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      01-22-2009, 10:38 AM   #32
Evan@Tischer
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No problem man... i'm aware of the notifications for PM's but its definately two fold in that i allow people to know i replied as well as bumping our threads. I didn't however think of it in the context of the new posts feature. I can't speak for others but when I do it I'm not exactly trying to upset forum members just doing it to bring our posts up top and into view. I also don't agree with how we have some vendors in here pointing fingers at others when first and for most it's not professional to do so to other paying vendors and second its easy for others (I'll take the chance to be a dick also and make my point) like tischer to judge when their the only OEM parts show in town on this forum. They don't need to bump their threads because simply put you have no competition here for business. I'll stress again my opinion of separate sub forums, it will eliminate the bumping and allow customers to check what particular vendors they use have to offer without the hassle of sifting through the other posts in the vendor area!
LOL...how did I know Craig was going to take it personally when I mentioned the t-shirt post with 8 pages of "PM's replied." Perhaps some feelings of guilt eh? I was in no way trying to be a d*ck to you personally (I would've mentioned your company if I was trying to do that).....I was simply pointing out how ridiculous this issue has gotten lately.....and that t-shirt thread that happens to be yours (that I've already bumped for you in the past to show our support) was one of the many that immediately came to mind. If anything is unprofessional, it would be your 'clown' comment. Also, you state we don't need to bump our threads since we have no competition (and I don't think we've ever been guilty of a "PM's replied" bump unless it was a sarcastic bump referring to the issue at hand)....but why do you bump your t-shirt thread almost everday??? There is zero competition for your t-shirt my friend.....unless another vendor here is selling YOUR shirts at a discount or something behind your back.

Believe it or not, I read most threads as well....however in most threads....there is nothing of value to read except for the initial posting....followed by countless, pointless vendor bumps. Q. Why does any vendor here bump a thread with "PM's replied"??? It's really pointless to say it's to alert others that their PM's have been replied when the site presents a new PM pop-up, and the settings allow for an email to be dispatched to a member when they have a new PM. No one needs to know you've replied to some PM's as we all do that......hopefully everyone does at least.

Also, just because we are the only BMW dealership smart enough, or willing to put forth the time, effort, and money to sponsor this forum, along w/ many others.....you're mistaken if you think we don't have competition. The doors are wide open for any other BMW dealership to become a sponsor here. Besides, we get asked to price match other dealerships everyday that aren't even paying to be here. Also, any vendor selling replicas or OE parts are our competition. They even have what could be considered an advantage since their cost on those items is significantly less than ours, and the price-point at which they can sell them can be significantly less as well. It's just honestly too bad for all of us that price usually is the deciding factor when a customer shops online.....instead of shopping for excellent customer service and support....something that we, and I'm sure most vendors here, pride ourselves on.

Now that I've put my 2 cents in, I'll offer up a few ideas as well that could clean things up around here.

1). A simple rule that pointless bumping is not permitted. (i.e. pm's replied, ttt, orders shipped, etc. etc.) A sponsor can only bump a thread when answering a question, providing an update or new announcement, help, etc. If this rule is not followed, plain and simple: BAN THE VENDOR
2.) A separate sub-forum for each vendor to showcase their products. Bump your hearts out in your own sub-forum.
3.) A program that does not allow the vendor's replies to bump their own thread. The only way a thread gets bumped is if another member replies to it. A vendor can answer all the questions they want, and put "Pm's replied" all they want, but with no effect other than making the thread longer and more difficult for the consumer to find the info they are looking for.
4.) No threads bump to the top upon any reply. Remember, you can always buy stickies for the top of the forum. This is how it works on another forum we are on....and although it's frustrating at times, especially when you see your threads dissappear, the issue we are discussing is non-existent there.

Quote:
How do you resolve that? Craig mentioned having devoted subsections per vendor. But if you do that it'll create more stress because the consumer will not have the time to click forward and back through all the specials. It would be unfair to the vendors since we're not "technically" allowed to promote outside of the vendor section.
I think Craig is right on with this idea....and it's something we've mentioned before as well. Could you elaborate on how it would create more stress? and how the consumer will not have time to click forward and back through all the specials? I'm just not sure what you mean here; and if anything, I'd think it'd organize the site and make it easy for the consumer and the vendor. The consumer would easily be able to find all of the vendor's offerings, and the vendor wouldn't have to search through pages and pages for their older threads.

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Last edited by Evan@Tischer; 01-22-2009 at 10:56 AM..
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