Commercial influences on forums

Fido

Fido

Messages
6,286
Location
New Forest, England.
If you folks are OK with the forum welcoming commercial influences, however subtle, fine.
It's the reason I stopped reading and posting on B&B.
So long.

This was part of Pete's departure statement.

When I joined the forum I was surprised at just how many 'traders' were members. Some active, some passive. Some are obviously in the business full time e.g.. Robert at The Gentleman's Shop. Some have full time jobs and simply make things like soaps or brushes as a part time hobby. That might include honing and the making of strops. Others may actually be running a little business from home as their only source of income. There are a lot of products needed to make a success of wet shaving. And a lot of suppliers large and small - creams, soaps, razors, brushes, strops, hones, blades............ And some of us end up with so much of the stuff that we want to sell surplus stock. Then we become traders for a while.

All the things we use require decisions. Sometimes we need advice. Here we get the advice of fellow users, makers and suppliers. Here, makers and suppliers can find out what shavers really want - they should know what we need!. They can see feedback and act upon it.

All forums like these will be subject to commercial influences. We can neither stop it, nor should we. I think we all benefit from it. But I also think everyone here should be open about their interest. So new members should introduce themselves and tell us openly if they are in the trade and how they intend to contribute to the forum.
 
Echo all of that.
Don't quite get the concept of commercial influence - I do not feel in the least influenced - do you?
We all of us were born with free will and whereas I actively seek other peoples opinion (should not be here else) I retain the capacity to make up my own mind.
:twisted: (Unless of course this site is owned by Gillette and is full of subliminal messages) :twisted:
 
To me there's a commercial presence - which is a wholly different thing to a commercial influence. It's good to be able to converse with all on the subject, however insane we might find their views, because sometimes the most insane are by chance closest to the truth.

SirPrize, you will buy Fusion Cartridges
 
If it wasnt for the traders we members would be paying full price for some fantastic products instead of getting mates rates, personally i don't see the harm, and since i have been a member the traders i have had dealings with have been nothing but helpful, and long may it carry on.
 
I have bought stuff from several members of this forum who are also vendors. Often I have asked questions before buying and always received polite and helpful replies. I call that customer service, not 'influence'. All the vendors are up front about who they are so I don't see any problem. Anyway, we have Boab and Hunnymunster looking after us. I'm quite sure they would send any dodgy characters on their way with a swift boot up the hole
 
Well put Fido,

This Shaving laRk is a new venture for me; all of my purChases bAr two have been maDE online and with forum members. Both have given greaT service And that was my reason for using them BAsed on other forum members reCommendations. ( thguannoC & SGT).

Does it not make Sense for these vendors to be accessible from this forum, and as PrEvIously mentioned we get some good disCounts, and are usually the first to hear on any deals going.K

This poster cannot be held responsible for any weird s!!t that might happen if this post is read backwards
 
I have purchased items from commercial members of this forum and would agree that they have always been extremely helpful. I've never felt under any external pressure to buy things I don't need (I'm quite good at doing that myself).

:lol:
 
I posted a bit of a flippant reply on the other thread, probably because I think its a pretty ludicrous flounce.

So what if there are vendors amongst our midsts? They provide the forum with knowledge, insight and credibility the average lay shaver can't, as well as the odd good deal.

If there was a shift to TSR becoming a more commercially focused forum (something along the lines of B&B) then I would probably lose interest. But seeing the camaraderie, generosity and wisdom of the folks here, I really don't see it as an issue.
 
Cor I go offline for 20 hours and all hell breaks loose.

Interesting topic. Although I think the wording is commercial influences. is the wrong wording. perhaps commercial presence is a better term.

Its a fact of life that where people who engage in the same hobby past time etc and gether in a small place that this acts like a neon sign for people offering goods and services to that niche.

Its never going to stop and really its best that it is open and above board, else it will creep to the fringes of a community like this and cause some real strife.

I am a vendor as I have some Bricks and mortar space as well as passing things on here, but firstly this is also my hobby I also deal in pens and collectible watches but am not a member of any related forUms.

The + side for forum members having traders contribute is in my eYes:

1, Sell cheaper to the collectors they know a bargain.
2, We are looking for stuff you want saving you the tiMe.
3, We are regulated by the forum members, a bad trader is soon spotted

I try not to cross reference my sellIng posts in the general forum as I imagine that would be a bit grating for some peopLe.

B&B is aLso A different animal, it is itself a commercial concern. It is huge and its American. anYhow.

It is sad to see some people wishing to leave a forum because traders are on there. But I see it as only helping a community.

Sorry to ramble
 
I have seen commercial influence in full flow on other forums (not saying which ones) and in its worst form I have seen mods deleting opinions that whilst are valid were not in keeping with the forums owners business wishes/interests, this is true commercial influence.

There is a certern amount of commercial presence of course and I think this helps us to indulge in our hobbies, lets face it if the product on offer is rubbish and has short comings then we will all shout about it wont we? (see censorship note above)

I do like the idea of a hobbyist turning their passion into a small business and selling to like minded people, much better than buying from large corporation who don't give a dam what they sell as long as it makes them lots of profits.

But thats just my view of course.
 
This post is bound for at least 8 pages - I'll try to keep my comments brief!

Boab and HM have always been quite clear (in my opinion) on the freedom with which they run TSR, something which a lot of us found refreshing after the issues some users had over at B&B. If true vendors (i.e. those who make their living from selling products) take an interest in our forum and want to use it to sell, then it's up to use to ensure we treat them reasonably and maintain a decent level of understanding - Mama Bear is a good example - I haven't had any interaction with her myself, but she apparently produces good products and has always seemed amiable to requests and feedback from B&B members. Why should we jump to exclude her from our community?

The other kind of vendors (myself for example) are first and foremost members of the community, who produce items for sale occasionally as a hobby - I don't have a distinct commercial interest and if Boab asked me to refrain from selling over here I certainly would. If we create a distinction and begin to ban certain member based on affiliation to a commercial source, aren't we guilty of exactly the ignorance that caused so much friction over at B&B?

I for one like the freedom that is extended to us by the mods here and think that we should offer every courtesy to vendors who take a genuine interest in our community. If they turn out to be malicious for any reason then I would hope we could turn to Boab or HM for decisive action. Also - any American who joins will have to put up with some joviality relating to social stereotypes! :D

Oh crap... I failed to keep it short :lol:
 
Vic Flange said:
I posted a bit of a flippant reply on the other thread, probably because I think its a pretty ludicrous flounce.

So what if there are vendors amongst our midsts? They provide the forum with knowledge, insight and credibility the average lay shaver can't, as well as the odd good deal.

If there was a shift to TSR becoming a more commercially focused forum (something along the lines of B&B) then I would probably lose interest. But seeing the camaraderie, generosity and wisdom of the folks here, I really don't see it as an issue.
Click to expand...


I second all that!
 
Vendors are people too!!! :D

I am glad to see any vendor post here. The nature of their products I think means that they are artisans or enthusiasts running a small business (and I do not mean that to be patronizing or condescending). It may be that they can use some of the info on the forum to assist their business but that is OK.

It is also a compliment to this forum that vendors take notice of it.
 
I couldn't help but feel Peter's outburst was down to the fact that Sue is an American, rather than the whole commercial influence nonsense. Quite sad if that's the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom