[EDITORS NOTE: I AM NOT SELLING ANYTHING. THIS WAS AN EXAMPLE]
HI, I’m jonathan and I am selling a used glowforge, or maybe promoting this great design I just made, and would like to talk to you about it, but I am selling it, I bought 2 tons of Baltic birch, and want to sell some… etc and so forth, anything that is Glowforge related commerce.
I would rather not have the forum devolve into a commercial site. Facebook has tons of posts for materials, blanks, files etc., etc.
and for the people who want to keep what remains of their hair, and have left Facebook?
If someone is selling a used Glowforge or has bought way too much materials, than Everything Else would be be the category. Selling finished goods not so much, and selling designs already has a system you can apply to.
They would need to have a good description (Glowforge Basic, 20- 1/8 x 12 x 24 Baltic Birch) photos, location, price etc.,
Support might need to register a suggestion for a separate category, and I would second that, but otherwise opening more tickets for them that are not something with a goal for them should be in the Everything else catagory
Glowforge sells materials. I am not sure they want to have the forum as competition for wood, veneer, acrylics etc. on a regular basis.
But not Baltic Birch (though they should) and the For Sale category should have the same disclaimers as Beyond the Manual
It also provides a place where all that stuff can go to not clutter up the other categories.
I agree with @rbtdanforth, i think its well understood if you are not buying “premium” quality from the factory, you have to deal with the sub standard quality at an amazingly discount price.
and if I can but 300 sheets of Baltic Birch at say $1.00 a sheet, and I keep 100, and can offer the other 200 at a way cheaper price then people can get, will GF really suffer???
It also gives someone with a new design, a place to talk about it and show it off with the understanding they are selling it, not Hey anyone can have the .svg’s of this cool thing I made (as they do in made on a GlowForge)
I was thinking that, like having a Glowforge for sale that you bought before before the price hike, profiteering would not be the point. It would be to Glowforge’s benefit that folks machine kept its value. like a car brand, but buying in bulk to sell at the difference, vs “Oh my I have a ton more than I need” and selling at a slight loss gets a bit on the edge. An exception would be like the Koa Wood where getting anything at all was near impossible, but you had the ability to get pieces you could mill to the thickness we use. That would be providing real service. Desert Ironwood, or Black Mangrove, or about any exotic tree, from Miami or Hawaii that was cut down from someone’s yard might be the same.
If there was a good discount that would need a few people to go in to buy in volume organized as a private thing not a part of the general conversation might be a lighter gray side of a very fuzzy line. Like showing stuff you made with a nod to your Esty site, the specifics would make a huge difference.
This has come up a number of times so you are not alone. I suspect that no one wants to deal with the drama that will ensue if people don’t follow through on their end of a deal.
Well, people are people. but if its done thru paypal, or some other ‘protected’ payment service, or in person… . . . .
Yeah, but none of that stops Glowforge support from getting complaints that weigh them down.
They put a disclaimer on the subject - we do not monitor any sales, buyer beware.
This would definitely dilute the whole business model of the Glowforge shop, for both materials and designs. I really don’t see this one happening.
Regardless, this topic is not likely to be seen by Glowforge staff as it is. For those who don’t know, there are two main ways to submit ideas to Glowforge:
That’s all, because GF staff doesn’t (reliably) read any other category. Note I said “start a new topic”; this topic can’t be moved to P&S, it’s the act of starting a new thread in P&S that creates the ticket.
Personally I think option #1 is the best so that you don’t get a ton of peanut gallery comments that aren’t relevant. I’m not a fan of the concept of a for sale topic, but my opinion on it shouldn’t matter to you as you decide whether to suggest to Glowforge or not. Emailing support directly sidesteps that issue entirely.
the amusing part was I started this thread in problems and support, and it was moved [Here}
Well, that’s good! It should mean that it opened a ticket and GF staff will see it.
And yet people will STILL reach out to P&S when things go wrong, using up human resources. That is human nature. I don’t have a particular interest in this either way, but my experience with community forums is that they require a LOT of work, no matter how many rules and disclaimers you post.
FWIW, I am fairly certain there is a FB group for things like this if that helps you at all.
This was my first thought, too. It’s called Glowforge Users Group (GUG) and every Friday they post their ‘classified section’ where people can list the files or links to things they are offering for sale.
Agreed!
For me it would just be another topic to set to mute/ignore.
I was actually thinking of the Glowforge Buy Sell group. I’m not a member but others have mentioned it.