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GL ads are back

CUCVFAN

Gunner's Mate First Class
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
Jarrettsville, MD
I'll preface this with: Here's my 2cents...

Sellers post ads. They are advertising for themselves. Maybe the policy should just be against non-sellers posting advertising for items? Period.

Now, on the age old question of "not being able to post links is a double standard"....

:soapbox: :deadhorse:

The fact is that nobody wants to spend more than they need to for anything.
As a seller, you are trying to maximize your revenues by posting links.
As a buyer, you are not posting links, period (rich loonies being the exception).
As a casual observer, you want to post links because:

A) you want to alert someone (most likely a total stranger - even if they are part of the SS "family") to a truck that they otherwise would not have know about, or
B) you want the revenue from surplus sales to be as high as it can be, or
C) you think that someone needs to "save" the truck from the "scrapper".
There may be a few other reasons, but those are the biggies.

Let's look at those:
A) Why? To be a hero? To be the guy who "found something cool"? To be a "good guy"? You only want to do any of these because you either can't afford the item or you are not interested in it (probably because you can't afford it). It comes back to the fact that the basic question to ask yourself has ALWAYS been:

"If you were bidding on any given item, would you post a link to it here or anywhere else?"

If you answer that question with a "Yes", well then you're either a rich person who feels the need to show everyone just how rich you are by spending money needlessly, or you have a screw loose.

If you answer "No", but you still feel the need/desire to post the link (presumably because you're NOT bidding on said item), then you obviously feel that a) you are more special than any other person on this site who may also already know about the item and might actually be bidding on it or b) your desire to be a "good guy" is more important than some other schmuck's dollars or c) your ESP enables you to know that nobody else in the MV world could possibly know about the sale, so you shall alert everyone. Again, we only get to this point because you are not one of the schmucks who are bidding.

B) A wonderful, admirable, ostensible purpose. You would not be alone, either. How could anyone be against such a thing? Well, if this is your reasoning, then you should be sure to post links to everything you are bidding on to help maximize revenue from those as well. Refer to the section about answering the question with a "Yes" above.

C) Another wonderful, admirable, ostensible purpose. You found the auction, didn't you? Are you so egotistical to think that nobody else on the face of the planet could possibly know about this, except the evil "scrappers"? Have you checked the price of scrap? Even including the commodity anomaly of last year, a deuce is worth more in good usable parts than it is as scrap.

I'll go back to my hiding place with this final question.... (Again)

"If you were bidding on any given item, would you post a link to it here or anywhere else?"

I didn't think so...
 

maddawg308

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
10,852
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Location
Front Royal, VA
I, for one, am glad to see GL back in the upper left. I feel that their advertising on this site not only helps our coffers out, but shows that GL wants to market their stuff to the highest quality people on the web. That, in essence, speaks volumes in itself of THEIR commitment to excellence. Respect works both ways, so I'm glad to see they respect us enought to continue doing business with SS.
 

scottc

Member
127
3
18
Location
Sebring, Florida
I want to thank all of the support staff and members for a great site. The rule makes sense, would anyone go to a live auction and announce a potential purchase with 1,2, or 300 people. I see nothing wrong with accepting advertising, if you are serious about purchasing a particular vehicle from GL, everyone else who is interested in that same vehicle knows where to find it, an ad placed on this site is not going to change that.
 
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datsunaholic

New member
240
3
0
Location
Tacoma, WA
"If you were bidding on any given item, would you post a link to it here or anywhere else?"

I didn't think so...

Actually, one might. If someone was THINKING about bidding on a particular item but had questions. Sure, one could PM or call someone else, but what if you don't know WHO to ask? How can you ask a question about a particular item if you can't say what item you're talking about?

Someone else here said, if you have questions just go preview it yourself. If you still have questions don't bid.

Which is what I would expect a reseller to say. They'll l always tell you it's better to buy from them than from GL, no hidden surprises, you "know what you're getting".

And for those who can afford the extra cost, and is unwilling to take a little risk, maybe it does make sense. But I for one, would rather get the item at the auction price, than the 200-300% markup I see surplus stores and resellers asking. I don't think it's worth the extra cost when it's the exact same item. I mean, if I gave up bidding on something at $300 for 2, I'm not gonna spend $700 for one from a reseller. Plus I'm not a very trusting person. I always carry a healthy amount of suspicion. Maybe it's because the same argument the resellers give for why you should buy from them and not from GL is the same argument used car dealers give vs buying private party.

I used to work for a used car dealer. Yeah, they'd NEVER be anything but honest. Full disclosure. Right?

OK, so I'm being overly harsh on the resellers. I'm sure that everyone here is great and in a community like this you'd know the bad apples from the good.


