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Bumping threads in the Marketplace

E

ericssonboi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
342
0
I recently bumped one of my old threads in the marketplace and got confronted by the Moderator that:

"Note from the moderator: Repeated bumps to this thread have been removed. Bumps are against forum rules and can cause a thread to be closed."

Now... the forum rules state:
"As in all threads, "bump" posts (those that simply bring your thread to the top of the New Posts list) are not permitted because they are unfair to other members (spam)."

I don't understand how it could be "unfair" to other members.
I understand the focus of the forum is not mainly the Marketplace..
But to those who are trying to sell their items.. how fair is it for them?

I'll use my example..
I have a PB battery for sale and I originally listed it in April. I didn't get much response from it and after 3 weeks or so, i BUMPed it up to the top to see if i would get anymore responses. Well, the bump did indeed help as two members responded to it.

A lot of users on here try to sell their systems or accessories in order to upgrade to the next best thing.. So without people seeing their ads, how is it helping the community. On top of that, many users here browse to find the next best thing.. cause some of us simply just can't afford to buy brand new..

Now some forums allow bumping twice a day, while others allow it once every two days. I'm not asking to bump threads everyday, but maybe even once a week or once every two weeks.

Any input?
 
Personally, I would have thought it should be allowed, besides its better than reposting.

Perhaps instead of just saying "BUMP" in a post, just say, "product still available anyone interested?"
 
cwedl said:
Personally, I would have thought it should be allowed, besides its better than reposting.

Perhaps instead of just saying "BUMP" in a post, just say, "product still available anyone interested?"
Click to expand...

I'm sure others would agree also that bumping a old thread is better than starting a new one..

Whether if its BUMP or Product still avaliable... the idea is still the same.. it brings the post to the top .. and it is considered "spamming"
 
Maybe there should be a mandatory 7 day waiting period before bumping threads. The only exception is notifying that the item is either sold, bought or withdrawn. This should give both buyers and sellers the 7 days necessary to respond.
 
I think the rule is a bit too tight also.

I don't like going past 2 pages, by that point I figure the product is not available, and I don't bother looking any point past that. A bump (of sorts) lets potential buyers know that the product is still available, and that the seller is redy to move on it.

oh well, I am not trying to sell anything at this time, but I didn't know that was in the rules, and would have been punished also.

840
 
840quadra said:
I think the rule is a bit too tight also.

I don't like going past 2 pages, by that point I figure the product is not available, and I don't bother looking any point past that. A bump (of sorts) lets potential buyers know that the product is still available, and that the seller is redy to move on it.

oh well, I am not trying to sell anything at this time, but I didn't know that was in the rules, and would have been punished also.

840
Click to expand...

I agree.....there has to be some way that people can say "it is still for sale"
Because as you said....most people don't go past the 2nd page and many not even to the first ;)
 
If nobody responds to a thread, you can always add more information or change the price, etc.

Add value to the thread and the product you are selling, since there may be a reason nobody responded.

Simply bumping threads because you want in to go to the top, or because nobody answered your question in 30 minutes is annoying.

A bump to bump will sometimes cause people to attack your thread and get it closed.

Which is more work for the mods...

So yes, asking if anyone is interested, saying it is still available, going to e-bay soon, etc. are a little better than a bump.
 
Sun Baked said:
If nobody responds to a thread, you can always add more information or change the price, etc.

Add value to the thread and the product you are selling, since there may be a reason nobody responded.
Click to expand...

I think everyone will agree with you on this one.

Sun Baked said:
Simply bumping threads because you want in to go to the top, or because nobody answered your question in 30 minutes is annoying.
Click to expand...

Yes that is annoying, and this is why I agree with an earlier post. If it was a rule that it was only ok to bump after a 7 day wait time, this wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Sun Baked said:
A bump to bump will sometimes cause people to attack your thread and get it closed.

Which is more work for the mods...
Click to expand...

I would blame the people attacking the poster, not the person who bumped their thread. Granted that would depend on weather or not the person was bumping more often then granted by forum rules. The last thing anyone wants here, is more work for the Moderators.

Sun Baked said:
So yes, asking if anyone is interested, saying it is still available, going to e-bay soon, etc. are a little better than a bump.
Click to expand...

Depends on the frequency, and the context, though I think that would be stretching the rules a bit. The way the rules are currently, I view that as being illegal. But this isn't my forum, and I am not a Moderator or admin to make that decision.
 
When I was selling my iBook a few months back I made the initial post and about every 2 weeks or so I would "bump" the thread. I really didn't want to because it was "against the rules" but at the same time I didn't want to create a new thread about it either...

I did this about 4 times before I got a serious offer. I think there is a huge difference between bumping to keep it on the front page of MacRumors and bumping to make it reappear every so often. After 2 weeks in the marketplace the thread is definitely forgotten.

I never made a "bump" post but they said more like, "This item is still available". I also deleted my previous "bump" posts but I believe that is only available to paying members.

