It was a busy week. We were announced on ar15news.com, Monderno, and I worked with many retailers on optimizing our site feeds/scans. A new feature was added to review retailers by clicking on their name on any results page (be sure to leave your feedback as it helps others). A few retailers were added and many scanning bugs were fixed for current retailers. Due to popular request, muzzle devices (Comps/Hiders/Brakes) were added to the site and gas tubes are also being added, but both will take time to go back through current retailers and pick up their stock. Finally, an In-stock-o-meter was added to the left parts navigation bar to give us all an idea of where we are at in regards to getting back to normal.
Some of this led to other issues that cropped up relating to scaling addition of new retailers. I have been working on rewriting the scheduling system that handles kicking off the scans, but it hasn’t been quick work and will require a few more days to flesh out. I see a couple other areas that are likely going to take some rework in an effort to keep the site running smoothly as it transitions to less of a panic/availability site and more into an availability/pricing/comparison site. This was always my long term goal of the site and many people have alluded to it in their feedback. We all need a quick place to compare prices, inventory, and even see pictures of the parts we want in the future.
You have my promise that I am working to meet that goal every day, even if the changes aren’t always visible. Admittedly, I also have to take a day off here and there from the site to re-evaluate where it stands now and what should be tackled next. You may not see a news posting on those days but I assure you that I am always planning on those days and sometimes I just forget to post when it’s really late.
Finally, it probably won’t hurt to mention that my near term goals include hitting 50 retailers (we are only a few shy) , 10,000 parts being checked, and cover all part types reasonable (still a few left). I have some additional features I would like to implement as I can schedule them, but they may require big blocks of time and some participation from visitors… I’ll ask when I am ready for the help.
Anyways, hope everyone has a good week. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give a kind of “state of the site” address. The site wouldn’t be as useful as it is today if it weren’t for all the positive feedback and suggestions sent over the last 2 months. You guys have driven a lot of the features and priorities.
Mike