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| Site Map |
| Walkthrough |
| Site Map |
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| Site Walkthrough for RateMyEquipment.com |
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Home
Page The homepage is the first page when the site opens. It provides links to most of the other pages and sections on the site. From the home page one can directly search for equipment by using the “Super Search” section. You can search on the basis of Categories, Manufacturers or a Search String. It also lists the main categories of equipment that the site has, and on clicking on one you are redirected to a category-specific search criteria page. From the homepage an anonymous user can also subscribe for the newsletter by entering his/her email id and clicking “Subscribe”. To search for Used equipment you must click on the “Used” equipment button on the navigation bar or on the “Used Equipment pricing” link in the Just Starting section. The homepage also has links for the login and signup pages for Users and Dealers in the “Members” area. The Comparison Shopping section also has the “Compare Equipment” link for comparing various equipment. The homepage also has links to all other static pages on the site such as About Us, Help, etc. When you are searching for equipment it is assumed that you are searching for new equipment. Option 1: To search for equipment first choose one of the categories from the homepage or from the “New Equipment Pricing” page (whose link is on the homepage in the “Just Starting” section). Next, a list of specifications (such as height, weight, etc.) and their corresponding values specific to the category just chosen are displayed along with some more generic criteria such as price and manufacturer. Clicking on one of these values will generate search results on the search results page based on these values. Option 2: Use the “Super Search” on the homepage. You can either search by a category or/and a manufacturer. You can alternatively use a search string to search for equipment. These will also generate search results on the Search Results page. In case the number of results exceeds the page size then the results are paged to subsequent pages. In case no results are returned then you are automatically returned tot the search page to change the search criteria. On the search results page you can see the complete equipment name, some specifications, an image (if available) and the overall rating (if rated). From this page you also have the option of adding your own rating (although you must sign up first). There is also a link to the “User Opinions” page, which are the opinions of other users entered at the time of rating the particular equipment. From the search results page you have the option of clicking on the “More Info” link or the image of the equipment. This opens the “View Equipment Page”. This page has the complete details about the equipment along with rating details (how the equipment rates on various criteria). Also, more images (if any) associated with the equipment are displayed. You can click the “Rate It” and “View User Opinions” link from this page as well. To rate a particular equipment click on the “Rate It” button next to the equipment either on the Search Results page or on the View Equipment page. If logged out you will first be requested to log in (check the logging in and signup section below). Once logged in, you will directed to the rating form. This form basically has 2 sections. The Rating Section – where you rate the equipment on a scale of 1 to 10 on various criteria specific to that category. There is also a review or User Opinion section where you can enter a write-up about the equipment (such as your review, favourite features, suggested improvements, etc). Click on the “Submit Review” button at the end of the form to submit your rating and review. This rating and review will be reflected/posted on the site only once it has been approved by the site. You can view these ratings on the search results pages and on the “View Equipment” pages. The opinions get posted on the “User Opinions” page. Once
you have found an equipment, click on the “Find a Dealer”
button. From here you will be prompted to enter your zip code and
the radius of the maximum distance from a dealer. On clicking the
“Find Dealers” button a list of dealers will be displayed
in order of the distance from you. To request a price quote from a dealer click on the “Get Free Quote” button under a dealer. You can also select multiple check dealers and click on the “Request Quote from All Selected Dealers” button. On doing this the respective dealers will receive an email notifying them of the quote request and they will directly contact you via email or phone with price quotes. To search for used equipment click on the “Used” button on the navigation bar or on the “Used Equipment pricing” link on the homepage. Here again, you will have to first choose a category. After choosing the category click on the “Buy” button on the “Buy/Sell?” page. Enter the zip code and radius (similar to the Find Dealers page). The next page will display various generic and category-specific search criteria (similar to the new equipment search criteria page). Here you can also enter a search string. On choosing or entering a search criteria a results page is generated with listing of used equipment along with the contact details of the person who placed the ad. The search results page is very similar to the new equipment search results page and also supports rating and user opinions (although the rating and user opinions are assumed to be for new equipment). Sell Used Equipment (Placed Classified Ad) To sell equipment follow the same procedure as above till you reach the “Buy/Sell?” page. Then click on the “Sell” button. You will then be prompted to login. After logging in, a “Place Classified Ad” form will appear. Here you will have to enter the equipment details along with the description. If the equipment is listed you have to simply choose it from the drop down menus. If the equipment you are selling is unlisted then you should enter the name and model of the equipment in the “Unlisted Equipment – Name and Model” text box. You should enter the asking price and the year of manufacture. After entering the details click on the “Submit Ad” button. Your ad is then sent to the site for approval. You can track the status of your ad from the “Classified Ads Manager” in the User Area (explained below). Before the site approves your ad you have to also make a payment for posting the ad on the site (see Classified Ads Pricing). Once the payment is received and the ad is approved your ad will be posted on the site for a stipulated period with a pre-marked expiry date. On the expiry date you will receive a reminder for renewal of your classified, after which you will receive another reminder 3 days later. If you have still not renewed your ad by making the payment then after 6 days of the expiry date, your ad will be marked as "Expired" and will no longer be posted on the site. The ad can then only be reactivated after payment. See the “Classifieds Manager” section for further details on managing Classified Ads. To compare equipment models click on the “Compare Equipment” link on the homepage under the Comparison Shopping section. You can compare up to 3 models at one time. Equipment can only be compared within a category which means you can compare a Mower with a Mower but not a Mower with a Trimmer. To start comparing equipment first choose a category from the drop-down menu. You can then choose a manufacture and finally the actual equipment. After selecting the equipment the details for the selected equipment gets listed. You can then continue selecting equipment by choosing manufacturers and equipment till you have the details of up to 3 equipment listed side by side. You can click the “Reset” button at anytime to reset the search. As a user you are able to post classified ads, request for price quotes from dealers and rate equipment. To signup as a user click on the New User link on the homepage. After filling up the signup form you must activate your account from the activation email sent after signup. After signing up you can login with your login id (same as email) and password from the User Area link on the homepage. In case you forget or lose your password you can request your lost password to be sent to you by clicking on the “Forgot Password” link on the login page. Once logged in you can edit your profile and change your password. You must enter a valid zip code if you want the zip code radius search feature to find you accurately in case you have posted classified ads. You will also have access to the Classified Manager page. The classified manager is used to manage classified ads posted on the site by you. You can view Pending (to be processed by the site), Approved (approved and posted by the site), Rejected (rejected by site), Withdrawn (withdrawn by you) and Expired (whose expiry date has passed and haven’t been renewed by you) classified ads. You can only modify ads which have not yet been processed by the site, namely Pending ads. Hence, once processed, you cannot make changes to the ad. You can at anytime withdraw an ad from the site. The ads along with status are also categorized by month. As a dealer you will be associated with various equipment and whenever a user requests dealer listings for any of the associated equipment you will be listed as a dealer. Dealers can be preferred and non-preferred. Click here to see the features and costing of dealers. To signup as a dealer click on the New Dealer link on the homepage. After filling up the signup form you must wait for approval from the site. If you have applied for Preferred Dealership then your account will only be activated after your payment is received. After signing up you can login with your login id (same as email) and password from the “Dealer Area” link on the homepage. In case you forget or lose your password you can request your lost password to be sent to you by clicking on the “Forgot Password” link on the login page. Once logged in you can edit your profile and change your password. You can also upload your logo image from the edit profile page. You must enter a valid zip code if you want the zip code radius search feature to find you accurately. You will also have access to the View Quote Requests and Equipment-Dealer Associations page. As a dealer you are able to view all the quote requests that have been made to you by the site users. You can view these requests by clicking on the “View Quote Requests” link in the Dealer Area. These requests are categorized by their status and the month. Status basically reflects whether a quote request has been processed or not. Whenever you follow up a quote request click on the set as “Mark as Processed” button next to the same. This sets the status as processed. This helps you keep a track of the quote requests which you have followed up and those which you have not. If you do not follow up a quote request in 2 days then you are sent a reminder email by the site. Set Equipment-Dealer Associations To be able to associate yourself with various equipment click on the “Set Equipment-Dealer Associations” link on the dealer area page. Here the equipment are listed first by manufacturers and then by categories (within the manufacturers). After selecting the various equipment check-boxes click on the Set Associations button at the bottom of the page. After this whenever a user searches for dealers for the equipment which you associated yourself with then you get listed as a dealer. RateMyEquipment.com will keep you updated about the green world by posting regular reviews and articles on the Reviews page. You can search and read reviews/articles here. Get the latest advice on purchasing / selling / maintenance of green equipment on this page. Get the latest news and happenings in the green industry on the news page. Use the newsletter page to signup for the RateMyequipment.com newsletter. Read about RateMyEquipment.com and Sensible Software. Some of the links you will find here are General Information, Talk to Us, Resources, Business Opportunities, Legal Disclosures, Press & Media. Open the current page, which displays the Site Map, Walkthrough and Feedback form. |
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