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I think it's a pity??

4K views 75 replies 35 participants last post by  Fullonloon 
#1 ·
I will prob get kicked off the site because of this :(

I think its a pity that this site seems to have became a paid for only site, I see that anyone not paying for ads will soon be kicked off?

This was one of the main reasons why everyone used it and traders could let us know what they had for sale.

I am all for making a bit of money and having success lets hope that others don't just bugger off elsewhere and still use this great site even if they cant advertise.

d
666

looks like i have blown the chance of getting the skyline reg to work with my new magazine :(

but needs to be said.
 
#2 ·
SO DO I

tripple d 6 cup;)
I totally agree with you,
yesterday I posted on the trade for sale, the bits I posted were not mine but I did it anyway for my clients so that they could get some money back to buy more mods, these were good parts and were priced reasonably for all to haggle with, they consisted of variouse induction kits, exhausts,turbos etc real good parts but cheaper as they were secondhand, instead of a pm I got a moderated warning message, and the other trade for sale goods were given a weeks grace.
Nice one cem I dont argue with you that you have to make the site pay fair dos to you but the skyline owners are missing out on a lot of good secondhand bargains that are so new they are absolute bargains not everyone wants to afford new parts and why should they if secondhand will do the same job, after all you took advantage of the apexi air filters that were on offer that no one else got the chance to see as i have been told,I think a bit of slac needs to be given in this area,
prehaps a poll might help.
Gary
G***T(thats GTART:p )
Also not wanting to be kicked of this forum:)
 
#3 ·
Yes, I agree. While I've never bought anything from any traders who have stuck bits up on here, it is interesting when they do and many members have benefited from it. Where will the line be drawn if somebody who is a tuner sells something privately, how is a trader classified, etc. If I buy a new gizmo from Gary Gillam or Shin @ SVS or Gazmo @ Hiteq or Kiki @ Sumo and post about it singing their praises, is that advertising?

Peter.
 
#4 ·
Im with these guys Cem... I understand that your main sponsers need some return for thier investment, but also this is a site for skyline enthusiasts, most members have thier prefered tuner, but almost all will buy parts from everyone else, its a nice little community with goodwill between all the tuning shops, I dont see how some odds and sods being posted will make that much of a dfference in the grand scheme of things.
The 'Traders Forum' has never really been abused and has allowed many people the chance to get, mainly quailty part used bits at sensible prices...

Charge us to use the site :) Id much rather that than have this little part of the forum strangled...

Matt
 
#5 ·
We'd better to think positive.

Hi there,

In my opinion, all of us are the player on this board.
We cannot avoid each of them.
Actually, there would be a lot of problem to organize a car club, but we should co-operate to make the club better.
I believe this club will become one of the best club in the UK.
So, let's discuss together with positive thinking.
We don't have to make the atmosphere worse.
I hope all the modelator will agree with this.

Yours,
Shin
 
#6 ·
Well said Dave

I was surprised when I was told about this by Cem along with advertising gumph about banner ads etc, I dont quite agree with it either, we have various odds and ends from our cars consisting of HKS parts which we try and test then remove to try other HKS bits and therefore have near new stuff that we could sell to anyone whom cant afford the proper priced item or wont out of principle etc etc.

Its a shame if it stays that way cos everyone is gonna miss out on the odd bargain, as Matt says, I cant recall anyone taking the p1ss too much on the trade forum so whats the prob?

This issue obviously concerns me now but is a personal discomfort I have in the interests of the board and just how useful it is for everyone on here.

If it cannot be changed because of what been promised to banner advertisers, how about a separate link to a neutral site for traders to use where everyone on here knows where it is, how about Ron or Daves sites, either of you help?

So thats a fourth person to be kicked off now:D
 
#9 ·
Hmmm, difficult decision for Cem.
Can't please everyone all of the time.
Would prefer the trade ads left on here on the forum and the big 'paid for ads on the main site. I see a big difference between an advert in the forsale on gtr.co.uk and forsale on the forum. Besides mine is only a humble site. It took me a week to get from taking photos of my wheels, tyres and brakes to putting a web page up with them on. I only do a bit at a time as I am in front of a computer all day and I have better things to do at night e.g. p*rn sites:D
Remember, as in aspects in life we can vote with our feet but the bottom line is it is Cem's website.
 
#12 ·
Trade

I think Cem is all for having Non Trade Members selling as much as they want on here without incurring any cost whatsoever. I for one am up for members selling whatever they want really :D .

If Skyline members do have numerous parts for sale then I see no reason why they can't post the items themselves. It could make a mockery of it if an unscrupulous trader 'pretended' they had parts for sale that were from a non user who perhaps didn't exist. This extends to maybe 'i'm selling a car for a customer'. Lets face it Trade has to pay in Autorader, Exchange & Mart etc., so why not here.

