Possibility of a classified sticky for the 2nd Gen forum

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by sweeneyp

Yikes, that's no fun what you had to go through. I have to park my HL outside and that's one thing I'm always paranoid of whenever a big storm rolls through. But I'm like you, not a fan of letting non dealer shops work on my car (unless I know for a fact they are good).

But you aren't the only person who has taken out the 3rd row and left it out. A few people here (Traildust) has swapped their 3rd row for the cargo bin that comes on non-3rd row equipped vehicles. It would be nice to free up that space, especially considering I think I've used my 3rd row once in almost 2 years. I've looked online the OEM cargo bin parts are expensive (like $400+ if I remember correctly) if you look at an online Toyota dealership store. At this point you should be able to find highlanders in junkyards, but most come with 3rd-rows so its definitely going to be hit or miss trying to find one with the cargo bin.

I was just thinking. FWIW I wouldn't mind adding a sub-section to the Common Problems & Solutions sticky that would work kind of like a classified ad section where members who would like to swap out their 3rd row seats can post up their details like whether they want the 3rd row or need to get rid of one, what their interior color is, geographic location, etc. It's not much, but it might help getting seen since we've had a number of people over the years interested in a 3rd row swap but few if any have connected to make the swap. Anyone interested just shoot me a PM.

[9volt]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

a classified ad section

A Highlander specific classifieds thread or section would be helpful. I'd be interested in picking up a split third row if one happened to become available nearby.

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by 9volt

A Highlander specific classifieds thread or section would be helpful. I'd be interested in picking up a split third row if one happened to become available nearby.

Let me run this by the other Admins. On the one hand pretty much all the commerce is located in the commerce forum, but on the other a couple of formerly well established classifieds section like in the Tacoma forum were allowed to stay where they were at to alleviate confusion with members there. Anyway, the concern is if we allow a classified section for the Highlander forum it opens to door to other members asking why their own model forum doesn't have a classified section......and then the whole commerce section becomes null and void, if you see what I mean. I'll get back to you about this and come up with something that best addresses all these points.

On a related subject, one thing members can do is to put a link in their sig regarding a swap or a sale. This is allowed by the forum rules, and I did it with my 3rd row swap. Thing to do is post up a new thread to the Truck/SUV Parts For Sale (or) Truck/SUV Parts For Trade Or Wanted forums declaring what you're selling or what you need, then place a link to that thread in your sig. Every time you post up to the forums it acts like a miniature advertisement/announcement to other members. Worked for me on the 3rd row seat swap.

[9volt]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

if we allow a classified section for the Highlander forum it opens to door to other members asking why their own model forum doesn't have a classified section...

one thing members can do is to put a link in their sig regarding a swap or a sale.

Both your points make sense. Since you're bringing this up, my take is that the current classifieds section is next to useless for a Highlander owner. There is too much non-Highlander stuff to sift through to find anything that I might want to buy for my car.

IMHO it would be smart to have model-specific classifieds and possibly a "general" section for parts that apply to many models. Even just a thread where we could post links to our classifieds posts would be helpful.

Also, if they are going to moderate classifieds posts, it should be a requirement that all posts (at least for vehicles) have a location in the title. A state abbreviation at the beginning of the title would make the Vehicles for Sale section much more useful.

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by 9volt

Both your points make sense. Since you're bringing this up, my take is that the current classifieds section is next to useless for a Highlander owner. There is too much non-Highlander stuff to sift through to find anything that I might want to buy for my car.

I made that specific point in bringing this issue up to the other Admins.

IMHO it would be smart to have model-specific classifieds and possibly a "general" section for parts that apply to many models. Even just a thread where we could post links to our classifieds posts would be helpful.

I'll bring up this suggestion.

Also, if they are going to moderate classifieds posts, it should be a requirement that all posts (at least for vehicles) have a location in the title. A state abbreviation at the beginning of the title would make the Vehicles for Sale section much more useful.

This is already a part of the Buy/Sell Forum Rules. It's up to the Moderators responsible for the Commerce section to enforce that rule. I'll check it out, and if it's an issue I'll let Moderators know it needs to be addressed.

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[TrailDust]

Okay, the issue has been discussed and what I'll do is create a new sticky thread that will act as a "bulletin board" so that it will be easier for we Highlander owners to see who has what for sale and/or wants to put something up for trade.

This is how it will work. If you have something to sell or want to buy something then you will still create a new thread in the appropriate Commerce forum. Once you've created that thread then copy the web URL for that thread, then send it to me via private message and I will post up an entry into the sticky with a descriptive title of your choosing. That entry will serve as a link to your commerce thread. That way Highlander owners can quickly check out the sticky thread and see what is available. The thread will be locked so that only I can post up the entries. This is necessary because if everyone were to post up their own entries as replies to the sticky thread it would end up being pages and pages long, which would defeat the whole purpose of a quick to view reference source.

This is an example of what an entry would look like (taken at random to serve as an example):

WeatherTech mats and sunshade for sale by naturoses


Any questions, just ask in this thread.

[9volt]

Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Ralph6410]

Sounds good.. my only concern would be the problem of keeping it dated. Once sold or no longer available the item should be removed from the list..

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by Ralph6410

Sounds good.. my only concern would be the problem of keeping it dated. Once sold or no longer available the item should be removed from the list..

Agreed, and this is where members can help me out by sending a quick PM to let me know about the change as TN is pretty big and I may not always be on top of everything.

[9volt]

Shouldn't the fact that it's sold or not be obvious in the seller's thread in the classifieds section? Seems like it would be extra unnecessary work for TRD to have to update the HL thread posts with "Sold".

[TrailDust]

It's cool, I'll just delete the entry in our sticky thread....take me twenty seconds to do it....

[9volt]

Where did this thread end up? I can't seem to find it.

[TrailDust]

I pulled it because it generated about zero interest, and just about next to nothing on number of visits.

[9volt]

That's unfortunate. Thanks for trying.