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"Featured" Threads In Exchange Area?!

OakleyBoss

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This ideas was proposed to me by a member on the forum, and before going forward with it, I wanted to see what everyone else thought!

So the idea behind it is that inside the exchange areas a member can pay to have their thread stickied, highlighted and bolded for a certain amount of time in order to drive more traffic to the thread.

Say $5 for 10 days or something similar. So a member would post a thread, then inside the thread would have the option to sticky it. They would select it, it would confirm they are willing to pay, then direct them to paypal for secure checkout. Once payment is made, the thread would be stickied and the user would be told when it expires.

Featured Threads would be bolded, and a different color to highlight them, and stickied at the top of the forum.

This would only be applied to the exchange areas. Also, Premium Members would receive a discount say 50%.

I know a lot of members on here love the exchange areas, so I wanted to run this by the forum and see if anyone thinks its worth it? Is it something you would like? or No?

Thanks,

OakleyBoss
 
I don't think it would ruin things, and it's probably a good way to recover some of the hosting costs of the site in addition to the premium membership. I know from experience that high traffic websites have huge hosting expenses so I'm sure a few extra bucks here and there would help recoup some of that. If it helps push the site forward I have no objection to it at all.

One suggestion I would make though is to have a set number of these featured slots so that members aren't having to go through 2 pages of stickies to get to the regular postings. Maybe 10 slots to start? Or even 5? Just something conservative to start to see how it would really effect the exchange area. Maybe ask again for feedback after a month trial period?

Is there a way you could set up a demo section with samples of this feature so everyone can get a good feel of what things might look like?
 
One suggestion I would make though is to have a set number of these featured slots so that members aren't having to go through 2 pages of stickies to get to the regular postings. Maybe 10 slots to start? Or even 5? Just something conservative to start to see how it would really effect the exchange area. Maybe ask again for feedback after a month trial period?

Yes, it is a good way to support the site while also giving members something they want, which I firmly believe. I would much rather offer members something they want or extra benefits instead of just asking for donations! I also think giving premium members a discount is a good benefit.

Usually supply, demand and price would dictate this. Meaning the increased demand, the higher the price until you get the desired amount. But I also don't want it being a ridiculous price. The price I threw out was just a ballpark, might make it $7 or $8, just have to see. I agree with limiting the amount of threads, I don't want to have pages of stickies!

I haven't worked on it yet, so I can't show a preview of what it looks like, but if it some thing people are for, I will work on it and definately show a sample version in the exchange sections until some live threads get going,

Thanks for the feedback!
 
Another forum I'm on uses what they cal "gold ups" that do essentially this. You pay to pin your thread at the top of the list for a set amount of time. Works well when traffic is up, like what's happening here as membership goes up.

I'm for it. Works well and seems like a nice way to generate some revenue for the site at the same time
 
This is now live. Here is a guide to it!

Featured threads are available in the Exchange sections in order to sell your item faster and attract more visits. As a Featured thread you will:

  • Have your thread stickied for 10 days or until the items are sold
  • Thread title will be bolded
  • Thread is highlighted in neon colors to attract visitors

To create a Featured thread, first start by creating a normal thread in the exchange sections. Once it is created go to the top right in the thread and select "Sticky"

screenshot20130412at357.png


Once you click on "Sticky" you will be shown the price to sticky a thread. Currently the price is $7 for 10 days. Premium Members receive 30% off! Prices are subject to change according to demand.
screenshot20130412at358.png


Once you have clicked "Continue to Cart", you will be shown the final price. Read and Check that you agree to the terms and conditions, then click "Continue to Paypal" where you will finish your transaction.
screenshot20130412at358.png


Once you have payed on paypal, you will be brought back to Oakley Forum. Once your payment has cleared(usually instantly), your thread will be stickied and you will receive an alert telling you when the thread expires.
 
This feature is only worth it (to me) if it appears at the top of the list when you click "What's New?" for new posts. That's the only way I browse forums because it's too tedious to go into each individual subforum. Make that a feature of this function and I like it a lot.
 
I appreciate the suggestion. The only issue would be if you have 4-5 stickies in each section, and there are 5 exchange sections your entire first page of what's new would be stickies. Also because What's new is just a search function of the most recent unread threads, it wouldn't be possible to cause stickies to be on top.

Interesting idea though!
 
Great idea. I too browse the forum using the whats new but if I am shopping for something it would be at the top of its exchange section so still more traffic and more views.
 

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