Something for you to think about!

I realize you are busy with your new gardens, but would you please, at the next board meeting or whatever you have when the administration gets together, think about putting Market Place back on DG and charging a fee to sell so that you can afford to keep it going and the people who were all so active in it can do the one stop shopping they used to do.

This is the only site where customers (potential subscribers) would look up a plant by a common name or botanical name (Plant Scout) and find a vendor, research both the plant and the vendor and make a choice. In doing that they get exactly what they want from exactly who they want it from and know the vendor is here and anytime they can come back and ask questions from the forums.

It is such a great Public Relations tool as well as a money maker if you set it up to be one. Could you please find someone who has the technical training to do that? Most of it is already done. I know there are more people like me who are now selling on two or three other sites and we are having to give our new customers the names of other sites than DG to research and forums to visit and join, when DG has to be the best there is for any novice or master gardener. Why is it such a problem for you when it is already set up to sell. eBay , Etsy, ATP all have similiar places to sell, but NONE of them have the other things to offer that you do if you only put it back into use. I am amazed that you refuse to consider this when it has to be something all of your members want and would use. CHARGE THE FEES, THEY WILL PAY THEM. If there is another reason other than technical issues please tell me. I will then shut up and go back to my three other stores which is a total pain even if it is profitable. I see more people moving on and it is so upsetting. Of course, if you do not want those people, then I can understand but I think it is a mistake to send them away.

OK, I have said my little request and I will accept your reply as THE WORD. Have a great day. JB

Good idea, JB!

Only you and I seem to think so, Evelyn. Hope you are well. Miss you. JB

Have you thought of sending this note to Melody, or did you already do that?

For some stupid reason I thought she may read it without sending it to her directly. I also would hope some other people feel as we do and speak up, but they must be all gone by now. Etsy is really picking up activity. But as I said before, DG has it all here. Ready to go with a few changes, but the administration obviously has other things in mind and I guess we have to live with that. I just feel all of this great information is actually going to waste. There are so many people out there that I know would benefit from becoming a member here. Many of the old time gardeners have moved on but there are still some here with so much great information to share. But, they also want to be able to sell their stock and they can not do it here. The classified is just not doing it. Oh well, we can only hope.

Good luck! I hope they see this message.

Thanks Evelyn, miss you on the other thread. Some sanity is always welcome.

You think that I am sane...heh, heh....

Well, you and I fit into the same category, I think??? Borderline. I think.................☺

I think the other issue with the old marketplace was how people had to come back here and look for a dmail from the seller so that they could pay & finalize their order instead of having a shopping cart/checkout process like other sites. I remember seeing a lot of sellers complain about people who came and started to buy things but never came back to complete the transaction because they didn't know how things worked. If they could fix that, then I agree the marketplace would be a nice thing to resurrect.

That was a problem ecrane, I lost several sales due to that and I even wrote to the people on dmail but they did not come back to read it. There would have to be some minor changes made but if they charged a fee to sell like the others do they could make up their expenses I feel sure. I like being able to invoice people before someone else does also. I use PayPal invoicing and it works so well. I have had no problems with it. I use that on most of my sales that come through privately or by my website.

Well, I came here searching for something else but get sidetracked reading these threads.

I am in agreement on missing the Marketplace and would like to see it or something similar.

What amazes me, the lack of response from Admin. Perhaps that is what we see such apathy in the general DG population too.

Good luck with the new season in plant sales, JBerger!

On any other thread you did not want the administration to look at they would be there watching and reading every move you make. Now, when we need them, no one has even responded or acknowledged that we do have a valid question or request. I am so sick of this yet, I keep hoping they will come to their senses and pay attention.

I am looking forward to a good season between eBay, etsy. cubits, ATP, I think it will be fine. This year was the best year yet even without Market Place. I do think DG has more to offer as far as information and assistance to the gardeners but if they do not want to take advantage of what the Market Place brings them, that is their loss.

Yes, I'd like to see some vestiges of what DG used to be.

I also have noticed I used to 'google' for a type of plant and the first suggestion would bring me right back to the PlantFiles but not any longer.

The times, they are a'changin...

I rejoined Plant Scout knowing it is a chance I am taking and barely scraping the $100 together, but I feel I have been here so long, I am a loyal person and no matter how much I complain, I still feel there is hope for DG in the future, if the administration pays attention to the suggestions of the members. We can only pray they will.

Oh, I hope that you did not waste that money....did you try and d-mail Melody with a link to this thread so she would see it? That might be the only way...like you said, there might not be any notice by anyone in the admin, if you are behaving...heh, heh....

