Facebook astronomy trading page

[apaulo]

Hey everyone,
I have created a Facebook group for trading equipment. It is exists simply for astronomers to trade their used equipment on a different medium. Free to use.
It is called Astronomy sell, buy and wanted. So give it a go.
Regards Paul

[Regulus]

Cool. I use the Canon camera buy/sell page too.
Just sent a request to Join

[Octane]

Cool, will sign up. :)

H

[pw]

Isn't that just diluting the value of the buy/swap/sell forum here?
Iceinspace comes high in searches for astronomy related stuff in AU.

[stephenb]

I've signed up.

[Forgey]

There will be people on Facebook that don't visit IIS. I think it's a great idea.

[apaulo]

Hey Peter

It shouldn't dilute or decrease the importance of the service Mike offers. There are only two forums including this one which has a trade section.
I think Paula has covered it well, not everyone employs IIS, it is simply networking amongst fellow astronomers.
Paul

[stephenb]

http://www.astrobuysell.com/au/ :whistle:

[Kunama]

I find that very hard to believe :shrug:

[stephenb]

I know several people who are not members of IIS or any other Australian website and they survive in the hobby quite well and have done for decades.

Facebook is just another tool to use to your advantage when trading, as is astro buy and sell.

[tlgerdes]

The reverse is certainly true.

[Steffen]

Hear, hear!

[LewisM]

I LOATHE Facebook - I really find it hard to swallow that people want to share their entire lives, including what they had for lunch with the world (sorry, I DON'T CARE!), but I do go there once or twice a week to read online articles from From Quarks to Quasars etc. I have sent a request to join though, as this might be a useful addition.

[apaulo]

Ok guys
This is not debate about who likes facebook or not.
This is a basic thread suggesting the presence of a group page within facebook itself.
The two trading sites I refer to is this one here and the astrobuysell.com website, both excellent services, but now there is a third on a different forum and medium.
Not only is it a trading page, it has the potential to gather insight and information about the equipment you wish to buy. Already we have a wealth of knowledge thanks to it's members.
So give it a go you have nothing to lose..and Lewis I promise I will remove the daily dribble if it appears on the page. ;)
Regards Paul.

[blink138]

hello paul my name has not come up on the new site yet even though i clicked the request button............... do i need to do anything else?
pat

[apaulo]

HI pat

yes i see you there and your now added.
Just arrived home from work and added over 15 people
excellent stuff
Paul

[2stroke]

Think you need to get with the times, there are many Australian groups of astronomers on facebook, iis user forums are not the first port of call for a hell of alot of people. IIS is a great community for the most though social networking with facebook has became huge.

For example Aurora Hunters Victoria which is a closed group for saftey has around 300 active members who await for aurora events and quickly set into action photo shoots and meetup's with local members on the fly for aurora events.

The group Aurora Australas Tasmina is only a few year like 2-3yrs old yet has 12,279 members. IIS only has 13,251 and its 10 yrs old which is meant to cover the whole australian astro community (not just Aurora ) and only has probably 500 active memebers. By the way they dont tolarate *****ness and sooks or suck up to the admins :) There real people and get along well with each other because of the benifits of social networking.

Most people these days have mobile phones and facebook is free with most providers, this gives facebook a huge edge over a user forum. People can browse anywhere with apps made to display facebook pages nicely and easy to navigate on mobile phones.

Anyhow there no use talking to ignorant people and wasting the air that i breathe, though please understand that many many people of the astro community would not know what the hell your talking about when you say ice in space:thumbsup: I love IIS but it isn't the hub of aussie astronomy for everyone and alot of people.:thumbsup:

[Octane]

^^^ :thumbsup:

H

[04Stefan07]

Excellent page, I found what I was looking for in a day!

[CapturingTheNight]

Thanks for the add Paul. I have some gear I should probably get rid of as I never seem to use it.........

[Nikolas]

Sent a request.
Nik

[stephenb]

Thanks for the add also, Paul... Lots of interesting items already... Great job...

[Kunama]

That's a rather rude reply Jay, I sure hope it is meant in jest as my earlier comment was ....................

[Nikolas]

AND thank you :)

[apaulo]

Hey everyone,

This topic seems to be generating some interesting points, mostly positive which is really great to see. Jay has an interesting point regarding the modernisation of the internet and the forums it employs. There is another advantage over other forums is that it is live interaction. Nothing like having quick response to your add.
Regards Paul.

