Bruce...several of these have been proposed to sponsors but without exception, they want to be able to post where they want to post, just like any other member.  We are working on an index style page that will list advertisers...but the banners work quite well for the advertisers and they like the response they are getting from them.  We served the banners over 40 million times last month with click through rates on many of them 10 times the national average.  Bottom line, we are going to have advertisers that want ad space and the top of the page is where they prefer to be.  They want the freedom to post within forums and not to be confined to a specific place...this is what they have told me. 

Alan

Thanks Alan...I am pretty surprised that they don't want an exclusive space of their own. I think readers like myself miss out on their announcements just because they are naturally bumped. Folks like myself ( perhaps) just dont have the time to search the archives where their posts are mixed in with the readers. Well, I suppose it wasnt so stupid after all if it was suggested to them but I think they are missing an opportunity as well for a more direct contact, more easily made with their customers. 

Thanks for your consideration and answer.

The Forum Advertising Looks Great & it is like a Yellow Pages, to find Model Railroader Venders. Like a shopping Mall. I check it every day.

  Click screen shot to enlarge

1) I agree it's a good idea. When I'm looking to buy something I check the For Sale forum. I don't mind where they post, but I believe many posts are missed and they would generate more sales with their own forum. The banners (to me) are fine.

2) It's not entirely true, (we can post where we want to). If I post a for sale item in the 3 Rail forum, it will be moved and I will probably get a few not so nice comments that I have posted it in the wrong area.

What might be a good solution would be an Advertisers Forum, but let them double post, Advertisers Forum, and for example 3 Rail. That way one could scan that area and not miss a post. Also if you were looking for newly released items, or specials it would be easy to scan. Just like the the For Sale area. I don't go to the library to buy an alternator. But this is just my 2 cents. No one listens to me anyway.........

First...Charlie:  Sponsors can post and sell anywhere except within the For Sale/Trade forum.  This is part of what they are able to do as advertisers/sponsors.  If members have something for sale, it is supposed to be put in the For Sale/Trade forum so if it gets put elsewhere and we are made aware of it, it will be moved.

Bruce:  you are welcome and thanks for the suggestion.  I think that the sponsors like their freedom just like the rest of the membership.  It just means that one has to keep an eye out for their posts.  One suggestion is to set your preferences so that when one of the sponsors you are most interested in posts, you get an alert..??  Just a thought....

Alan

It does look good but I am more of a bargain hunter and don't have the time or honestly, the inclination to browse each and every vendor to comparison shop an item's pricing A versus B versus C. I like the sale announcements but they vanish faster than rabbits, hence my suggestion.

I do think it helps newbies find vendors faster..but old goats like myself know all of them already give or take a couple of new ones. 

Yes I know that. I know that's what the Advertiser want to do. I don't care, but it would be nice to scan a central location. It's easy to miss posts if other threads have a high reply rate. I scan the rt column for the most recent posts. And during busy times, lots of different thread activity, resent posts will fall off the page. If for example Patrick's Trains has an item on sale, and I do not see the post, I'm not likely to buy it from him. That mean he lost a sale. You might re read my original post. I don't care where they post. I don't want to post a for sale item in the 3 Rail section. I just agree that a seperate forum would make it easier for me to Spend My Money with advertisers. But again let them post the same thread in that forum and 3 Rail or where ever else they like. I believe that extra effort on their part would generate more sales for OGR advertisers. The banners are great for easy access, when I know I want to look for an item at say Scenic Express, but it would be easy to miss that new item, or sale.

OK Charlie...you made your point.  Please refer to my answers above...

Thanks,

Alan