Choosing a Marketplace Layout

[five.five-six]

Location required in title.... that's it. The geographic split is only a partial fix and creates new issues. Some will live near the split. Others will live in the far north or south aren't helped much.

Yea, county in the title mandatory. I might drive further for a colt than a bersa But I generally only buy PPT so I am not interested in shipping.

[joefrank64k]

I'm another for "back to all-in-one"...I can't count how many great deals I've got on a gun when I was looking for another!

I do think that requiring (maybe enforcing through vBulletin?) a location in the OP header may help some. Ex: If I see a deal on a Bryco Jennings .25ACP in NC, I'll probably pass. But if it's on a Dan Wesson Pistol Pac in NC, I'd check it out.

[calif 15-22]

Hey Kes,
Another vote for SoCal and NorCal. Handguns and long guns combined. As it is now you have to search both anyway when a seller has a handgun and long gun in the same ad.

As others have stated most transactions are face to face and if you are really hunting for that allusive gun you can always search both forums.

Also ever consider adding a listing fee? Say $10 bucks or so to weed out the riff raft and flakes and give Calguns some revenue based on sales. I would be more than happy to pay $10 to list something for sale.

NorCal and SoCal for me!

[TheChisel]

I agree with others as far as the mandatory location in the thread title.

Requiring a location prefix for every thread title negates the need for a split when most of us will not look at offerings that are too far away anyways.

[dpop67]

I prefer the one marketplace for handguns and long guns. I would prefer a split between regions unless we can add location into the title. If County was in the title and we could pull a search it would narrow down the area people are willing to travel too.

I live East of Sacramento, but have driven to Vacaville and Pleasant Hill for the right deal.

[2nab]

Nothing wrong with the long gun / hand gun split as long as user can post in each catergory. Regarding location: The easiest and most efficient way to search and browse is if the seller picks their region from a list of pre-determined regions in a separate data field from the title. Buyer then in their search or browse window simply checks the region or regions they wish to include in their search.

Picking from a predetermined list of regions is the only way to ensure 100% inclusion. The problem with simply including location in the title is there is no consistency and a buyers search will never be entirely comprehensive.

Yes location is visible in title but it is not adequately searchable. Unavoidably, people will spell wrong or used different names for same City (SanFran, San Francisco, SF), making search less comprehensive. Plus it does not include the neighboring areas you may be willing to drive to. Example: If I live in San Francisco I may be willing to drive to San Jose Area which of course would also mean I'd like to see items in Milpitas, Redwood city, Campbell, LosGatos, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Fremont, etc. That is a lot of separate searches to try to find something and still no guarantee that my searches will be comprehensive.

In comparison, selecting a pre-determined region in a separate data field would allow for a comprehensive search. While searching, a potential buyer simply checks a box for each region they wish to include in the search. There is no chance for misspellings or not knowing the name of every small town within the region to search by.

This type of data field is common for search queries.
It allows everything to remain in one forum and drastically improves search accuracy, search relevance, and inclusiveness.

Since we are talking about improving the marketplace, why not also have check boxes for caliber, how about a check box for type of firearm (handgun, rifle, shotgun)? why not manufacturer? Then everything can stay in one location and users can select which item specifics they want to browse or search.

Heck, put the entire marketplace together in one forum and allow the user to narrow a search however they want. Allow me to search "colt" and then based on which boxes I check (handgun, rifle, parts and accessories) everything with colt in the title will be in one search. I can then narrow that even further by checking the two or three regions I may travel between.

I'd be willing to help in this endeaver if anyone wishes to contact me. I have a strong background in database creation and in creating data queries.

[naeco81]

Reposting this here because we have two threads about this poll... already this is a problem!

Problem with splitting is the formation of more than one marketplace; people having to post in multiple places, bump in multiple places, and search in multiple places (imagine if I want to find SoCal sellers that will ship). It's also more work for the moderators.

Kestryll: I have seen some forums where the thread title is automatically generated based on selections from a drop down during the new thread process. I think that would be our best solution if vBulletin supports this. Here's how it might work:

All threads in the marketplace require geographic location and yes/no to shipping. This info is then automatically inserted in the title. For example "[SoCal][Ship] WTS: H&K P7M8" for a seller down south that is willing to ship. Alternatively "[NorCal] WTS: H&K P7M8" would indicate a seller up north that only wants FTF.

Generally speaking the goal should be as few forums as possible to contain the discussions had, IMO. I believe this would be a better way to avoid fragmenting the marketplace, but still have Calguns automatically curate the goals we were ultimately after.

[ixta70]

I think the Long Gun / Hand Gun split is best because if you really want the firearm in question you'll drive to get it no matter where it as CSACANNONEER stated. If it's split into NorCal and SoCal you'll be missing out on deals up north if you never look in that section.

As far as the selling both types, I think they should post each individually but with a 30 day automatic deletion upon no activity on the thread (only for marketplace) this saves server space. Assuming automatic deletion is possible.


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[skanless]

This split would be a great idea. Much more convenient if you are looking for a particular item.

[Yerman]

How about both?

SoCal Long Gun
SoCal Handgun
NorCal Long Gun
NorCal Handgun

[2nab]

So Cal vs Nor Cal split means that everyone in the middle who can reasonably travel to both has to search both distinct threads separately.

[thomashoward]

Location required in title.... that's it. The geographic split is only a partial fix and creates new issues. Some will live near the split. Others will live in the far north or south aren't helped much.

Mods delete listings with no location in title.Won't take long for most people to figure the error of their ways

[beancounter928]

I have been wanting a Nor Cal and So Cal split forever!!! Especially because a lot of sellers are not putting their locations in the title like they are supposed to per forum rules.

[Dutch3]

I have been wanting a Nor Cal and So Cal split forever!!! Especially because a lot of sellers are not putting their locations in the title like they are supposed to per forum rules.

Sure, but what is your definition of nor cal/so cal? It is probably different than anyone else.

Where I live, 'nor cal' is considered to be anything north of Sacramento.

For someone in Orange County, 'nor cal' might be considered anything north of Bakersfield.

There's a lot of acreage in between subject to interpretation.

Better to list a city or county in the title.

[Dutch3]

Mods delete listings with no location in title.Won't take long for most people to figure the error of their ways

^ This. And 'location' means city or county.