Ideas for Improvements to Tradelist/Trade Tracker/Journal

Since many people would like to see improvements in the Tradelists and Trade Tracker, I'm starting this thread for people to post their ideas for improvements to either tool.

Here are my ideas:
•More status options than enabled or disabled. I think there should be options such as "Available Now", "Available in future", "Available on request" (i.e. I will start cuttings for you to send when they are rooted.)

•The actions for each plant (disable/enable, type of material, etc.) presented as check boxes (only when viewing your own lists). When doing large list edits, multiple boxes could be checked and then saved with a button at the top and/or bottom. Clicking and confirming changes for each individual plant gets annoying. Perhaps an option to move to a non-trading inventory list that does not require all of the extra info input of the journal.

•The ability to filter or sort tradelists (both your personal version and someone else's public version) by type of material, status, data added/updated, etc.

•A text section at the beginning where we can describe generic or non-plant gardening things we would like to trade. We could also describe our seed philosophy briefly (I really don't care if there's a bit of chaff in my seeds so if that's important to you, please don't trade with me.)

bsgardens stated in another thread that it would be nice for the Trade Tracker to show whether or not you have left feedback for a trade partner. I don't think we need to be as aggressive about it as a certain online auction site but it would be nice to have a reminder.

The photo is my idea of what each Tradelist record would look like when editing your own list. There would be many rows with a "Save Changes" button at the top and bottom so the status or details of several plants could be updated at the same time. In the public view each column would be sortable by clicking on that column heading. That way the person browsing your list could see all of the seeds together or all of the "Available Now" items together.

I would like to have a separate page for seeds and plants...especially for people that have a lot of items. I very rarely trade plants so I only want to see the seeds available. Maybe being able to add more than one item at a time.

Ronnie, that is a great idea, plant trading in one tradelist and seed trading in another, I too am just trading seeds at this time and it would make it so much easier. Annette

Kaitlan ... why are you developing all these things ... That looks great!!
**Maybe also a button for a "personal wish list" That only the member can see :D

As for the trade tracker ... maybe be able to have the option to send an form e-mail to use and save for the seeds or whatever is being sent ... I really hate having to redue the sent and recieved message everytime ...
#2 - Maybe also the option to mark as sent or recieved without having to actually send a d-mail ... for those members who hate recieving more than one d-mail ... or attaching them to the same d-mail. Like it is in the Marketplace ... Those messages are all in one d-mail for the most part.


Now I need to get them to change a few things in the way the marketplace work also ... lol ... lots of improvements do need to be made throughout the site ... lol :D I've asked the admin about this area before but that was before DG was sold. DG is loosing money because they aren't making a few simple changes / requirements of the buyers.


Ronnie ... I agree that would be nice ... also a view all ... seeds ... plants ... options would be great! Kinda like in the seed and plant trading where you can view all "open threads" or all of them including the closed ones.

#2 - Maybe also the option to mark as sent or recieved without having to actually send a d-mail ... for those members who hate recieving more than one d-mail ... or attaching them to the same d-mail.

Just to let you know, there is a way to mark something as "sent" in your trade tracker without sending another email. When you go to "mark as received" & it takes you to the page where you hit send to send the dmail, just use your back button. That will mark it as sent or received but as long as you hit the back button, it wont send the dmail. *Hope this makes since. I'm not to good at explaining things :)*

I work with databases a lot at work and many are ones that I have designed. I am accustomed to being able to sort and filter and otherwise tinker with data.

I think sorting based on plant material type (seeds, cuttings, etc.) is an easy way to see just the types that you are interested in. Filtering and making separate pages is more difficult to program. Though, for really long lists, it would be nice to sort or filter on multiple attributes.

I think an upload tool would be nice for the people who have long lists already typed out in word or an excel spreadsheet. You could upload a list and plantfiles would return the closest match for each entry. Then you could decide which ones were right and which ones needed to be changed and post the whole thing to your tradelist.

I'm really dreaming now right?

Dixie .... That makes perfect since ... I'm going to have to try that!! :D thank you!! :D

Oh that would be perfect Katlian! ...