Of course... those are the rules as set up but I always wondered if it was considered bad form to bump your post after several weeks or if it was better to just make a new topic. I would think the former but if that gets you in trouble... :confused:

Maybe the mods never gave me a warning because they were enchanted with my cute pandaness. :D
 
I'll also add..
That MacNN.. also a Mac Forum.. allows bumping in their MarketPlace...
A limit of 3 bumps per thread.. after 3 bumps.. just allow the thread to die due to lack of interest.

I think 1 bump per week is fair.. just so that it allows people to see the thread..
 
cwedl said:
Perhaps instead of just saying "BUMP" in a post, just say, "product still available anyone interested?"
Click to expand...

Or perhaps an image?
 

Attachments

  • Bumpasaurus.jpg
    Bumpasaurus.jpg
    13.6 KB · Views: 136
I wouldn't mind weekly bumping ... I hate the 3 hour bumps tho ... and it should be something like Product still Available or Anyone Interested? ... I don't think these rules will change tho...
 
Duff-Man says...as one that has reported "bump" posts I will add my 2¢ as well. I find bump posts irritating but I do understand that with the increasing traffic and membership here threads are going nto disappear from the first page quickly now...and not all members get on the forum every day to look. I do not like the idea of 3 free bumps - that is excessive imho....but I would be in favour of a "one free bump" policy with the provision that it must be 7 days after the original post.

And perhaps a short sticky at the top of the forum specifically related to "bumping" because it is obvious by the number we get now that people do not read the long guidelines sticky.....oh yeah!
 
Think about it gang: If we allow bumping, that means MY item will quickly drop off the first page because all of the previous posters will bump theirs ahead of mine. So the only way for me to get noticed is to bump mine ahead. This becomes a war of attrittion, with everybody bumping madly to keep their place.

Now, what if the seller wants to lower the price? They can either reply to their own thread, or edit their original post. Replying has the same effect as bumping.

So if we have a no bumping policy, we must also have an "Edit the original only" policy.
 
Kwyjibo said:
I wouldn't mind weekly bumping ... I hate the 3 hour bumps tho ... and it should be something like Product still Available or Anyone Interested? ... I don't think these rules will change tho...
Click to expand...

Although, I do always enjoy it when someone panics and lowers their price by 30% in the first eight hours that their post is out because they haven't gotten a dozen PMs yet.... :rolleyes:
 
CanadaRAM said:
Think about it gang: If we allow bumping, that means MY item will quickly drop off the first page because all of the previous posters will bump theirs ahead of mine. So the only way for me to get noticed is to bump mine ahead. This becomes a war of attrittion, with everybody bumping madly to keep their place.
Click to expand...
Yay, Spam Wars in the Marketplace.

attachment.php
 
CanadaRAM said:
Think about it gang: If we allow bumping, that means MY item will quickly drop off the first page because all of the previous posters will bump theirs ahead of mine. So the only way for me to get noticed is to bump mine ahead. This becomes a war of attrittion, with everybody bumping madly to keep their place.
Click to expand...

And once the item isn't on the first page.. what do you do?
In your words.. just leave it there.

I'll use an example.
The day tiger gets released... everyone rushes out to buy Tiger.
After buying it.. now they have regrets..
They post it here...
I've seen numerous of threads of users wanting to buy/sell their unopened versions of Tiger.

Now.. i'm not saying that Apple releases a OS every month or anything.. but you get the point..
This happens with all Hardware/Software related to Macs..
The day new iBooks get released.. i'm sure a lot of people are bound to sell their old systems..

Now.. i find MacRumours Marketplace.. isn't a really fast paced forum.. mainly due to the no bumping issuse.

But once your thread is off the first page.. it's literally forgotten ..
 
most likely will lead to bumping wars in my opinion, the only way that this would really work is if posts in the marketplace did not count toward over post count like the Political forum.

maybe a seven day bump would work....would be more work for the mods though
 
I've bumped this linkety'ed thread a few times... but I've always waited until nobody was really interested. And then the people that wanted to buy it after my bumping were little.... erm... :eek: let's not use that word....

Anywhoo, I think that after 7 days since the last reply to the thread it should be OK to make a comment about "Still want it?" but after that, the thread is kinda pointless.
 
ericssonboi said:
And once the item isn't on the first page.. what do you do?
In your words.. just leave it there.
Click to expand...
Well, yes, exactly.

For every single person who bumps, someone else's post drops off the front page. Since they posted more recently than you, it is hardly fair to argue yours have more of a right to the front page than theirs does.
 
Duff-Man says....another thing cluttering up the marketplace is "feeler" threads. Why not just do your own research instead of expected people here to do it for you? Maybe another rule that MacNN has about no feelers should be put in place. After all, the marketplace is for buying and selling, not appraising.....oh yeah!
 
Duff-Man said:
Duff-Man says....another thing cluttering up the marketplace is "feeler" threads. Why not just do your own research instead of expected people here to do it for you? Maybe another rule that MacNN has about no feelers should be put in place. After all, the marketplace is for buying and selling, not appraising.....oh yeah!
Click to expand...

That is very true.. I do see a lot of feeler posts which in turn just takes up space.
 
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