message board?

[kevinnet]

How do i access to the PMB?
in CP, under selling activity - PMB icon is not active.
how do buyers / sellers communicate?

[Mike]

I believe a project must be posted in order to use the PMB. If you are the buyer and the PMB icon is greyed out this means this the project has not been awarded or no one has bid on the project. If a provider bid on the project, click on (in the CP) "Buying Overview" then locate the project and next to the left of the project title you will see an icon (collapsible icon). Click on the icon to see who bid on the project. If someone bid on the project the PMB icon will be activated and the buyer will have to initiate the communication between the provider.

Probably the PMB that is greyed out that you are referring to is for when the project is awarded to a provider, then this PMB icon will be activated..

Hope that help some how...

FYI: This method eliminates spammers who signed up as a provider on the marketplace. Just imagine if the provider did have the ability to activate a PMB communication between the buyer. There would be so much spamming, buyers would eventually seek an alternative to your marketplace.

If you have any more questions about ILance don't be afraid to drop me a line. Also, try searching the forum for possible questions you might have.

Regards,
Michael
ILance Sales Staff

[kevinnet]

well I placed a bit on an item and then in my cp, i look under buyer activity and the item i have bid on was there, but the PMB button was grayed out.

is it just me or something wrong with the demo?

thanks.

[Mike]

well I placed a bit on an item and then in my cp, i look under buyer activity and the item i have bid on was there, but the PMB button was grayed out.

is it just me or something wrong with the demo?

thanks.

Did you click on the collapsible icon next to the project title??

[Peter]

That's right. The Main Row (with the auction name, pmb icon, etc) will remain grayed out until a service provider is "awarded". Until then, your buyer must expand his bids listings, and beside each bidders (to the right) you will see a clickable "PMB" icon to engage chat.

Buyers will only have this control -- at least until the service provider is awarded. At that point, the PMB icon in the top row (with auction name) will appear as normal for the buyer and the service provider.

-Peter

[kevinnet]

Peter,
if that's the case, then how would the buyers ask the seller questions before award the project to the seller?
i think buyers would want to ask alot of questions before award the service/project to anyone, especially big project?

by the way! is something wrong with the v3 demo? i clicked on an item and got blank page

[edwin]

by the way! is something wrong with the v3 demo? i clicked on an item and got blank page
I noticed the same. I you click v3.ilance.ca/buying.php?cmd=rfp You get a blank screen.

[Peter]

Hi Kev,

That's the point :) .. Buyers can pull providers into chat without issue as shown on the screenshot below.

As you will see, for every 1 project, there are 2 pmb icons. The main PMB icon and the PMB icon beside the bidders. The main PMB icon (beside the auction) will remain faded out in gray until a provider is awarded. In the situation below (in the screenshot) it appears that the service provider is "AWARDED" from his buyer. That is why you see the PMB icons clearly visible.

http://www.ilance.ca/images/vbforum/pmbdiff.gif

[Peter]

by the way! is something wrong with the v3 demo? i clicked on an item and got blank page
There could be. We just switched to a new server and the Mod_Rewrite might not be active. We'll look into this today.

Thanks

[kafi]

Peter,
if that's the case, then how would the buyers ask the seller questions before award the project to the seller?
i think buyers would want to ask alot of questions before award the service/project to anyone, especially big project?

I think kevinnet brings the point.

This is also part of what I thought could be solved as two round tender system, in which buyer and potential sellers may specify more details.
Current system of PMB really luck space for negotiation (not that much about the price in the first place, but about the details of the project) and this can bring later problems between buyer and seller.

[kafi]

hmm could be moderation here turned off please :-)

[Peter]

@kafi - it's now disabled. :)

Peter

[Peter]

I noticed the same. I you click v3.ilance.ca/buying.php?cmd=rfp You get a blank screen.
It was a memory_limit issue with PHP. All fixed up now. It's been increased to 32M.

Peter

[kafi]

I think kevinnet brings the point.

This is also part of what I thought could be solved as two round tender system, in which buyer and potential sellers may specify more details.
Current system of PMB really luck space for negotiation (not that much about the price in the first place, but about the details of the project) and this can bring later problems between buyer and seller.
Peter what is your opinion?

[edwin]

Peter,
if that's the case, then how would the buyers ask the seller questions before award the project to the seller?
i think buyers would want to ask alot of questions before award the service/project to anyone, especially big project?

Good point there! There are two way you can look at it.


One can use category specific questions and make the need for questions less.
Second: The service provider should be able to ask specific questions (related to the RFP) to the buyer.


But would that be fair to other service providers who bid on the RFP (and don't have the extra info? Can the buyer make a good and fair choice? Perhaps the questions (and answers) should made public to all bidders.....



To be honest, I don’t know what scenario is the best, but I can imagine that asking questions to a buyer without placing a bid is a realistic scenario.


Edwin

[kafi]

@kafi - it's now disabled. :)

Peter
Pls. disable it also for suggestions!!!

I usually write to suggestions, but this threads are always lost - because they slip to history after 3days old moderation....