vBulletin classifieds mod

I'm curious if anyone here has any thoughts on classifieds mods that may be available for vBulletin. I've spent months trying to decide on what way to go and there just doesn't appear to be a good option available. I've tried the mods on vbulletin.org and considered all the other popular choices like photopost but I feel more is needed.

I'm currently looking at Flynax but that could get costly and still not be full integrated into the vBulletin system.

I'm somewhat new to vBulletin and not a programmer by any means so maybe I expect too much. Hopefully you guys/gals can give me your thoughts.

BTW, to give you an idea of what I want to do is I want a good looking full classifieds section with items for sale/wanted, job listings, real estate for sale and rent, a personals area, etc.

 

Which mods on .org did you check out?

 

Some of the mods that are for listings like the Yellow Pages mod and then the microclassifieds mod. I recently put an add out for a custom mod but I haven't found anyone that I thought was on the same page as me in terms of what I wanted. Unless I find something in the next few days I'll likely go with Flynax, although it's only a vBulletin bridge setup.

 

I tried both of those and found them to be difficult to use, I would say you are making the right decision.

 

I'm just shocked that no one has written a really good classifieds program for vBulletin. I'm also looking for a good review mod for vBulletin. I have iReviews and it's ok but again it's too complicated and I can't get users to add their reviews because it takes too much time and is somewhat confusing.

 

Hey Myrtle - it has been a year since your post. I wonder how things ended up with your vBulletin classifieds decision? My friends and I have been working on a vBulletin classifieds mod for the last few months. We partnered up with a bunch of forum owners in order to get a broad range of input. Our first release goes live next week. Speaking from experience - a few vBulletin quirks made this project challenging. In particular, managing security (SSL) for various components of the project and integrating into vB's authentication system. Ping me for credentials to our vBulletin classifieds mod demo at SkiLodgeForum.com.

 

I heard from some friends about Enthusify, and my impression was it is one of the most retarded business models for a forum addon that I've heard ever. I do hope my impression was wrong, though. It is a shame there's never been a really great classifieds system that integrates well with forums, I think my coin forum would really rock with a good system for my members to do business together. Hanging your hat on vBulletin is probably a big mistake too, you should try to make it work just as well with IPB, Xenforo, Vanilla, and maybe even phpBB, MyBB and SMF too.

 

Peter - thanks for the input. We are just starting with vBulletin integration. Based on the demand we have it looks like a XenForo and then a SocialEngine integration will be next. And then of course IPB, phpBB, SMF, and Vanilla. To the extent you find fault with any aspects of the business model, I look forward to learning how we can address your concerns. We built the plugin based on the guidance and suggestions of a variety of community owners. We didn't meet everyone's needs with version 1.0, but it is just a starting point for a more rich set of features and options. I'll take a look at your coin collecting forum to see if there is a fit. Are you headed to the ForumCon conference next week? Perhaps I will see you there.

 

Nah, I'm not going to ForumCon. I went to one last year and found it a bit too sales pitchy for my taste. I hope the people who organize it will be able to make it more of a value for people like me going forward though, the forum industry sure could use a trade show. Regarding what I heard about the business model, was that you would charge the members of the forums using the product a 10% fee based on the sales price of the items. There's no way in any reality that I'd ever consent to that, it's just so wrong on so many levels. I'll send more by pm....

 

My understanding is that ForumCon amped up the content for the event next week. I'll let you know next week ;-)

Your information is correct - the first version of the Enthusify vBulletin classifieds plugin collects a flat 10% post successful sale. The software had to start somewhere. We have a lot of great input on the kinds of fee options and settings that forum owners want to see in an upcoming release of the plugin. We are working on those enhancements. I'll catch up with you more on PM. Thanks very much for the input. Every bit of input helps shape our product and our feature roadmap.