Need some help from the community

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Grappadura
Posts: 2122
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:57 pm

Need some help from the community

Post by Grappadura » Wed May 13, 2020 7:21 pm

Hi everyone,

I´m a long time Ableton user and used to post regularly here. A friend and I have build what we think is a great website and a great tool for the audio producer community, its a platform to sell and buy used software licenses. However, we find it hard to get the attention we think we deserve, as we are offering a valuable service for free. The problem is we don´t have many users yet, and to promote your own website on forums is more difficult than anticipated, it seems to be frowned upon or considered spammy. So I turn to you and I´m trying to use my ableton street credibility with my over 2000 posts to try to convince you that we are not trying to trick you into any sort of scam; we are actually offering a valuable service for free.

Our website is an ebay-style-platform (a marketplace) for used audio production software licenses. We have optimized it for this purpose by integrating a database which contains the transfer conditions of 80 developers (and counting...), which helps you set up an offer in no time, without the sometimes unnerving search for the transfer conditions of a particular developer. Payment method is always PayPal, which in regards to license transfers really offers a sensible protection: the buyer can claim that he did not get the license, but also, the seller can prove that he has followed the required procedure for the license transfer (requesting the transfer to the developer), so he is protected as well. The website is designed to reach an international audience, you can choose between USD an EURO, and our messaging system highlights the important transfer information. Last but not least, you can bundle several licenses while still selling the bundled licenses individually (bundles are disassembled when a part of it is bought.). That is our website, in a nutshell. To gain some traction we need more users, and if you have some license lying around there that you arent using, we would very much appreciate it if you would set up an account and offer it on our site. The place is called: Knobcloud.com. Also, feedback would be very welcome! Thx!
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5405
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by [jur] » Thu May 14, 2020 8:11 am

Hey,
I edited your post to add a link to your website... :roll:
Did you try contacting websites/blogs like CDM, KVR and alike?
I guess the usual suspects like facebook, twitter, youtube etc are inevitable these days.
I have a few plugins I need to sell so I'll happily try out your site.
That's a great initiative, I hope you'll find a way to make it work.
Good luck!
Ableton Forum Moderator

[jur]
Site Admin
Posts: 5405
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Ableton

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by [jur] » Thu May 14, 2020 8:20 am

I think you should add some kind of explanation/description (just like you did here) on your website main page, especially since the platform's name isn't really explanatory/meaningful imho.
There's no clue at what's the purpose of this website when you open it. You shouldn't need to go to the terms of use to get this kind of basic informations.
Also it seems like google is not really your friend. It seems hard to find the site without the url.

I also think you should make it more obvious that things like transfer fee and/or needed info for the transfer are required by the plugin company and not your website.
And you should display every plugin's original price.
Ableton Forum Moderator

chapelier fou
Posts: 6025
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 12:15 pm

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by chapelier fou » Thu May 14, 2020 11:09 am

Interesting idea !
For what it's worth, I personally trust you, 100%.
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Grappadura
Posts: 2122
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:57 pm

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by Grappadura » Thu May 14, 2020 2:44 pm

[jur] wrote:
Thu May 14, 2020 8:11 am
Hey,
I edited your post to add a link to your website... :roll:
Did you try contacting websites/blogs like CDM, KVR and alike?
I guess the usual suspects like facebook, twitter, youtube etc are inevitable these days.
I have a few plugins I need to sell so I'll happily try out your site.
That's a great initiative, I hope you'll find a way to make it work.
Good luck!
Thx for the edit and for getting involved, much appreciated! We are in contact with kvr, waiting on an answer on where we would be allowed to post it. CDM we haven´t contacted yet, I actually didn´t know them, but we will give it a shot! On facebook we had some positive feedback, but not much actual posting of plugins, which I feel is what we most need at this time. It would be great if you could post some license at our place!
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software

Grappadura
Posts: 2122
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:57 pm

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by Grappadura » Thu May 14, 2020 3:05 pm

[jur] wrote:
Thu May 14, 2020 8:20 am
I think you should add some kind of explanation/description (just like you did here) on your website main page, especially since the platform's name isn't really explanatory/meaningful imho.
There's no clue at what's the purpose of this website when you open it. You shouldn't need to go to the terms of use to get this kind of basic informations.
Also it seems like google is not really your friend. It seems hard to find the site without the url.

I also think you should make it more obvious that things like transfer fee and/or needed info for the transfer are required by the plugin company and not your website.
And you should display every plugin's original price.
Thanks for the feedback! We´ll have to think about the things you said. When you put knobcloud in google you are getting to the "urban dictionary" and "knobcloud" supposedly that means "Someone who is a bit of a dick", :lol: . But I don´t think this urban term is really that common, so we can live with that :D . One of the things you said we will probably implement (havent talked to my partner about it, but it seems like a good idea): we will probably encourage users to post the regular list price. And about the transfer fees, yes, that is a sensible thought too, it could lead to confusion. We do have an explanation that pops up when you make an offer, but if you don´t put your cursor into it you won´t see it (and also if you are just looking at offers). It might be a good idea to put some kind of info like "free audio software marketplace" somewhere obvious. And we will probably shoot a short video for explanation and put it in a clearly visible spot.
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software

Grappadura
Posts: 2122
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:57 pm

Re: Need some help from the community

Post by Grappadura » Thu May 14, 2020 3:06 pm

chapelier fou wrote:
Thu May 14, 2020 11:09 am
Interesting idea !
For what it's worth, I personally trust you, 100%.
Thank you!!! :D
KnobCloud - marketplace for audio software

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