This is a private corporate owned website. There are public pontoon owner websites that would be better for classified ads--or Craigslist and EbayMotors.com.
There's a good amount of trust, at least in my mind, among the members here though. So many of the guys here have had my back with the troubles I've had over the last couple years, I owe that trust to many of the members. Epay can be pretty "buyer beware". I wouldn't mind an external site, but it would be nice to limit access to forum members. I think that's what LakeRat was really hoping for when he asked to have it hosted here. Ebay, Craigspissed, Amazon, and the like are so commonly known, that I think he had a special reason (and it was a good idea) for suggesting it be here.
I absolutely agree that I would be much more willing to purchase something and feel confident in it working if it were from someone on this site, but I do see the negative side too. It could create animosity amongst members if I bought something from you and it turned out that it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, or even the possibility of boat supply dealers flooding the website with useless junk. Although everything is useful to right person. PLUS do you make it for just parts and accessories, or whole boats? Boats will cause issues because it will put dealers in a tough spot since they could have direct comparison to other dealers and might hurt the little guy. Even for dealer accessories, if they get one dealer who goes for big volume sales and the other dealer can't compete with it. No, I think it is the right choice for Bennington. It would be nice for us for sure, but from Bennington's point of view, probably for the best. Otherwise they would have to make too many rules about who can post, what they can post, becomes a lot more work to manage a forum that so far works fantastic in what we all need, advice, support, and laughs.
They shouldn't be against some form of classifieds section. I'd be worried about their integrity as a company if they were afraid of little old me selling an item. Yes, it's a privately owned, corporate run site but they opened it to the public and should be careful what they try to restrict.
I trust the people on this site, this was the reason for my question.... I am on midwestboatparty.com and the members there are buying, selling, renting, helping, advising to several members.....all the time.....Anyways, I sure would like to see something similar for the Bennington Owners
They shouldn't be against some form of classifieds section. I'd be worried about their integrity as a company if they were afraid of little old me selling an item. Yes, it's a privately owned, corporate run site but they opened it to the public and should be careful what they try to restrict.
I don't think they're integrity is ever in question. You need to realize that they started this forum and host this forum and can just as easily shut it down. It isn't a question of 'little old you' selling an item, it's the maintenance and conflict that could/will be involved in the endeavor. As I stated earlier, it wouldn't be the best for all their dealers either.
I was one of the first to bring this up but after looking at it from Bennington's angle(and their dealers) I understand their stance on this. If it's going to happen it needs to be off-site. Steve
