Not Planned An eGO Trade Forum

[Immaculate]

I often think about ways to encourage more member interactions and community investment. Would those who decide be open to the idea of a forum for members to communicate for the purpose of trading their gaming items among themselves. We could restrict it to dedicated supporters and state that we are creating a space for them to interact and trade among each other but we won't manage or interfere with their choices as long as they follow our code of conduct. Trade is a huge part of gaming now. Companies have shifted their focus to incorporate trade to the point that it often feels like the priority over the game itself. More and more games have become transit mechanisms to exchange inventory.


I'm sure this may make some feel uncomfortable, but I'm sure it was so for companies like Valve as well. Now Valve profits from its 15% commissions on trades. Their discomfort has disappeared but their profits are at record highs. Our profit would come in the form of dedicated supporter fees from those who wish to access a safe and familiar venue to exchange.

I know this suggestion may be scary and outside the box, but it certainly could be more profitable than what remains inside that box. It may be time for leadership to consider opening unique opportunities of revenue streams.

 

[Luna]

We could restrict it to dedicated supporters and state that we are creating a space for them to interact and trade among each other but we won't manage or interfere with their choices as long as they follow our code of conduct. Trade is a huge part of gaming now.

I see no reason for this. There's plenty of free trade sites that exist already. Secondly, Steam technically doesn't allow, or care, if you trade for things outside out the trade window (irl money). Meaning if you get scammed, they aren't going to help you. It's one of the ways they encourage marketplace use (which they have their own tax on).

With that being said, if we were to allow people to trade things here, are we going to say no money trades allowed? How do we enforce this. What recourse does someone have if they get scammed by a member or admin? (it's happened before)

 

[MS]

I think the biggest concern with something like this would be enforcement. Many of the sites that allow for trading typically have some form of moderation to ensure trades go smoothly and avoid scamming. If we were to implement this, we would need to have some similar form of moderation.

Of the many things that EdgeGamers could be, I don't believe a trading platform should be one of them. I'd be fine with one-off "woah that's a cool knife, wanna trade?", but EGO as a whole facilitating just opens a big box of worms for little payoff.

 

[Simon]

Yeah, unfortunately this often turns into people whining and blaming eGO for themselves getting scammed. Just not something worth dealing with. While all for expansion and new ideas, I think this one wouldn't fit us well.

 

[Immaculate]

I'm not suggesting that eGO become a trading platform. As I said, I'm suggesting we create a "forum" to "encourage more member interactions and community investment". I'm thinking more of a cafe where our members can interact, chat, suggest and display their skins and other inventory they'd like to trade or just show off. They can do as they usually do and make any transaction on Steam or any other site they prefer, but can mingle and meet other members who share this interest. The forum would simply be a social spot where members can simply gather over a topic they already invest in.

Making access to this forum for dedicated supporters only would be an additional perk. As some may remember over the last 2 years I tried very hard to create and develop more perks for our members. Several were approved. A few of those despite being approved by 2 community managers unfortunately were never created. Expanding perks in areas that people already reside is the best way to pull more interest.

This forum would be no different than our others in that it would be a location for like-minded people to gather and interact over a gaming interest they already value and enjoy.

I am not suggesting we become a trading platform.

 

[Ric]

I'm not suggesting that eGO become a trading platform. As I said, I'm suggesting we create a "forum" to "encourage more member interactions and community investment". I'm thinking more of a cafe where our members can interact, chat, suggest and display their skins and other inventory they'd like to trade or just show off. They can do as they usually do and make any transaction on Steam or any other site they prefer, but can mingle and meet other members who share this interest. The forum would simply be a social spot where members can simply gather over a topic they already invest in.

Making access to this forum for dedicated supporters only would be an additional perk. As some may remember over the last 2 years I tried very hard to create and develop more perks for our members. Several were approved. A few of those despite being approved by 2 community managers unfortunately were never created. Expanding perks in areas that people already reside is the best way to pull more interest.

This forum would be no different than our others in that it would be a location for like-minded people to gather and interact over a gaming interest they already value and enjoy.

I am not suggesting we become a trading platform.

Your text format being different is really triggering my OCD.