Co-op Forum records.

I wanted to look up what I had ordered on a co-op two years ago so I went to "My Posts" and looked in the appropiate time span but found nothing to a co-op thread. I dropped down the list of forums to limit the posts but could not find a Co-op Forum. Went to the "Forums" page, and again found no such forum. Did DG eliminate the Co-op Forum and all traces of it? To discontinue the forum is one thing, but to pretend that it never existed is a little disconcerting, kind of like Russian or Chinese leaders being air-brushed out of photos after they were purged. What gives?

We did archive the forum due to inactivity. When we expanded the Classifieds area to allow for discussion between thread-starter and participants, it was done in part to facilitate any sort of group buying that vendors or individuals might want to initiate without the constraints of the old co-op approval process - which had essentially killed co-ops here :-(

The old forum had not been posted to in quite some time and - as is the case with other forums that become inactive, we put it on hiatus. If there's something specific you want me to try to dig out for you, I'd be happy to do so.

Terry

So are you saying there can not be any more co ops here? I know there got to be a lot of problems in the past, so please explain or send me a link so I can read how or how it can't happen.

I'm interested in some growing bags and have been talking with 2 companies about them and there are minimum's that need to be met which of course are more money than I can spend. So if I want to see if others would be interested how do I find out?

Thanks

Jan

You can run a group purchase or co-op through the classified ads area. When you launch a thread (it costs $5), it will run for two weeks. It works like any other thread - you can add posts, others can post to it, and you can offer anything you wish as a group buy (as long as it's legal, of course :-)

We hope this actually cuts own on the confusion and problems with co-ops in the past. Now there's no need to worry if you're a member or vendor; any member (whether they sell plants by mail, on eBay, etc.) can run a co-op or offer a bulk discount to the group.

Terry

That does sound like it will be easier.

Can it last longer that two weeks? I'm talking with two companies and don't have all the information but would like to find out if there is any interest here? Can I post a topic for interest and then once I have my final figures then go and pay for the posting?

Thanks for helping me to understand this new feature.

Jan

We definitely hope it makes things easier and simpler.

Right now, we are looking at ways to let classifieds run longer, but until that functionality is in place, you can always run a second (or third) ad as the co-op progresses. I would advise any co-op organizer to plan on running at least two - and maybe 3 threads to complete it, and build the $10 or $15 into your costs; if you have 10-15 participants, you can add $1 onto your other out-of-pocket expenses like packing supplies, tape and labels and boxes :-)

Thank you Terry, you explaned it perfectly.

Jan

Terry, I also came back to look up an old co-op and found they are gone. I can't remember who held it, but it was a repeating co-op. Once or twice a year. And it was for the water crystals we add to the dirt, to keep from watering so much. She sold them in 5 lb increments. I don't guess you remember who it was? I really want to know the vendor so I can get more of them! :-)

I think it was LhasaLover that ran that co-op, and the source was Watersorb polymer crystals: http://water-sorb.com/ Does that sound right?

Terry, how come that reference of past co ops was taken down? I use to look through them a lot for reference on a vendor for a product. Is there a way to put it back and just lock it so no one can post on them, but still be able to find the info?

thanks
Jan

We do routinely "tidy up" and archive forums that haven't had any activity for a while. That was certainly true of the co-op forum - it hadn't had any activity in quite a while when we shelved it. New co-ops are welcome (with much more relaxed rules) in the Classifieds area. And we're happy to look up anything in the archives (from that forum or others) on request.

Thanks Terry! That was it.

Happy to help! Now to brush the dust and cobwebs off from my venture into the virtual attic :-)

Oh I see. thanks

Jan

I just went looking for a Iris co-op in either 2009 or 2010 and I couldn't find it, now I know why. I wanted to get a list of all of the iris that I bought because I have lost the tags and want to see if I can ID some of them if I had the list of what they could be. I know that I ordered a lot of them and not all in one post. The hosts of the co-op was Earthspinner. I would really like to be able to access that forum, very disappointing that it is gone.

Patti, I just sent you a dmail with what I think is the list you're looking for.

Thank you Terry! I appreciate it.