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[Admin]

The marketplace is opening this weekend, around a week behind schedule but it's finally about ready to go.

Here is a list of categories. Please let me know if I've left out anything really important. I'd like to keep it simple for starters until the categories fill up again. After that, we can consider partitioning into subcategories further.

Commissions: For Hire (Costumes)
Commissions: For Hire (Wigs)
Commissions: For Hire (Props)
Commissions: Wanted
For Sale: Costumes
For Sale: Wigs
For Sale: Props
For Sale: Other Cosplay Items
For Sale: Non-Cosplay

Again, the non-commission categories are for used items only. No new items are allowed. Please suggest any major categories you think would work best in this setup.

All ads have comments turned on, and you can leave feedback for each user with feedback comments.

There will be no limit of # of ads placed, aside from only one ad per member in each of the "for hire" sections.

There is no longer any current or near-future plan to have upgraded commission accounts. This will be revisited in the future when we can put more resources into them. All members can equally use the marketplace, and other members can deal with the feedback section from there. We'll have an announcement for some paid promotional features that will affect commissioners soon.

There will be two sponsored sections/links in the marketplace, one for new costumes and one going to CosWorx for new wigs. These will be clearly marked as sponsored links and only show up on the main page.

We will keep this forum open for replies for the time being, but new posts will be directed to the marketplace to get it rolling.

I anticipate opening this on Friday or Saturday. This thread replaces the old discussion thread, so please continue any suggestions here by re-posting them if they are topical.

[KittyCanuck]

How "used" does an item have to be? This might be a dumb question, but if I have a wig that's never been used or worn, it still counts as "used" enough for the non-commission categories, because I did not make it, right?

I think the starting categories sound good, and seem to cover all the basics! ^_^

Since it was established in the other thread that buyers would definitely take into consideration the join date and post count of commissioners, it would be detrimental for established users to create new accounts for the purposes of commissioning or selling, will there be any chance at all for people to be able to change their usernames?
Even once, and/or even for a fee?
The last time people were able to change their usernames was back in 2005. Maybe it's time for another name change period? Please?
The new site seems to run on member ID numbers, not member names, which makes changing things a lot easier.

[Admin]

Actually I'm going to have a username change period in a couple of days. It will last for around a week and users can change their names on a first-come, first-served basis. After the week is up, we're closing the requests again. I'll post in the site hq when it happens.

Your example on your wig is a good one - you'd be perfectly ok posting it in the marketplace. The "new items" rule is to discourage resellers from using the service, but if you bought something and just haven't worn it it's still "used" in theory. We'll be able to tell the difference between someone just selling an unopened item and someone selling dozens of them.

[Ghost613]

Sweet! I'm much happier about the idea of a marketplace than I was before, and I can actually say that I can't wait for it to open.
Taipa: I think the definition of "New" doesn't mean "Not used" but rather "Mass produced" or something to that effect. Basically, this is more of a "Artist's alley" rather than a "Dealer's room." (Yay! And people here will actually get that reference!). Well, maybe "Artist's alley" is not right, but you get my drift.
EDIT: Admin has super fast lightning speed. I, on the other hand, am slow. Hooray!

[Michi]

Originally Posted by Ghost613

Basically, this is more of a "Artist's alley" rather than a "Dealer's room." (Yay! And people here will actually get that reference!). Well, maybe "Artist's alley" is not right, but you get my drift.

I think a Swap Meet is what you're thinking of. That is, the usual name for places at cons where attendees can sell their stuff rather than companies/businesses.

[KittyCanuck]

Originally Posted by Admin

Actually I'm going to have a username change period in a couple of days. It will last for around a week and users can change their names on a first-come, first-served basis. After the week is up, we're closing the requests again. I'll post in the site hq when it happens.

*jaw drops*
I didn't actually expect that; you've totally made my day here!
Thank you, sir!