Of course the "no talking about auctions" plays right into their hands, because no one can ask general questions about particular items. Sure, asking about it probably raises the price for the individual, but it's still not gonna put the price anywhere near the reseller's markup.


Well, all I have to do is agree to follow the rules. I got hand-slapped by a reseller once so fine, lesson learned. I don't have to agree with the rules, I just have to agree to FOLLOW the rules. That I can do, or try my best to.
 

11Echo

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,224
90
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Location
CT W. R.
I'm happy for the site owner to receive paid advertising. Running a site like this is not cheap.

Do I tell anyone about any auction I will be bidding on? NEVER.

Do I tell others about government auctions I won't be bidding on? Yes, privately.

Most times I never tell people what I bought anyway.
 
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FreightTrain

Banned
2,730
13
0
Location
Gadsden,Al
Does this mean we will get a GL rep on this site?Maybe this time with permission to answer questions instead of reading from a script?Last time it seamed like GL had a gag order on our rep and wouldn't let her actually fill us in.....
 

Sumoman

New member
450
5
0
Location
KY.. Nuff said
I, for one, am glad to see GL back in the upper left. I feel that their advertising on this site not only helps our coffers out, but shows that GL wants to market their stuff to the highest quality people on the web. That, in essence, speaks volumes in itself of THEIR commitment to excellence.
Ah yes, and we can all agree at least personally we are in the words of Bill and Ted "excellent"

I am glad to see some income coming in for the site, they (SS) are providing a great service and so far i have found this to be a great community of guys / gals who know their stuff.

So while I would love to "help out" like was posted earlier I agree it would not be the same feeling were I bidding on the lot myself.. except logic asks why do we feel that way since the lots are open to the public so far in advance that we are talking about something that we can be sure people know about in the first place.

Just my 2cents that we are :deadhorse: but have legitimate :idea:'s but I believe in this case the fat lady sings
 

davesgmc

Active member
833
131
43
Location
Mclouth, KS
:ditto:
Personally I think this online collusion crap is total BS!
If it were a live auction and we were there, we could see / hear who is bidding and decide if we wanted to bid against them.
The way I see it talking about it on a forum is no different.
And if GL is behind these don't talk about it rules, I wouldn't accept their advertising.
but thats just me and my principals.

End of Rant
 

emmado22

Moderator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
7,054
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63
Location
Mid Hudson Valley NY
Im sure Clark Truck Parts thought the same thing about Collusion.. Ask them what happened, and how much they had to pay for the legal battle and the fine....
 

KsM715

Well-known member
5,149
142
63
Location
St George Ks
wow, just got home from work and wanted to read what was going on since last night.:roll:

I like the idea of SS getting some money from GL thru advertising.

That little ad is probably gonna cost me more money.

I will obide by the rules.
 

m16ty

Moderator
Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
9,576
209
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Location
Dickson,TN
That, in essence, speaks volumes in itself of THEIR commitment to excellence.
I agree about the added income to the site but that comment is streching it a little :wink:. The last round I had with them they didn't seem too commited :-D.
 

clinto

Moderator, wonderful human being & practicing Deuc
Staff member
Administrator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Supporting Vendor
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Athens, Ga.
I think my rants about GL are quasi-legendary, so no one can accuse me of being a GL cheerleader..............

But, that being said, you guys should be happy! The revenue from the ads can be used to improve the site (better hardware, software, support, etc.) and it signals something else.

Do you think GL would pay to run ads if they were just about out of trucks (Deuces, etc.)?

There is still a ton of stuff out there and that will (it should) drive down prices.

There will be chicken littles who proclaim the sky is falling and in 6 months there will be no deuces and they'll all skyrocket in value to $10K and no one will be able to afford one.

Hogwash.

Now, is the end of the M44 series in the US military upon us? Yes. But that doesn't mean there isn't going to be a steady supply from private sources for many years. Remember, this is a niche vehicle that only so many people want, let alone have a place to keep.

So when you see a truck going for a stupid price....... and you really want it.... WAIT. There will be another one. Don't worry, be happy.
 

AaronW

New member
870
3
0
Location
Napavine,WA USA
That sure could be. I know the ads are good for the site. I don't mind if they are down for a week or so before the next couple of auction cycles.:p
 
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clinto

Moderator, wonderful human being & practicing Deuc
Staff member
Administrator
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Supporting Vendor
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Athens, Ga.
Looks like the check was not in the mail.......
I think what more frequently happens is that they are supposed to supply us what items they want in the ad window and they don't get them to us.
 

mangus580

New member
6,010
282
0
Location
Western NY
Actually, I dropped the ball. I ran the ad import last week, but when I uploaded the file, I must have uploaded the previous weeks by mistake or did not tell it to overwrite.

Thanks for pointing it out though, as if it werent for this post, I wouldnt have seen it (got the email notice - havent been on the site)
 
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