Hey Guys, just a heads up about what is happening here. I have three Zed's on the way from Japan

1. 1998 N/A in white with body kit (Manual) 44K miles Late January 2016

2 1990 TT Manual in Silver with just 18,000 on the clock and one owner w.service book. Going to be pricey this one Late Feb 2016

3. Black TT Manual 1993 Tuned and originally set up for drifting. I am currently having it calmed down new tyres, clutch, track rod ends all round. But it is still going to be a monster Coming Soon

 

I will post some pics as I get them

Keep them coming :)

Sounds great Gaz and good to see someone importing these fine Z's over to the UK. Any thoughts on becoming a trader on here now?

Well I have given it thought, and I am still unsure. The problem I face is that so far I have placed 4 cars here and not one of them as yet has sold to someone off the forum, or should I say that wasn't a member before they got a car from me. That may well change when Lee comes to look at the Blue one to replace his one that got wrecked by an HGV. I have come to realise that the great folk on this forum already have what they want in most cases, which of course they would as Zed owners. So unless someone is looking to replace a car like Lee then my hundred pounds a year ( is that right?) to become a trader may well be a waste of money. If I was offering parts or another type of service then I am certain it would be value for money. Are there any other benefits that I haven't considered perhaps?

I am very grateful to those who have purchased from me, and I hope I am starting to get a reputation as someone who is bringing over quality vehicles. Perhaps as I get more buyers the word will get round that if you want a new Z then I am the man to talk to. I have has loads of forum members ask me about specific models and colour and I am still looking, but the tt slicktop doesn't come up for auction every day, so that is also a challenge. The final point is that these cars are now going for serious money in the Japanese auctions, particularly the one that everyone over here wants, the manual tt!. I keep a log of auction sales and I can asure everyone here that these cars are going up in value almost monthly. I was shocked a few months ago when a yellow 1999 TT manual with 20k on the clock sold for £14,300 at auction that makes it somewhere in the region of 19K to get it here, and thats before the MOT etc. That was extreme, but never the less these are going for between 4-8 k at auction. I have taken a punt on SILVER TT with just 18,000 kiles on the clock. it looks mint, but it's going to be about 9-10k by the time it is ready for sale, and I appreciate that most will not be able to go that high. I will not however compromise on quality by getting clapped out low grade cars here to sell cheaply as there are plenty already on Ebay so thats my bed and I am laying in it I guess. In an odd way I actually like having them sitting on my drive, like the convertible that Simon has just purchased. I have had it here for 6 months and actually miss not seeing it on a day to day basis. I probably should have kept it for myself. Anyway I am rambling on now, so the answer to your question Gary is I am still undecided.

Understand were you are coming from Gaz and you put forward some good points. The Committee would love you to keep posting up these great Z's for sale but our other traders will feel hard done by seeing you get free rain to advertise on the forum and we would soon get complaints coming in. But have a think about it and you can pm me or Groover. Plus I think Lee is keen to buy :biggrin: Good luck mate.

To be fair, you'd only need to sell one car on here to make the Trader fee worthwhile :)

Valid point Mondo!

Valid point Mondo!

 

I understand where you're coming from as there's a few forums I've debated signing up to, but the Trader fees can be quite steep which is, in turn, a little off-putting.

 

You're in the unfortunate predicament of wanting to sell top-notch cars to an audience who predominantly aren't in the market for them. New members appear fairly regularly, looking to buy a nice Zed, but their budgets are usually quite low in comparison to the cars you're bringing in.

 

That's not to say you're cars are too expensive, by the way! I'm personally intrigued by the 18k miler TT you have coming in February, but I know for a cast-iron fact that I don't have anywhere near £10k to spend... and I fear that the majority of new members looking to buy don't have that much either.

 

That's not your fault or your cars' fault - I think it's a sad knock-on effect of the fact that Z32s still don't command the prices that Supras and RX7s do. :(

 

Occasionally though, you'll come across someone like Jaikai (for example): someone who's in the market for a really good Zed and who is passionate enough about the marque to spend some money buying one. As I said, one sale a year to a member like that on here and the Trader fee becomes negligible instantly :thumbup1:

 

Personally, I think it can only be a good thing that someone like you is trying to bring superb-quality Zeds into the UK, and I hope it continues :)

Well I have given it thought, and I am still unsure. The problem I face is that so far I have placed 4 cars here and not one of them as yet has sold to someone off the forum, or should I say that wasn't a member before they got a car from me. That may well change when Lee comes to look at the Blue one to replace his one that got wrecked by an HGV. I have come to realise that the great folk on this forum already have what they want in most cases, which of course they would as Zed owners. So unless someone is looking to replace a car like Lee then my hundred pounds a year ( is that right?) to become a trader may well be a waste of money. If I was offering parts or another type of service then I am certain it would be value for money. Are there any other benefits that I haven't considered perhaps?

