[2005SSR6Speed]

I was wondering if everyone that is selling something on this site is a supporting vendor. I see things being pimped in all kinds of threads that people are making money on such as books. I offered to sell superchargers to members only and was beat up with pm's about paying to be a supporting vendor.

 

[BigAlkin]

:agree

 

[BigAlkin]

Look out! :lol

 

[dingbat]

Good question. At what point do you draw the line between selling something as a hobby to recoup costs and a business offering a product?
I feel that any member that is offering anything for sale should at least be a supporting member. Whether its T-shirts, books or whatever. If money is exchanged cough up the couple bucks for advertising. You are in fact using this forum as advertising, so pay for it. If the product is something normally sold from a business then becoming a supporting vendor should be a requirement.
Where the line is between the two is up for grabs.

 

[BigAlkin]

Start up another wed site :jester

 

[2005SSR6Speed]

It is just that everytime I read a thread anymore it has advertisements in it. I get upset when people do it to someone elses thread, if you have good information to share then share. I dont agree with comments like I know it all and then a pimp for a product.

 

[Mike in AZ]

My Humble Opinion......

2005SSR6Speed,

Necessity is definitely the mother of invention. I think that there are a number of individuals who have found a solution to a vehicle issue and share their fix with others. I feel these do not cross the line into being a vendor, as the individuals are most likey employed full time and are just getting a little compensation for their NRE, assembly efforts and knowledge. I do, however, agree that a "Supporting Member" membership is appropriate at this point.

It's clear to me that when the individual represents a company whose function is tied to the auto industry, whether as a GM dealer or an aftermarket supplier, they should sign up as a "Supporting Vendor". These are easy, but we don't have a section for them.

As far as hijacking someone's thread with a product diversion.... If you catch me doing it, call me on it and I'll retract my message. I think it is poor manners too, and think we all need to be kept accountable.

Sorry for the ramblings, I just felt the need to express myself a little....... You know, I rarely post my opinion...... :skep :lol :jester

Hope all is OK with you,

Mike

 

[WindsuppreSSR]

Supporting Vendor Page Needed

I was wondering if everyone that is selling something on this site is a supporting vendor. I see things being pimped in all kinds of threads that people are making money on such as books. I offered to sell superchargers to members only and was beat up with pm's about paying to be a supporting vendor.

This site is really not set up to have Supporting Vendors. A Supporting Vendor pays $120.00 for 3 months. Which is OK if you were able to advertise. Checkout Troy's other site the Corvette Forum and you will see what I mean about advertising.
http://corvetteforum.com/vendor/vendors.php
There is a separate Vendor Page for advertising that any one can go to and see aftermarket products. Here a Supporting Vendor is only allowed to post his product and after a couple days unless someone keeps the thread alive it disappears to a back page that no one sees unless they do a search. Believe me that really limits the exposure and makes it cost prohibited for a Vendor to become a "Supporting Vendor" Maybe thats why there is only about 5 Supporting Vendors out of 2500 members. I have e-mailed Troy on several occasions and never even got a reply. I have spoken to Buffy and Marc on the subject and they have to date also been unable to do anything. I get the feeling advertising on this site is not encouraged or wanted and that is why it is made so difficult and impossible for a supplier to become Supporting for any length of time.
Maybe some other members could enlighten us as to why this site is so wealthy it doesn't need advertising money to operate, I know its got my curiosity up.

 

[Buffy]

I posted this before I read rhobbel's reply!

Hopefully I can help here.............

If someone makes a product (in their home or as a sideline product of their parent company) and wants to try to sell a few to recoup some of their startup costs, then that is allowed, but I think that we would have to insist on using PM's to do your business. (No phone numbers, e-mails or websites) I think this rules out a lot of the high-volume-for-profit companies.

After reading the SEMA Show thread, something came to mind............With only about 15,000 units out there on the highway, it looks like we will have to rely on OURSELVES to create some cool accessories for our SSR's. No business case in the world would show a chance for profit with that little of an audience. Sad, but true for us.

So, although we have to make up rules to eliminate the "insurance" threads, etc, we have to balance that with the ability to allow someone to design, create, and distribute enhancements for our babies within our own membership.


If you choose to become a Supporting Dealer, then anything goes! But, I have to agree, I probably would not do business with someone who wants to use the benefits this forum to hawk their products, without helping the forum as a Supporting Member.

The floor is now your's.........

