BoonEx Market Improvements - ATTENTION ALL VENDORS!

Andrew Boon posted 20th of February 2013 in Boonex News. 14 comments.

BoonEx Market is what makes Dolphin the world's most powerful social networking website platform. Extensions and the people behind them gradually formed a strong backing for Dolphin - something we value tremendously and plan to stimulate further.

 

In the last couple of weeks we have made a few improvements to BoonEx Market and BoonEx site in general...

 

- "contact vendor" button on product page

- "views" count for every product

- notification email with purchase details is now sent to buyers 

- "unread" tab for messages in the mailbox added

- "Motives" curation system introduced

- ... and more importantly...

 

Dolphin Version Compatibility field added to all products! 

This is a very important update, both for buyers and for vendors. Buyers must always check for version compatibility before buying in order to avoid any disappointment. Vendors should always test, specify and update compatibility information in all their products.

 

The new field looks like this:

 

 

Vendors can specify compatibility with all versions and users can select their version to verify. By default, however, we will always be displaying compatibility with current stable version. Thus, it is very important for Vendors to test in advance (at beta stages) and specify compatibility for products right after new version release. With 7.1.0, unless you've already done this, do it now. Oh, and be prepared to do it again in only a week or so with 7.1.1. Just "Edit" each of your products and work through the this form:

 

 

Once again...

Dear Vendors, make your clients happy - update compatibility information.

Dear Clients, avoid disappointment - check extensions you buy for version compatibility.

 

Stay tuned, and keep your energy flowing!

 
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AndrewP
Thank you for improvements. Now product page looks great.
Prashank25
Great improvements
Thanks :D
UnderDog4All
This is cool...
I do although remember way back when- there was this really awesome thing- Technical Checklist... "Optional Etiquette"...I was really looking forward to that :~)
BUT...um.....yeah- perhaps too much accountability there or something? IDK?
Not to sound all crappy about it- but is disappointing :(
Perhaps if I were in a devs shoes I'd feel differently? IDK
I dig the new Market- but watching the "Updated" list is like watching dueling banjos or something. I never see more know if there has been a significant product change? or no change? Overall though- pretty nice arrangement.
Andrew Boon
Technical Checklist (Etiquette) us still there - developers fill it in and you can see the link right after the meta information in the header of the product. On click it opens the full Checklist.
UnderDog4All
I see it there, YES :)
But it doesn't seem to be used as much as I thought it would be...or I guess as much as I hoped. BUT to be fair here- There are a handful of vendors that do use it regularly (much appreciated), and it seems things have improved there. I think having it collapsed makes for a more attractive page, but may lend to an "out of site out of mind" thing???? May not seem significant, but if you expand those hidden fields a few times only to find most or all as "unspecified", see more how easy would it be for folks to naturally lose focus or ignore that field all together? Especially with 26 more appealing products on the page yet to look at?
It seems- were I a vendor I would be increasing the integrity of my product by adopting this practice, regardless if there were fields I occasionally had to answer something less than favorable. It still says something positive though....I doubt it's going to kill the sale. It sends clients home with toys for their members, better informed. It goes hand in hand with the whole packaged documentation thing, which I tend to put a premium on. It seems everyone wins with every little move to grow a better informed community.
But- I'm not a vendor so....I don't know how it all works...
If those fields had to be filled out every time a product was updated- that prolly wouldn't be so fun....Does it work that way?
If so, I guess that would probably discourage it's use....
On the other hand- if it was mandatory- it may promote a more favorable updating practice among vendors......
I like to have the latest greatest......who doesn't?
I love seeing new products hit the Boonex Market...
FIRST STOP- the "Latest" tab...
NEXT STOP- the "Recently Updated" or "Updated" tab depending on which page I'm on....
BUT
I don't like so much spending an excessive amount of time trying to determine what exactly has changed with the modules I've invested in....
At times there are improvements/fixes without a product version change/update...
Other times, there are updates that are for the sole purpose of better marketing a vendor's product...better description or additional uses....(Hell- sometimes I can't even see what has changed since the last time a product was posted/updated 2 weeks earlier)
HEY- I totally dig discovering new uses or better ways to present or explain a module to members and visitors....
BUT- Tis the season for upgrading and nailing down 7.1, and it hogs a lot of time. I'll come back during MY marketing phase and check out the Vendor's new product verbiage.