I am very grateful to those who have purchased from me, and I hope I am starting to get a reputation as someone who is bringing over quality vehicles. Perhaps as I get more buyers the word will get round that if you want a new Z then I am the man to talk to. I have has loads of forum members ask me about specific models and colour and I am still looking, but the tt slicktop doesn't come up for auction every day, so that is also a challenge. The final point is that these cars are now going for serious money in the Japanese auctions, particularly the one that everyone over here wants, the manual tt!. I keep a log of auction sales and I can asure everyone here that these cars are going up in value almost monthly. I was shocked a few months ago when a yellow 1999 TT manual with 20k on the clock sold for £14,300 at auction that makes it somewhere in the region of 19K to get it here, and thats before the MOT etc. That was extreme, but never the less these are going for between 4-8 k at auction. I have taken a punt on SILVER TT with just 18,000 kiles on the clock. it looks mint, but it's going to be about 9-10k by the time it is ready for sale, and I appreciate that most will not be able to go that high. I will not however compromise on quality by getting clapped out low grade cars here to sell cheaply as there are plenty already on Ebay so thats my bed and I am laying in it I guess. In an odd way I actually like having them sitting on my drive, like the convertible that Simon has just purchased. I have had it here for 6 months and actually miss not seeing it on a day to day basis. I probably should have kept it for myself. Anyway I am rambling on now, so the answer to your question Gary is I am still undecided.

 

Have you seen this slicktop? I'm sure you'd sell it quick.

 

http://auctions.jdmauctionwatch.com/on-K9QwqydGqyl59.htm

Any pics of these yet?

Should have something to show in a week or so

Totally understand your stand point Gaz, business takes time to build and im sure once the word has gone round and people are in the market for a top zed, you will do well in the long run.

We are happy for you to show us what you have coming in, as im sure the members are too, take a little more time to get established then think about becoming a trader.

Rules are rules, but we have to consider each case on an individual basis as to viability for the club and obviously for the trader- to- be and the possible service that is on offer.

 

Have a look into the new year and see how you feel.

 

There are benefits of having your own trader area, but we can discuss at a later date :thumbup1:

When I first signed up here, I signed up as a Trader straight away. Not because I knew I'd have a guaranteed good response from doing so, but because I thought it was the "proper" way to do things.

 

As a small business, I know fine well that forking out for things that may not necessarily bring any immediate reward can be a tough pill to swallow, but that's the nature of the beast.

 

Gaz has already sold one of his Zeds to a member here, and that says to me that it does make sense to become a bona fide Trader.

 

As I've said, I perfectly understand how unnerving it can be to pay out money without a guaranteed reward at the end of it, but it does irk me somewhat at times when I pay my dues to trade on here and there are others who don't.

 

I know that people have work done to their cars outside of Traders on here and that's not an issue in the slightest, but when said craftsman then registers on here and promotes their business (in my opinion) quite openly, then I think it's time for them to pay up!

 

None of this is a dig at Gazwoz, by the way - I think that the Management did a good thing by allowing him to "test the water" first. As I said though, there's clearly a market on this forum for high-quality Zeds as has been proved (sad circumstances aside) by Jaikai purchasing one of them. :thumbup1:

Whether you manage to sell a car via the forum or not, you are still advertising them via the forum.

 

The trader fee allows you to advertise as many vehicles as you want, for as long as you need to, with as many pictures as you can provide, and as much description space as you can type.

 

pistonheads is £11.99 for up to 30 days.

autotrader is up £19.95 for up to 42 days.

ebay is £14.99 for 28 days.

they are more limited on pictures, description, artistic licence, etc.

 

you can get a free advert in a local paper, or maybe nominal fee in a specialist car magazine, but you get a very limited amount of space.

 

for pure advert listing value for money, the forum is best value, hands down, espeically for multiple vehicles.

 

but there are drawbacks and advantages to all methods.

 

the other sites have a much bigger audience, 2 of which are dedicated to vehicles.

but over 90% of the people looking at your advert will be looking for the specific make/model, and so your target audience know what they are looking for.

your adverts are not being seen by every user, and i would hazard a guess at hundredths of a percent 0.0x% or less of users actually looking at your advert.

