My thoughts on MEM

So I've noticed over time that a lot of people don't like Middle Earth Marketplace and to be honest I'm quite confused as to why.

[Aesthetics] 9/10 I personally like MEM because it's got a much prettier look (obviously subjective as fuck) than most other marketplaces (i.e. it's not black text on white background which, to me, is just ugly and boring). The people over at Middle Earth Marketplace even took the time to make a little hobbit smoke in the top left corner which isn't really notable but it's silly. I have to take a point off because the screen doesn't scale well at all when the screen isn't maximized.

[Functionality] 9/10 Functionally it works just like every other Marketplace pretty much but I like the layout for vendor pages/user profiles. It's intuitive and all the menus are in the same spot. The menu on Vendor pages on some other sites to navigate between reviews, products, etc. are at the top and they keep the main navigation menu on the left which is infuriating to me.

[Pricing] 10/10 Pretty much the same as everywhere else. Although I'm not a vendor so I don't have firsthand information here, a couple of vendors have noted that they put bulk listings on Middle Earth because the fees are lower percent than some other markets.

Basically, I'm just confused why Middle Earth is so low on the tier list (that nobody has ever actually compiled, to my knowledge) even though it's effectively just as good as most other marketplaces and so much prettier. And I swear to God if you say Javascript I'm just going to cri 4 dayz... disable it. My biggest qualm with it is that the captcha's are hard as fuck to decipher but it's basically just as good as any other marketplace but not enough vendors use it, I assume, because not enough people buy from it.

Could some users and maybe some vendors weigh in here with their opinions?


Comments


[3 Points] lolrule2:

Search is horrible and out of stock listings can't be filtered out. And 6 confirmations is ridiculous. Nucleus only needs 2 and Abraxis only needs 4.


[3 Points] octomarvel:

Hobbits and Gandalf saying "may the force be with you" just irritates the fuck outta me.


[2 Points] vendorsthrowaway:

I'm a vendor on Alphabay, Abraxas, and MEM with the same profile, product description, etc on every market. Of the three markets, I bring in the least amount of money from MEM. One of the major reasons is women. On the other two markets, a third of my customers are women and on MEM, I have not received one order from a woman. Why? There are several reasons, but the big one is the interface. You made the interface to appeal to guys who are into LOTR and the fantasy genre in general. Sure, there are some women who like that sort of thing, but in general, they do not. Look at amazon and their interface, it isn't dark or harsh looking. It's bright and welcoming. People, in particular women, do not want to feel like they are walking into an alleyway to get their drugs and this is what your interface makes it feel like. Do you remember the inferfaces, of SR1/2, Evo, Agora? There is actual white in the background! Also, it isn't as intuitive to get started on MEM as it is for these other sites, which will make you lose potential customers real quick when they create an account and try to use it.

Another reason is professionalism. With administrator names like Gandalf and Gollum, it make you guys come off as unprofessional. Why would you have the name of your customer service person Gollum? Isn't he a bad guy in the books and films? It does not necessarily make the customer want to come to you if they need your help. I mean, the guy's whole being is based on holding onto a ring. If a vendor screws me over, it doesn't make me feel like you are going to give me a refund because I am going to think that you are more interested in holding onto that commission you make from the sale than helping me out. Your information page has curse words, which is also unprofessional and a turnoff.

The comments part that your have on each person's profile makes it too easy for competitors to come in and write something negative. The same goes with the thumbs up/down. How well a vendor does is already reflected on the feedback. You give too much room for bullshit with this. Also, that buyers can't be rated bothers be and that there isn't some information on buyer's stats bothers me as a vendor.

The fees you charge are another turnoff. You charge vendors to withdraw. In addition to taking a commission on our sales, you charge us to withdraw the money we made on our sales. This nickel and diming is one reason why I've considered leaving MEM.

Okay, one more last thing: JS. Agree or disagree with the safety and security of using JS, it is generally accepted that JS has susceptibilities. People with little knowledge of coding believe this, right or wrong. You can't get away from this.


[1 Points] None:

[deleted]


[1 Points] None:

not really any hard drug vendors on there, seems to be mostly psychedelics and the like. no idea why, just something I've noticed in the limited time I've spent on there. it's weird, sometimes when I am really spun with nothing to do, I'll just window shop...but even when doing that, I don't ever feel compelled to do it on MEM

only time I've ever actually ordered on there was from BlueViking


[1 Points] None:

With me it has always been a vendor issue. My preferred vendors were on Agora and now are on Abraxas. Haven't been on ME in a while, but wasn't that impressed with the vendors on ME.


[1 Points] memcompromised:

Hmmmm, are you an admin for middle earth?


[1 Points] doinsomereviewin:

I don't want to hear it from anybody... :P