Since the word "UPDATED" has multiple meanings and used so loosely-
It would be cool if there was an easily visible indicator denoting the type of update which has qualified a product to appear under the "Updated" tab---->File/Code Changes or Marketing Changes....
Come to think of it, Implementing- *****- "views" count for every product*** may actually exacerbate things, depending on how that is setup...
Who wouldn't want hella views on their Market Items?
Any Webmaster who subscribes to the idea of keeping their code/modules updated and monitor for changes with the products they've purchased may well be more or less actively marketing for the Vendors by racking up product views each time it appears among the "Recently Updated" products.
I don't mind helping out the Vendors I buy from....
But it would be cool if I headed back to the house with something more likely to improve my member's experience....that's likely gonna be code-related changes.
Right now- getting our sites updated...for many of us- getting our site up on her feet after a fresh install...is likely at the top of our list of priorities and better serves the interest of our members.
Vendors competing for highest #views# may feel compelled to get their products at the top of the list with the most traffic- (that's probably the "Recently Updated" list)

Am I wrong? Does it seem "Recently Updated" stands to lose it's initial purpose if it becomes the primary avenue for gaining views?
I mean- Wasn't that tab initially designed for customers to more easily keep track of code-related updates ? Or no?

IDK....I don't wanna be negative....but it does seem it would be better for everyone if the two main types of updates could be determined at a glance, and offer a more accurate view count, and also cause the view count to have more value as well???
danielmarseille
this is better like it
it is allowed to add pictures in the description or not ?
ilbellodelweb
thank you for this new feature. Can I suggest to add a special membership for vendors with a dedicated forum where every seller can exchange informations with the other vendors?
Andrew Boon
"Vendors" membership is something we have been considering for a long while, but so far there was no immediate need for creating a separate name. It may be time for it, though.
mscott
Andrew, could I suggest allowing members to post free mods without having one of the more expensive membership levels?
Expertzkris
Nice add on very useful for buyer and seller. Thanks a lot.
epaulo
I truly appreciate your efforts to make things more transparent between the buyer and seller... less confusion usually results in less frustration :-)
mstreet
У меня есть что к этому добавить ! Нужно ужесточать контороль над продовцами хотябы дорогих товаров ! Когда кидают на 20 баксов это не страшно а на 1000$ уже думаю это провал ((( http://www.boonex.com/n/threatening
badass
Thank you for making the Market better for all. I do have one major request...please, suspend, and hide any product where the seller is MIA, out of business, non-responsive, etc! Updating the market's contents is sorely needed.
baloo
As a customer, I read carefully this blog and I really appreciate the efforts made to try and we tackle the quality of the Market. When you are a new customer, you must sometimes pay large sums to strangers. The current position is much like a lottery, we do not know if the seller / developer is still alive, payments are sometimes important, and we hold our breath praying that it works, and if it does not work, it retains his breath until at least have an answer.
I read this blog and I will come see more back for one last thing heckled me. A seller changed a few days ago information update its product 7.1.1 compliant reporting. I try to contact the seller without success for months and I am happy to see his unit finally updated. always replies the seller, or the mail or on the forum of its product, but then I downloaded the new version which reads in the config file: compatible_with '=> array (
'7 .0. X
How is this possible? I'm talking about a module that costs more than $ 80 ... I understood that I had lost my money, but then seeing this recent update Version: 7.0.x - 7.1.x
Added: 25.06.2010
Updated: 11/04/2013 risks plunging it. What to do?
 
 
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