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Old 2002.02.12, 09:05 AM   #1
xENo
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Thumbs down Something very annoying

Is this site here to promote the mini z? Or is it here to make profit?

Judging by the way I cant say ***********.com or *****************, I would say in it for profit...

Sure, promote the hell out of yourself, but by crossing out URLs of your competition, you're simply killing off interest in the mini z which could further generate better sales in the future. It's only logical.

I also noticed my site hasnt been linked.... I hope that wasnt intentional because we have forums on our site too...

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Old 2002.02.12, 09:35 AM   #2
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But bandwidth and these forums that you get to use for free cost some big dollars sometimes, and the shop needs all the customers it can get. Plus, for that matter, the prices are great, and you can get ANYTHING at all for mini-z's, bit char-g's, or most anything else from hong kong for that matter. All you have to do is ask.

If you don't promote the site, then these forums won't be around forever for you to use.
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Old 2002.02.12, 09:40 AM   #3
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I know all about promotion, web sales, web server and website costs, etc. (I do it for a living)

I do appreciate the fact that the site is here and that they sell some good stuff for cheap (not to mention hard to find stuff)... that wasn't really my point.... promoting is one thing, killing competition is another.

I applaud this site, its the most informative mini z site on the net. Dont get me wrong, but if I want to know where to buy product X that isnt listed in this site's store... why cant I have the privelidge of obtaining that link from a fellow mini z racer? Isnt that the point of the forum, to exchange information?

Once again I'm not trying to start trouble, I'm just inquisitive.


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Old 2002.02.12, 09:49 AM   #4
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not so much killing competition...more like surviving amongst it. Send an email to Mini-Z and he should be able to link your site up if you want it to be.
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Old 2002.02.12, 09:53 AM   #5
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hehe... I did, but I guess he forgot about me. (c:

(We exchanged a few emails and the closest locale I could narrow it down to was 'America')

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Old 2002.02.12, 10:01 AM   #6
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Bad word?

When did "Profit" become a bad word?
This site does have the best pricing on the web !!
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Old 2002.02.12, 10:06 AM   #7
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I know it does, but for the stuff it doesnt have, it still doesnt allow links to...

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Old 2002.02.12, 10:13 AM   #8
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IMHO

I purposely do not mention competitor's information in respect to this site. If someone wants to know where I got something, I'd presume them to be keen enough to email me directly and ask.

Profit, ethics, promotion, whatever you want to call it, interest in a hobby isn't balanced on just one message board. This is a popular and highly informative one, true, otherwise we all wouldn't be here. Right?
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Old 2002.02.12, 10:14 AM   #9
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A few of the items in the shop are a bit much, like twice what they should be... so it can make the rest feel expensive, but some things are cheaper to buy here, then overseas (especialy when they add a 40$ shipping cost to get it to usa). But I am divided down the center with the sensor ship thing... its ok his decision, he has the right to not say buy it from some one else, cuz it looks cheaper, but realy isnt... wich is poor business . But I also think hidding the other businesses on a subconcious level to the buyer says "Hmm they are hiding them they might be better, lets go find out..." weather they actualy are dont realy matter if they already go there to find out... any way. they will find out were no matter how you sensor it.

And blocking out 3bay is a bit over board, ebay dont actualy sell the Mini-Z other ppl on ebay do, and well they are not all reputable... and lately the ones known to sell things for cheap have been charging almost twice what they should be... I never got some of the stuff I ordered from one place through ebay, and they were in the US (suposedly), they no longer sell on ebay unless they changed their name...

And I would realy like to know how much this site cost to run, it isnt that much... space can be obtained free, and yes reliable space with CGI support can be. and the Forum software is only 70$... Pay pal only charges like 30 cents per item... and a lot of ppl are not even using the pay pal shopping cart to order, instead just sending money via ppal.
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Old 2002.02.12, 11:45 AM   #10
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I'm very new here, and to the rest of the mini z world. Please excuse my naive/newbie point of view...

I've been reading here for about 2 weeks. From past experience, I find it hard to believe that this thread hasn't already been moded in one way or another.

When I first started reading I got quite angry about the moded ***** messages. I can understand miniz's point, but from my perspective I just became frustrated.

