PARDON THE LONG REPLY, and any grammar errors
i think you may be onto something. we have a lot of inactive vendors here, and the few mods we have are trying to cater to ALL (active or not) of them. we really should be concentrating on the fraction, as you put it, that are active. looking in the vendor thread now, it really does not seem like that many.
that being said i really would like to bring up my idea about breaking the classifieds into 2 additional sections. FS/WTB cars, FS new parts vendor, FS used parts vendor, FS services vendor, FS/WTB private classifieds.
this would actually decrease the workload on current mods because the vendors would have proper room to work without trying to cram everything into one horrifically long post, or having to bump their thread multiple times a day.
i imagine the following:
vendor: bobs big brakes
new parts vendor section: bobs would advertise (only) new brake kits, and brake parts. oem, aftermarket, etc. as long as kits are NEW.
used parts vendor section: bobs would advertise (only) used brake parts. these could be the good oem brakes removed when upgrading a customer to big brakes. also any other used parts they have.
services vendor section: bobs would advertise (only) services. these could be brake jobs, repairs on brake systems, diagnostic work, or even other repair work not brake related that bobs offers.
bob can link in his signature to all three threads so a customer viewing any post of his will also see he has others. this ways bobs will not be in a race with many other vendors to keep bumping their threads to stay on the first page.
now, look at it from a customers point of view. Currently someone needing brake calipers to do a repair themselves will not necessarily look to bobs thread because bobs looks to be a new parts vendor, or a service vendor. also if the customer does make it to bobs thread, bobs may not want to list EVERYTHING they offer because it would massively clutter one thread. also the casual customer will not look at the new parts vendors for services or used parts. this means no matter how often bobs updates their used parts list there will never be enough eyes on the items catch the customers passing by.
i understand this type of setup will initially take some time and manpower. im willing to give up some of my time by helping as a mod or temp mod to see improvements.