This site costs money to run and therefore if Traders want to make part of their business profits out of it, then why should they not pay for the privilege.

A banner ad is surely a great way of getting your company seen and lets face it if people are interested they will visit the traders site on a regular basis anyway.

I ain't sticking up for anyone as this is just the way I see it.

We need Cems thoughts really.

See Ya.

glen
 
#13 ·
Slippery slope.

Sounds like the start of a slippery slope to me. Come next year, correct me if I'm wrong, when we'll be asked to pay for membership, why can't that revenue be used to cover the running of the site? I feel that the occasional ad put up by Abbey, Gary, Shin or Andy or whoever is of benefit to us all and anything which dissuades them from doing so is a negative step. Sounds like coersion to me to get them to take out banner ads.

I understand that the facility of being able to attach pictures will no longer be available on this site too. I understood that bandwidth was never going to be a problem again....?

Peter.
 
#15 ·
Evening all,

I have to say, this is all a little upsetting, because from a majority of the posters on this thread, what's said face to face isn't valid from what’s said on here.

I'll start from the beginning.
To suggest that you will be kicked off for not sponsoring the site is absurd, I hope I have never given that impression. If I have, please let me know where I've said such a thing so I may edit it. Apologies to anyone who got that impression. As far as I'm concerned, all posters are treated equally here, regardless of whether you’re a sponsor or not.

The line must be drawn, however, at blatant advertising. If a business is benefiting at the expense of the forum, them I think it is only fair that the trader pays to support it.

Gary,
It is unfortunate that you feel you've been unfairly treated. Your sale ad had a very specific 'GT ART Parts for sale' title to it and went on to list a whole bunch of parts at + VAT prices. This was obviously a trade advert, not, as you say, a private sale. However, I have also given you plenty opportunity to have a banner on the site for free prior to launch, explaining to you in detail that I wanted you to be active in within the traders list on the forum. You never got back in touch with me after that, despite promising emails. My motives are hardly profit minded.

Peter,
As far as personal posting goes, I respect you all for your maturity and moral standings. It would be folly to expect people not to sing praises about a specific service they've received (check out my hall or shame/fame on blowdog.com if you want to see me dig into traders!). I think that's something I will leave to your judgement. But we must also respect that fact that it's unfair to a paying sponsor to have another trader advertise for free. It's a predicament I'm trying to avoid but still have no answer to. What are your opinions here? Would be interested to hear of any suggestion.

Max,
Completely agree with you. I have, and still do, allow traders to post in the trade forum. If you look now you will still see existing threads continue with enquiries. I do also agree that the community will always benefit from traders selling ex-stock parts. But, please advise, where do I draw the line? At what point can I tell when the trader is furthering his own ends at the expense of the forum?

Andy,
That's interesting, because when I spoke to you about it prior to launch, I wanted to gauge opinion on the matter. You were totally in favour of the idea, and in fact promised me 2 separate banners, one for Sumo and one for Kleer Freight. Why you then go online and say you don't agree with it is beyond me. Regardless, I won't take a nihilistic approach to the idea, I shall continue to allow posts from traders because I do agree that it would benefit everyone here. But it was your encouragement that enabled me to go ahead with this system.

Skylinekev,
I'm sorry to hear that you'd rather have Joss back than the current set up. The new site's been launched (successfully, I think), gtr.co.uk is never down, money's been pumped into it from my own pocket (I'm £10,000's down at the moment) and membership is increasing, pray, tell, where has the site deteriorated? Do you know why Joss sold the site in the first place? He had no time to spend on the site anymore, nor did he want to invest in it. Praise be to him, for he had the foresight to launch it and set the foundations. But I did believe, until tonight, that I had progressed it.

I'm interested to hear your comments (although some sadden me) so please keep them coming. It's been real hard work, but I'm always open to criticism.

I will open up the Trade Forums again, like it was before, let's see where it takes us.

Thanks all,

CemK
 
#16 ·
Cem,

Sorry if I went off on one. I had absolutely no idea that you could run up such a debt in such a short time hosting a site like this. Not wishing to pry but purely out of interest, what are the major expenses?

I guess you face an unenviable task as people, me included, tend to dislike change especially when something is good to start with but if those are the kind of figures, clearly something must change.

You may or may not be aware that I approached Joss for the site. Perhaps it's just as well you'd got there first!

Cheers and good luck.

Peter.
 