LOL ... Maybe this dream could be a reality ... sounds like DG just needs to Hire you! :D

Hi Katlian,

I have made some requests to administration....regarding the trade tracker. Here is my request:

On the trade tracker, add another column that says "Expected trade date". Put a permanent sort on the table for that column in ascending order or better yet give us the option to click headings to sort the table.

My reason for requesting this is: It would help me (and other traders) track our trades . For example...if I make a deal with someone to trade in June, I would put an expected trade date on there for 6/1/10. My focus wouldn't be on this trade until that time comes.

I would like to sort my trades in the order that I want to ship them. Hope all of this makes sense and hope this is something DG is willing to do.

Thanks,
Suzanne Green

That's a great Idea Suzanne!

That is a good idea. I sometimes forget about trades that have to be postponed due to weather or availability of the plants.

I see lots of good ideas here. Hopefully administration will see them and act on them.

I may ask Terry or Melody to move it to the Dave's Garden Forum now that we have some ideas listed. I wanted it in seed trading because many of the people who use tradelist visit the trading forums. I'll post a link if it gets moved.

This message was edited Mar 1, 2010 1:16 PM

Okay, a brief summary from the seed trading forum:
-A short want list (things you want now).
-A longer wish list (things you might want someday).
-The ability to make lists public or private. This would also be good for temporarily disabling your tradelist during a vacation or other time when you are unavailable for trading.
-A matchmaker function to match up people who have/want the same items.

Love the matchmaker idea :)

Sounds great ...
and could ...possibly .... for trade trakker ... when Its been marked "sent" or "recieved" If a date will show up on the trade list. It would help me know the time frame on international seed trades... like from here to say the Netherlands is like 8 to 13 days. That way I don't get ansy about recieving a shipment that I've been told has beem shipped and its been over a week I don't wonder what happened to the package... I do soo many trades especially as of late. I don't think of looking to where the other person is ...
Ok was that confusing?

Aka .... mark as "sent" - I would see ... sent on 3-1-2010 or recieved on 3-23-2010 ...

If there is not a way that I haven't discovered, it would be nice if when you put a plant in your journal, it would add a picture of it in there.
Deb

Deb that's a great idea!
Speaking of journals ... it'd be nice if we couls make them public or private ... have that option ... I personally haven't been able to access my own journal in soo long ... Its not easy to navigate at all ... I find it more to be a pain ... I'd add to it all the time if it were easier to access =D I guess I need a refresher course or something

Brandy

There is already an option to make journals public or private--go to your journal, and under the "main menu" heading there's a link for privacy settings.

Oh Good to know :)

By the way, I LOVE that match-maker idea also ;)

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1065632/

I will have to go mess with my journals ... thank you! =D

I also love the match-maker idea ...

I agree...the journal is not easy to deal with. It frustratess me esp. when I have to go get the pic myself and then add it. I end up keeping my stuff on my memory stick instead. I know it will get easier after I get everything in there but I have to start with over 250 irises at least and that doesn't even begin to take into account all of the trees, shrubs, flowers, perennials, bulbs....well, you get the idea! It those darn pics would just come up like they do in your trade list!
Deb

I would love to be able to have my seed trade list hidden, unless I give authority.

I have a LOT of (several hundred) seeds, and I have everything disabled because of the constant stream of requests/demands for my seeds. There is nothing that I have that wouldn't be available for the right trade, and if someone has something I would dearly love, I would like to give them an opportunity to look through my list. Right now, I can't do that, I have it all disabled, because people think (and have told me) I'm being rude, if I don't respond to anyone/everyone offering an unsolicited trade.

Deb

Hey momcat Deb ... I know whatcha mean ... One of the reasons I have a huge want list viewable ... My seed / plant trade list is almost 500 now ... But I only have a few showing of things I have waaaay too many of ... lol

The journals wll I completely agree with you estrail Deb ...

I know right now the new owners and techs are tweeking the DG system of bugs and glitches .... I know they are doing things by priority. Hopefully it'll be soon when they start on the areas that the members areas ... I have issues with the MArketplace also as a seller ... hopefully they'll fix that area also. =D

momcat,
What do you consider an "unsolicited trade"?