[Earl]

Thanks Paul,

Will take a look.

Cheers,

- Earl

[N1]

You can have your own view but still understand both sides. Great effort by Paul setting up an astro trade platform. In populations as small as Australia or New Zealand there can never be too many platforms to keep the community vibrant especially in a hobby such as this. Chances are that they do not cannibalise but rather complement each other very nicely because they reach overlapping but not identical audiences, as has been pointed out on here.

However my personal decisions on which platform to spend most time and share most information is continuously reviewed and made based on who controls the actual website, not a forum on it or individual threads or groups. In this particular case, it was an Australian who loves astronomy vs an American lunatic who wants to take over the internet and doesn't give a f*** about people's privacy. Amazed to see he won a prize in astronomy though. The only thing astronomical about FB itself is the sums they pay to buy out others (Mike beware :P). So until proven otherwise, that's where it stands for me.

[apaulo]

Bit to heavy for me N1

Its just a Facebook page. Somehow I don't think the large cartels of the world will be interested in this group. Thanks for you opinion though.
Paul

[Shano592]

For a very tight niche, I think a little more exposure is always a good thing.

I personally have nothing to do with Facebook, but that is a long-standing decision that I have made, as I have no friends...

I can't see how using that channel will impact negatively here.

The bigger likelihood is that someone wanting to sell something, and has access to both sites, will be most likely to list on both sites to increase the chance of a sale.

And if the faithful put a *cough cough* link back to IIS in their FB posts, then it can even benefit IIS, potentially.

Simples.

[big_dav_2001]

Personally, I like the idea of a Facebook buy/sell page, and to be honest i don't understand why there's so much uproar over it. If you don't like Facebook, don't use it, and buy/sell stuff on here or wherever else you prefer.

It may detract the number of hits on IceTrades, but it won't bring IIS to a crashing halt if there was somewhere else to shop.

I think it's important to remember that Mike and the admins don't make any money from the IceTrades, so aren't losing commissions or simillar if the items are sold elsewhere. Nor are the admins of the FB buy/sell page making anything off it, they're simply providing an alternate service. The point is, the items are there to be sold, why not employ the largest promotional area possible, wether here, on FB, or both...

Just my two cents
Davin

[apaulo]

Hey everyone

My trading page has grown considerably and already people are benefiting from this service. I believe in the power of numbers the more members we have enhances the effectiveness. So please give it a go
Astronmy buy,sell and wanted

Regards Paul.

[apaulo]

The Facebook page has been open for just over three weeks now and it has been rather successful. So I thank you people from this forum that are happy participating.
If anyone else is interested please have a look and have a go.

Just use your search engine in Facebook and type

Astronomy buy,sell and wanted

Regards Paul

[seeker372011]

Umm just tried but the search came up with nothing?

[apaulo]

HI this seeker

https://www.facebook.com/groups/277881175726290/requests/?notif_t=group_r2j

Regards Paul

[Varangian]

Sounds interesting will give it a go.

[seeker372011]

Thanks, that worked just fine

Wonder why the FB search failed?

Never mind I got there in the end; and just sent through a request to join the group
Cheers

[ReaPerMan]

I had one item up on the FB page and it sold in 5 minutes because the buyer was online and in facebook when I listed it. Having said that my other 2 items were sold through the IIS forum within 24-48 hours.
Good value all round :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Astroman]

First time I have seen this :/ Request to join sent :)

[apaulo]

Ok we have hit well over the 100 membership for this page and I thank everyone who has just joined up.
Regards Paul

PS
Happy you found us Narayan
And Paul I reckon you have set a record so far

[stephenb]

Most of the items do not interest me but joined anyway. You never know something might pop up that I might need one day.

Thanks for a great page Paul :thumbsup:

[Jen]

Woohooo if I see a bargin here or on facey I'm going to go for it :) happy shopping guys/girls :P;):D

[apaulo]

The Astronomy buy,sell and trade page is constantly growing larger and larger, if you haven't yet joined it is worth while having a look.

We have over 140 members and growing week by week.,the site is as strong as it's members and already people have benefited selling and looking for that special item.

Just look up

Astronomy Buy, Sell and Wanted
On Facebook

Regards Paul.

[Chris85]

Request sent and I'll shout you a share on AGWA's (Astronomy Group of WA) Facebook page :thumbsup: