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Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Ebay postings here???


dallenx

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After just posting another 'find' on ebay on this discussion board, I got to thinking, does this bother other people? The reasoning behind this question is, if you ask a fisherman were is favorite spot is, he won't tell you the truth. I don't know if items that are found while I'm cruising (crawling sometimes) the web will have an affect on driving that items price up for a club member that really could have gotten it at a cheap price if others had not known about it. This does not just apply to the ebay site of course. My original thoughts were that if I couldn't have it, maybe another club member could.
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First off, Kent, if you only purchased those brochures for the benefit of the club and have no interest in them, by all means get your money back out of them. So that no one gets in hot water at ebay, check the rules there to see what the wording is in relation to bidders contacting each other, before deciding on any "arrangements. I think it's ok as long as neither party has placed a bid, but may not be if one has. If it can be made to work, then I would like to see a rep of the clubhouse bid with clubhouse funds to get the brochures, (including ads, and NLA manuals) that no other members are bidding on, and have copies made available to members only (in PDF?), then re-auctioned to recoup the money. Of course there may be an aspect of this idea I'm not thinking of that could change my mind. Also, in posting items found on ebay, I'm with Kent on just the tractors and equipment opinion. But since he mentioned we are going to run out of space eventually, should we create a way to easily delete postings after sale? Perhaps give ebay items it's own page that even non members can post to. Since "ebay" is almost always in the subject line, it may be easy enough to do as is. Personally I was kind of thinking our "for sale" page might be a more appropriate place for me to post the goodies I find until any policies were made. Just my loose thoughts. Subject to any regulations, site management, club official and member input :) The PDF idea really appeals to me though. I would be willing to let my nearly new Big Ten manual be used for copying, even though it's glue bound, just because it will become tattered and grease covered eventually anyhow. With it in downloadable PDF I could get a fresh copy anytime I wanted.
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Kent, When you are bidding on resources for the club, in order for members to not bid against you, they would need to know your eBay bidders name. Of course, if you were bidding on items for yourself, you would not wish this eBay name to influence the bidding of other members. Should you have two names? Can the site bid with its own name? I sometimes bid on brochures and manuals, and often wonder if I am bidding against other members or, perhaps even you. We would like to think that any member who has items of interest to the club would make them available to you for posting on the site. How can the members tell you what they have, and how can you relay to us which items the club may desire? By the way, I will be contacting you about one item that I have which the club may want to copy. Regarding tractors and other related items, my thought is, if I cannot use it, or it is out of my area, why not bring it to the attention of other members? Someday another member may do the same for me. Just my ramblin’ thoughts. Ben
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I would like to address the first point of this topic..whether its a good or bad idea to post "For Sale" tractor adds. I think that kind of networking is a main quality of these type of sites. Club members generally know the value (and personal value) of items they find for sale therefore pay a price they're comfortable with. Sometimes these sales lead to other items available from that source. I do agree that if Ken is trying to buy something on Ebay he could communicate that on this board and possible open up other avenues of obtaining that item (or its type). In anycase I for one appreciate the effort of those that have posted for sale items. I havent bought anything but I do like to look at them.
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First, now that I have an idea of the workings of the SimpletrACtors site and this club, I don't think I've said THANK YOU to Kent enough times...... Second, I was thinking that by putting the 'found' items on the discussion board, members would see them faster. That's based on the fact that the discussion is always were I go first. But... it is just as easy to go to the 'For Sale' board. I'm starting to think that this would be the correct place for these internet treasures. By doing so, we could keep the discussion board for technical problems, etc...
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Thanks for the clarification Kent, I'm one of those "newbies" so I am still finding my way around. I for one appreciate all the work you do for the web site.
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Thanks for the clarification Kent, I'm one of those "newbies" so I am still finding my way around. I for one appreciate all the work you do for the web site.
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Ben, My E-bay name is pretty easy to identify -- it's "simple-tractors" I've contacted other members that were bidding on items against me a few times, Karl Brandt for one, then I bowed out of the bidding. Thanks everyone for voicing your thoughts -- please continue to add to them, I just wanted to respond to Ben... Kent
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For me, any and all sharing of information or items for sale are greatly appreciated. Some of us are not web surfers and are glad to find out information that otherwise would have escaped our attention.
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You raise an EXCELLENT point... and I'm not sure what the answer is. When it comes to tractors and equipment, I personally post links to Ebay ads, but I usually don't with brochures, manuals, etc. I don't want to get in bidding wars with other members on E-bay either, where I often buy brochures and stuff for resources for the site. In some cases, the prices get totally out of hand -- example, over $50 for a 4-page Big Ten brochure. I can't afford to buy "raw materials" at $12.50 a page -- the site simply doesn't take in that kind of money. And, I've noticed that the prices seem to be going up pretty fast on the things that I do buy. $30 for a 12-15 page brochure is now common. I ask that those out there who see these items that I'm bidding on to think about: 1) letting me get it and place it on the site for all to share, or 2) contact me about buying it, once I've loaded it to the site, or 3) let me know, then you buy it and loan it to me long enough to add to the site.... In fact, I'm considering putting some of the materials that I have already bought and loaded to the site BACK on E-Bay to raise the cash to go buy more... I'm NOT trying to build a collection and these materials have no ongoing value to me once I've loaded them to the site. I do try to run the site on a "neutral cash-flow" basis. I'm not trying to make money on it, but I don't want to invest a lot of my own money into it. Which, brings up another possible use of CLUB funds which would be buying some of these materials to add to the site, then auctioning them back off again, etc. But, that's not my call, and I wouldn't want to ever "touch" the money. I want the CLUB's money to remain the club's money.... Any way, this was a thought provoking question -- when do we cooperate and when do we compete? I'd like to hear more people's thoughts on this issue. . .
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Kent...good comment. I look at tis site as a resource center for the two old tractors I have. The fact it is a virtual library is perfect. I am not sure I see any benefit to the club having the original document, flyer etc. as long as there is a virtual copy available on the site or through you. So, I guess what I am saying is get all the stuff you can but don't keep it. Buying and reselling is a great idea. Also...maybe we can start a thread of members saying what they have in the way of flyers etc. and what they would be willing to scan or copy and send to you. As far as posting ebay, sure...it is good to know what is in the market place as long as it does not get out of hand where the sellers begin to post "only 1 day left...." type things I have seen on other boards. Thanks....Ken Williams
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I think I may need to clarify some things that may not be clear from my post above. 1) The things that I've bought on E-bay have been with my own personal money, not the club's. 2) The club has an account, maintained by the treasurer, Larry Comer, that contains cash donations, the proceeds from auctioning off some donated items, etc. 3) The only money the club has invested has been for some programming and the chat room software for the clubhouse. That's it. That's why I said that "how the club spends it's money" is not my call -- and I don't want it to be. That's for the officers and club members to decide. I'm only a member -- by choice. I don't want this to appear like I'm asking for money -- I'm not! I was just thowing that out as a possible way the club could help contribute to the site -- since I'm often asked. I always want everyone to understand the distinctions, and I keep forgetting that there's a lot of new members who aren't aware. I probably should put some of this information in the Club Info section, or something.... Simple trACtors is MY hobby site that I paid for and "own", while the clubhouse, all the software in the clubhouse, and the database of information it contains belongs to the club. In fact, the clubhouse is so self-contained that it could even have it's own unique "www" domain name, if that's what you wanted... You could even move it to a totally different server somewhere else, and combine it with Yesterday's Tractors, etc. I (using Simple trACtors) provide the space to "park" the clubhouse, at no cost to the club, and try to keep the floors swept, the trash emptied, etc. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement -- club members buy things from the advertisers on my Simple trACtors site, which pays the ongoing expenses for both the site and the clubhouse.... I got the idea for this arrangement from how Darin Stratton has set up www.allischalmers.com as the Unofficial Allis site, while it is sponsored by his toys/books site, Stratton's Collector Toy Network, at www.3000toys.com Why did I do it this way? 1) So the club is an independent club and can steer their own way. They elect their own officers and control their own money and their own destiny. 2) To give me something in return for the time and effort I spend doing all this -- someday, Simple trACtors may be worth something if it keeps growing... We'll see what the Internet grows up to be.... I hope I didn't bore you with the details, but I didn't want to confuse you either... NOW, back to the original issue of E-bay....
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I like to see the different postings of tractors for sale from various sources. I don't have time to search all the various postings, and was not even aware of many of them until they appeared in the discussion. Some day I might even find a potential treasure in a location where transport or pick-up is not impossible, and will even bid on it.
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I appreciate Kent's efforts and his explanation of how the site works, (thanks, Kent) but for Dallenx's question, my take is as follows: 1. Anyone that brings ebay or any other auction items relating to AC & Simplicity equipment is enhancing our member's access to parts and attachments. 2. I don't think bidding wars should be an issue. Anyone who advertises a part or attachment on the classified ads of THIS SITE (for instance)will probably take the highest offer made for that part. So basically there's no difference. 3. I think we have to encourage our members to bring any available equipment to the attention of other members to promote our strength and enthusiasm.
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I deleted my first reply as I thought I missed the boat. But I do and think that seeing E-Bay and for that matter other postings of tractors and parts for sale have a place here. Like some members have stated just maybe a separate page would be worth concidering. Thanks, >>->happyjack<-<<
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