Anuual Fee for Membership

[XJeepguy]

Instead of a Poll , you need to have the money man ( owner ) list the expenses . I know a couple of us here have our own forums and know what things cost already . Most setups are very reasonable , hosting etc...

One factor is what is the bandwidth usage here per month ? Higher the usage the higher the costs are .

My forum , its 25 bucks a year ! ANYTHING that runs over costs , we have prize give aways 5 or 6 times a year . We give away some really nice stuff , which could be done here as well . Fog Lights , Stereo's , Amps , whatever .

Just tossing in a few ideas !!

 

[techno]

Hehehe....
I'll pay $5 if I get a few T4R.ORG stickers and a T-shirt with my 'membership'!




These pranks are funny!!

 

[Thai]

Looks like $20/year is a popular option....

 

[alaskaman]

actually it looks like everything else except the $20 is the response of choice. but if you choose you can ignore our comments. up to you man.

 

[greyghost4x4]

Yeah will we get free T4R.ORG stickers with our "Membership". I personally want a coffee mug, but that is just me lol.

Evan

 

[cdoyle]

An annual fee will never work, you'll never get new members that way.

You're best best is to have different member levels. Ones who donate get more options associated with their profile.
Like donating member get to have avatars, or access to special forums etc.

That's what I do on my forum, and it covers all the server and domain costs each year.

With a forum this size, and the amount of regular members that are here, you should be able to do the same.

Another thing to consider is upgrading this version of VB. This one is really old now, and I doubt there are many hacks out there for it anymore. With the upgraded versions you can install many of the hacks that give your 'donating' members even more special options.

 

[alaskaman]

ok !! enuf already. out of the mundane.! owner Thai and Mods and anyone else in power. Use your skills dudes.

Contest and Raffle it. Grand Prize is a trip to Japan to see the Toyota factory where they make the 4Runners Photo ops, sushi, girls or guys. more photo ops. more sushi and yes stay at the Marriott Tokyo for an evening to remember..now that is the GRAND PRIZE all expenses paid. and you can bring it down from there.....

buy a ticket for $1.00 enter the contest. I want the coffee mug BOYSAMEN CATS/DOGS MEN AND WOMEN OF GOOD WILL......lets have a little imagination ...... :bigok: You will have $ to spare and have a blast....doing it =)

 

[sharp4runr]

I don't think this would work. Internet transactions typically take place via credit card and usually work through 1 or 2 side companies that handle the actual transaction via HTTPS. Given the fact that the owner of the site has to pay fees per credit card transaction and that there are typically minimal amounts to these transactions...not to mention creating a nightmare for keeping track of the accounting.

Flat annual fees are definitely the best way to do something like this. Minimal transactions.

We could treat it like cell phone minutes. You buy a block of 500 posts. Once you run out of your block, you just buy another block. It was just an alternative I cooked up on the fly so it probably has some holes.

 

[antidentite]

I dont think charging to post is the answer, since you're actually penalizing the people who add the most value to your site.

It sounds like there are other forum owners on this site who can provide guidance on how to get the most return from running a successful forum. That's free consulting that the owners should be using!

We could treat it like cell phone minutes. You buy a block of 500 posts. Once you run out of your block, you just buy another block. It was just an alternative I cooked up on the fly so it probably has some holes.

 

[Mirlen]

I've already suggested that I could host it on my hardware for free but I've received no response so I can only assume this move is to make money on the site and not to just cover hosting fees.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Pay Site


Fugeddabboutt it!!

If it comes to the point that you must go to a "pay" system, perhaps there can be a basic level that is free - no avatar, limited privileges for posts, etc., etc.; and one or two "upper tier" type of memberships with colored fonts, nice avatars, ability to post large pics, etc., etc.

Just throwing an idea out to you.
:girl:

If it does go to a paid membership, I guess I'll have to count myself out of the fun. I no longer drive a 4Runner, so this forum is not a 'necessity' for me -- although it sure is a nice group of people and I still enjoy lurking around every now and then.
:biggrin2:

 

[Thai]

I've already suggested that I could host it on my hardware for free but I've received no response so I can only assume this move is to make money on the site and not to just cover hosting fees.

Capitalistic society...isn't it great?!

 

[jwa898]

I'm still banking on the April fools theory. If it is not, imposing a fee would greatly decrease the number of new members coming, and many members would leave meaning less information on the forum. I love the forum and the community here is great, but imposing a fee would only shrink the great community on the forum. Also it makes no sense why you wouldn't put a donation button on the forum to see if that would cover costs, while expanding the great community on the forum.

 

[juneau92]

This is a great site and I voted for $50 a year, but really I think it would be worth $500/year for me, so if a fee is imposed I'll insist on paying $500.

 

[alaskaman]

It would appear that way that the intent is to make money if we are to take stock in the comments made here. That is a step up or a step down depending on how one feels about making money from something that has been without cost. happens all the time. be a little edgy and sad to see it go here........but in the absence of cost posted one can only assume that. to bad. this site has a lot of good members who I think will exit should that be proven to be the case IMHO.

 

[magnumfan]

I see this as a community service

and while I agree, many of us have made purchasing decisions (myself included and saved money due to the info here) I would suggest that the burdon of a fee should be leved at the retailers who advertise on this site.

I dont support the idea of a subscription fee, then there is the question of guests who surf into the site, do they join or just float away. The more people we have here, the more ideas, commentary etc

just my 0.2 cents

Joe

Oh, I know - get President Obamma to fund it after he is elected, just add it to the tax hikes and other community services he will introduce...

 

[alaskaman]

Hey Magfan. where ya been? nice weather we are having.......I agree with your idea. easy speezy.........oh. your colors are showing +)

 

[Ryan32]

The more i see of this, the more i think it's an April Fools joke.....

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Pay to Play

I dont mind paying to help keep this great website going. $12.00 to $20.00 a year sounds about fair. Selling T-shirts, Mugs and Hats might also help and i would diffently buy some of those items.

One bad experance i had with a Truck club was that we paid $20.00 a month and we didnt get anything for it. Sure we had our cruz-n weekends and BBQ's (which we all chipped in). But nothing else. After 8 months the club owner bught a new street bike. That's when half of the club members dropped out.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The two other forums I'm a regular on,yotatech and highaltitudeimports,both do fine on voluntary contributions but those members get benefits and access to certain features and thats how it should work.

Is there another forum to use as a model that works and charges a mandatory fee?