No Evelyn, as you know she seems to read my mind and I know she reads my posts, but I guess she missed this one. Just been really busy........not complaining but it took time to put back the plants on Plant Scout and make sure the stores on eBay and Etsy are stocked. Now that the weather is o.k. for shipping, I am accepting orders again and trying to keep up with the new planting. I also have Pinterest and Facebook to keep after so, not much spare time. Then of course, Daylight Saving Time and I can not adjust to it. I am so sleepy just now I could take a nap. I wake up at 5 a.m. which is now 4 a.m. and by the time I have my dinner I am ready for bed and it is not dark yet. So, I just go to bed anyhow.
LOL.....maybe Melody will drop in and say Hi to us one of these days. Should I start to swear and talk politics? That would do it. She has been very helpful and a real Sweetie these past few difficult weeks, I should not joke about her. She is only doing her job. I don't know how she stays such a nice person with all she has to do.
Off to finish laundry. JB

I'm not Melody, but I have been watching this thread. I didn't say anything because I wanted to see if there is/was a larger groundswell of support for the Marketplace.

To be frank, the problems with the marketplace were manifold and had to do with the way it was conceived and constructed. As you know, there was never a true shopping cart (and that's not as easy to build as you might think). There were also a lot of problems with how sellers tried to "one-up" each other on listings to keep theirs on top. Bickering over copied/stolen photos. And a myriads of administrative headaches we dealt with on a regular basis.

IF the sales were ever booming in the Marketplace...well, let's just say we weren't seeing it on the fee side of things. In fact, many sellers skipped out without paying their fees - again, some problems in the way it was programmed that left a lot of loopholes and cracks for sellers and buyers alike. It was never the revenue generator we had hoped it might be; I suspect the same is true for most of the sellers who gave it a shot along with us. We tried, many of you tried but sometimes things simply don't work out as planned and we at some point, you have to decide to go a different direction.

podster, if PlantFiles is not coming up on top in your Google results, it may be because you aren't clicking on PF listings when you search. Google has morphed into a more sophisticated search engine over time, and now most of your results are personal to you and your clicking habits. So it's not that PF isn't popular with Google...it just may be because you click on other links instead of PF when you search.

Thanks Terry, I must be totally honest. I never thought of doing the things you mentioned. People are funny aren't they? I was just so delighted for the way most of my sales went on DG I thought everyone was just as happy. How wrong can I be in my little world? I do appreciate your comments. I was hoping someone would pop in and give us an answer. I guess most of the sellers moved on as we all had to do.

I see more activity in Plant Files now but the time of year and weather is also a factor for any lack of activity. I just wish we had a common name listed......half the time I forget what I am looking for. I do have some new Cacti and they may not be in the Plant Files they are not easy to find. I see in PS that is a problem because there is nothing to connect them to. If when I get their full names and find they are not listed, is there a way we can put them in?

I am happy at the moment, just have to rearrange my methods of reaching customers. No big deal. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Don't mean to be pesty but I was just hoping. Jacquie

Even though a vendor does not list the common name of plants in their PlantScout file, anyone searching by common name will still find them (if they are linked to a PlantFiles listing :-)

Yes, I realize that, I mean I have a problem sometimes when I look at my list. No big deal, I just mentioned it. Thanks again.

You (or we) can download your list into Excel, and it will have the common names (the system inserts them in the downloads)...just let us know if you need any help!

Thank you again. At 84 I need all the help I can get, but I can manage. No big deal. Just love the line of least resistance at this time in my life. Have a great day. JB

I would like to go on record as part of the silent majority who enjoyed the
marketplace even though I am a potential buyer but not a seller.

There oughta be some way to work around the issues/problems that management experienced.

Hoping so.

You'd think and keep things simple,I would rather spend my money to people,who really want to share ,than those who are really in it for just the money!For years I gave away so many plants to people who stop by over and over to walk thru the gardens and admire my plants,always grew more than I needed,and love to share and trade,I think most people on here are the same as me,but they do need to make a little to cover there cost and time,and I don't think anyone has a problem with that.

Terry, I think a lot of us were waiting to see what you guys had to say rather than being a "silent majority". I bought plants off Marketplace and nowhere else. If you were waiting to count noses or something, I think there were probably more people like myself than you think.

I only bothered looking at the classifieds 3 or 4 times 'cause there was hardly anything in there those few times. I did look at Marketplace all the time. And bought when I couldn't resist. Had some favorite sellers.

?????? bump up

I thought we all voted for this once. And it didn't do any good then did it? Well, again, I am all for it. I don't even look at the classifieds. I used to buy from Marketplace. Jen

So, is MarketPlace back in business, or what??

No Evelyn, it isn't and probably won't be. The folks that be want to make some money and Marketplace doesn't make that much. Jen

Hey guys, nice to see you support opening the Market Place again. It is missed by so many but the powers to be seem to think it would not be worth doing again. I am giving up for now with Market Place. Plant Scout is available if you want to buy something from someone on DG. It takes a bit more time since you look up the plant, find the seller then go to the seller personally. I have never used it myself but another place you may want to look is Etsy........they have some really nice plants on there and the people are very nice to deal with.
Nice to see you both. Have a great weekend. JB