NEW Classifieds Are Here

[jason]

EDIT 10/5

New Classifieds can be seen at link below

http://sales.steerplanet.com




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A new classified/auction service from Steer Planet will launch by weeks end.  I really wanted to get it out earlier, but got slowed down with working out some issues on the forums.

As always the cost is FREE for all classified listings, if I wanted to get cute I could charge for bold or featured listings, but that is not how we do things on Steer Planet.  The new system actually will reside on a different server than Steer Planet, the reasoning is make sure it does not go down anytime we are experiencing high memory loads from the forum.

I feel very confident this system is going to meet the needs of everyone and help match sellers to buyers.

Here is a Brief List of new features:

Add more images and video to your listing.
Search all listings by zip code proximity.
Create a search filter and be notified view when a new listing matching your filter appears.
Search by breed, sire, or keywords.
Copy ads, no need to create a new listing from scratch.
Mark your listing as sold.
Renew your listing.
More Categories/Sub-Categories.
Save listings to your favorites.
Determine the best way to be contacted.
Feed your listings onto your website/blog.
Manage your own private treaty internet auction – which includes proxy bidding, extended bidding, etc.

 

[ruhtram]

It sounds real awesome! Can't wait for the new launch

 

[jason]

It sounds real awesome! Can't wait for the new launch

I did a survey not too long ago and I am trying to address the most of the wants and needs presented.

Might be a few bugs at the beginning, I am doing all the beta testing myself right now.

 

[ZNT]

Sounds great. Can't wait to get my listing up and try it out!

 

[jason]

Sounds great. Can't wait to get my listing up and try it out!

Will send you an early beta link soon, doing a bit of maintenance on it tonight/tomorrow

 

[sue]

thank you !

 

[irh]

Hope it will be easier to down size pictures, we have trouble every time doing this.  thanks,

 

[jason]

Hope it will be easier to down size pictures, we have trouble every time doing this.  thanks,

I will include a link right to image upload to resize it.  The problem is digital cameras take photos in resolutions that are too large and unneeded for computer browsing.  These large sizes cause pages to load slowly and fill up my hard drives.  But, large sizes are needed to photo printing.

I think about 800 x 600 is the right size for web.

 

[jason]

Bumping my own thread, almost done, I made a list of things that have to be fixed before it is launched and I am going down that list.

 

[jason]

UPDATE on New Classifieds/Auctions - we are in testing phase right now and fixing a few small issues.  I really could roll it out right now, but want to future proof a bit, by getting everything setup correctly. The last bit of detail comes is with verification.  To post a classified, all you need is a valid email address.  To post an auction or bid an auction, I want to take one step further and require 1 piece of information that can be verified.  The choice is a credit card on file (which will never be charged) or text message to your phone.

 

[ruhtram]

Those features sound really awesome!

 

[ploughshare]

To make this as honest as possible, I like the idea of the credit card verification, however, I am not sure you would care for the liability it might create.  I can't wait for the new classifieds to launch.

 

[jason]

To make this as honest as possible, I like the idea of the credit card verification, however, I am not sure you would care for the liability it might create.  I can't wait for the new classifieds to launch.

I think credit card would be the best bet and to make it work and eliminate 99% of liability, I would be using a gateway to process the transactions.  Basically, the credit card info is never stored on my server, it is stored on the server of a huge financial processing institution.  To store credit cards on your personal server, you have to be PCI compliant which is almost impossible unless you host with a company that specializes in that type of hosting. 


The one major downsize to the new classifieds system is you are going to have register for it, your forum username/password won't work.  I could have made it work very easily, but since we are going to be storing a bit more information, I went with a stronger encryption (salted sha1) type for your password.  It just made more sense for me to do it this way.  Also all the login, registration pages where data is passed are encrypted.

 

[OKshorthorn]

Jason, are you planning on charging a fee for the auction part of this new classifieds? I would think most of us would gladly put a percentage to the house for any auction sales.

 

[jason]

Jason, are you planning on charging a fee for the auction part of this new classifieds? I would think most of us would gladly put a percentage to the house for any auction sales.

Classifieds Free - no bold listing, no featured listings, everyone gets the same opportunity free of charge.

Auctions Flat Fee per lot (no percentage), very affordable. - I was running some #s and it should be anywhere 80% to 90% less than if went through a managed auction service.  The biggest difference is that you collect the money from the buyer, but in my opinion, you are already for the most part making arrangements for pickup/delivery - whats the difference in collecting a cashiers check.  If the bidder want to pay via credit card, the system is in place for him to pay you directly via paypal.  Invoices are sent automatically on your behalf with your contact info.


If they don't pay, you are not charged for that lot.  The bidder is banned from the site and we can offer the calf to the next highest bidder.  I like to think of this as extension of the Private Treaty Sale Format on the web.  I can also do the auction extensions to automatically extend an auction if bid is place in x amount of minutes.  Users will be able to bid from their phone either through a browser or through a steer planet app. 

The goal is to provide a low cost solution to everyone, trying to look out for people that don't have a large budget to spend.

Advantages
Cost cheaper.
You can manage your auction from adding the listing, to editing, etc.
I can feed your auction listing on steerplanet, any blog, your website, etc.
I will promote your auction on sp because you are using us.
Everything can be fed to your facebook, twitter, automatically.

Disadvantages
This won't be replacement if you want someone to manage every aspect of your auction.

 

[DL]

Jason - Nice - like it - thanks

 

[jason]

New Classifieds can be seen at link below

http://sales.steerplanet.com

 

[Gargan]

I have a suggestion, could the classified screen list by state instead of city? I think it will save time to know the state immediately as oppsed to opening the listing and seeing what state its from? just my 2 cents worth. Like the new look tho! Thanks!! <rock>

 

[jason]

I have a suggestion, could the classified screen list by state instead of city? I think it will save time to know the state immediately as oppsed to opening the listing and seeing what state its from? just my 2 cents worth. Like the new look tho! Thanks!! <rock>

Thanks for suggestion, finding lots of stuff that I need to fix now that I am seeing how listings look.

 

[ZNT]

I am already working on getting new listings up.  I like a lot of the changes!  Even got a text already about one that I listed this afternoon.