I recreated our vendor program. Need your feedback.

[Tyler]

Hi guys. I just rewrote the vendor program for the third or fourth time because I've never been satisfied with it. Always felt it was confusing and just hard to look at. I created the new table below as a mock-up for what it might become. This time there is a paid vendor option but the numbers are just placeholders for now and I'm not even sure if charging them will happen at all. Please let me know what you think of the new formatting and "rules". The bottom of this post has the old version for reference.

TIER 1 VENDOR	TIER 2 VENDOR
Cost: FREE​	Cost: $10.00/month* or $100.00/year* (*$15.00/month or $150.00/year upgrade available for additional advertising authorization across the website)​
Authorization to advertise your products on the website: YES, you may advertise your products in our generic vendor / sales / coupon section or in a response to a member that is asking for advice if your response is an honest, well-written, and relevant form of guidance.	Authorization to advertise your products on the website: YES, you may advertise your products in the dedicated sub-forum for your brand or in a response to a member that is asking for advice if your response is an honest, well-written, and relevant form of guidance.
Dedicated sub-forum for your brand: NO, but you may advertise your products, sales, and provide customer support in our generic vendor / sales / coupon section which is shared with our other Tier 1 vendors.	Dedicated sub-forum for your brand: YES, you will have your own dedicated section on the forum to advertise your products, sales, and provide customer support in that can be seen on the homepage of Tacoma3G.com. The description of your sub-forum will have one to two sentences describing your brand along with a direct link to your website.
Authorization to advertise your products in any thread or post across the website: NO, but you may refer to your product(s) in a response to a member that is asking for advice if your response is an honest, well-written, and relevant form of guidance.	Authorization to advertise your products in any thread or post across the website: NO*, but you may refer to your product(s) in a response to a member that is asking for advice if your response is an honest, well-written, and relevant form of guidance. *YES, $15.00/month or $150.00/year upgrade available for additional advertising authorization across the website. You may create threads in relevant sections across the website to advertise your products and sales.
A link to your sub-forum in the "VENDORS" drop-down menu at the top of every page on the website: NO.	A link to your sub-forum in the "VENDORS" drop-down menu at the top of every page on the website: YES. This puts your brand on website visitors' radar and allows for quick access to your dedicated section from any page on the website.
Green username and vendor "badge": YES, you will have a standard green username in all of your posts and across the website and a special vendor badge in your posts to clearly establish your status as a vendor.	Green username and vendor "badge": YES, you will have a bold green username in all of your posts and across the website and a special vendor badge in your posts to clearly establish your status as a vendor.
URL of your website under your username: NO.	URL of your website under your username: YES, the direct URL of your website will display under your username in all of your posts.
Required Tacoma3G.com discount code: NO, but it is encouraged as exclusive discounts and group buys go a long way with our members!	Required Tacoma3G.com discount code: NO, but it is encouraged as exclusive discounts and group buys go a long way with our members!
Activity or post requirement to become or remain a vendor: NO, but occasionally I will review our vendors and if you have been inactive for three months I will reach out to you via email to see if you still want your vendor status on the forum and politely request you come back!	Activity or post requirement to become or remain a vendor: NO, but occasionally I will review our vendors and if you have been inactive for three months I will reach out to you via email to see if you still want your vendor status on the forum and politely request you come back!

This is the old version that I was never satisfied with, for comparison:

Tier 1: Silver T3G Vendor
This is the "basic" vendor type and does not cost anything. How it works:

• You will have the ability to post threads about your products in the main vendor forum. You will receive your own thread prefix which will enable you to sort threads in that forum by your products only. This also comes with a unique URL so you can link to said threads.
• You are restricted to advertising in the main vendor forum only and will not have your own personal forum. However, while you may not advertise your products throughout Tacoma3G.com, you may provide support to your products in existing user-created threads. You may also make mentions and suggestions to your products in response to a relevant user question, which won't be seen as blatant advertising.
• You will have a "T3G Vendor (Silver)" badge under your username in all of your posts and your username will display in green font across the website.
• You must login to the forum once per month or you will be notified that your vendor status is going to be revoked due to inactivity.

Tier 2: Onyx T3G Vendor
This is the "best" vendor type and does not currently cost anything. How it works:

• You will have your own sub-forum that can be seen on the homepage of the Tacoma3G.com forum. You will have moderator privileges inside this forum so you can sticky and close threads as needed. You will have unlimited access to advertising inside this forum and may use the forum however you wish.
• The description of the sub-forum is created by you and should be one to two sentences describing your products. There will also be a direct link to your website in the description of your sub-forum.
• A direct link to your sub-forum will be listed in the "VENDORS" drop-down list at the top of the website.
• You are restricted to advertising in your sub-forum only. However, while you may not advertise your products throughout Tacoma3G.com, you may provide support to your products in existing user-created threads. You may also make mentions and suggestions to your products in response to a relevant user question, which won't be seen as blatant advertising.
• You will have a "T3G Vendor (Onyx)" badge under your username in all of your posts and your username will display in a bold green font across the website. The URL to your website will also display under your username in all of your posts.
• You must login to the forum once per 15 days and create at least 5 posts per month or you will be notified that your vendor status is going to be downgraded to Silver.

 

[Mr. Nobody]

I like the ideas here. Definitely some really good stuff that could be implemented and encourage the vendors to contribute quality posts to the site.

 

[Tyler]

I talked about this with WarFab and he made some really good counter points. Basically suggested a different route which is something for me to consider.

 

[Mr. Nobody]

Good to reach out to some of the vendors you trust and have that conversation.