Beta testing Enthusify as a new Classified Ad platform

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NSX Prime

NSX Prime

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There is a new option on the forum nav bar. Third from the left, it is titled Classifieds. Clicking on this will take you to a new Marketplace platform called Enthusify.

Enthusify is a hosted marketplace for enthusiast communities (e.g. car forums) that aims to provide solutions to some of the issues often experienced trying to run a classified ad section on a message board.

Rather than re-type all their stuff, here are the links of primary interest describing the benefits for:

Buyers: http://enthusify.com/buyers

Sellers: http://enthusify.com/sellers

I've been talking to the guys at Enthusify for months and have given a lot of feedback already. In my experience they really value feedback and are very responsive to it. Of course they have finite resources and competing demands so feedback does not always equal immediate implementation, but they really do listen and want to produce a good platform.

With all that said, it is now open for testing. You can list items in BOTH the regular Marketplace forums and Enthusify for now if you wish. I won't be completely switching off the existing forum ad system until / unless I'm satisfied that Enthusify represents an overall improvement. That's what the beta testing period and feedback are for.

Please post ALL your questions and feedback in this thread. Anything from their fee structure to details about the escrow service to the layout of their listings to feature requests. I will let the folks at Enthusify know about this thread so they can monitor it and hopefully answer questions and etc.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

synth19 said:
10% performance fee? :eek: Definitely not interested in this and I have no issues with the current marketplace.
Click to expand...


^ THIS! not to mention the Paypal fee on top of that. IMO current classifieds are good. NSX items dont need to be promoted (per their website) as this is the only real place to come to get stuff other than our vendors and ebay)
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

10% :eek:

I think our current will do just fine.

I think things could be better/options wise but at 10% we def dont need it

that bad.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

synth19 said:
10% performance fee? :eek: Definitely not interested in this and I have no issues with the current marketplace.
Click to expand...
+1.
I see no value to using this system, items seem to sell just fine with existing exposure. If people want to expand their sale beyond this community, Craigslist & Ebay are available options.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

I would be interested in knowing what the reason for considering a move to replace the current marketplace is. Certainly there is a catalyst for this.

As a few members above have mentioned, the 10% performance fee on sellers is not going to sit well with anyone selling here. And on top of the current 3% fee on PayPal transactions, that's a significant amount of markup sellers would be inclined to include on their prices.

It's not even that enticing for buyers. PayPal seems to offer better protection than the 14-day period this Enthusify is offering.

After my preliminary research on it, the only Pro I find with it is the layout. It does have a nice look and it is well organized. On the flip side, I don't find the current marketplace difficult to navigate or find what I may be looking for though.

/feedback
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

I would like to know if the catalyst for this is to help generate funds for nsxprime. If that is the case, then I would like to offer suggestions to do it in other ways. Such as.. only allow FS posts from paying members.

I'm not a fan of the services enthusify is offering and I believe, with due respect to your decision Lud, it's not fitting for the relatively close-knit small nsxprime community.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

Umm, yeah. This is a joke right?

and I hope you don't sell out to internet brands like most forums have done...
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

RYU said:
I would like to know if the catalyst for this is to help generate funds for nsxprime. If that is the case, then I would like to offer suggestions to do it in other ways. Such as.. only allow FS posts from paying members.

I'm not a fan of the services enthusify is offering and I believe, with due respect to your decision Lud, it's not fitting for the relatively close-knit small nsxprime community.
Click to expand...

I agree

If funds are needed lets do it in-house.
We all benefit from this site one way or another.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

^ +2. I don't want to speculate the reasons for considering "Enthusify," but if the site needs to generate more money I'll happily contribute to an annual membership to support the site...and maybe some other benefits such as a beefed up PM box. :D Secondly, can we please have vendors on this site pay some sort of annual sponsorship fee? It's unbelievable that some vendors have yet to contribute anything because they simply don't "have to." If there are issues with the marketplace, it is simply due to users who don't know basic sales common sense and etiquette (posting pictures/prices/etc) or do not due their due diligence to ensure a positive seller/buyer experience. Enthusify adds some added protection by acting as an escrow, but I don't think this is necessary. If someone wants this service for a high priced item, then the seller/buyer should be the ones to take those steps.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

^+3. I prefer to contribute directly to Prime than to a third party. For third party we already have paypal, we don't need to start pilling fees.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

shawn110975 said:
10% :eek:

I think our current will do just fine.

I think things could be better/options wise but at 10% we def dont need it

that bad.
Click to expand...

+1. If people want to use secure options then use ebay and advertise the listing here.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

You have to look at this from Lud's perspective. I think the primary issues with the current marketplace that this new tool may address are 1) moderation effort, 2) buyer protection (or lack thereof), and 3) revenue stream for the site.

I have some reservations with the new system that some of you have already voiced, including a more reasonable fee structure--particularly for high priced items. Hopefully the vendor is paying attention. I'm sure Lud is reading all the feedback.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

I would not be interested in this service, 10% is a big chunk. I'd hold my nose and use eBay instead.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

NO FEES!

The only problem with the current classifieds is the absurd bump time (30 days!!!!????) and the fact you can't post in others adds.