To me, an unsolicited trade is : Someone offering to trade when I haven't posted anything offering to trade. If I'm interested in trading, and I have in the past, I started a thread on the seed trading forum offering to trade for seeds those I was looking for. If I don't have a post, I really don't want e-mails from people trying to set up trades. I realize this may sound snobby, but I've spent a lot of time and money, on my plants and seeds, hand pollinating, etc, and I have been burned several times before in trades. At this point, unless I initiate the trade, I'm not interested.

Deb

I have to agree somewhat Deb. I have received some really nice trades from unsolicited trade offers but I have received some astonishingly rude dmails basically demanding that I send a them a list of seeds with no trade offer at all. I basically ignore these people and hope that they get bored and leave DG.

I think we need more privacy options for the journal, blog, and tradelist. I would like to be able to set any of the three to:
•Open to everyone
•Open to all subscribers
•Open to certain members (with a list of usernames)
•Private

For instance, I would like to show photos of some of our home improvement projects for my friends on DG but if I made the blog public I don't want photos that show the front of my house with the house number and everything. The address exchange is somewhat more private but a lot of people cheat and put obviously fake address in so they have access to everyone else's address without giving their own.

Hey momcat... just curious, were those "unsolicited trade offers" for items in your tradelist?

This message was edited Mar 16, 2010 12:14 PM

Yes, they were for items I had, promising me hard to find seeds. More than once, I sent seeds, and never received what was promised. Other times, I sent my hard to find seeds in trade for something I wanted, and got something common and completely different than what I was supposed to in return.

Deb

Sorry Deb... had it happen to me for the first time this past month. Hope you left neg feedback in those cases. It's not the perfect system, may never be, but let's hope we see some badly needed improvements soon. Speaking for myself, I think the tradelist is the weakest feature of DG... ironically, I understand it was the first feature to be developed when DG started up many years ago.

I think I have done - unsolictied trade offers ... but I usually try to send a list of what I have if I don't have something they want I also offer to pay postage as a 2ndry option within that first d-mail ... id that wrong ... or how do people feel on that ... ??
I get d-mails of things I am wanting ... But not asking for anything in return how should I respond to a d-mail like these ... especially when there is nothing on ones want list ... I never know how to respond to these ... especially right now when I don't have very much anymore for trade left ... most of it is overly common... I also ask if they want postage .. but it seems people are not specific when they say they have something I want ...

Ok have I confused everyone now once again? = / =D

I have dmailed people who have something I want in their tradelist. I figure if they put it on their tradelist they are interested in trading. I try to look for someone who wants plants or seeds that I have so I can offer them something in trade.

Don't feel like you are pestering people by asking for details about a trade (or free seeds). It has been my experience that someone who is willing to answer questions about how much to trade, or when to send, etc is more likely to follow through with their end of the deal than people who are vague or don't respond to dmails. If there is nothing on their tradelist, just ask if there is anything else they are looking for that you might have, you never know.

I know I have done unsolicited trades. I also figure if someone has something on their trade list and not labeled "not for trade" then their plants are available, otherwise they wouldn't have their list there. I have never asked for anything for just postage. I also first check to see if I have anything on their want list that they might be willing to trade me for. I think that anyone keeping a trade list should be trading, I think that is what it is for. Otherwise, put "not for trade" or keep them in the journal. Besides, when you are looking for something you need, there is the search you do that goes through everyone's list to find who has it. This is why making the journal easier to keep would be great.
I have some on my list as not for trade. I would prefer to keep them in my journal if it was just not such a pain for me to use. I know how it is to be so frustrated by wading through a 1000 or more items that aren't for trade. I just give up on those after a few pages and look somewhere else.

estrail1rider .... lol ... that's why my have list is soo short right now ...

