Vendor pricing or lack there of!

[fbodykiller]

i have seen pretty often that vendors post a bunch of coral and you muct pm for pricing. IMO this is very unfair that the members who must post prices or thread will be deleted. On the other hand its ok for the vendors to do as they please. Seems like a double standard as with our government. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[1.0reef]

Is this like a joke?

 

[fbodykiller]

Is this like a joke?

Not a joke. It's frustrating to have to PM a vendor the numbers of the pictures to get prices. Why not just post them in the thread along with the picture. If I post something for sale in livestock or used gear I MUST post a price. Why is it not like that for the vendors?

 

[Drao05]

I agree that it's a bit odd when some vendors give two totally different prices to two different people (not talking about return customers or people who make package deals). But then again, I guess it's one of the perks when you pay to be a sponsor.

I must admit though that most of the vendors/sponsors on R2R are amazing and I personally never had a negative experience. It's your choice whether you want to give the 'price by pm' vendors your business. If you're comfortable with the price, then go for it.

 

[zoomonster]

Yes a number of people, including myself, have commented on this practice only to be admonished or deleted by admins. One vendor in particular got all huffy and proclaimed its his right to do whatever he wants in "his" thread after he got flogged with multiple comments about this practice. I guess he must have cried real hard because I got a message from Rev basically saying don't say anything about vendors unless its in the vendor feedback forum. It's really not that much to ask for that if you post something for sale that it must have a price unless its an auction. In most states that's the law anyway that items offered for sale, by businesses, must be priced. That's the policy for members, paying or not, but vendors seem to be allowed to do whatever they want. I made a positive comment (actually on 2 threads) about a vendor yesterday and it was deleted. Interestingly the policy goes something like you can add positive comments to a positive feedback thread (subject to review) but not to a negative one. And if the thread is negative you can't chime in with your experience whether positive or negative. That way when someone posts about a vendor issue, that no one is allowed to comment on, and the vendor does not respond the thread quickly fades away to the benefit of the vendor. OK then the board would seem to be by and for the vendors $$ so why would anyone want to be a "R2R supporter"? Every time I come close to doing so something else comes along that makes me change my mind. Its kind of like walking into a mall, to shop, and having them ask for $$ donations to help run the mall. And BTW don't get me wrong there are some awesome vendors here many of which I have purchased from and will again.

 

[revhtree]

I guess he must have cried real hard because I got a message from Rev basically saying don't say anything about vendors unless its in the vendor feedback forum.

Was this a private message or in a post? Trying to remember this conversation.

 

[evolved]

If I post something for sale in livestock or used gear I MUST post a price. Why is it not like that for the vendors?

There is a difference here, and therefore the "standard" is different.
Per our terms of service, as a member of this site the access to the classified forums is a privilege.

* The usage of the sales forums is a privilege for members who contribute in the regular forums.

As a sponsor (vendor), those parties are paying to advertise their business (and offer items for sale) on this site. As it is their business, they get to make their own business decisions.
Accordingly, R2R does not wish to infringe on their right to their business strategies.

By imposing a "must post prices" rule on vendors, we would be dictating some of their business practices.

It's frustrating to have to PM a vendor the numbers of the pictures to get prices.

Sure, but most vendors do not use this strategy; only a minority. For those of you that are frustrated by the "PM for price" approach of this minority, we encourage you to exercise your right to take your wallet elsewhere. If you have an issue with the sales approach, don't purchase goods from that vendor.

We have expressed the opinion to some vendors that they might receive more business if they posted prices.

 

[sk8elenex92]

I don't see a big deal with PM for price. If you are a regular cust. you may get a better deal. Vendors pay to participate do you?

 

[zoomonster]

Was this a private message or in a post? Trying to remember this conversation.

I misspoke... when I got that message right after the time I was talking about I took it wrong. I just looked again and it was probably a user wide message, being a closed conversation, about the vendor feedback forum.

 

[Sabellafella]

Was this a private message or in a post? Trying to remember this conversation.

Think you sent a mass message to all the hobbyest

 

[Rogergolf66]

Get with it venders.... I don't have to bring the milk to the register at Walmart to find out how much it is. That's crazy right.... So why do u think I should do it for your corals. I just go to a different store. Your loss.
I refuse to pm or buy from any vender that makes me wait my time back and forth just to see prices. Sometimes I message them and politely tell them I may have purchased your nice coral,,but I don't like asking for prices . Im interested in all of them they r so nice if the price is what I feel is worth paying. I also did this at a resent frag show in Tampa. A vender had no prices and wanted me to point out every coral I was interested in so he could tell me the price. He had the nicest sps I ever saw in person and I truly wanted them all. I told him that. He said no just tell me what u r interested in.... Well it depends on price what I can afford. No reason to waist both r time for u to tell me prices if they r out of my budget. Nobody I know buys stuff having to work this hard to figure out prices.

