Manufacturers / Local Distributors Threads

[Chris - CDI]

I know that there has been mention of a few distributors or local manufacturers who frequent this forum. Would it be presumptuous of me to put forth a suggestion of opening up a subsection on the forum for individual companies to post relative press releases / product reviews, have joe public ask questions etc?

in my case it would be a sub section for products from Artcoustic, Cineversum and Screen Excellence?
Would there be interest from any other local distributors who would like to partake in something like this?

Cheers,
CB

[Viagara]

Personally I dont have a problem as we have treated all members the same, be they enthusiasts or dealers, but lets see what the other guys have to say

[GearSlave]

For enough money we'll agree to anything you want Chris

Seriously, I don't mind. Let's have a dealer / vendor area where they can post newsflashes or product specials or whatever. The provisio being that no comments will be allowed in these threads. Comments can be made elsewhere and linked or something.

[Viagara]

The provisio being that no comments will be allowed in these threads. Comments can be made elsewhere and linked or something.

And you think that is going to work with these guys LOL! (Myself included off course)

Just wondering if it would be possible to only give certain members "write" access to such an area as that could curb the verbal diarrhea

[GearSlave]

Hehe, I know I'm being naive

But I just think it's courtesy not to sh!t on other's parade, at least not in their own thread. Let's keep it separate.

[Hi-Phibian]

Have a look at how Pink Fish Media handles this scenario. The trade members pay a small nominal fee that helps with the upkeep of the forum but it keeps the guys who just want to punt and run out of the game.

[Chris - CDI]

Agreed, depending on what the fee is... 

I was actually thinking about the advertising side of things for the forum too - similar to the AVTalk forum and such, but that might get a bit hectic for a small forum, though we have to start at some stage.

And on the topic of advertising - i'd much rather pay to have a small 300px x 50px advert up somewhere on this site than pay for a bloody page in a local magazine such as Mens health living or Home owners, which are typically the mags the distributors need to be in monthly for exposure - hell, for the amount of money they pay i could give away free pairs of speakers every month and get more exposure!! (sorry, derailing again)

The post and not have others **** on your parade thing is a good one, can this be implemented?

[Viagara]

hell, for the amount of money they pay i could give away free pairs of speakers every month and get more exposure!!

I can always put in a good word

[Timber_MG]

There was a lot of debating on the subject a while ago after a certain demag seller posted a link to an advertisement.

At the time the idea of a site driven by more local content was bandied about, but to actually maintain such content would be a large undertaking. Kay has been rather generous with his upkeep of the forum to date.

I think a commercial segment might be a good idea, but commercial posts should be constrained to such an area and very clear rules should be spelled out on how commercial offerings are handled. Shilling and other such activities should also be governed to address conflict of commercial interest.

[kay]

Agreed, depending on what the fee is... 

Just a bit to go towards the server costs - which are fairly humble to begin with. However I've been thinking about using a part of such (theoretical) income to pay writers and run a AV/Hi-Fi-themed blog as well, which could draw further visits.

The post and not have others **** on your parade thing is a good one, can this be implemented?

Absolutely. I see some other forums have a sponsor for their various sections - e.g. we could have a company be the official sponsor of the "Speakers" section or the "Vinyl" section, and this would earn them the right to have one or more announcements at the top of their "adopted" forum at any time. This thread would be sticky (i.e. stay at the top at all times) and optionally locked (i.e. no replies, although this can vary on a per-announcement basis).

How do you guys feel about such an arrangement, both from a user's and an advertiser's point of view?

[gifs]

I think it is a good idea.

I think dealers should be clearly identifyable as such by means of their avatar, signature or rank, so that their "advice" in the general sections of the forums can be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Not saying that they give bad advice, just so that they don't punt their products to unsuspecting forum members. The more regular forum members  would be aware of who the dealers are, but newer members might not.

[chris]

Think it is a very good idea

[kay]

Not saying that they give bad advice, just so that they don't punt their products to unsuspecting forum members. The more regular forum members  would be aware of who the dealers are, but newer members might not.

Agreed, it works both ways - extra advertising for the vendor by means of their rank, as well as full disclosure for the benefit of other members.

[Enigma_2k4]

I can't agree more, nothing worse then coming online looking for an honest and impartial opinion to get beaten to death by over zealous salesmen who'd product is the best in the world.

You could have a Products/Brands sub section and a representative from any brand could start their own thread in there whereby they could advertise specials/promotions/reviews etc and pay a small fee for the privaledge. Those who are interested in paying a little more could pay for their particular thread to be stickied at the top?

The benefit of all this is of course that users/forum members could post their own reviews/findings/compliments/complaints and then the openess of the forum could stay.

I also fully support that those that represent certain brands should have that known in their avatar/signature so that if necessary their comments could be taken with a pinch of salt.

[Viagara]

So in the end we all agree that its a good idea? Kay its really up to you, but I think you are on the right path with your thinking