Questions about Vendors

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by Lipets

Shari, you may define a majority any way you wish

Majority

Shari

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by Lipets

I have spoken to 3 vendors and they did need to make donations, to have better signature links, so that is not correct.

If that is true then I must have missed the memo, because I do not know that any of them have paid for any special treatment, I do not moderate any of them differently, and it has never come up in a discussion about moderating someone that the vendor involved is a paid vendor or not.

I still say, we have laid out the rules to be fair to everyone. If you feel Airstreamers need a place to vent their negative vendor opinions, then go start up a blog or forum for that purpose. Positive comments about vendors you have had good experiences with are always welcome here.

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by ALANSD

It is more enjoyable in no small part because of the " moderation" which you contest, done earnestly by volunteers who have little interest but to help promote and enjoy our pastime. I have done this since day one, and report to you that we have put up and put out a number of people who thought it ok to have their say here in anyway they felt was acceptable and to heck with rules.
So I suggest you continue to enjoy it, glean what you can from the great info here and quit bellyaching because you paid someone too much for shipping. Maybe you should have asked for the shipping amount before you paid.

Hold on a second I never said don't moderate!

I did check before I paid, and didn't order, I almost got screwed.

I think you should read the poll herein you're missing the point.

Don't tell people to quit their bellyaching, that attitude is wrong a forum! Moreover, in the context of this thread.

Forums are used to exchange ideas and opinions. Your attitude is misplaced in this exchange IMO.

[john hd]

lipets

from my point of view there should be no vendor review section here.

as the other moderators have mentioned i am a volenteer and do not want to get in the middle of customer/vendor complaints. it has happened in the past and will happen again by a factor of ten if we allow it.

you might find it interesting that myself as a moderator have had issues with vendors that contribute here. shipping dates, quantity of orders, quality of product delivered etc.

instead of making it a public problem, i did what i usually do with people who do not meet my expectations of service. i picked up the phone and said "i have a problem how can we work this out?" and in every case it worked out. if my expectations of dealing with them was not met there are plenty of places one can go to get the issue resolved... just not here and not publicly!

i hope you understand that as a volenteer this is still a fun and informative place to visit, and as a moderator of this site it is my job to keep it that way.

john

[overlander63]

Lipets, one of my duties at the job I get paid for, is to handle customer complaints. Why would I ever want to have to do the same thing here?

[CanoeStream]

Each of us have the opportunity to enroll in the Enhanced Account -- this is the only paid access that I know of. This modest charge gives very modest extras as follows:

Along with the stickers (2) you will also receive an enhanced account (for one year) that allows you to have more features. Here is a list of enhancements that you can look forward to after your donation:

• 100% more upload space
• ability to place classified ads for FREE
• Ability to have a larger avatar (160 x 80 pixels)
• 150% more private messaging space
• Ability to customize your member title
• Ability to upload animated profile picture
• Enhanced signatures (external links, up to 4 lines)
• Special recognition (bold username, shinier rivets)

[Jim & Susan]

Originally Posted by Lipets

......Maybe this goes deeper, I believe the vendors pay or donate $$$ so if there's bad press no $$$. Is there a degree of protection by the Mods because of the $$$.......

This portion or your arguement is simply not true. Money FROM vendors paid TO this forum is not part of the equation.

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Originally Posted by Lipets

Shari, you may define a majority any way you wish, I wonder how you rate polical polls?

Now to your numbers.

No majority of active members, but that is the way most forums are.

Not that there is anything wrong with having about 1,000 somewhat active members and 1,000 very active in a very specialized hobby.

In fact it great!

I'm at over 350 posts in 2 months, this forum is a plethora of valuable info which I enjoy.

This post is most perplexing. Under what condition does a few dozen votes amongst the many thousands that Shari has laid out for you above constitute any type of majority?

Jim

[Jim & Susan]

Originally Posted by Lipets

.......Forums are used to exchange ideas and opinions. Your attitude is misplaced in this exchange IMO.

Lipets, let’s look at this statement from a logical standpoint for a moment. You seem to be saying that, by definition, a forum is a place where all ideas and opinions can be freely exchanged. And yet, you wish to exclude Alan’s opinion on this particular point of view? The logic doesn’t follow.

