is there a for sale thread anymore???????

[sportscentury]

Hi, Chris -

Do you really stand to lose that much money if the *For Sale* section stays active? We all knew that GUF would change when it was bought out by GUU, but this seems a bit over the top. It's your business, and I respect your prerogative to do as you please, but thought I'd offer my two cents.

Reid

[both-teams-played-hard]

Since this is GUU's very first ever auction, I think its fair to close the "For Sale" section. The owners may just want to test the waters. Also, this is a "selling point" to attract potential consignors.
With that said, I have never sold to any forum members outside of eBay.

[bat_master]

I know the forum is looking out for consignors, but it seems it's at the expense of those paying forum members who don't want to use the auction and would rather list in the for sale section.

Dave

I agree completely. In addition I've noticed a few other things that may need to be addressed or I'm thinking about dumping my subscription.

1. Experts corner - I understand that people have lives and are busy, but some updated material would be nice.

2. Bat records - Since the release of the Malta book it's pretty much worthless to have online access to it.

3. Price guide - Not exceptionally valid in many cases. The bats listed are all hall of famers and it's pretty obvious that the prices are somewhat outdated. In general I think it is almost impossible to have a price guide as bats regularly sell for well above and well below the listed values. I can't even say that I've accessed it to use only as a guide in the last month.

Aside from using the now missing for sale section, I'm not really sure what my $40 a year is getting me aside from posts about auction houses I already don't deal with.

I know I'm not the only person that feels this way. I've had discussions with multiple people this week alone that feel that the forum is going downhill quickly and I'm well inclined to agree.

I guess in general I don't feel that in this stage in my collecting this site is as beneficial as it once was. I feel that it has definitely gone downhill in the last 6 months.

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Everyone,

I think there seems to be a bit of confusion regarding the "For Sale" section of the forum and its relationship to the site’s memberships and forum usage. First of all, for those interested in using the forum, it is available for FREE in the 'Complimentary Membership' of the site. If someone is solely interested in using the forum they do NOT have to pay for it. It is FREE.

As for the overall site, while I know many people don't think about it whatsoever, there are costs to grow and maintain the site which provide great benefits for those using its services. As such, GUU needs to generate revenues to offset the costs of running the site. One way would be to focus on a subscription fee/advertising model to generate revenues and the other would be to do it through transaction facilitation. We have opted to focus on the latter for a number of reasons.

First of all, we had concerns about focusing on advertising revenue to support the site since we did not want to have to worry about the concerns of advertisers if they were paying to advertise on GUU. Said another way, we want the free flow of information on GUU to be unobstructed by potential complaints of advertisers (who would be most interested in our target audience) that might resent some of the information that is being shared on the forum. I trust people who understand this point will appreciate the fact that we chose not to compromise the site's content for the sake of generating advertising revenue. I can certainly elaborate on this more if needed. However, I believe a short reflection on the potential issues of what is stated above should be self-evident.

In addition, regarding our membership fees, contrary to a previous post, our fee is not $40/year. The $49.95 fee is for the first year only and it includes a copy of Vince Malta's book that retails for $39.95. For those doing the math, the fee incremental to the book is $10 for the first year. The renewal fee is $19.95 per year. Further, neither is required to use the forum. Once again, the use of the forum is FREE regardless or whether or not someone chooses to join or renew a membership. Individuals can assess the information on the subscription page to determine whether or not they think the paid benefits justify the nominal costs. If you don’t think they do then simply don’t pay them and continue using the free areas of the site.

On the other hand, we did feel that focusing on creating a new transaction model for the hobby would enable us to: a) generate the revenues needed to run the site, and b) create a system that would better meet the needs of the collecting community as a whole and is congruent with what the overall site stands for in terms of helping collectors make more informed decisions about items they are interested in purchasing. For years we have heard complaints about auction houses, eBay, etc. and we are rolling out a model that we believe will address the deficiencies of those models. For those wanting to know what we are doing in this area, here is a link to our “Auction Information” which explains it for you:

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/lots_gallery/info.php

Notably, the ‘For Sale’ area of the site is not going away. It is being upgraded with a system that will protect collectors from the problems that exist in other channels. For example, when items are listed on this site with only titles and prices and the discussions take place offline, where do collectors benefit from the potential to ask questions about items and have the collective community share in an analysis of the item? Through both GUU Auctions and the coming system on the site, collectors will benefit from the collective knowledge of the site’s users to help them make informed decisions about the items they buy. That is the goal of our system and it will take place on the sale of all merchandise offered on GUU going forward.