This is the ONLY board I've ever seen these restrictions on. Make add bumping 3-7 days and let people ask questions or post "I'll take it"
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

SWIFTVISION said:
NO FEES!

The only problem with the current classifieds is the absurd bump time (30 days!!!!????) and the fact you can't post in others adds.

This is the ONLY board I've ever seen these restrictions on. Make add bumping 3-7 days and let people ask questions or post "I'll take it"
Click to expand...

No way. 3-7 days and I'll constantly be looking at the same ads with some constantly bumping. 30 days is just right IMO. Also allowing posting in others ads is a terrible idea, because soon enough you get the "you'll never get that much, your part is not even in good shape, you can buy these for less at this place" type of retarded reply that happens all the time on more open for sale forums.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

a70.gif

The current way its done is muuuuuuuuuuuuch better.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

TURBO2GO said:
No way. 3-7 days and I'll constantly be looking at the same ads with some constantly bumping. 30 days is just right IMO. Also allowing posting in others ads is a terrible idea, because soon enough you get the "you'll never get that much, your part is not even in good shape, you can buy these for less at this place" type of retarded reply that happens all the time on more open for sale forums.
Click to expand...

+1. Prime has the most restrictive classified rules that I've ever experienced on any forum, but it works and I've gotten used to it. Keep the 30 day bump rule and no need for comments. If someone has a question, there is always PM.
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

Thanks for the feedback thus far. To make it more useful, if you weigh in with a vote either way please state the reason(s).

The primary reason I have read thus far is the fee. I believe the fee structure can be improved, but keep in mind that nothing is free. The current system has substantial costs, but they are very unevenly distributed. Please read the previous sentence again, because I think that concept is perhaps not well understood and easily overlooked. I'll elaborate on that more in a later post.

Chad from Enthusify told me he will post some additional info, and I'll also explain a bit of my perspective later. In the meantime I'd like to hear:

  1. What are your concerns other than fee
  2. Whether you think an automatic escrow system has value, and if so, what fee structure you think would be reasonable to have an escrow service on all transactions, considering any integrated service is going to lose around 3% to credit card fees up front. Here is an example of a popular escrow service fee schedule, and the service doesn't integrate with anything: https://www.escrow.com/support/calculator.asp
  3. Whether you think a listing system with an integrated purchase feature has value (immediately flags something purchased when someone buys it)

Also, I'll just mention that eBay is more expensive than many people seem to think: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html#fvf_auction
 
Re: Beta testing Enthusify as a new Marketplace platform

Hi! I'm Chad from Enthusify. I want everyone to know that we GREATLY appreciate the feedback you are sharing. Lud generously donated time to us in recent months to help guild the development of the Enthusify marketplace plugin. Lud also offered to beta test the very first release of the plugin, which you are seeing today. Enthusify worked with Lud and 20 other forum owners and members to arrive at this first release.

This is merely a starting point. We want to develop something that will be helpful and valuable for everyone here.

Some of you have expressed concern about the fees. We did a survey of marketplace fees and also consulted with 50 forum owners and 100s of forum members in this and other communities before landing on our fee structure for version 1. As you can see here, between listing fees, optional fees, and final value fees, eBay charges around 10%. (eBay fees) Of course that is 10% that eBay gets and 0% that goes toward investing in and supporting NSXPrime. We found other marketplaces charge even more. Just relying on PayPal has historically not provided the level of buyer protection needed for members of a community like this.

By using the Enthusify plugin, every successful transaction goes toward supporting the costs of running and managing a site like this. For full disclosure, here is a breakdown of the 10%:
~3% goes to credit card processing
~2% goes to Enthusify
~5% goes to NSXPrime

There was a question about the final PayPal fee a seller might incur for the payout. We are actively working with PayPal, Dwolla, and banks to offer fee-free electronic funds transfer. Hearing your feedback, Lud and I will review the fee schedule.

Enthusify incurs expenses helping NSXPime run a marketplace including: hosting, security for PCI compliance, continued software development, and customer support for dispute resolution. The fee Enthusify retains helps cover those expenses. We 100% agree that we need to handle high ticket items differently. We are working on a structure for high ticket sales.

Over the last few months of development, many of our conversations with Lud centered on the benefits for members. This first release is just the beginning. Lots of great features for members are forthcoming. We plan to provide a way to promote your listings across the whole site and not just have them isolated in a classifieds section. We plan to provide more layout and design options for your listing. We plan to provide more selling formats. We plan to provide seller profile pages. and much more. You can check out the product roadmap here: https://enthusify.uservoice.com/forums/163512-product-roadmap

Over the last few months of working with Lud, NSXPrime members were targets of marketplace-based scams and fraud numerous times to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. It takes an enormous amount of time and effort on Lud's part to trouble shoot those frauds. Enthusify aims to protect both NSX members and its leadership.

The overall goal is to help you sell your NSX items to fellow NSX enthusiasts simply, quickly, and securely. Each transaction helps defray the expenses of running a site as active and vibrant as this.

Thanks for the feedback. Again, we will review the fees with Lud. Please let us know what other elements you like and would like to see improved or added?

-Chad (1-424-272-0291 - cell - in case it is faster or easier for you to share feedback by phone)
 
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