Lender sentiment - January 2008

[HollowOak]

Memory is a terrible thing, I can't remember the options I used to offer. I was just about making it a regular opinion poll on the old .com forums when Prosper yanked the old forums. I doubt they'll permit the poll past moderation on the new forums.

Anyway, I intend to rerun the poll offering the same options (or slightly improved, more precise ones based on user feedback) on a monthly basis to judge lender sentiment towards Prosper.

I don't expect to get anywhere near the 180 monthly votes I got on the old .com forums, but I thought that this might still, over time, present an interesting evolution of lender sentiment. I'm imagining that as Prosper improves things, we might see more lenders lending, and vice versa.

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This poll is in no way associated or representative of management/administrative opinion on this site and is run in my private capacity as an ex-lender on prosper.com.

[cubbiesnextyr]

I voted, but since Prosper had made my choice for me, I only had one choice I could pick.  I don't know if you should discount my vote or not.  If I wasn't banned, I'd probably have chosen "I mostly withdraw funds from Prosper but bid on occasional listings"

[HollowOak]

I voted, but since Prosper had made my choice for me, I only had one choice I could pick.  I don't know if you should discount my vote or not.  If I wasn't banned, I'd probably have chosen "I mostly withdraw funds from Prosper but bid on occasional listings"

Feel free to vote. There's no indication in the poll on whether volition plays a role in your decision.

[ira01]

I voted, but since Prosper had made my choice for me, I only had one choice I could pick.  I don't know if you should discount my vote or not.  If I wasn't banned, I'd probably have chosen "I mostly withdraw funds from Prosper but bid on occasional listings"

I was going to suggest adding a poll option "I'm banned, so I couldn't lend even if I wanted to," considering that the number of lenders in this category is growing.  But then I figured that the bottom line was that I am withdrawing all money as fast as I can, regardless of whether Prosper made it so I can't do anything else (I had already stopped all my bidding shortly before I was banned, when Prosper made its terrible and short-lived decision to hide non-active listings from lenders). 

[mhs505]

I voted, but since Prosper had made my choice for me, I only had one choice I could pick.  I don't know if you should discount my vote or not.  If I wasn't banned, I'd probably have chosen "I mostly withdraw funds from Prosper but bid on occasional listings"

So what were you officially banned for again?  Did you ever get an answer?

[ducks]

How about "I use all repayments to make additional payments on my Prosper loan"?

I have selected "I am withdrawing all funds from Prosper" because making payments on my loan reduces my investment in lending while also reducing my involvement as a borrower.

[Mtnchick]

I am withdrawing all funds from Prosper

[Nora_Lenderbee]

Last time you asked, I was sometimes transferring money in for specific listings and reinvesting repayments.

This time, I'm transferring out but would consider bidding on specific listings.

I got fed up with Prosper after they killed the old forums, and it was a good time to take a break from lending anyway, because I've already put in more than I originally intended to. I'm also concerned about the future of the company.

If I feel better in a month or so, I might lend again. Don't know yet.

NL

[ks6328]

Still withdrawing all funds.  I haven't bid on anything since I start withdrawing last May.

[Tokyo Joe]

So far, only 4 out of 52 are transferring funds in?  Wow.  Perhaps the demographics here are slanted, but that's pretty amazing...

I'm still on the slow train out of Prosperville.  Today, I asked myself: can you at least try to get pumped up about it again?  Maybe let some funds accumulate, and bid?

Then I thought of much I used to like this place when we were all one big happy lending family, back in the far-off days of 2006.  And how different it is now.  And I recalled how I used to feel about the company back then, when it excited me, when I wanted it to grow, to be a part of whatever happened...  And then I think of how that company makes me feel now; shunned, chiseled, belittled...

Screw it.  I'm so turned-off by Prosper now, I think I need to start weaning myself from .org too, little by little.  It's over, at least for me.  I feel a little sad about that, but I'll manage just fine...

[ducks]

I'm occasionally tempted to accumulate $50 and bid on a listing, but I never do. My intention is to reconsider this when I finish repaying my loan, but PMI might not last that long.

[caliostro]

-

[cowdog]

The whole deal at Prosper just flat-out... sucks.

Recently, loan requests were posted from members who frequent irc and are somewhat known to me.

While I am VERY confident that I would get my money back with interest had I bid (and I was confident enough to bid at least $500 and perhaps more each, which is a lot for me), the bottom line is that I just can't foresee Prosper continuing for the duration of the loans. This possibility introduces an immense unknown, therefore unfathomable risk.

Given my present thoughts about the future of Prosper, to be an acceptable investment, I feel possible returns would have to be incredibly high...  much higher than even the maximum interest rate.

 

[MoneyDog]

Withdrawing all funds until I receive a formal apology from Propser for its various rude and stupid actions.

[112233]

Withdrawing all funds until I receive a formal apology from Propser for its various rude and stupid actions.

well, at least you are just withdrawing your funds and not holding your breath.