Kaitlan ... I will definitly keep that in mind ... I have yet to hear from the last person who said they have something I am wanting ... I should make a thing somehow at the beginning ... that just says "Make Me an Offer ... I Want Almost everything!!" LOL ...

ok what is up with the d-mail notifications taking 3 to 4 days sometimes longer to get to an email account? by the time I get the notice in the email I have already replied to the d-mail and they have replied back to me several times.

DG is loosing $$ because of this ... especially through the marketplace... when someone deosn't leave an email address ... mainly new people ... anyway ... it takes 3 to 4 days for them to get an invoice and by then the person is upset and thinks that the person selling plants seeds or etc really doesn;t care ... oh my ... by then they are upset and cancel orders or just don't respond at all ... sometimes I wonder if the customers are even getting the d-mail invoice - email notifications at all ... I know I have lost out on some serious $$ because of this ...

I thought there were to be improvements made not going backwards. I use to get an e-mail the same day the d-mail would hit...

bsgardens I have noticed that lately too. Hmmmm

I'm glad I'm not the only one ... I mentioned something to Terry an admin .. and she says its always been a 48 hour thing ... but It should be different when it comes to the marketplace ... Dg themselves are loosing $$ becz of it ... but I do know they have a lot to work on & fix and learn ... =D

Thanks Katlian for starting this thread. I am now watching this... lots of good ideas here!

So, the main themes I'm seeing here, which we could improve for you are the following:

1. Give you more control over the organization of your trade lists. We could do this, as Katlian suggested, by adding a few more options when you are adding a new plant or seed. This includes a few more categories and fields. This also includes the ability to sort your lists for easier management. These are fairly straightforward improvements. As we are working on them, I'd love to be able to get your feedback via this forum (or a new one if we start it).

2. Timing, especially, is important for your trading, so finding the best way to incorporate date ranges and shipment time lines - thereby allowing you to plan ahead is something we can work on. We may be able to implement this in Trade Tracker. Making your list temporarily private would be useful too, as you wouldn't get requests while you are away.

3. Match-making. I LOVE this concept. And, given how we currently organize the trade list database internally, prompting match suggestions for you may not be as hard as we think. However - this must and will come with privacy options so that you have a choice to opt-in and opt-out at anytime.

4. Talking about privacy, and the issue of getting unsolicited trade requests. I'm going to take a look at this in more depth and see where and how we can address your concerns. In the meantime please report your concerns as they occur to our Admin.

Now, I have questions for you (-: Feel free to answer one, or them all! I'll be watching this forum closely.

Would you like to see a main Trade lists page where you could find out what's happening on DG trading?

This page could be personalized by you and could include a list of recently added plants and seeds you may be interested in (based on your want list, and other plants and seeds you designate as your interests in your *wish list* - love that suggestion bsgardens).

It could also include a list of other DG members' trade lists that you choose to follow, that you've done trades with in the past, and maybe even a Block list - so you can keep tabs only on what your friends have and want. This could be kind of like the "Other TradeLists" tab - but would be easier to manage and show a lot more relevant information to your interests. So rather then you only having the option to search for what you want - we can help you find it.

What other features would you like on this page?

I have a suggestion ... kind of off subject but .... making the market place d-mails and the dg regular d-mailing systems seperate.So customers who recieve an email don't have to wait 48 hours to recieve an email notice in their email that they have a DG invoice... does this make since? Also make Email's mandatory for marketplace people who just recently sign up to DG within the past 30 days < -- this is a HUGE issue of not being able to contact the customers who are new except on DG also add paypal direct button option to the market place invoicing system... please =D ok I'll stop begging ... lol j/k

I like the idea of having a "friends" Or past trades "subscription list"

I'm personally unsure of the "Would you like to see a main Trade lists page where you could find out what's happening on DG trading?" what exactly do you mean by this? Like new trades or swaps that are happening?

Also a personal inventory list would be nice. I like having my "have list" and everything is disabled and going and it makes it easier to look up the plant and or seed info ... also making the journals easy to access and view the DG plant files ... and easy to use would be nice I know I'd update my journal if I could access it. I know I have tried several different ways that people have suggested ... but I can go to it right now and not be able to view any of it. = ( "user friendly"


This message was edited Jun 2, 2010 3:00 PM