#17 ·
free

Cem,

I dont want any thing for free, think of it from my side of the fence
you made me feel undignified offering me advertising space for FREE Knowing that others were paying for it, have I got i need charity writen on my forehead or something,You cant judge a book by its cover
I acept your view regarding the last part of my for sale post regarding vat but this was for my oil catch tanks and my triple baffle plates not the secondhand parts so point taken but I was only posting as I allways do so I really see nothing wrong.

really you had no reason to tell the world you offered me advertising for free did you

Gary
G***T
 
#18 ·
As I've said at previous occasions, I believe that the site is in good hands. It's being attended to like it wasn't before, which was the reason for Joss to pass it on. With the help of the two G's (Glen and Guy) Cem can take this site further ahead; the new design was a good start as far as I'm concerned.
That something like this is costing money, should be obvious to anyone. It should also be obvious that someone has to pay for this. And again as far as I'm concerned, it would be too much to ask for Cem to at least not try and fill the hole in the pocket with money generated by advertising. I have no doubt in my mind that Cem has the best intentions for the site. As Shin has said before, look at this the positive way. And give Cem some freedom to streamline the site and everything around it.

For anyone who thinks he needs to sort something out with Cem face to face: I'd say do it tomorrow first thing. And throw in some banner space as well. I don't know what kind of figures we're talking about here, but I can't imagine that it would be too much for people who can afford to drive in a Skyline, now can it ?

Cem: keep up the good work and don't let people put you off. Unfortunately, that's all in the game.

Andre.
 
#19 ·
Peter,
Not at all. I am well known within my team as the Victor Meldrew of the world, my loathing of 'change' is well documented. I know exactly what you mean. But, as you've guessed, there is an issue of expenditure. But it's all been expected, running Blowdog.com for many years has given me a great idea as to how much such things cost to run. As for your question about expenses, my email to you gives you a rough idea of costs, but most importantly, my time is the biggest expense. On average, I'm spending 4-5 hours a day maintaining it.

Gary,
I'm sorry, you've misunderstood me. I meant no offence whatsoever. My offer was not one for charity, it was a goodwill gesture to try to show you that advertising on the forum was a successful exercise. You would have been the only one advertising at the time, so nobody would have lost out. Think nothing of it.

Andre,
Many thanks for the sentiments,

CemK
 
#20 ·
Bandwith

I wonder if this site would still have been open today, what with the increased bandwidth, if Cem hadn't bought it (no disrespect to Joss by the way.)

Just out of interest Dave, why the hell would you think you'd get kicked off this site for asking a perfectly straight question.

glen
 
G
#21 ·
Here is the situation:

If any 'business' makes a profit as a direct result of an ad placed on gtr.co.uk, they need to pay for that ad.

Would you go to your local paper and place an ad for 'HKS EVC4'
and not pay?

Would you ask local radio to tell the world about your new Rolling road without charge?

If you come here to make money, then you should pay for that service.

That is not victimization, it is common economics.
 
#22 ·
Agreed but how do you control people who support the various tuners from posting about this, that or the other. Garage A has just fitted a great new do dah to my car, I've just bought a great new thingy from garage B and they've got loads in stock, etc.

There are well known alliances on this forum which would be impossible to monitor/moderate on.....?
 
G
#23 ·
You dont.

People who sing a tuners praises and eulegise about good service are not doing it to make money (they may hope the praise they are heaping brings the business money - but they do NOT make anything themselves)

If any business gains trade as a direct result of a posting on gtr.co.uk then that business should pay for that privelidge, otherwise gtr.co.uk may as well be a charity.
 
#25 ·
Cem deserves support, he is doing what most of us couldn't, shoulder the burden of this club and pick his way through a minefield of vested interests and wistful nostalgics and he pays for the priviege.

Cem, I have no doubt, must occasionally switch off the computer and stand back on his heels and feel totally perplexed as to what is the right thing to do in keeping all of us happy.

I now feel rather foolish in regard to my 'Whoa' post in the 'Aerodynamics' thread, if I read the above postings right, there was more to the in-fighting than I realised.

It has taken me an hour writing and re-writing the above in an effort to avoid bringing trouble upon myself and more importantly not bring further problems for Cem.

If you do have 'issues' with what I have said then PM me and tell me to keep my nose out, you could even put me on your Ignore list:D

Look after what you have, Gold is still valuable, even if you are surrounded by it.
 
#26 ·
People who sing a tuners praises and eulegise about good service are not doing it to make money (they may hope the praise they are heaping brings the business money - but they do NOT make anything themselves)
I wouldn't be so sure on that.

Without wanting to get embroiled into a big debate I would be very surprised if certain people weren't getting preferencial treatment (rates) in return for - how can I put this succinctly - "over enthusiastic" reporting of personal experiences.

Read into that what you will. You can read between the lines in most tuner tributes on the board, and in many cases a tuners work speaks for itself (eg. "Ten of the Best")

Mycroft: Sadly there is a lot of partisan attitude in the community, rumours, etc. All nasty stuff really. It's a shame that we can't just generally "keep it real" instead of always harbouring vested interests, allegiances, etc to particular tuners.
 
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