 

the forum advert will have a bigger % audience of total users, who will also know other people that may be looking for a specific vehicle.

 

granted. the total forum audience may still be less than the other media, but its still an audience you have the advantage of advertising to.

as a business, any advertising is helpful, but you do have to weigh up the cost effectiveness of those adverts.

 

what has been your total advertising cost on all cars, including having to relist?

maybe its the smaller amounts each time that dont make it seem expensive?

 

maybe we could consider a cost/item/time advert approach on the forum?

but that doesnt work for all trading types and can be an unneeded admin overhead for a forum, without buying or developing some dedicated sales related module

 

yes, we want to encourage traders, and yes, we want to give users access to the best companies and products for their interest.

 

but no, we do not want to become a free-ads market place where absolutely anyone can advertise for free and take advantage of our focussed and captive audience, because it will become a scammers paradise as people will always take advatantage where they can get something for nothing

 

the moderation team work hard to prevent this from happening, and it often appears draconian that the forum does this, but it is always being done in the best interests of members and users, to try and protect people from being ripped off if possible or to prevent people with only a financial interest and not a community interest from taking advantage of us.

 

please, do consider the value for money of this resource as mentioned, as we all appreciate the quality of cars you offer, even if we are not all able to afford them at this point in time.

 

you are investing in a community that can and will help you and your customers as you grow.

Edited December 22, 201510 yr by craig

Not knowing the traders fee's I can't really comment on value for money. Gazwaz is not like most other traders who have lots of stock sitting on the shelves or a product they buy in as and when an order comes in.

 

Would he/the forum consider him paying a fee per car like auto trader? He may only bring in four cars a year which could make advertising here more appealing? The more cars he advertises the more the forum gets so is kind of a win win situation, also means if he only has those same four cars for sale for two years on here he is not paying loads of subs for things that are not selling?

 

Just a thought, not sure if it's practical or would be welcomed by other traders?

Not knowing the traders fee's I can't really comment on value for money. Gazwaz is not like most other traders who have lots of stock sitting on the shelves or a product they buy in as and when an order comes in.

 

Would he/the forum consider him paying a fee per car like auto trader? He may only bring in four cars a year which could make advertising here more appealing? The more cars he advertises the more the forum gets so is kind of a win win situation, also means if he only has those same four cars for sale for two years on here he is not paying loads of subs for things that are not selling?

 

Just a thought, not sure if it's practical or would be welcomed by other traders?

 

FYI £100 per year, or 150 for a trader breaker per year

£100 a year? Get your wallet out Gazwoz! lol

How much is that yellow slicktop in pounds just curious I have the same but tt manual I paid £4250 for it from an importer in 2005 .

looks a nice car that silver one buddy did well with it!

This is the first place I came to before buying my Z. In actual fact Bedzee Man bought your purple Z just before I had chance :D

 

Anyone with an actual interest in the car they want to purchase, in my mind, would always visit an active forum first for the ins and outs of what their looking to buy. Not to mention lay the foundations for potential good friendships.

 

My two penneth :cool3:

How much is that yellow slicktop in pounds just curious I have the same but tt manual I paid £4250 for it from an importer in 2005 .

 

Showing £3,616 for the car alone. For some reason the prices are now in JPY but still say USD.

So thats likely to be just under 6k to get it here, then theres the fog light conversion plus the mot, and tyres if needed, so without tyres somewhere in the region of 6200

As another thought on becoming a trader, how good would it look on all your adverts elsewhere (ebay, pistonheads etc.) to be able to have written in the advert "The Only Official 300zx dealer for the 300zx.co.uk club" Points buyers here and also shows you know about the cars and are a trusted person to buy from being backed by the UK's biggest 300zx club?

As another thought on becoming a trader, how good would it look on all your adverts elsewhere (ebay, pistonheads etc.) to be able to have written in the advert "The Only Official 300zx dealer for the 300zx.co.uk club" Points buyers here and also shows you know about the cars and are a trusted person to buy from being backed by the UK's biggest 300zx club?

 

Damn Fine point!!. I am going to do this on Jan 1st. New year new Trader.

Just noticed where you are from. Dr Feelgood land!! one of my all time fav bands

Damn Fine point!!. I am going to do this on Jan 1st. New year new Trader.

Just noticed where you are from. Dr Feelgood land!! one of my all time fav bands

 

Yup, Canvey lad through and through! Glad you're signing up, fingers crossed next year I'll be able to put some cash down on one of your cars myself! (If you ever bring in a TT Manual ;) )

There is one coming end of Feb. 1990 with One owner, service book and a verified 18,000 miles only