This forum seems to be *the* premiere mini z forum for the english speaking world. Its a mini z forum, not a shop's forum - well, it IS a shop's forum, but doesn't perform like it. As in its broad topics and conversations cover more than a generic shop forum would. I think that is why it suceeds. If you want to know anything about your mini z, come here and you'll find it. Two thumbs up, excellent resource, thanks!

I think Draconious' point of "Hmm they are hiding them they might be better, lets go find out..." holds very true. In some ways I'm sure some people think that the censor technique is a little too aggressive and were driven to shop elsewhere. One day I'll probably buy something from this site b/c of the support and conversation that the forum and owner provides.

Aggressive price matching might be something to try. If someone posts a link to a sale provide an alternative with prices vs the censor *.

I wish there was a little more separation between the 2 parts - forum vs shops. This could be achieved with great results. Its just a matter of ironing out the details. The shop might get more traffic if was treated as an external entity yet acted as the official "forum sponsor". For example; banners, *advertised specials*, pricing, etc would stand out more.

A different shop page/database might help too, I just haven't clicked with the existing setup yet. Browsing hasn't grabbed me and made me want to buy something that I really didn't need (like most stores). I'm trying to think of how other forums on the net are run and supported but I can't think of a specific example right now. Maybe mini-zracer could check some others.

...with that being said, I'll continue using the forums and hopefully shopping here soon - even if it doesn't change shape. I love it!!! THANKS FOR THE FORUMS!
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Old 2002.02.12, 07:19 PM   #11
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Wow, lots to address here, I'll take it from the top, after first pointing out that if we're the big sensors some of you make us out to be then this thread would have been deleted...
-xENo, apologies for you link, but you emailed me as I was going out of town - just go back and haven't had time to add your link, but it is in your sig so I'm sure a lot of people have found it that way.
-xENo, do you honestly have an idea of how much our hosting costs? Our bandwidth needs are gigantic due to the amount of forum usage.
-jcblack, actually something like what you proposed is in the works!
Our goals are to provide the best prices and rarest parts. Our prices are extremely agressive, and if any of you would like to email us with examples of lower prices in the US we would love to see them and we'll adjust our prices accordingly. It's important to understand that most of our parts are from HK and Japan, and it costs a lot to get them here. So while one site in HK may advertise something for $10 and we charge $12, you'll find that the HK site also charges $20 shipping on that part, and that it's cheaper through us as we ship huge amounts together and so the cost is spread out. The reason for disallowing links to auction sites is that we offer an auction listing service which would be pointless if you could just post them in the forums instead. The reason for denying direct links to competition is that a) they can buy ads with us if they want to advertise here and b) they don't have links to our site on theirs! Please email us directly with any other questions or comments.
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Old 2002.02.12, 07:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
... space can be obtained free, and yes reliable space with CGI support can be. and the Forum software is only 70$... Pay pal only charges like 30 cents per item... and a lot of ppl are not even using the pay pal shopping cart to order, instead just sending money via ppal.
Drac, I don't mean any offense but every part of this is incorrect. This site cannot be hosted free, that's preposterous, and the Forum software is more than $70, and that's per year, and it's nothing compared to the cost of bandwidth etc. And you're completely wrong in everything you state about PayPal. I don't want to upset you, I just have to point out that everything you have stated is incorrect, and I didn't want others to be mislead.
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Old 2002.02.12, 07:25 PM   #13
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Also, thanks to the majority of our members who take our side on these issues.
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Old 2002.02.12, 10:14 PM   #14
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I run a website with over 2000 users that has received 6 million hits since april. I'm well aware of forum costs. (c:

We averaged 7000 posts per day when I made the switch to a free forum host... crappy as it is its put me back on the financial map.

Side note: amzra.org is hosted on a private server... I might be able to arrange a hook up for you.... the owner of the server is an active member of this forum...

And I understand about the link thing... its not that big of a deal... no hard feelings dude... I love the site! (c:

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Old 2002.02.13, 09:18 AM   #15
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Thanks for the understanding, xENo; we've been getting about 2,000,000 hits a month, even though we have less members than you, and it really drains a lot of bandwidth!
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