talkmagic.co.uk

I just briefly looked over posts to see if people already suggested this. I didn't see anything... i hope I am not repeating what someone else has said.

I just think that it would be nice to have a section where people can review online sites that they have purchased from. It would be nice to hear about whether the products they received were in good condition or not, the prices were resonable or not, the speed of delivery, etc.

It would be nice to get a good list going!

AcrylicAce

I like the idea, I'm always careful when I buy online. To have somewhere I can read about people experiences of certain shops would be really useful for me.

I also think it would be a good idea but you could get problems if you write something bad about a dealer or if someone on the forum disagrees with you it could turn into a massive disagrement.

lindz wrote:I also think it would be a good idea but you could get problems if you write something bad about a dealer or if someone on the forum disagrees with you it could turn into a massive disagrement.

I agree this would be a good idea as long people respect others opinions, one person could have a good experience and another a bad. This doesn't mean that they are good or bad there just personal opinions. Although the more people that review a site the better understanding others will have.

The idea has been mentioned a few times before and the idea has merits but bad reviews are rarely well received and the ensuing problems can take a lot of time and effort to resolve. One or two threads on TM have resulted in posts from suppliers and problems have been rectified as a result so it can do some good.

By all means mention good and bad experiences but, in this day and age of almost instant litigation, we do need to keep it balanced and reasonable!

I also frequent a contact juggling forum that has this feature. Many people participate in discussion and they are always just talking about individual experiences. There is nothing that an owner of a site can argue with when someone says "they took a really long time to ship my product." That is just a fact that someone is stating.

I can't imagine that a review forum like this would generate much disagreement anyways... at least no more than someone reviewing a product.

Anyways... I hope we could at least try it out for awhile... if it starts too many arguements or whatever you guys could just drop it.

--AcrylicAce

Member arguments we can certainly deal with - we do that every day - but upset magic suppliers/site owners out for blood are something else. Most of them recognise that there will occasionally be problems with items they sell and will do everything they can to put things right. One or two have, in the past, mentioned referring matters to their legal eagles and it can take some effort to redress that situation so it's tricky to say the least.

Personally I'd love to see an area where honest appraisal of suppliers/sites could be made but adverse posts can affect their sales and livelihood so we need to tread very carefully. Sadly, even honest opinion can be the source of serious problems so, again, if any comments are to be made then we must be very careful about wording and content and even then, perhaps only after giving the site every chance to redress matters before posting critical messages.

As long as what's posted is not untrue, I think reviews of dealers is very fair.
If you have received a good service, you will be inclined to say so and use them again, also if the service has not been up to the standard expected, it's also fair to let people know so they can judge for themselves.
These days, anybody can set up an internet business, which is why a lot of people are wary of ordering over the web, so people can be warned of unscrupulous websites or dealers who aren't up to scratch as all you will see as testimonials on these sites are glowing compliments.
To be honest, I have not received bad service from any online magic supplier and a few have surpassed my expecations and gone out of their way to help me.
It's also worth knowing if a dealer takes a longer time than usual to deliver. If someone needed to order something they had run out of urgently, they need to be aware as to what supplier can deliver on time.

You do have to be very careful with this sort of thing. While I think that it's a very good idea, there are legal aspects you have to think about. Last year a member of another forum I post on made a negative but very justified remark about a company and ended up with the threat of legal action.

Also this site has a number of sponsors, you have to keep them sweet too.

Running an online magic shop is very tricky (no pun intended).

I class mine as more a 'boutique' than a shop, and one advantage I have over many retailers online is that although my stock is much smaller, I'm very honest about what is actually IN stock. i.e. I don't list a whole back-order catalogue and just get the goods in on-demand.

I've been re-writing and redesigning my site so that it's much easier for customers to see what is in stock at any given time—which many of the online shops don't.

Usually, if an item is in stock on my shop, it ships same or next day, depending on the time of order. And I feel that keeping the customer informed during the buying process is vital in ensuring that everything is kept running.

I understand that there are sponsors for this site and such. I guess I just don't understand why people can't give their honest opinion... that just doesn't seem right to me.

The companies that are selling items should have nothing to worry about if they are good companies selling quality items... sure sometimes people will have a bad experience, it is inevitable but if they are a good company there will be more good reviews than bad ones.

I don't know what it is about this that sits funny with me... It just seems like people should be able to share their experiences with others about a public site that sells products...

I guess just forget about it if people think it will cause problems... it seems there isn't much faith in the suppliers...

--AcrylicAce

Quite frankly, I love praise and criticism equally.

No need to pussyfoot at all.

I'm sure that keeping sponsors sweet is the last thing on the mind of Which magazine and the likes

OK, let's be very specific here. Comments, good or bad, about suppliers/sites are fine and welcome for all the reasons given in various posts above but, as bitter experience and many locked threads show, some people have absolutely no idea how to be just factual in their posts and these are the ones which will cause serious trouble. Bear in mind it's not always those who post the messages who will have to deal with the flak in connection with criticism but the Moderators and, quite frankly, we have enough to do with without having to deal with suppliers who feel that criticisms are over the top. If anyone has a problem with a supplier or a site then the first port of call must be direct to that supplier or site, not via a fairly safe, remote and anonymous posting here. For this and similar reasons (which have all been discussed before), we aren't looking to create a moans and groans/ praise and congratulations Area - in this age of instant litigation, it's deemed to be far too risky.

Fair enough... i just love the feature on a juggling forum that i go to, just thought it would be a good addition but if it will cause more harm then help forget about it.

I hope I didn't sound like a jerk or anything... if I did I apologize, that was not my intent.

AcrylicAce

No worries, all ideas are worthy of discussion .