Here are some typical complaints:
- That guy bought all the available units, is now flaunting it on the forum, and only did it for profit.
Truth be told, it's not possible to stop this, and I really don't think there's a point in attempting to do so. I could purchase 5 <insert tool or item> and justify I need one for each of my 5 houses, or that I need backups, or, or, or. Bottom line, it's sour grapes from the complainers.
- That guy called me an ******* because I disagreed with the morale standard in which he got that deal.
Assuming you mean "moral" here. This is simply bickering that should be ignored, you'll never win these arguments.
- That guy is posting "fake deals" with the direction of a "secret forum" in an effort to get the bulk of people to miss the "real deal."
This one doesn't make sense to me, most of the deal posts in the HD thread specifically show pictures of the clearance tags. I could say I bought 25 Bosch table saws, but without photo proof, who's going to believe me?
- That guy is discussing **** that isn't related to a deal of any kind and I'm getting annoyed by the notifications. I thought this was a deal forum?
More he said/she said ****...you'll never win.
- That guy is complaining about my discussion posts, but he never posts deals of any kind!
Why even bother responding to these types of complaints? It's akin to reporting the fact that someone doesn't like someone elses shirt color
****
It's all pretty silly stuff. The thing of it is, each instance takes time to read through the thread and then make judgements of who is in the wrong and who isn't. And sometimes I get super busy and don't have time to investigate thoroughly and end up making a mistake.
I try to alleviate this by restricting posts to DEALS ONLY and no discussion, but that didn't work worth a damned... and others had valid points about some of the discussion being valuable.
It's like asking someone what the best brand of oil or spark plugs are....you're going to get a thousand different responses and nobody is wrong or right. It's your forum, YOU need to make a decision based on what your goals are and tell people to either get on board or hit the road.
The other part of it is that I have no real desire to serve folks that hunt deals as a side job to profit from. I mean, power to those fellas... but the act of it is foreign to me. And my initial thought is to weed those guys out, but that's a dangerous game as you could end up weeding out the folks that posts the best deals.
Then again, if a guy is a couponer to that degree is he really posting deals?
It's impossible to separate profiteers from guys who need stuff for themselves. There are an untold number of lurkers who scoop up deals in their geographical area and never post a thing. So the question becomes, are you more worried about the folks who actually post about it? The moment you crack down, they'll just retreat to the shadows and never post again, but it doesn't solve the "problem" (although I would argue it's not a problem at all). Even the guys who resell stuff still sell less than what the average Joe can buy it at the store, what's wrong with that? A lot of folks simply don't have the time/interest/patience/etc. to hunt deals down, and that's perfectly fine (they can buy at a discount from the flippers), everybody wins. In full disclosure, I am what you call a "couponer" (not sure if that's supposed to be derogatory or not), and I am struggling to understand how that's a bad thing? I click your links, you make some affiliate income, and I make some money on the side by spending my free time scouring stores for deals. Additionally, the guys that buy from me on CL or Ebay are saving money over going to the store.
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Like I said, my only real goals with this section are simple:
1. Make some dough.
2. Provide a place where members can help other members find decent deals.
It shouldn't be that hard... But I think it is simply because I'm not in this super aggressive couponer world. I don't know much about it, so how could I possibly do a good job of serving it.
Maybe I need some help.
Even with the current state of affairs, you are accomplishing both of your goals above. I'm not sure who can really help you, it just comes down to the fact that a decision must be made and you're the only one that can do that.