 

[woohoo]

You mentioned the word "book" in your list of people selling online. In that respect I think we have a unique situation. Jim G's book.....we begged, pleaded and cried for him to write that book and it is only fair that we compensate him for it. He is not in the retail business and sells nothing else that I know of. I DON"T think he should be a supporting vendor for that.. Supporting vendors are folks who are in the business of selling a particular product or products to the public, not the regular guy who has found a fix or built a product to solve his ssr problem and then made it available to us. I guess the final decision on who has to be a supporting vendor goes the the people who own and operate this site. I, for one am just happy for the info, not matter who it comes from. I have not purchased anything, other than Jim's book, from anyone one this site, supporting vendor or not, but I do understand that an established company selling it products on our forum should be supporting vendors. Am I too naive to believe that our members usually share out of the goodness of their hearts and not to make a big profit???

 

[2005SSR6Speed]

It is nice to know that everyone see this the way I do. The line is drawn and I guess it is up to us the "Supporting Members" to keep people honest.

 

[Mike in AZ]

Although diverse in our individual approaches, it sounds to me that we are all somewhat "like-minded" on this subject.

Have a good day gentlemen.

 

[REBEL]

WindsuppreSSR

Ray I wonder also ... only looking at sister sites (brands) and that Troy is not active member on screen ......... it has always been my gut feeling that silent G.M. money is behind the site. But I could be full of --it. It could just be useing money from sister sites. But my gut still rumbels. In closing I don't care who prop's us up. I still love this site.

 

[artsmart]

I have purchased several items from Supporting Members that I learned about on this site, These were aftermarket items made by individuals that make our babies more attractive, stable, unique, and that are unavailable in the general marketplace, as well as giving the mechanically challenged an insight that helps us to better understand our :ssr . Book, Stabilizer, WindSuppressr, Zaino, and SSR Underhood Logo...

When a Supporting Vendor posts info on the site and someone, anyone, hijacks that thread to promote their own item, it is inappropriate. However, I see nothing wrong with a member suggesting one item over another when a regular member is inquiring about same as we are sharing our personal experience with that item.

I would, however, like to see a Vendor page/forum so it would be easier to check out the aftermarket items available for the SSR...of course, that would require the desire of the vendor to be a part of this forum. Otherwise, we need to share this info w/each other...how else are we to know???

 

[STEP]

Hey Joe (2006ssr6speed) Great Question!

On one hand I feel that any Member who wants to promote products on this site should be at least a Supporting Member.

On the other hand, if they want to sell to members as a revenue stream for their business, then they should be a Supporting Vendor.

But, I feel if you are some Professional or Expert that comes up with a product that will benefit our Members and you are just trying to recoup costs – that should be open to anyone.

My $0.02

 

[dingbat]

Ray brought up a good point. The cost to become a supporting vendor does seem a little steep considering there is no set area for ads and we are a very limited group.

Troy-
Maybe think about adjusting the fee. Less cost to the vendor might bring more out. Make up for difference in volume. It could help everyone if we knew of more sources to buy from. Ray has to sell a bunch of Windsuppressrs to make back the $480 a year in ad fees.

 

[Mike in AZ]

I see the possibility of two levels here. Could we distinguish between a "Supporting Vendor" that has a stocked warehouse of parts that fit our SSRs and a "Supporting Member" that makes a unique accessory or modification kit in his garage or shop? I think so.

I would like to see a "Parts References Page" that has links to supporting vendors that offer general category stuff (light bulbs, suspension kits, superchargers, exhaust, etc) and also to the e-mail address of individuals that offer home-built things (StabiliSSR, WindsuppreSSR, etc).

Mike

 

[wildcat66]

I see the possibility of two levels here. Could we distinguish between a "Supporting Vendor" that has a stocked warehouse of parts that fit our SSRs and a "Supporting Member" that makes a unique accessory or modification kit in his garage or shop? I think so.

I would like to see a "Parts References Page" that has links to supporting vendors that offer general category stuff (light bulbs, suspension kits, superchargers, exhaust, etc) and also to the e-mail address of individuals that offer home-built things (StabiliSSR, WindsuppreSSR, etc).

Mike

I agree, sometimes it is hard to search and find the info!

 

[41chevcoe]

I still love this site.

:agree
(99.9% of the time) :yesnod

 

[Double-L]

I was wondering if everyone that is selling something on this site is a supporting vendor. I see things being pimped in all kinds of threads that people are making money on such as books. I offered to sell superchargers to members only and was beat up with pm's about paying to be a supporting vendor.

Humm 6Speedster I didn't know you sold superchargers