Why is the Marketplace so Lame?

Question

I thought the marketplace would be my favorite feature on BP a virtual mls for the USA with plenty of offerings,investments,situations,etc that one cant find anywhere. I have been so far disappointed. Many just rehash craigslist ads,give false comps, or agents trying to pitch their listings, or wholesalers who don't have anything under contract. Their should be some type of system to weed out these types of listings and to have a vibrant ,active and trustworthy marketplace  Any thought or success stories thru the marketplace?

Joshua Dorkin · Answer

BTW - I forgot to add that the Marketplace is far from Lame . . . I've heard so many success stories from users who have posted there! Of course, just posting an ad an disappearing is not the way to go.  On BP, building up your credibility is essential, as is posting detailed ads.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

Account Closed

I think the issue is Marketplace will never be a place for out of area investors to get great deals IE beat the local TK or investor to the deal .. those are snagged by the locals always have always will... what you see on Market place in my mind is the secondary   deals... True wholesalers do not need BP market place. they simply sell to the turn key guys in the markets they are in, or to rehabbers.

what you have is a bunch of newbie types that learn on the open forum side then default to market place to try to sell things, so your not getting the true players in the industry in the market place by and large.. You may see the odd TK company but I don't see many advertising there.

I sold one of my OREO's to a BP member that came from the Marketplace.. and had a few others look at one I had in Kokomo.. but sold that one through a local broker in Kokomo for more money than anyone on BP would offer.. Simply because most folks on BP want the deal I get... :)

The only reason I am in the marketplace personally is I want full access.. Like Joe's thread that ran 260 responses about his model in San Antionio I wanted to respond to that.. And I pay for pro because its cheap and I want to support the site.. I am not sure what a Donor is I see that as well.. I just look at my marketplace subscription as being a donor.

I don't plan to get any business from Market place and I am just about sold out of my OREO's so I would have no reason to use it any longer as well.

I did post our new webstie on the the market place though and it was a good place to get feedback for that... so for that reason I liked it.. And I gave a bunch of my do's and don't e book about out of state investing out for free ( probably over 300 of them) so I like that as well.

Joshua Dorkin · Answer

Account Closed - We count on the community to do "social policing" as you mention.  If a someone fails to post details or if the numbers don't add up, we expect users to question the OP to get more info.  If everyone helps by asking questions, the quality of solicitations should improve.

We've got something in the works to improve the marketplace and hopefully you and others appreciate it as we roll it out.

Brian Gibbons · Answer

Bill Gulley How about 10 bucks a month for potential coaching students forum ?  Free to pro members ?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Joshua Dorkin

good point JOsh.. that's like the legions of folks starting out with Yellow letters and never following up... same with posting an add then never responding...

But for me I was 50% success rate.. posted 2 OREO  sold one and the other I sold through a broker.. so all good on my end.

Dennis Lanni · Answer

josh,

What about setting up way to rank the seller like Ebay or something?

Bill Gulley · Answer

Well, I hope it's a guru filter!

As Josh mentioned, questions can be asked and if they don't respond the material might be yanked. There have been lively debates and many have gotten hammered with public comment.

While it keeps blatant advertising out of the forums, there are a few skill promoters that still squeeze into the forums by skillfully posting a project or system as an informational post with a question thrown in. Those that do that usually get a post from me, I believe I'm rather good at spotting intentions and where something may be leading to.

One issue, is that most can't ask a question about a product or service in the marketplace. I understand upgrading to advertise, but you can only communicate with pro or higher level members. While someone like Brian Gibbons seldom posts in the marketplace his target market isn't really the pros but newer members and they can't ask a question.

Stricter rules perhaps about posting an ad without a pro+ membership could be policed by the community as well as the moderators.

If lower grade members could ask about services, that may help clean up the forums too.

For example, I need a mentor types. I don't see requesting services as a commercial ad, they aren't selling, they are buying. Those who would answer the request offering services would then need to have the pro grade or above as that is soliciting business.

The guru review thread asks the question of your relationship, a similar feature could be applied and anyone who misleads could suffer consequences, like kicked off for a week or banned from that thread for awhile.

Just a suggestion. :)

Account Closed · Answer

looking forward to the changes. I agree in principle to keep ads in there, like to see it more effective. thanks.

Account Closed · Answer

I've had a few good leads through marketplace. To me though it's like Promotions on Linkedin. Very few people go through there, so it's of limited value.

Account Closed · Answer

Thanks that is very encouraging I believe the marketplace will really take off with a few tweaks maybe an additional source of revenue. Great job on Bigger Pockets as a whole it is unbelievable

Why is the Marketplace so Lame?

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