The Old Lawnmower Club
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Do We Want Classified Ads on the Site?

Enter a word or two to search the forum section and click the Search Forum button.
olcadmin

I've done a lot of work on the new/upgraded website and most of what I had in mind before I started has now been completed. It has been, by and large, a bit easier than I had been expecting (for which read "fearing") although perhaps a little more time-consuming over the past five or six weeks (I had expected this).

My plan all along was to transfer the content from the old site to the new and at the same time change the way the information is organised and presented on the site. That's pretty much where we are at now. Inevitably, of course, I have some of the left the hardest bits until the end.

One of these is the Classified Adverts section - and I am wondering, do we really need it?

Historically, the overwhelming majority of mowers advertised through the club are included in Grassbox. In fact, there have been adverts in every edition since No 2. Obviously, with it being quarterly, there can be a delay from receiving the details from the seller until the next edition is published. That was one of the reasons for adding the classified section to the website several years ago - it's quicker, sellers create their own ads by filling in a template, and they can include images. The only rule we have tried to apply is that adverts can only appear in Grassbox or on the site, but not both. This is for simplicity and to reduce the risk of adverts appearing when the mower is long gone.

However, despite these advantages there have been relatively few classified adverts on the site over the years.

So what do you think? Do we want to keep things the same as before or make some changes?

There are some advantages in putting all adverts on the site rather than in Grassbox. First, everything is faster for sellers and buyers which is presumably a good thing. Second, we free up space in Grassbox for other information and content which might have longer term value to readers. It might also encourage more members to visit the site more regularly than they do now. On the other hand, adverts have been integral to Grassbox for 30 years and it's probably still the best way to reach the most members even with the potential delays.

Please add your comments.

 

Mowing Wurzel Wed, 23/02/2022

I have sometimes put wanted Advert's on the OLC Website; but am always worried that the General public will see my phone number & Email Address.    So Ideally would like that sort of info. for Members only.

I certainly use the Club Magazine for Wanted Adverts, but have never had any info. or parts come forward.   Plus the 3 month wait for Wanted articles to be published, naturally delays a restoration project.

I would like to see the Grassbox retain the classified section.

stonethemows Wed, 23/02/2022

This is a dilemma, points for and against make a lot of sense either way. I wonder if we have any useful feedback as to which source has found to be the most effective in achieving a sale ( or acquisition ). My impression is that probably more Members use Grassbox and I know from OLC Shop experience that a proportion of, particularly older, Members rely on this as their main, if not sole, source of information.

 I suspect that in fact the majority of the the more sought after machines to be sold in between Annual Rallies go on eBay or similar, for whatever reason. This tends to leave  the ' also rans ' for the website and/or Grassbox. As things stand at the moment my feeling is that ads. should continue in Grassbox and perhaps be considered to be dropped from the website. This might in part further enhance the website by focusing on quality rather than volume. At a later stage online ads. could presumably be fairly easily resurrected, if it can be shown that there is a strong demand from Members. I know it is a ' chicken and egg ' situation but I believe it should be the Members that we primarily cater for, rather than the perhaps more casual non-members.

wristpin Sat, 26/02/2022

I’ve heard the “ older members “ argument on at least on one other machinery forum, but don’t forget that more and more of  tomorrow’s “older members” will have grown up with the internet and mobile phones etc. I’ve actually noticed a tendency amongst some younger consumers to think that if it’s not on e*** it doesn’t exist.   Not sure where this is getting us, but I would say leave things as they are.  

 

 

hillsider Mon, 28/02/2022

As I see things the downside of placing for sale and wanted ads in the Grassbox is indeed the delay involved between publications and for that reason my suggestion would be to move these ads over to a dedicated section of the forum but to retain adverts for the Club Shop and Services etc in the Grassbox. 

The question of older members not using the Forum has been around for as long as I have been a club member and I don't pretend to have an answer for it other than to say it is their choice not to take part and I do wonder how many of those members would actually miss the ads if they migrated.

stonethemows Tue, 01/03/2022

I did not intend to imply that it was solely older members who did not look at the website. I know from comments received that it is sometimes more down to time and other commitments.