to attain a certain amount of posts before you can advertise a vehicle. That was the case with the Audi TT forum and it annoyed me as I couldn't get access to the for sale section to see what was on offer, as I would have preferred a forum's owner car.

Their loss, Z4 forum gained. I found a car privately but at least I had some knowledge of the vehicle before I bought it.

gadgetJunky72 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:33 am I’d rather have them here than not.

Pbondar wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:44 am Forum members get access to Zeds they may not have seen elsewhere.
Just regard it as an act of benevolence!

The above two posts are right on the money. If we charge for advertising, we lose the advertising. Owners adrvertising their cars on here are a major benefit to the forum, and should be encouraged.

It's to our advantage, just as much as theirs.

People may be advertising their e85 and then looking to upgrade to a larger lump or an e89 so why stop them advertising, they may stick around or buy another forum members car.

How many people come on here say they are looking for XYZ, buy a car and are never seen again, just as bad.

I think what Ming mentioned could possibly work, that you have to be with the Forum a certain amount of time before you can advertise anything for sale. I'd rather do business with someone who's made a contribution to the Forum with a trackable history than someone new who's here just to sell something and then disappear.

I bought my 35is from someone who only joined to sell it, it was the right spec and colour combination that I was looking for, he’d only previously advertised it on Facebook which I probably wouldn’t have seen, so I think I did well out it

I tend to do my own sort of penalty system for new members joining to sell

For existing or long-standing members I'll keep my negative comments to myself and offer only positively view - unless it's a really funny comment and I can't help myself (or a really badly modified car)

For new users, with no 'welcome post' I'll try to constructively point out any issues in their ad, and see how they respond. If they're happy to get involved and answer the queries, then great...and it gives a potential buyer more information...and the newbie is then a welcome member of the community

If they don't get involved, then I just write them off and never offer any more assistance/guidance, as they're unlikely to come back to answer and genuine questions from interested parties either

SV8Predator wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:06 pm gadgetJunky72 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 6:33 am
I’d rather have them here than not.
Pbondar wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 11:44 am
Forum members get access to Zeds they may not have seen elsewhere.
Just regard it as an act of benevolence!

The above two posts are right on the money. If we charge for advertising, we lose the advertising. Owners adrvertising their cars on here are a major benefit to the forum, and should be encouraged.

It's to our advantage, just as much as theirs.

My thoughts exactly.