FeelGoodTrader's mission lives on at Copious.com

FeelGoodTrader was closed down in early June, but if you're looking for an alternative without going back to CraigsList, check out Copious: social buying with Facebook integration. Using Facebook as the login system means you aren't dealing with anonymous strangers.

FeelGoodTrader code released as open source on GitHub

You can get FeelGoodTrader's app code on Github here: https://github.com/normalocity/feelgoodtrader The code is there for anyone to use or learn from, for educational, commercial, or other purposes.

Much of the test and developement data was removed. If you were to download and setup the project yourself:

• Under "app/dev-notes/server and dev build" there are instructions for building a dev environment in OS X 10.6, and a production environment under Ubuntu 9.10 server.
• Once the app is setup, you run the http://[host]/setup/new action to setup an admin account and get the app running

Thank you for everyone who supported the project!

FeelGoodTrader closing

FeelGoodTrader is closing. We will release the code to the public on GitHub, sometime soon.

The new Reputation system

The problem is and old one: how do you know if someone will flake out on you? The idea is simple: implement a reputation system that tracks when people flake out.

Today we launched the first version of our new reputation system. It tracks the following three things:

1. The number of items you bought
2. The number of items you sold
3. The number of deals you flaked out on

Everyone starts at 0 reputation. When you buy/sell items on the site, your reputation goes up. When you make someone an offer, but then back out of it (flake out), your reputation goes down. Flaking out is also weighted more heavily than not flaking out, so in order to have a positive reputation score, you have to stick to your word more often than not.

We're going to need some better humans...

by John Bigane / FGT Community

"And yet, I, for one, am not ready to submit that easily!" - John BiganeAs many of you know, the IBM supercomputer named Watson defeated the greatest human champions in the game of Jeopardy in February. Despite confusing Chicago with another famous American city, Toronto, Watson handily beat our most brilliant triviaologists.  I sat watching, amazed and scared as he (she? it?) blew through the boards of questions, leading the brilliant Ken Jennings to comment, "I for one welcome our new computer overlords."

And yet, I, for one, am not ready to submit that easily! I'm dedicated to improving myself and encouraging other humans in the quest that is to come.  But since I'm no Luddite and I don't expect a mobile version of Watson any time soon, we're going to be stuck with "lesser" devices for the time being.  Fortunately, with the recent release of iPad 2 and other powerful tablets, we have improved devices to help us learn and play... and play a lot more.  I've been my using my various Apple and Android devices to listen to podcasts to help improve my Spanish and study guitar chords. Plus, I figure all the time I spend conquering Angry Birds must be helpful in the long run, right?

The popularity of the iPad 2 also means there are a bunch of original iPad showing up all over the internet, including FeelGoodTrader. Nothing like using a computer, in tablet form or otherwise, to fight our new supposed overlords.

There are other ways we can stay ahead of the Watsons, HALs, Matrixes, and WOPRs.  They may be able beat us in trivia, chess, and numerous other "games" but Skynet has yet to develop anything that can defeat us in a race, a bike event or other various sporting events.  Until that time, we have the physical advantage.  I'm looking forward to the swimming, running and biking that spring bring.  I may even search out a new road bike while looking for an iPad.

To find all these amazing tools to conquer the future Watsons, I have many choices out there, on and off the internet.  When I choose to buy via an on-line service I use the new and improved notifications on FeelGoodTrader, I'm emailed or sent a text message to let me know when iPads or fast bicycles are added to the site!  I don't have to constantly search and search... when the items are available, I get notified!

If only I had a device that could build a perfect NCAA bracket, I'd be really set!  Until then, I'm stuck with the old ways ... and I'm adding a new notification of "Supercomputer Killer" to FeelGoodTrader so I'm always informed and ready.

Improved notifications

From the popular to the obscure, finding things on FeelGoodTrader has never been easier; so easy that you don't even have to come to the site to find new listings!

If you sign up for an account on FeelGoodTrader (it's free after all), then you can setup notifications for anything you can imagine, and get an email or text message when those things are posted on FeelGoodTrader.

