Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Thanks in advance if anyone has an answer.
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06:40:23pm
If you desire to see books in the order in which they were submitted, merely click on the first tab ("Books"). All books will then be sorted by book number and the most recently published book will be at the top of the list.
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Clicking on that tab does not necessarily put the latest book on top, as book numbers are assigned when you start to put a book together.
At-least that what it seems to me, but I stand to be corrected.
Maybe we can get the official answer from the web master.
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05:59:09am
You are correct d1, but it is damn close. Very few members let books lie around for long periods of time before activating them, so a numerical list of books is probably a very accurate list of books in chronological order. I have published many books and have purchased hundreds of approvals from the books of others, and I have never encountered a situation that a little exploration of the system and a little effort on my part could not resolve.
I have nothing but praise for this creation of our webmaster, as I am sure all members do. But he would be the first to tell you to make suggestions for improvement when you see the need. I just do not see the need here.
-Bobby
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Oh my! I did not intend to imply that there is a fault with the design - merely to better understand the sort priority for the display so that I could optimize my chances of being near the top! I am totally in AWE of the beauty of the approvals web design and the invoicing is a breeze. I think the webmaster does a much better job than the sites of some Fortune 500 companies. When I asked "why?" I really, literally wanted to understand why certain features ranks one up the queue.
The basic sort seems to be FIFO first (First In First Out). Looking at the list, lowered price approval books seem to get a bump up the list, then pages added affects the queue. So if I want an older book to get "new" status, I should lower prices or add pages?
I believe that if you want to whine about something, you should darn well be able to do a better job yourself. Since I stink at web design, trust me I just love Stamporama!!! LOL!!!
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I just tried lowering a price and I didn't move up the queue. It must be adding new material? Will try that later today when I get time.
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08:32:28am
philatelia,
I was not singling you out for criticism. I think your question is quite legitimate and appropriate, and d1stamper's response, along with my follow up, is the short answer as to how basic listing order is determined.
Since the book number is fixed and not affected by changes in pricing or the "add a page" feature, as long as you sort by the "Book" category, you will have an almost perfect picture of books in chronological order (except, as d1stamper noted, when the book author let the book lie fallow for a period of time before activating it - which does not happen very often). My underlying question, which is not intended as criticism or chastisement, is why worry about how things are sorted in the basic display when, by a simple click of your mouse, you can sort them just about any way you like?
I have no doubt that Tim (Auld) could arrange a tab for absolute chronological arrangement of the books, but weighing the need versus the additional clutter on the main page, I doubt this would improve the accessibility to Books to any significant degree. Based on this presumption, I just do not see the need for tweaking the system here.
-Bobby
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"re: Approvals: a suggestion
I have mixed feelings about the Approval Books. With any books that I've listed (and I've listed perhaps a couple of dozen books), I've found that the first day or perhaps two days after they appear there are a lot of sales from the books. After two days of the books being listed,I've had no success having even one additional sale from any of the books. After a couple of weeks I just close the books and remove them.
"
quote is from Patches;
I read all the older posts about approvals and this advice from Liz is why I am paying attention to the first day after listing. I'm all new and enthusiastic and trying to optimize my sales so I can get some moola to fill some holes in my collections.
I have to say Stamporama discussion folks are soooo helpful and knowledgeable ! I can't believe the tremendous amount of philatelic wisdom buried in the threads history. Makes for great reading! Thanks to both of you for taking the time to answer my question. No worries, Bobby, I didn't think you were criticizing me, just wanted to make sure no one thought I was complaining about the site!
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Hi Theresa,
You ask a very valid question. The default order in the Approval Books screens is Percentage of Book Sold. As the Approval Books sales have settled back into a normal intensity, we found the need to make the Approval Books sort order the most fair for all concerned. We found that older books just weren't getting a look in and there is a lot of great material on sale in all the Approval Books. So to try to answer your question, when you first publish a Book it has 0% Sold. Seeing as things aren't selling as fast as they were, there can be several books in the list with 0% Sold. The way it is at the moment, it is kind of first in first out, so that the Book that has had no sales but has been in the system the longest (of the Books that have no sales) will come out at the top of the list. Does that make sense? So that is how it works today. It doesn't have to stay that way. I'm happy to tweak it. So let me ask you all a question. If the new books have had no sales, which should be at the top of the list? The one that has been in the system longest or the latest one to be posted?
