Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok, by popular demand we are going to host another OLF swap meet. The event will begin next Monday morning (10/15) and run until the 25th.

As you know we are constantly tweaking how we run these, and for the most part they are fun and successful for everyone, but we will again be making a few changes.

Basically the swap meet will be set up as a separate discussion thread (much like the off topic discussion, or the CNC discussion). Everyone will have access to read and comment, BUT YOU MAY NOT START A NEW DISCUSSION without getting clearance with Lance or me. Each seller will have the opportunity to create and control his/her topic - think of it as a "table" at a flea market. (All the normal OLF rules apply).


IF YOU WANT TO SELL SOMETHING

Simply let us know you wish to be a seller in this thread (or the other thread is fine if you have already done so) and we will mark your account as a Swap Meet Seller.

The swap meet is open to any registered member who wishes to sell. In the past we have alternately charged sellers to participate and allowed members to sell for free. This time we are going to blend this approach.

* Any member can sell up to 5 items for free
* 6 - 20 items will have a "table fee" of $50
* and more than 20 items will have a "table fee" of $100
* (Current sponsors can sell as many items as they like for free)

Why are we charging any fee? We want everyone to participate in the swap meet and to keep the barrier for entry as low as possible. However we also want to recognize all our sponsors do for us (after all, they pay the bills that keep the lights on) and if it is completely free there is nothing that would stop larger sellers from participating and moving massive quantities of products. This gives them access to "our market" without paying. At least this way we make some attempt to even the playing field.

We recognize it is an imperfect way to do this... but frankly, so is everything else we have thought of. This just seems to have the fewest problems.

Ok, so now THAT's out of the way..

Here are a couple more thoughts.

We want all commerce to happen in the threads. Please do not link out to your web site. (i.e. don't say, hey I have some great cocobolo on sale visit my web site at www.greatfreakingwood.com/cocobolo and order online). The fun of the swap meet is the community exchange.

As items are sold please note that in the threads. Last time there were a few problems with items being sold to more than one person etc. Not a big deal in the long run, but please stay on top of your sales and keep everything as clear as you can.


IF YOU WANT TO BUY

There are no restrictions to buying just visit the thread and do your thing. The only thing that we ask is that you keep the commerce IN THE THREAD. Not in PM or email. That way it helps eliminate confusion about what is sold and what isn't.


COMMENTS / SUGGESTIONS / COMPLAINTS

If you have comments about any of this or suggestions about how to make these swap meets run smoother we are all ears. And if you have a complaint, please understand this is a ton of work for Lance and I to set all this up and monitor it. We are certainly open to suggestions and constructive critisism but please understand that we are trying to do something for the good of the community. So keep that spirit in mind as you voice these.   

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

If it's technically feasible, it'd be great if the editing function could be turned on for the duration of the sale so items can be clearly marked as sold.

_________________
______________________________
Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Jon, well look into that. we may be able to turn on the edit function for the "Swap Meet Seller" accounts. I will check in to it. Great suggestion by the way!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Brock,

To avoid problems, I think that it would be a good idea to have a "No Sale by PM" rule. If someone wants to buy a listed item, they simply make a post on the sellers thread claiming the item. In this way everyone can see who had first dibs. It also keeps the transactions openly recorded for all to see that everything is fair and above board.

Cheers

Kim

Please list me as a seller also.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Lance,

Last time out a few sellers became auctioneers. Is this going to be permitted this time? If so How will this work ?

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

[QUOTE=Dave-SKG]

Lance,

Last time out a few sellers became auctioneers. Is this going to be permitted this time? If so How will this work ?

[/QUOTE]

I am not following what you mean by this? Can you 'splain?

Do you mean they allow bidding rather than fixed price?

If so, my view on that is it is their table they can do business however they like.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=larkim] Brock,

To avoid problems, I think that it would be a good idea to have a "No Sale by PM" rule. If someone wants to buy a listed item, they simply make a post on the sellers thread claiming the item. In this way everyone can see who had first dibs. It also keeps the transactions openly recorded for all to see that everything is fair and above board.

Cheers
Kim[/QUOTE]


I agree.

If the item is in the thread then it would be easiest to make all commerce happen in the thread -- I think this is where we ran into a little trouble last time. It was hard to know who was first to "claim" an item.

