Suggestion: Market Monitor

I'd like to suggest something for the WBO Marketplace:

As an avid Yu-Gi-Oh! player, I have stumbled upon the magic that is TradeCardsOnline. On this site, users hold a list of their collection, as well as cards that they wish to attain. There is an ingenious trading system used in this website, forcing both parties of the trade to accept to all terms of the trade mutually before the mailing process begins. You may also include cash to settle any 'value differences,' should any arise.

My suggestion is the same thing, except for Beyblades. A similar system- a Market Monitor, for lack of a better term (BeyMonitor, BeyTrader, I don't know)- would be put in place in which either whole Beyblades or parts can be added to a collection of Haves and Wants. Whole Beyblades would be organized by System and can be marked as "New in Box," or "Opened." Beyblades and parts may be marked by a "Not for Trade," tag, signifying that it is only for that user's collection purposes. Stadiums and other accessories would also have their own categories. This in itself is a much more organized way of knowing what Beyblades a person has at any given time. It also allows our shopkeepers, such as dimsum2, to show their For Sales in an organized fashion. This is also a good way to make use of BeyWiki, linking each Beyblade on the Market Monitor's lists to the appropriate BeyWiki article.

As for the trading system, this is how TCO does it:

1-Person 1 initiates trade.
2-Person 2 makes changes to trade, accepts with his terms.
3-Person 1 can make changes, or accept if they agree with the terms.
4-If Person 1 made changes, go back to part 2. Otherwise, the trade initiator would send their share first and signifies that he has sent the items.
5-When Person 2 claims receiving Person 1's items, they send their share of the trade.
6-Person 1 marks that they receive Person 2's items, and the trade is complete.

There is a time limit in which you may do things. During each step before Step 3, there is a three-day window between steps. If this is not met, the trade is automatically canceled. During the mailing process, the receiving end can mark that they have not received the items requested at any time after 7 days. This system should be used as is, seeing as how trades occur like this in the world regardless. This system prevents scamming and not knowing where trades are at. This also allows the WBO mods to see who is scamming others, so that they may be punished accordingly.

Finally, I know some people on WBO also like to trade items not related to Beyblades. it would be ridiculous to ask that the admins add Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic: The Gathering cards to the Beyblade Stockpile. Therefore, I will suggest that there be two paragraph text boxes within the trade window for "Other Items, Money, and Notes," one for each person involved in the trade. They could write down things they also want to send, and Money values, should they wish to also include these things.

Now, I know this seems like a big project. It is, and I don't expect the administrators and moderators to be fully willing in investing their own free time working to set the Market Monitor up. Although I don't have any sort of degrees in web design, I do have some experience in making websites, and I could certainly assist in the making of Market Monitor, should you be willing to accept my suggestion. My main goal in setting this up is to make the Marketplace more efficient, allowing users to simply send offers to a seller, rather than going through the honestly inefficient Bey Marketplace.

Setting up the Market Monitor would greatly improve efficiency in trading and I firmly believe it will make WBO an even more useful resource for the Beyblade community.

Thoughts?
Excellent idea! However, scams can still occur. How can we guarantee that the other trader will send their share?
It is true that scams can still occur, and it has happened to me. Both parties could request a tracking number. If the other side refuses to give a tracking number, you do have that magical right to refuse the trade altogether. However, if you trust the other person enough to just let them send of their own accord, you are free to do that, as well.
Why didn't you just say the aforementioned in the Make your Suggestions topic?
You have to understand that we are using MyBB, which I think does not have such a plugin available ...

Plus, if people just take the time to search, would they not find what they are looking for as well, just like on that site ? The fact that fraud can still happen anyway does not convince me either.
To Kai-V: Although people would be able to find their items if they searched, there are some people who no longer have an item and don't update, and a PM to them would be a waste of time to both parties. Having a search system that shows a user, their trade rating, and availability of an item would mean less time wasted and more business being done.

As for MyBB not having the adequate plugins available, the system itself could be made from scratch and placed on a separate domain. With such a big community, I don't see why we wouldn't have some skilled web developers among our ranks. The domain would be paid for by premium feature incentive reserved for BeyPass owners, which would theoretically increase the number of users who sign up for the BeyPass. As for the fraud, like I said, you can simply refuse a trade which you think is shady. Just like the Bey Marketplace right now is "Buy at your own risk," this site would be, as well. If fraud occurs, the moderators could simply crack out the BanHammer, should the need arise.

To Electric: I made this thread simply because some users on the Make a Suggestion thread would tl;dr and go on to other things. What I'm suggesting is a very complex thing that can't be responded to in two or three posts. This way, I can easily respond to any questions anyone has and keep mine and everyone else's thoughts organized.
People would not necessarily update this 'feature' more though ... They could end up selling it on eBay but not updating their list or whatever. I just do not think that this would really be worth it because the current 'system' already does everything in a way.
(Feb. 17, 2011  6:29 PM)kayneargand Wrote: To Electric: I made this thread simply because some users on the Make a Suggestion thread would tl;dr and go on to other things. What I'm suggesting is a very complex thing that can't be responded to in two or three posts. This way, I can easily respond to any questions anyone has and keep mine and everyone else's thoughts organized.
This answer does make sense. I've got a suggestion, and I think it doesn't deserve it's own topic, So off to 'Make A Suggestion'