Roger

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Yes a number of people, including myself, have commented on this practice only to be admonished or deleted by admins. One vendor in particular got all huffy and proclaimed its his right to do whatever he wants in "his" thread after he got flogged with multiple comments about this practice. I guess he must have cried real hard because I got a message from Rev basically saying don't say anything about vendors unless its in the vendor feedback forum. It's really not that much to ask for that if you post something for sale that it must have a price unless its an auction. In most states that's the law anyway that items offered for sale, by businesses, must be priced. That's the policy for members, paying or not, but vendors seem to be allowed to do whatever they want.

As this was already addressed by @evolved above, I'll not say much. Bottom line is that for those vendors who choose not to post prices, there's a simple solution--don't buy from them. If you find a vendor giving different prices to different people for the same item, report it.

I made a positive comment (actually on 2 threads) about a vendor yesterday and it was deleted. Interestingly the policy goes something like you can add positive comments to a positive feedback thread (subject to review) but not to a negative one. And if the thread is negative you can't chime in with your experience whether positive or negative. That way when someone posts about a vendor issue, that no one is allowed to comment on, and the vendor does not respond the thread quickly fades away to the benefit of the vendor.

This is an interesting take on our policy. The fact is that positive comments about a positive transaction are generally allowed because nothing is in dispute--everyone is in agreement that the buyer/seller did a great job (so why force people to create multiple threads or restrict posting in those threads???). In a negative feedback thread, our hope is that the seller and buyer would work together to resolve their dispute. If other parties not involved in the transaction begin to "throw fuel on the fire," it only hurts the possibility of a resolution coming about. It has nothing to do with wanting the thread to "fade away," but rather everything to do with hoping resolution can occur. Furthermore, the accusation that this policy is in place for the benefit of vendors doesn't make sense since it's the same exact policy we have in place for disputes between members when no vendor/sponsor is involved.

OK then the board would seem to be by and for the vendors $$ so why would anyone want to be a "R2R supporter"? Every time I come close to doing so something else comes along that makes me change my mind. Its kind of like walking into a mall, to shop, and having them ask for $$ donations to help run the mall.

I'm not really sure what this statement means. Who is "the board"? Do you mean the moderators? If so, none of us are vendors, so to say the team is "by and for the vendors" makes no sense. Becoming an R2R supporter offers membership perks to anyone who wants to support the site with $25 / year. If you don't want them, that's fine, but there are plenty of great reasons to support R2R (as proven by the great many members who have chosen to do so). I'll add that if you see R2R as "a mall" then I think you've missed the point of what being a part of our community is about.

And BTW don't get me wrong there are some awesome vendors here many of which I have purchased from and will again.

I absolutely agree with this statement, and I would encourage members to do business with the sponsors/vendors you feel most comfortable with. I firmly believe that we have some excellent site sponsors that are absolutely trustworthy and worth doing business with. However, even beyond our sponsors, we are a community of saltwater enthusiasts who all share a love for this great hobby. I highly encourage you to enjoy the sponsor section, but also look beyond that to the great information being shared and great relationships formed in our community. There are lots of people definitely worth getting to know.

 

[Untamedrose]

Frags range from 5.00 to to 5000.00........ just post your price and let me know if I'm going to be wasting your time PMing you.
Cause ATM I am assuming I'm not interested a PM me price isnt a reasonable cost.

If suppliers think they are being reasonable....they are loosing biz not to mention time.

 

[chefjpaul]

How many pm's could've been sent with the amount of typing done on this thread?

Would I prefer vendors to post up? Yes, but it's their business, and I probably would only post prices of certain items, not all if I was a vendor.

Is there favoritism, yes, that a hard part of life.

 

[Obsessed]

Why do vendors even do this other than to give different prices based on the buyer?

 

[Drao05]

Solution: Just start posting the prices that were quoted to you in the comments on the sale thread.

Freedom of speech (although technically it probably doesn't apply here lol)

 

[revhtree]

Solution: Just start posting the prices that were quoted to you in the comments on the sale thread.

Freedom of speech (although technically it probably doesn't apply here lol)

Honestly I don't have a problem with that either! Start a thread and compare prices.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

I've got no problem with vendors not posting prices. I just am the type that feels no need to PM them, so I move on. I think I feel that they are going to offer up higher prices to see if someone will bite and then offer different prices if not. I don't like playing games like that. Give me a price and if I like it, I will purchase.

 

[donnievaz]

Is there favoritism, yes, that a hard part of life.

It's not hard if you're the favorite

 

[Sabellafella]

Theres just a few vendors that you have to lookout for. Not just r2r but everywhere you go. I dont like the pratice in general, but 98% of the sponsers on here are just refering you to their website, or just to showoff some goodies they have.