Net, the use of the forum as per its stated objective of “a way to bring game used collectors together and help hobbyists educate each other” is FREE to everyone. The previous ability to offer merchandise for sale on the site was being offered as a courtesy to the site's users. The fact that people cannot sell there items on the site for free right now has no impact on the sharing of information or the ability for collectors to help educate each other. Further, in the future people will still be able to offer merchandise for sale on the site in a manner that will help collectors make informed decisions about the items being offered.

Sincerely,
Chris Cavalier

[CollectGU]

Chris,

Will there be any cost involved when selling an item on the new for sale section?

Thanks,
Dave

[JimCaravello]

I personally have sold thousands of dollars of merchandise through the For Section over the last two years and I know many others have sold quite a bit too. Folks - we have been doing this for "Free"! Where else on this planet do you have this type of capability with a targeted audience? You can probably count those venues on one hand and not get past the first couple of fingers.

I completely understand what Chris is saying in his previous post and I personally think a more sophisticated and enhanced venue on this site to post items for sale will be of great benefit to all who participate. I also think that pulling the For Sale section down as to not compete with the upcoming auction makes complete sense and is beneficial to both consignors and potential buyers.

Chris is ceating a top notch auction platform with the upcoming auction as well as a new For Sale section in the near future and I believe we should all embrace this and be patient and see how it all unfolds...

GUU has provided the hobby with a much needed resource that has a complimentary membership for Free which is unbelievable and an annual fee membership which is ridiculously low for the benefits you get. It amazes me that people will spend thousands of dollars on bats and then argue over $19.95 to have online access to bat charts and the other features associated with a membership to GUU? I can't tell you how many times a bat pops up during the day and I am at work and I have to access a record from my computer and can make a valued decision immediately......That's worth a lot more than $19.95.......

Lastly - let me say THANK YOU Chris Cavalier and GUU for allowing me to sell items for Free on this site for the past two years - I can't wait to bid on a few items in the upcoming auction - Jim

[CollectGU]

I personally have sold thousands of dollars of merchandise through the For Section over the last two years and I know many others have sold quite a bit too. Folks - we have been doing this for "Free"! Where else on this planet do you have this type of capability with a targeted audience? You can probably count those venues on one hand and not get past the first couple of fingers.

Jim,

You act as if this isn't the norm on forums. The baseball card forum, hockey game worn forum, and the baseball glove forum I believe are all free to trade and sell items to their respective targeted audiences.

I agree with you that this forum being a good value just for the bat records alone.

Regards,
Dave

[yankees159]

Personally, I would think a “thank you” would be in order from those who have already sold their merchandise here for free for years without having to pay to do it.

This website has changed the way auction houses do business and has saved many of us thousands of dollars by exposing the fraud that has run rampid in this industry.

I am going to assume that like most websites it was designed to generate revenue and have a positive cash flow. Why is this so hard to understand? Would any of the critics of this policy work for free?


Good Luck Chris, I think what you are doing is awesome. You can't please everybody, especially those who embrace a well fare state.


Todd

[bat_master]

Personally, I would think a “thank you” would be in order from those who have already sold their merchandise here for free for years without having to pay to do it.

This website has changed the way auction houses do business and has saved many of us thousands of dollars by exposing the fraud that has run rampid in this industry.

I am going to assume that like most websites it was designed to generate revenue and have a positive cash flow. Why is this so hard to understand? Would any of the critics of this policy work for free?


Good Luck Chris, I think what you are doing is awesome. You can't please everybody, especially those who embrace a well fare state.


Todd

Todd,

At the bottom of the main page of the forum you will see the following in bold print: "This forum was originally created by Eric Stangel as a way to bring game used collectors together and help hobbyists educate each other."

As for the comment about the critics of this policy working for free I feel that for every auction item that was pulled because of comments that were made here the members that brought it to the surface were working for free....for whatever auction house was offering the item.

[yankees159]

Hi Tim:

Your refered to this quote"

"At the bottom of the main page of the forum you will see the following in bold print: "This forum was originally created by Eric Stangel as a way to bring game used collectors together and help hobbyists educate each other."


Isn't this Forum bringing collectors together and educating them? It has helped me out. Do you come to this site to learn more about the industry and the fradulent items that exsist? Or is promotion of your website and selling the items ,the primary reason why you come to this website? If you don't enjoy the educational value of this website, why don't you stop visiting it?

Looks like your free ride is over and you might be upset by it. Just my opinion.