# What is the deal with Aquabid.com? down again



## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

I notice Aquabid.com is down again this morning. Yesterday it seemed a little unstable as well in the morning. Mark seems to post on www.fishforums.com information about outages. But www.fishforums.com is also down. Do they share the same server?

It's always the same (in recent times), come a few interesting auctions by sellers including bobo31 and kangshiang with some seductive plant species and Aquabid.com goes on the blink. Now is that fate saving me from collectoritis? ;-) Or is it simply a darn nuisance. Who is it that's trying to save me from buying some Rotala sp. Vietnam?

Given the number of hits per month etc, I am surprised that Aquabid.com cannot solve the problems of hardware and software. It must surely irk the sellers who do a high rate of business on that auction system.

I also noticed that Aquabanners.com was down when I was surfing Gregwatson.com. Maybe all on the same system.

Andrew Cribb


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## Wö£fëñxXx1 (Feb 10, 2005)

Murphy's Law!.. lol

Got anything interesting you want to trade for some Rotala sp. Vietnam?


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

Craig,

Now you're calling my bluff! ;-) Let me think about that and then PM you.

Andrew


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## Wö£fëñxXx1 (Feb 10, 2005)

Roger!
I'm off to work, I'll check back tonight!!


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

Yes they are all on the same server. I believe you may find some answers on aquachat as its on a seperate system. Mark runs that one also.


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## Rob G (Oct 19, 2004)

It sounds like all the more reason to foster the growth of the classifieds section here at APC!


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## Roy Deki (Apr 7, 2004)

Well it's back up and it appears that all the feedback are gone.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

It appears to be down for me, at least. I just tried it.

```
It sounds like all the more reason to foster the growth of the classifieds section here at APC
```
 I'll second that!


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

It was back up for a little while and it down again and marked "down for maintenance".

Yes, I hope to see more reasonably short auctions on APC. 6+ day auctions are things I simply would not bid on - far too long. Sellers take note. Reasonable auctions are 2-6 days, IMO.

Andrew Cribb


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Oh grumble... If they lost our feedback, chances are I won't be back much.
I haven't been going much since they've been back up anyway because of the annoying, flashing "shoot the clown" and "stomp the bug" ads. [-(


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

The Classifieds are new to a lot of people so it will take a little while to get used to the format. There are many options available and it will take a little bit to find the best format. I'll try and run through the options and post a little bit on each so people have a better understanding of what is available. We would like to build the classifieds area to something you will want to turn to when looking for plants and other goods. It is only through your feedback that we can male the classifieds an area you want to explore. 

Thanks for your support,


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

The current format seems also to show closed auctions (such as those for the AquaJournals recently sold). I wonder if the items that have been sold/closed/ended can be relegated to the bottom of the page?

I'd also like to see a horizontal line-by-line presentation rather than a side-by-side one.

Also, would it be possible to have an overt link on the dark blue band above <My APC FAQ Members List Calendar New Posts Search Quick Links Log Out> for auctions/classified?

Thanks for the work.

Andrew Cribb


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

That would be very helpful if you could put something like that together Gnaster. I'm not entirely sure of all the options right now, so it would be nice to have a little guideline.

Thanks!


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## Wö£fëñxXx1 (Feb 10, 2005)

Forum sales are the best, I hate aquabid, who wants to wait a week before you even know? eh, if you have plants to sell, name your price, if I want it, I buy it


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

I sort of agree with Craig on that point. Sellers should know a price and state it. Maybe for some sort of rare cichlid it is worth having a 6 day auction. But for a bunch of plants? It seems hardly worth it even for $15 or $20. Just name the price and have a buy it now method. Waiting 6 days for an auction to end, then days for mailing makes it difficult.

Andrew Cribb


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

You don't need to set up an auction in our Classifieds section. It is an option. You can do a straight sale transaction as well. You can even post For Trade or Want To Buy transactions.

The good thing about going through the Classifieds system is that you can rate the buyer or seller. Over time, this will work as a safety feature for all of us.


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

For some insight on the APC Calssified please see this thread.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?p=29063#post29063

Started that right after the switchover, we need your feedback as to how to make the Classified section better.


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

My last comments above were really pointed at sellers rather than the designers. I should be more respectful, especially as it was Art who had those long running AquaJournal auctions. 

I think my most persistent point would be to have an overt link to Classified on the blue bar above. I need an instant link to it - like the one for New Posts. The New Posts link is the most important on the board for me (at present).

Andrew Cribb


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

Personally, until our beloved Plantfinder comes back, it'd be nice if the people selling plants included some basic info about the plant. I see so many intresting plants in the classifieds but have no clue on it's requirements and have a devil of a time finding anything on half of them, so I end up not bidding.
But that's just me =)


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

Andrew, and others,

We have added a Classifieds Feedback forum as a sub forum under Site Feedback. Please see http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?p=35830#post35830

Thanks for your comments, we need them to keep APC a site you want to come back to, we do appreciate them all.

Thanks for your continued support,


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Aquabid is back up, but it looks like mark is doing something.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I really think mark should get a new server..


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

Andrew and all,

Thanks for your comments. I think Mark is trying to get his server back operational after the attack and it is just taking time.

As far as our Classifieds here, your input it very valuable. I won't take offense if you speak your mind. As Gnatster said, we listen and do something about it as quickly as possible.

I've taken the liberty of making links to our key features in the main navbar. I think this is easier to see that within the APC Features drop-down menu. Please tell me what you think.

As for long auctions, it's a difficult call. I agree that someone doesn't want to wait for a week or two. At the same time, the seller wants to maximize exposure of his item to get the highest bid. That means leaving it on for a sufficient amount of time so that infrequent visitors see it. Someone told me that some of our members don't visit us every day. :-k That can't be true!


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

I visit everyday , but I find out the APC classifieds is a bit confusing. I would think mostly only APC members would see it, and don't think that's enough. 

But yeah, you never know I might use it some day


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

Jdinh04 said:


> I visit everyday , but I find out the APC classifieds is a bit confusing. I would think mostly only APC members would see it, and don't think that's enough.
> 
> But yeah, you never know I might use it some day


What do you find confusing, please post your comment in the new Classifieds Feeback area.

Yes mostly APC members will see it, as I write this we are at 1999 members, not an insubstantial amount but then again not as many eyes as aquabid has. The APC Classified offer a market of people you know and this leads to a level of trust that Aquabid or eBay will envy. APC Classifieds also present one with a group that is predisposed to buy your plants. There are trade offs, that is inevitable, but with your support and the support of all the APC members we can grow the APC Classifieds to be the place you look to first.


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

The classifieds and for sale/trade are the first things I check after my pm's


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