Let’s look at this from a practical point of view, taken as a purely hypothetical for a moment. The United States Constitution guarantees every American has the right to free speech. Everybody would agree to that. There are a couple of really big exceptions to that right. You can’t threaten people is one exception. You can’t defame someone, either. There are other exceptions, some of more notable ones have been enacted in the political arena in the last few years, but I digress, as they say.

The point here is that we (THE UNPAID) staff don’t have time to referee disputes between the members and the vendors here. It’s simply not practical (and the legality of such an endeavour is very much in question). As others have said above, we have no way discerning right from wrong from a distance. That is for others to decide.

Jim

[boatdoc]

Originally Posted by Lipets

Hold on a second I never said don't moderate!

I did check before I paid, and didn't order, I almost got screwed.

I think you should read the poll herein you're missing the point.

Don't tell people to quit their bellyaching, that attitude is wrong a forum! Moreover, in the context of this thread.

Forums are used to exchange ideas and opinions. Your attitude is misplaced in this exchange IMO.

Hi Lippets; I am just a older person with lot of experience. Which means,
I did get the proverbial "shaft" more than once, but it did not take me very long to learn. More often than not, disputes tend to be resolved if they are handled in a professional manner. Each transaction you make, you should ask what is the final cost involved. Then, you have a choice to, or not to, complete the transaction. Shipping costs money because people who do that, need to get paid as well. Therefore, the consumer who needs it must bear the burden. It is very difficult in today's competitive market for a vendor to cover the shipping costs because it can at times, cut the profit margin in half.
In business, there must be a set profit margin to survive. Pending the form, size and weight, charges differ. Not knowing the circumstances or details of your argument, it is impossible for anyone to draw any conclusions, nor form a negative opinion based on your story. This is why I fail to see any significance here.

However, I am getting dizzy from reading this post of insignificant issue, about something, that was about to happen. In the mean time let us enjoy the positive, educational threads as it was meant to be. I deal with vendors every day in thousands of dollars for past forty some years, never had a unresolved issue. It pays to be nice! Thanks, "Boatdoc"

[ALANSD]

Thanks Mr Boatdoc! I fully concur.

[LI Pets]

I think some of you are missing the point here, it is not my particular transaction that is the subject of the thread which is

"Should we post opinions on vendors “

At this time 23 polled say we should and 14 said no, so there are a greater number that think we should post our opinions about vendors.

IMO if both parties have an opportunity to tell their side what’s the harm, anyone can draw their own conclusion.

Over 600 people read the thread.

What’s really interesting is that there is a Sticky about Ebay scams which has over 500 posts and 23,000 views, there are some strong comments about sellers in there, yet these comments are welcomed.

What does that tell us? People want to know how to be protected in making purchases, why you wouldn’t want to know who was good who may be problematic in dealing with.

[uwe]

There's also numerous threads about Airstream's quality ( or should we say, lack thereof?)
Would Airstream ( the major recipient of $$ from forum members) be considered a vendor? Many have posted their negative as well as positive experiences with Airstream, their dealers and related issues.

[safari57]

Individuals deal with individuals very differently. Where I might not get a warm and fuzzy about a dealer the person right beside me might be delighted with the service they are getting. It's just too easy for someone with a beef to start leveraging the forum when it's not appropriate. My comment is, if you are happy with vendor and someone asks let them know - and silence would be pretty clear that you don't support that vendor. I just do not see a need for this forum to be used as a rating service for vendors. It's unfair to ask the volunteer moderators to take mediation on top of what they already provide, and as always there are at least two sides to every situation. As is typical the silent majority are almost always the ones who are comfortable with the way things are now. This is about the best managed forum I've yet encountered and I'd sure hate to see it turn into a rant session like many of the others I've crossed.
Barry


Barry

[ALANSD]

Safaru57- thanks for that comment.
I think if someone want to rate vendors, they could start an RV Vendor Rating Forum.
The fact that 600 people read this thread and only a handful participated in it should say how much there is real support for the idea of that issue being hashed around here.

[rolwil]

yep