Originally Posted by Admin

Your example on your wig is a good one - you'd be perfectly ok posting it in the marketplace. The "new items" rule is to discourage resellers from using the service, but if you bought something and just haven't worn it it's still "used" in theory. We'll be able to tell the difference between someone just selling an unopened item and someone selling dozens of them.

That's what I figured, I just wanted to make sure a listing to sell a "new" used wig would be allowed. Thanks! ^_^

[RMV]

so we can place one add in teh "hey i make props "section, to get out name out. but we can post as many topics as we need to in the "items sale" sections right? or do we have to keep editing one post

[Admin]

You can post a general ad in the props commissions section stating that you make props. In fact, if you make wigs, props and full costumes, you can post one in each category.

You can post as many used items in the items for sale sections as you want, regardless of your commission post. New items may not be posted for sale.

[cutekawaii]

Originally Posted by Admin

You can post as many used items in the items for sale sections as you want, regardless of your commission post. New items may not be posted for sale.

I understand that this is to discourage people opening up a resale business, but does this mean we can't sell pre-made (by the seller) cosplay items either?

[hoshi-p]

Possibly a stupid question, but if someone wanted to sell non-new pieces of a costume that wouldn't be considered as props (for example, only a jacket or only a skirt), would those have to be posted in the "Other cosplay items" section?

[KittyCanuck]

Originally Posted by cutekawaii

I understand that this is to discourage people opening up a resale business, but does this mean we can't sell pre-made (by the seller) cosplay items either?

I would assume so. Otherwise, the Marketplace just turns into a free eBay or Etsy shop.

I would be interested in hearing the official answer, though! I could be totally off base here.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by cutekawaii

I understand that this is to discourage people opening up a resale business, but does this mean we can't sell pre-made (by the seller) cosplay items either?

Correct - no new/pre-made items are allowed - and this is a decision based on one very important thing. There are dozens of resellers who would start flooding the classifieds with hundreds of advertisements each, which defeats the purpose. I would literally have to bring someone in full-time just to watch the marketplace at that point, and that's useless when the marketplace is designed to be a 100% free place to advertise.

The only way around this is a blanket rule. Unfortunately it catches a few genuine people in the mix who just want to post a couple of pre-made items every month. But my point is that in a situation where anyone can post pre-made items, your items will fall down the list faster than a photo does on our photo page. And that's no good for anyone.

I'll probably eventually come up with a way around this, but the goal is to first get the marketplace running again.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by hoshi-p

Possibly a stupid question, but if someone wanted to sell non-new pieces of a costume that wouldn't be considered as props (for example, only a jacket or only a skirt), would those have to be posted in the "Other cosplay items" section?

Thanks. Actually, I'll change the "For Sale: Full Costumes" section to "For Sale: Costumes" and you can put them in there. If the costumes section starts filling up we'll add another category to denote complete and partial costumes.

[KittyCanuck]

Originally Posted by Admin

Correct - no new/pre-made items are allowed - and this is a decision based on one very important thing. There are dozens of resellers who would start flooding the classifieds with hundreds of advertisements each, which defeats the purpose. I would literally have to bring someone in full-time just to watch the marketplace at that point, and that's useless when the marketplace is designed to be a 100% free place to advertise.

The only way around this is a blanket rule. Unfortunately it catches a few genuine people in the mix who just want to post a couple of pre-made items every month. But my point is that in a situation where anyone can post pre-made items, your items will fall down the list faster than a photo does on our photo page. And that's no good for anyone.

I'll probably eventually come up with a way around this, but the goal is to first get the marketplace running again.

Thanks for the clarification.
I know I'd much rather have this rule, and not be able to make pre-made items to put in the Marketplace myself, than to see dozens upon dozens of reseller ads!

[Admin]

One possibility, after the marketplace gets filled up again, is opening a separate commercial section to it where pre-made items can be listed but with limits to the numbers of ads per user. This would absolutely have to be a paid option though. Again, I'll think about everything.