Regards ... Tim.
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06:30:42pm
Now see, Theresa, we all learn here. I know Tim explained this once, but I must have been sleeping or preoccupied with the cute little redhead in the desk next to me. Regardless, now we all know the default "sort order" as well as how to reorder the columns. Ya' gotta love this place!
-Bobby
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Ohhhh so that's how it works!
And - thanks for asking for our opinions, Tim. I'm super new and don't have a tremendous amount of experience with the system, but what I've observed in the last few weeks is the current method may possibly reward less attractive material by giving them the premiere spot in the queue. If the book isn't selling, maybe there is a reason why. In my humble opinion, I think a straight chronological queue would give everyone an equal shot at the coveted spots near the top. So if we're voting on it - that's my vote!
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to be fair, tim.. by %age sold would probably be the Worst way (IMO) to default your listings.
Because there will be accusations by low sellers that say.. 'this is why my stuff isn't selling, because (insert seller) is getting preferential treatment by being on the first page and that's why his stuff sells and mine doesn't.
note; not my accusation, but I can see it coming across that way...
Personally, i say just stick with book # (newest to oldest..)
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08:52:21pm
I am having a difficult time getting head around this whole issue. What does it matter what the default sort is when in a fraction of a second you can click on a column and sort things any way you want? The books can be sorted:
Oldest to newest
newest to oldest
alphabetically and reverse alphabetically
by seller (alphabetically and reverse alphabetically)
by number of pages
by number of items
by percentage sold
by Max$
by Min$
by total views
I just do not understand why the default order is important. There has to be a default. And if it is changed, there is just going to be someone who thinks it should be something else. There is always going to be someone whose book is first, someone whose book is last and someone whose book is in the middle. I guess I am just a crotchety old grouch who spends way too much time trying to figure out my fellow humans. My cat, at least, understands me.
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Just curious - I added a new approval book, then clicked on "New Books." Strangely enough, it was almost 30 books down the page! Is there a reason that the default for displaying "new" books is so seemingly random or is there another factor I don't understand? Do I have to tweak something to get a new book at the top of the queue?
Thanks in advance if anyone has an answer.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
05 Jun 2014
06:40:23pm
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
If you desire to see books in the order in which they were submitted, merely click on the first tab ("Books"). All books will then be sorted by book number and the most recently published book will be at the top of the list.
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
Clicking on that tab does not necessarily put the latest book on top, as book numbers are assigned when you start to put a book together.
At-least that what it seems to me, but I stand to be corrected.
Maybe we can get the official answer from the web master.
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
06 Jun 2014
05:59:09am
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
You are correct d1, but it is damn close. Very few members let books lie around for long periods of time before activating them, so a numerical list of books is probably a very accurate list of books in chronological order. I have published many books and have purchased hundreds of approvals from the books of others, and I have never encountered a situation that a little exploration of the system and a little effort on my part could not resolve.
I have nothing but praise for this creation of our webmaster, as I am sure all members do. But he would be the first to tell you to make suggestions for improvement when you see the need. I just do not see the need here.
-Bobby
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
Oh my! I did not intend to imply that there is a fault with the design - merely to better understand the sort priority for the display so that I could optimize my chances of being near the top! I am totally in AWE of the beauty of the approvals web design and the invoicing is a breeze. I think the webmaster does a much better job than the sites of some Fortune 500 companies. When I asked "why?" I really, literally wanted to understand why certain features ranks one up the queue.
The basic sort seems to be FIFO first (First In First Out). Looking at the list, lowered price approval books seem to get a bump up the list, then pages added affects the queue. So if I want an older book to get "new" status, I should lower prices or add pages?
I believe that if you want to whine about something, you should darn well be able to do a better job yourself. Since I stink at web design, trust me I just love Stamporama!!! LOL!!!
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
I just tried lowering a price and I didn't move up the queue. It must be adding new material? Will try that later today when I get time.
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
06 Jun 2014
08:32:28am
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
philatelia,
I was not singling you out for criticism. I think your question is quite legitimate and appropriate, and d1stamper's response, along with my follow up, is the short answer as to how basic listing order is determined.