Say you want to know when someone posts a listing for an "Xbox." Simply create a notification for it, and as the listings roll in, you'll get a message in your inbox, and a little notification count at the top of your FeelGoodTrader page after logging in.

Notifications work equally well for really obscure items. Say you're looking for a 1957 Chevy - just create a notification for it and you'll know as soon as it's posted. You can create as many notifications as you like!

Notifications are collected into a single place so they're easy to see.

Create a notification

You get a count of all your notifications

Sample notification email

A list of your open notifications

Hot chocolate and trustworthy shopping

by John Bigane / FGT Community

I'm not a shopper...  I've never been much of a shopper.  Every year around the holidays, I fight the urge to listen to Christmas music or start doing any of my Christmas/holiday shopping until after Thanksgiving.  You'll never see me at one of the Black Friday sales.  And then, after the November holiday, I immediately feel behind.  One of my aunts already has her gifts WRAPPED long before Halloween and I won't even have started brainstorming.  Previous years, I've found myself wandering the malls in/around Chicago thinking what I could buy this or that person much to my growing dismay.  Forget my daydreaming of insane consumerism or why Chicago has so many outdoor malls (when most of us are shopping in the dead of winter!), I'd give anything to be done and drinking hot chocolate in front of a warm fire somewhere.

 

As a result, this past year, I, like many others, shopped more on-line than ever before.  Outside of the gifts I made for others, most of the gifts I bought came from Amazon and other on-line services.  Why are web-based retailers' numbers up so much this past holiday?  You can depend on it.  You can trust your transaction and the prices are better than many of the brick and mortar stores.  It was quick... it was easy and I could stay at home, shopping to my heart's content drinking, the aforementioned, hot chocolate.

 

But even buying from Amazon wasn't ideal.  I would have preferred to have done more of my shopping "locally," but away from the malls.  Buying locally has tons of advantages, among them: the ability to support local business in my own neighborhood, it's better for the environment (less shipping fuel and costs), and I can get my items quickly without waiting for them to arrive on-time from across the country and world.

 

Sometimes, buying locally isn't just convenient, it's necessary.  A few months ago after running the Chicago Marathon (I didn't die!), I wanted to buy a couple of the hats volunteers received from assisting at the run.  The buyer I found on a well known web-based service didn't know me from Adam... I didn't trust him/her so we ended up meeting at a random Starbucks in Chicago to make the swap, and I was relieved when the transaction was finally complete.  This type of transaction would have been so much simpler and calmer with a service like FeelGoodTrader.  I could at least have gone into the purchase with some comfort that I was buying from someone from the community, someone that others in the community trusted and had some previous success buying and selling from...and I'll bet some wonderful, tasty, hot chocolate wouldn't have hurt either! :)

New visual design

FeelGoodTrader gets a new design layout!

Happy New Year!

It's changes, changes, and more changes.

After over a month of back end cleanup, and a push to get some more traffic and listings things are going well.

However, after over a month of back end clean up and getting more listings and stuff on the site, it is time once again to focus on new features. In the coming weeks, look for more news on what's new at FeelGoodTrader.com

Happy New Year!

FGT Launches notifications

Wouldn't it be nice if FeelGoodTrader would let you know when new things were posted? As of today, it does.

We've rolled out the initial notification feature just a short while ago. What it lets you do, essentially, is type in a search term (e.g. "Google TV"), and if FeelGoodTrader doesn't have any listings for it a button shows up saying "Notify me!" when listings like this become available.

Give me some notification love!What you need to get notifications

FeelGoodTrader is now open to everyone. Simply sign up for a free account, and you can setup notifications for any search term that you like. Just go to your "profile", put any search term you want into "Create new notification", and bingo - you're ready to go.

Next time you log into FeelGoodTrader you'll see all the new buyer and seller listings for any/all items that match that filter. Pretty cool, huh?

List of notifications in your profileCan I get notifications in email and SMS?

Not yet. We're really close to having this finished, and expect to have an announcement by next month. Email notifications will come first, followed by SMS.