About Car Related Forums

[stevemon]

One of the questions I was asked by a prospective customer recently was "Are you a supporter of www.anycarmake.com forum by paying for an advertising banner on their site?"

I think; What the heck?? Does this person only want to do business with someone who gives money to his favorite car forum?

My answer was No. I don’t advertise on any car forum although I donate to a local one and to www.turbobuicks.com

I machine throttle bodys for many makes of cars and to buy ads on the popular forums for each flavor of car would require a major increase in prices. Also having worked in businesses over the years I’ve found that if you do your job right, the customers will come to you, ad or no ad.

Besides those reasons, I’m not a fan of the way a number of these forums are being operated nowadays. Here's an example:

One of my customers posted a review of my service along with a link to my website on a car forum. That same day, the owner / admin of the forum deleted the post. He then PM’ed my customer and said that since I was not a paying advertiser (his site had no other throttle body vendors on it) he couldn’t post a link to my website. The forum owner then suggested that the person contact me and have me email the admin about buying a banner there.

I’m not going to get on a soapbox about this kind of practice but I believe it needs to have a light shined on it in order to preserve what our car community is all about. We go to these sites to exchange information primarily, and to encounter this sort of commercial mentality that’s put ahead of the purpose of our being there is beyond the scope of sensibility IMO.

So, if you also feel the same way I do about "commercialization over content" with these forums, please speak out against this practice and I suggest a boycott of any site that follows similar practices.

Thanks
Steve

[TTA89]

Thats the normal practice on every other car forum I have been on. Its absurd and pisses me off when I see that happen.

[stevemon]

I think someone needs to put up a page with a list of those places that are run by greedy bastard forum owners.
BTW, Kudos to Mike S. for the free & open dialogue we are given here! You rock Mike!

[ajt86]

i agree with you but its not just that aspect of the way they run it- its everything.

ive been a member of 5 different F body forums, monte forums, and all the buick ones and this is the only one i havent been "repremanded" at. weather it be posting one extra picture when there is a 3 picture limit per thread and all the other stuff that they make up in their heads, it just gets rediculouse.

how can you have a show and shine forum and only allow one picture per member in the thread?

why cant i speak negativly about services or products from a supporting vender, they are there to advertise, that doesnt grant them full immunity from bad buisness practices. and if they are screwing members over- they dont belong as a vender

the whole automotive forums stuff has gotten rediculouse- then you have the diehards that crusify you if you buy a set of gauges from summit instead of buying the same ones for 500$ more from a supporting vendor- its been getting out of control

[Buick Runner]

It's not just car forums either, other types of forums even vendor free forums the mods can still act like a$$holes and try to bully the members around.

[Turbonics]

Steve,

Here's a similar sort of story for you.

We have an old military jeep with a 24V electrical system.

It needs points, rotor, & condensor/capacitor for a tune-up.

These particular parts are available from any parts store,
as they are identical to civilian jeep units.

BUT you need a military-to-civilian cross-reference manual ($105.00) to know/find the correct civilan part numbers to walk into NAPA & get 'em, because auto parts stores do not have this info in their databases.

So, we've posted on FIVE Military Vehicle Forums asking for the civilian part numbers for these 3 simple pieces. In addition, we flogged their archives searching for previous posts seeking the same info. ZILCH!

Why, you may ask...or like me, you thought "WTF?"

Because the Forum Owners ALSO sold Military Vehicle Parts, OR their main advertisers did, AND we the sheeple were meant to only buy from them...
even though the same nickle & dime parts are on the shelf down the street
at 1/3rd the cost. Can you say...GOUGE?

I'll get these part #s from a fellow MV enthusiast who has the interchange manual when I see him next week, & then I'll post them for every one in every MV forum every chance I get from now on!!

[stevemon]

Fish in a barrel there. A real vendors paradise.

[earlbrown]

In your case that really sucks for you and the members of that board. Since what you charge doesn't amount to a major purchase all they're doing is not letting members know who will give them what they paid for at a good price.
The downside to that is that a member might send off a throttlebody to a hack and get messed up where a little bit of communication would have avoided that.
On the big picture it's kinda funnny. Take a message board about a certain car and then make it easier for said cars not to perform to their maximum.



That reminds me, I've been needed to send you a throttlebody for a little over a year now. (I should have done it when I mailed of that piece of T-moulding)

[bishir]

Send me a thottle body and I"ll put ya in my sig and post more over "there" just to piss em off for ya. ;)

[stevemon]

Surprise It wasn't "over there". It was a small forum for a small car apparantly run by a small minded person.