However if it is for an item that is not in the thread I see no reason to limit PM (for instance you buy an adi top in the thread, but ask for brace stock via PM. That seems ok as long as brace stock is not also being sold in the swap meet.)

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=letseatpaste] If it's technically feasible, it'd be great if the editing function could be turned on for the duration of the sale so items can be clearly marked as sold.[/QUOTE]

Yes, we can do that. I see no harm in that. And after the swap meet is over we will turn of the edit ability.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Nothing at the swap meet should be sold in auction form!! We have an auction site in place. I really hated that approach on the last one.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Sounds great Lance, I had heard second hand how cool these were before I registered.  Please add me as a seller.

I wanna be a seller too!

_________________
http://www.presnallguitars.com

Just a clarification.

Say somebody offers 25 wood binding strips. Is that an item, or is it 25 items? If it is 25 items and the fee is $100, that would be more than the value of the items.

If somebody had 25 sets of BRW, I don't see the problem, but......

Grant Goltz

I'll work the concession table

Every good swap meet has a concession table

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

[QUOTE=Grant Goltz] Just a clarification.

Say somebody offers 25 wood binding strips. Is that an item, or is it 25 items? If it is 25 items and the fee is $100, that would be more than the value of the items.

If somebody had 25 sets of BRW, I don't see the problem, but......

Grant Goltz[/QUOTE]

Think of it as transactions. If the transaction was for 25 bindings strips to a single buyer, that would be one sale

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Rod, you got the popcorn stand!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Sounds great! Please list me as a seller. Thanks

_________________
Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

just a thought, but do OLF subscribers get any kind of perks?

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
* Any member can sell up to 5 items for free
* 6 - 20 items will have a "table fee" of $50
* and more than 20 items will have a "table fee" of $100
* (Current sponsors can sell as many items as they like for free)

... we are trying to do something for the good of the community. So keep that spirit in mind as you voice these.   
[/QUOTE]

Hi Brock,

Hmmmmmm..... I agree in spirit with what you are trying to do (protect sponsors from a rush of un-sponsors selling a ton of stuff "free".) However, I'm wondering if there is a chance that this could be re-worded to "dollars" rather than "items."

Like this:
* Any member can sell up to $500 worth for free
* $600 - $2000 worth will have a "table fee" of $50
* and more than $2000 worth will have a "table fee" of $100
* (Current sponsors can sell as many items as they like for free)

-or, even better-
have a simple cutoff, and percentage scale, such as:
* Any member can sell up to $500 worth for free
* more than $500 will have a "table fee" of 3%
* (Current sponsors can sell as many items as they like for free)


In the last swap meet, there were a lot of small items sold that did not amount to a lot of money (small tools, bits, finishing supplies, binding, bridge blanks.) Large value items are much more likely to impact sponsors.

For example, (using items rather than dollars), I might have 10 binding strips for sale that will only total $20 (and would cost me $50 to sell), and another guy sells 5 sets of Brazilian Rosewood for a total of $3000, and pays nothing.

I think the dollar value is more in line with the spirit of what you're trying to do, and it will allow a bunch of members to swap and sell small items that have little impact on sponsors.

With all transaction amounts spelled out in the thread (not in PMs), it should be easy to see how many dollars each seller sells.

Waddayathink?

Dennis

_________________
Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Yeah, hmmm.... that *is* a good idea. You are right that is more in the spirit of what we were going for.

Let us chew on that a bit.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Put me down for some popcorn.
                        James

_________________
James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Brock-
swap meet
–noun
a fair or bazaar where objects, usually secondhand, are bartered or sold.

Is there going to be any provision for bartering (ie swapping) stuff with other members? - eg no charges for barter, only for selling?

I'm not trying to complicate things unnecessarily, but I'd much rather end up with some wood/tools/whatever arriving at my door rather than a few dollars for the excess from my woodpile.

Thanks
John

[QUOTE=James W B]Put me down for some popcorn.
[/QUOTE]



Sorry, I have negotiated exclusive rights to AUCTION any and all popcorn ONLY through my table.   

I agree that a percentage based fee seems more appropriate, otherwise I can't envision that very many small items will be listed.