Sales/swap/exchange section in the forum??

[heinz357]

I was just wondering if there was such a facility anywhere on the forum, as I for one am having a little difficulty tracking down some parts I need for my upcoming build!

Is it allowable to post WLTB requests somewhere, just in case someone out there posseses, and has no use for said items??

...if so, where should such requests/offers be posted??

[WaterPig Master]

I would agree that there should be a marketplace section, but recently I found http://www.junkbox.org/. It looks great, and it's pretty active — new posts every day. I'm going to be getting rid of some of my less useful components through it.

What are you after?

Thanks,
Barnaby

[heinz357]

I think a marketplace for the forum would be great too, but would require a lot in terms of moderation I suppose!!

Was hoping to find a pair of drive hubs to fit 4mm shaft, preferably the 4 hole type, to fit commercially available Sumo wheels to?

...like these, but 4 holes, and 4mm shaft!   ...in GB

[Admin]

Someone sells stuff here about once a month, so I'm not so sure.

I could add a new section on the main page, right under Robot Vids.

I added a vote to this thread at the top. Vote if you think you'll use it, and/or comment if you think it'll 'clog up' or over-complicate the forum.

[corrado33]

I think the only problem is if a lot of the people are like me on this site... they'll keep things because they'll "use them eventually".

That's the cool thing about building these things is that once you have a bunch of parts from old projects, you can build a robot on the cheap! 

[heinz357]

I think the only problem is if a lot of the people are like me on this site... they'll keep things because they'll "use them eventually".

Yes, I agree entirely with this statement, and must plead Guilty, to being a hoarder in the first degree!!

...but surely, you must agree, theres almost no sensation worse, than spending hours trawling through the net to find the items you need, only to find they're either Out Of Stock, or worse still, the P+P charges are more than the value of the component in question?!

I'm getting a feeling that, much like pc enthusiasts, the robot community tends to move with the times, always looking to better their previous acheivment, and as such, many initially vital basic components are superceded, and fall by the wayside in favour of newer, or more project specific components?!

I'm sure everyone here, that has passed beyond the level of 'first Bot' has, at least to some degree a Bits Box, with items no longer relevant to the latest project/design, but still useful in their own right, to someone out there!

Having a trading section within the forum, I think would also be to the overall benefit of the forum too, as it may encourage the '2 posts, and gone' type visitors to stick around longer, and for the community as a whole to 'bond' at another level?

ps... Thanks Admin for making this discussion Sticky!

[Soeren]

Hi,

I think the only problem is if a lot of the people are like me on this site... they'll keep things because they'll "use them eventually".

Yes, I agree entirely with this statement, and must plead Guilty, to being a hoarder in the first degree!!

Plus one 

I'm sure everyone here, that has passed beyond the level of 'first Bot' has, at least to some degree a Bits Box, with items no longer relevant to the latest project/design, but still useful in their own right, to someone out there!

Rule #1  You never know what you need tomorrow.

Having a trading section within the forum, I think would also be to the overall benefit of the forum too, as it may encourage the '2 posts, and gone' type visitors to stick around longer, and for the community as a whole to 'bond' at another level?

I think it will fail miserably after a short while.
At another forum, we had a tread dedicated to "I have... who wants it", where you'd then need to put something up for give-away when you claimed a post/give-away - but even that died out in a fairly short time.

Further, according to Rule #1, I don't part with stuff I can think of even the most remote use for, just for plain mammon (swaps might convince me though), but if I see an "I need this and cannot find/afford it" request, I help as far as it's possible for me (if I have the the part(s) and they aren't selected for something already).

So, if you make a request, on the Misc-board, telling what you need, what you're willing to pay or what you might have to swap with, that  you're ready to pay shipment etc. I'm sure it'll work just as well as dedicating a board to what will probably sizzle out to less than a post a month (even though I'm a big fan of keeping posts organized in boards).


If anything should be changed, I'd personally much rather see a blog function, as the use of the boards as personal blogs are gaining in a most un-charming way. I seldom read blogs of any kind (since I really don't need to know when Joe Random burns a controller, or his uncle have problems with delayed shipment) and it's kinda annoying that the boards spill over with them - Get the idea, refine it, Build it and then document it with just the needed details to reconstruct it and nothing else - Good information is condensed information.

[totalis]

I can see it being useful, especially if you could comment on the product. This would allow 'where do I get x?' Threads. Useful for different locales aswell...

I do have some stuff I want to sell, and buying tested hardware is always a good thing.

Only downside I can think of is spammers...

T

[Admin]

But . . . by selling off your redundant junk you *may* have a use for, you could use the money to buy something nice

Only downside I can think of is spammers...

Spammers don't last on SoR more than a few hours. I spend 30 min a day fighting them off, so no worries

[totalis]

So that means i can think of no reason why not.

Do for it ;-)

[madsci1016]

Didn't I suggest this 2 years ago?

O Wait, I did!!

I'm not sure if this has been suggested, but perhaps a new forum that might be nice is an 'exchange' forum to sell or trade robot parts? For example i have a 3d accel, i2c compass and that lovely Venus GPS that I want to sell. I'm sure many members here have some old robot parts they want to get rid of, but are two... unique to be put on ebay, as they wouldn't reach an interested customer as it would on SoR.

Not enough people sell stuff to be worth a new forum section, you aren't the first to suggest it . . . this is what I recommend for a subject line:

[for sale] sensors, gps, compass, etc.

Those interested in buying that stuff will notice. Actually, I was thinking of selling my Venus as well . . .

How times have changed I guess. 

[heinz357]

So....back to original post....does anyone out there have a pair of 4mm ID, or 1/4" ID wheel hubs they're willing to sell/swap/trade?! 

A wheeled bot, with no wheels, is a very sad sight to behold!!