Why we dont let merchants post deals, coupons or sales direct to the forum at Buckscoop
Posted By: Donkey,
posted 2008/11/05 17:04
Am just going to trundle my soapbox out again for a brief second - its getting dusty.
Its not a condemnation, but as a merchant your pretty unlikely to place objectivity over profit. We see this every day in display ads that scream to us that 'X product is incredible value' or 'X sale is the cheapest you'll ever find' blah blah.
Buckscoop is a consumer refuge where objectivity is an absolute, not a rubbery thing. The only deals, sales, coupons, freebies allowed are ones posted by people (the Buckscoop clan) who have no vested interest in the subject. By strictly enforcing this, it upholds the site as a platform where you can trust that the content comes from actual consumers making an objective assessment on products, merchants, sales, etc.
Our ethical stance at Buckscoop isn't particularly popular with merchants and we don't get any covert backhanders coming our way, but as far as all of us who are involved in running the site are concerned, its far more rewarding that we are able to be completely trustworthy, transparent and objective.
Having said all of this, we are happy for merchant reps to post on relevant threads, so long as its useful information, you identify yourself as a rep, it adds to the body of content and it isn't self promotion. We also have a facility where you can email your deals to us so we can check them out but yes, we will look at them closely and apply our measure of assessment as to whether its a good deal or not. Those that aren't will fall off into the 'nope' bin, those that are will be posted.
Its not a condemnation, but as a merchant your pretty unlikely to place objectivity over profit. We see this every day in display ads that scream to us that 'X product is incredible value' or 'X sale is the cheapest you'll ever find' blah blah.
Buckscoop is a consumer refuge where objectivity is an absolute, not a rubbery thing. The only deals, sales, coupons, freebies allowed are ones posted by people (the Buckscoop clan) who have no vested interest in the subject. By strictly enforcing this, it upholds the site as a platform where you can trust that the content comes from actual consumers making an objective assessment on products, merchants, sales, etc.
Our ethical stance at Buckscoop isn't particularly popular with merchants and we don't get any covert backhanders coming our way, but as far as all of us who are involved in running the site are concerned, its far more rewarding that we are able to be completely trustworthy, transparent and objective.
Having said all of this, we are happy for merchant reps to post on relevant threads, so long as its useful information, you identify yourself as a rep, it adds to the body of content and it isn't self promotion. We also have a facility where you can email your deals to us so we can check them out but yes, we will look at them closely and apply our measure of assessment as to whether its a good deal or not. Those that aren't will fall off into the 'nope' bin, those that are will be posted.
We'd also love as much feedback as anyone cares to give, good or bad.
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Palatino Linotype][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo] Hopefully they will start to listen![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Palatino Linotype][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
I am actually about to become a merchant woohooooo. Would love to hear buckscoopers thoughts on my product and give feedback.
I designed a kids clothing product and have just had it manufactured. The photo shoot is in about a week so I will post a photo or two after that =).
Then I just need to get my website up and running. Of course Buckscoopers would be the very first to see it. Would this be okay?
Hard call AussiemarkMelb as popping a link up on the site is a form of self promotion
I know this sounds like us being harsh but if we keep one clear rule then it is easier to manage.
If once your site is up and running you have a promotional offer then let us know via the contact us link and we can take a look at posting it up for you
Sorry
I will bear in mind the info about the promotional offer thanks. I was thinking about that also.
I think we have enough info around the place already
:spiteful:
Buckscoop does have a pretty good system in place to detect SPAM so if you try again or join up as a new member eventually you will be caught out!
By doing the right thing by Buckscoop we are more than willing to checkout what you have to offer our members, I [/COLOR][COLOR=Navy]don't [/COLOR][COLOR=Navy]always bite BUT I would watch that donkey
THANK YOU to all the merchants that have followed our guidelines it's very much appreciated![/COLOR]
Time to bump this! :spiteful:
Please if your a merchant, follow Buckscoops rule and contact Admin with your deals
I completely missed that :o ... sorry ....
I would like to thank the merchants whom have been contacting Admin regarding their deal offers, this is greatly appreciated.
We don't run ad's, we don't charge merchants to appear on the site and we certainly don't allow merchants to post deals or offers up in the forum. That is merchants of large multinational corporations or the small business that operates down the road. One simple rule that we ask ALL merchants to respect.
If as a merchant you do have an offer that you think may be of interest to our members then we ask you to contact us so that we can then assess if the deal is indeed something we wish to have on our board.
Buckscoop is a forum for the consumer and Admin reserves the right to remove any posts they believe to be self promotion.
Please read and follow the instructions given, Thank you!
Time to bump this again! :spiteful:
READ THE RULES!!!!
I would like to thank the merchants whom have been contacting Admin regarding their deal offers, this is greatly appreciated.
Lets dissect your post.
Our restriction on merchants boils down to an issue of courtesy. You use this site you abide by our requests. That one request in respect of merchants is pretty simple. If you think you have something our members may be interested in you use the contact us link to let us know, we check it out and if its truly a good deal we post it on your behalf. No rocket science there. Unfortunately its pretty typical for someone who has a vested interest in a product and a sale to think its an awesome deal - just as you seem to be claiming.
Now lets look at your deal.
Your post, which got spammed was for a Oral-B Braun 950TX Advance Electric Toothbrush - 'advertised' for $23. This on the face of it would seem to be a good price. But of course theres a catch. You might be able to get it at that price but whoever wants to buy it needs to go through your listing on goobid.net. Also to buy it you'll need to ship it to me unless I live in Fitzroy and can pick it up. Your shipping charge is $9 taking the price up to $32. At $32 the product is no longer a good price. A quick bit of market research shows that I can probably pay a couple of dollars more and get it locally without any risk (read on).
Let look a little closer at goobids.
Nice site.... tones of ebay, tones of google ... I'd personally be a little wary of a site that rips off two common brands to try and get traction. But anyway - if I was to use goodbids what are the terms and conditions of use.... ummmm - clicking on that gives me a blank page. Ok - then assuming I have to register to buy what security do I have over my personal details - gee another blank page. There's a theme here. The site is run by the same guys that run oztion. Anyone wanting to know more about oztion should do a bit of searching on google. Its interesting to say the least.
Anyway. I could go on here but its pretty pointless. Your 'deal' wasnt worth posting, even though your yourself consider it great value. Long and short of it. You like ozbargains style of spam and bickering - go for it - knock yourself out. I see your same post over there is getting little traction and for some reason your not even getting people viewing your item. I wonder why. If you dont come back here I'm sure we wont lose too much from it.
Yes, I do think my deal is good because everyone is different, not only you will save a couple of dollars but some do not live next to the store that sells them.
Goobid is my friend site, it should have been Goodbid or Gobid but they're all taken, Google font is nice and interesting and I don't think they own the font, if they own it then the font would have to be change... Goobid is a free buy and sell auction site and it is very new, it still have many bugs in it and it would not be able to compare to ebay.
Without too many restrictions it will give more freedom to people and you will enjoy a variety of choices. People live under communist ruling are sad but I never hear them cry...
ozbargain not only run by admins but also by the members, sure it does get spam but it is also quickly rectify, it grows so it must be doing alright...
You can lose what you haven't got.
Due to daily spamming and numerous aliases any offers associated with [SIZE=5][COLOR=red]ZOUPON [SIZE=2][COLOR=black]are not permitted on the forum![/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/SIZE]
If you notice these offers please use the spam button
Please remember people if you see something dodgy then click the SPAM button!
Everyday now there has been SPAMMERS...
Whats the go??