Since the book number is fixed and not affected by changes in pricing or the "add a page" feature, as long as you sort by the "Book" category, you will have an almost perfect picture of books in chronological order (except, as d1stamper noted, when the book author let the book lie fallow for a period of time before activating it - which does not happen very often). My underlying question, which is not intended as criticism or chastisement, is why worry about how things are sorted in the basic display when, by a simple click of your mouse, you can sort them just about any way you like?
I have no doubt that Tim (Auld) could arrange a tab for absolute chronological arrangement of the books, but weighing the need versus the additional clutter on the main page, I doubt this would improve the accessibility to Books to any significant degree. Based on this presumption, I just do not see the need for tweaking the system here.
-Bobby
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
"re: Approvals: a suggestion
I have mixed feelings about the Approval Books. With any books that I've listed (and I've listed perhaps a couple of dozen books), I've found that the first day or perhaps two days after they appear there are a lot of sales from the books. After two days of the books being listed,I've had no success having even one additional sale from any of the books. After a couple of weeks I just close the books and remove them.
"
quote is from Patches;
I read all the older posts about approvals and this advice from Liz is why I am paying attention to the first day after listing. I'm all new and enthusiastic and trying to optimize my sales so I can get some moola to fill some holes in my collections.
I have to say Stamporama discussion folks are soooo helpful and knowledgeable ! I can't believe the tremendous amount of philatelic wisdom buried in the threads history. Makes for great reading! Thanks to both of you for taking the time to answer my question. No worries, Bobby, I didn't think you were criticizing me, just wanted to make sure no one thought I was complaining about the site!
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
Hi Theresa,
You ask a very valid question. The default order in the Approval Books screens is Percentage of Book Sold. As the Approval Books sales have settled back into a normal intensity, we found the need to make the Approval Books sort order the most fair for all concerned. We found that older books just weren't getting a look in and there is a lot of great material on sale in all the Approval Books. So to try to answer your question, when you first publish a Book it has 0% Sold. Seeing as things aren't selling as fast as they were, there can be several books in the list with 0% Sold. The way it is at the moment, it is kind of first in first out, so that the Book that has had no sales but has been in the system the longest (of the Books that have no sales) will come out at the top of the list. Does that make sense? So that is how it works today. It doesn't have to stay that way. I'm happy to tweak it. So let me ask you all a question. If the new books have had no sales, which should be at the top of the list? The one that has been in the system longest or the latest one to be posted?
Regards ... Tim.
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
06 Jun 2014
06:30:42pm
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
Now see, Theresa, we all learn here. I know Tim explained this once, but I must have been sleeping or preoccupied with the cute little redhead in the desk next to me. Regardless, now we all know the default "sort order" as well as how to reorder the columns. Ya' gotta love this place!
-Bobby
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
Ohhhh so that's how it works!
And - thanks for asking for our opinions, Tim. I'm super new and don't have a tremendous amount of experience with the system, but what I've observed in the last few weeks is the current method may possibly reward less attractive material by giving them the premiere spot in the queue. If the book isn't selling, maybe there is a reason why. In my humble opinion, I think a straight chronological queue would give everyone an equal shot at the coveted spots near the top. So if we're voting on it - that's my vote!
Login to Like
this post
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
to be fair, tim.. by %age sold would probably be the Worst way (IMO) to default your listings.
Because there will be accusations by low sellers that say.. 'this is why my stuff isn't selling, because (insert seller) is getting preferential treatment by being on the first page and that's why his stuff sells and mine doesn't.
note; not my accusation, but I can see it coming across that way...
Personally, i say just stick with book # (newest to oldest..)
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
06 Jun 2014
08:52:21pm
re: Why are new Approval Books not displayed newest to oldest?
I am having a difficult time getting head around this whole issue. What does it matter what the default sort is when in a fraction of a second you can click on a column and sort things any way you want? The books can be sorted:
Oldest to newest
newest to oldest
alphabetically and reverse alphabetically
by seller (alphabetically and reverse alphabetically)
by number of pages
by number of items
by percentage sold
by Max$
by Min$
by total views
I just do not understand why the default order is important. There has to be a default. And if it is changed, there is just going to be someone who thinks it should be something else. There is always going to be someone whose book is first, someone whose book is last and someone whose book is in the middle. I guess I am just a crotchety old grouch who spends way too much time trying to figure out my fellow humans. My cat, at least, understands me.
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