There was a time when E4 had sales. When the forum was 1/100th the size today. And it turned into spam. The same low quality non contributing members spammed their inventory. Today that spam would be relentless.
If I decide to go down this road and create a marketplace, it will be a hybrid through something like patreon and/or partnering with the largest auction houses/businesses. All of them have reached out about collaborating, but I don’t have the time to take on such a massive project. If that changes, in that scenario, E4 would be an arm in the process, rather than the entire marketplace platform. Keeping E4 in its wheelhouse of being the most informative resource.
This just seems like a monetized For-Sale forum with extra steps (and potential liability being brought to the site if someone gets ripped off)(which has been requested several times like the buy forum but has been denied due to spam or other reasons).
I want to lend a hand! I am amazed to see this thread today, because lately I have been struggling to find exactly where I can bring value into the hobby. Knowing what the community needs helps me a lot. I think a non-e4 website/social media that provides (1) selected, reputable sellers (helps keep moderating costs down), (2) authentication of product, (3) process for newcomers to join through extra effort, (4) lower fees than eBay.
Ludkins, Graded Gem, and similar partnerships would be great for publicity but could be feasible as an independent too.
@garyis2000 yes, because your voice is loud in the hobby, so saying that you support the idea is enabling. @bobbkos I like your ideas and am interested in hearing your background/skills and collaborating. I like that you were thinking about this need ahead of the game! @shadowless I also thought of StockX, we might want to adopt their ask/bid format. @gottaketchumall Your concerns make sense. I know that many people newer to the hobby don’t have a middleman who is trusted and has enough exposure for other newcomers to trust, specifically for trades and product authentication. I would argue there is a need here that a business/ or community project could solve. @exomemphiz yes I would enjoy starting a community project as well! @pkmnflyingmaster@reinasierpe@smpratte Thanks for your opinions on this, I hear that a lot of work goes into a project even as simple as a forum. You need less work, not more!
It would be great to have. Paid Pokemon experts (if following the StockX system) and a 2% up front fee could weed out a lot of fake sellers. Clearly not an E4 exclusive project, but E4 endorsed project could jumpstart this from a business standpoint.
I’m very glad we have the “Buy” postings at the very least. When I need to find a card, I know I can put a fair offer out and most likely get what I need, for a good price.
Either way, I’m glad new thoughts are being expressed. There are many good points here.
Im sure there is a want and need for a specific marketplace for Pokemon, especially with the high value collections members here have.
Personally, I like E4 as an information community and to find rarer products. What Id prefer to see is just a “Soon for sale” gallery option where members can post whatever extras/cards they arent interested in keeping and are looking to list on ebay, then people interested can either message directly and work out a deal before it gets to ebay or at least be aware that it will be coming up. No “Im looking for…” No “I value it at…”, just a simple “This stuff will be for sale soonish” and then everything else goes into messages. Maybe a post limitation as well to once a week per member.
My issue with ebay, as a buyer, is that I cannot keep track of every members listings, every possible auction, every possible keyword so I end up missing things I would have wanted and a gallery with limited scammers would be wonderful. I also agree with some members that it is nice to keep the money in the community directly, instead of always going through another service, and that I wouldnt really want to see E4 become a true marketplace. It would also keep it similar to how it works now, with everything at the sellers/buyers discretion and agreements (should be made only with trusted members but you risk it however you want), except that there may be an extra thread to moderate from time to time to keep from spam (Sorry admins).
If you want to buy/sell a card, you pay a membership fee, yearly to E4. There could be and should be post requirements and you must have been a member 6months, etc,. To ensure that people aren’t just coming in to sell.
You get one thread, and you can list up to a certain number of cards at any given time. You can bump one a week. Just like the buy thread. Maybe have a middleman thread at the top with some type of fee structure for the middleman if someone chooses to go that route. The rest, it’s at your own risk. I would pay to play, for something like this, and likely wouldn’t sell more than 1 or 2 a year.
It cost nothing more to manage this feature. Policing would be minimal, because in order to access/enter the section it, you would have to meet the requirements and have the membership.
If anything, I would remove all fees and just sell spots on the subforum.
eg.
First sticky thread = $X per month
2nd = $Y per month
etc
Then the rest of the non-paying peasants have to float their threads once per week themselves, but they would never get higher than the paying adverts.
@jkanly, i like your ideas! The bid/ask system would be cool, but I actually think there should just be an ask price. This would discourage a low-baller, bargain-centric culture. We can have all deals discussed over messsaging, this could build friendships and a stronger community.
@buckna, yes I agree a simple list is the best way to start! We would eventually want to build something less cumbersome than manually cross-referencing lists but start small.
@lyleberr, yeah I like the gallery format with restrictions in place
@r2d287, I think a membership fee for both buyers and selllers (no other fees) may be the best way. I think a list like Buckna said is better than a forum, that way you can find a listing on eBay and then check if the seller is on e4, rather than scrolling through indeviduals’ posts hoping to find exactly what you want.
Why don’t we create a thread and then we can create an eBay search that’s updated when users add their eBay ID. You can supply a comma separated list of seller ids and then just look up their E4 profile. Here’s a dummied example
This is the exact technique I’ve been doing lately. It’s been maybe four months plus sense I’ve bought off eBay. But I’ve been spending $500-$600 every two weeks
@mosstastic, are you thinking start a thread where everyone puts their eBay IDs and then every day managers manually add new IDs to a spreadsheet that is pinned at the top of the thread? Then everyone can scroll down the spreadsheet cliking on all the eBay stores. Or are you thinking there’s some way to automate this?
Also, do you think there should be a 6 month e4 account age minimum or someting?
I just want to jump in here to say that any activity that involves selling, including creating this hypothetical thread, needs to be approved by the mods. While I haven’t spoken to everyone specifically about this, I doubt it would be approved.
We currently only have one allowed method for advertising your eBay/sales on E4, and that is a link in your signature. This is great because people only see it when you post. The more you post, and the better your posts are, the more people see your eBay link. It’s also unobtrusive and doesn’t get in the way of any actual discussion the forum wants to be having. If you’re interested in seeing what a forum member has for sale, you can click their link, check out their eBay, and set up a sale on the forum and maybe negotiate a bit of a discount.
Other people have discussed this but it needs to be said again. E4 is not a marketplace and we do not want it to become a marketplace. Not only are there are better purpose-built buying/selling sites than a forum infrastructure could ever support, but we have consciously chosen to minimize any kind of market activity in favor of cultivating a discussion-based forum. Arguably the reason the forum is so active and wonderful today is because we eliminated sales and trades years ago and even have strong buy thread restrictions. It would not make sense to reverse that in any way.
I would avoid putting extensive amounts of effort and thought into any E4-based seller infrastructure as you will ultimately be disappointed when the staff says it’s not something we’re going to endorse or allow.
@fourthstartcg,
“Arguably the reason the forum is so active and wonderful today is because we eliminated sales and trades years ago”
I wouldn’t go that far but sales threads did suck and clogged up the works. I don’t think anybody here is advocating a return to that old system. I think they’re discussing acceptable alternatives.
I’d keep an open mind, not be dismissive, and really listen to our co-members. They just might surprise you with an idea that could be acceptable and move E4 ahead. If not, then little lost:)
