Paid Membership with perks? Any interest?

[Siegfried]

This issue keeps being mentioned so maybe it's time that we gave this some serious thought. EB isn't a small site anymore. We've gone though several servers over the last few years and we think we're OK... for now. These things cost money. The staff (admins included) are volunteers, but the servers are not. Thus we need to pay these bills, and the easy way is advertising. I really don't like advertising, many don't, but it's what keeps us up. Many feel that they dislike ads so much that they want them gone. Some use adblockers, but some are prepared to put their money where their mouth is. Are you one of those? I want to know!

Please note that this is all hypothetical. We'd need at least 50 people to make this worthwhile. Please share any thoughts you might have as well.

[1974]

I wouldn't mind a paid membership, but I'm not looking for perks. I just think it's fair that I pay for what I use

A monthly payment of X dollars would be prefered way of doing it. If you need 6K$ yearly (MY guess, Sinner hasn't told me), I guess X would like 10$ if 50 people are willing to do it. Not entirely unrealistic I think

Where do I sign up?

[Hewman]

I'm not sure what any perks would be. For me the removal of ads wouldn't make much difference because they currently don't majorly interfere with my enjoyment of the site.

However I've got a lot of enjoyment from the site over many years and would be more than happy to make ad hoc payments to help with the upkeep.

[Siegfried]

I wouldn't mind a paid membership, but I'm not looking for perks. I just think it's fair that I pay for what I use

A monthly payment of X dollars would be prefered way of doing it. If you need 6K$ yearly (MY guess, Sinner hasn't told me), I guess X would like 10$ if 50 people are willing to do it. Not entirely unrealistic I think

Where do I sign up?

You're in the ballpark, but as much as I'd love to flat out remove the ads, I'm more for reducing them if we had alternate sources (I'd prefer to just have the frontpage ad) as it's not fair that 50 people (for argument sake ) pay and thousands enjoy. But even so, we aren't in this to make money so if we did get enough takers, and ended up with four times what were making today, then we'd probably pull all the ads.

But I'm not convinced there's the interest. I've been on this site for a while now, and we've had less than 10 people actually offer to help out with expenses, and even less actually follow though.

[lightningtiger]

I would go for 5 dollars per month, that's about a dollar or so per week and easy to afford.

Perks....more contests I guess.

It would be easy for me now pay by the month since I have one of those load up debit visa cards from the post office.

50 bucks is way too much for just this site.....and you would lose members left, right and centre......like I wrote above five bucks a month is a fair and affordable price.

[1974]

I've been on this site for a while now, and we've had less than 10 people actually offer to help out with expenses, and even less actually follow though.

Really? In some of other fora (not LEGO related) I've been using/modding this has been no problem

At least I suggest setting up an official EB PayPal account with a link on the frontpage so you could get donations

[Siegfried]

50 bucks is way too much for just this site.....and you would lose members left, right and centre......like I wrote above five bucks a month is a fair and affordable price.

Please note I'm not talking about making everyone pay.

[Off the wall]

Sure, a paid for premium version of this website would be fine. Go for it.

[Siegfried]

At least I suggest setting up an official EB PayPal account with a link on the frontpage so you could get donations

We have considered that actually.

[Chocolatecake]

I wouldn't mind pay for a membership, I'll already pay for a membership at the danish LUG, where only a very small part of our forum is open for the public, the rest are for members only.

But $5 per month is a bit too much, it would make it more expensive than my membership of the danish LUG.

I would be more willing to pay if the cost is $2-3 per month.

[Siegfried]

I would be more willing to pay if the cost is $2-3 per month.

The problem is management. For less than $5 it's not worth the accounting time... unless it was yearly.

[Scorpiox]

As much as I adore this site, I wouldn't pay to use it.

Sorry.

Although advertising is annoying, they are certainly tolerable if they are funding the site.

[Chocolatecake]

The problem is management. For less than $5 it's not worth the accounting time... unless it was yearly.

I prefer a yearly payment, like almost everythingelse I'm a member of.

[Bamos]

I love this site but would not pay for it there are other sites like YouTube that offer the same sense of community. And I dont find advertising annoying as it is a necessity to offset costs for any website.

Also you should add zero dollars to the poll for people not interested in a pay service.

Bill

Edited December 1, 2013 by Bamos

[Siegfried]

I love this site but would not pay for it there are other sites like YouTube that offer the same sense of community. And I dont find advertising annoying as it is a necessity to offset costs for any website.

I do for the most part think this is the general consensus of the Internet. I personally don't think it's sustainable, but that's another topic.

Also you should add zero dollars to the poll for people not interested in a pay service.

Perhaps, but I wasn't asking what you would pay, I was asking what you would consider fair... In reality the important question is the first, the second is just a bonus in case the first question indicates it's worth the effort. Even so, I added two new options.

[just2good]

Only one advertisement has annoyed me in my nearly five years on the site- it was that darn Life Lock ad that opens up in another tab. Then again, it just did that for a week.

Advertisements have never annoyed me here, and I don't use adblock. I'm not sure I would pay to use Eurobricks, to be honest. If there's special perks or what not, I'd really be curious to see them, but still.

[Mr Breden]

I love Eurobricks but i don't think i want to pay to use it, maybe the ones that are annoyed by the adds could pay to get rid of them, while the rest of us go on as usual, just an idea.

[WaysofSorting]

I think charging a fee would destroy the idea of an accessible community. I think you may retain a certain number of core followers, but lose many (and many future) users.

Why not figure out a yearly budget and then do a crowdsourcing fund raiser on indiegogo or something. The perks could be tiered raffle tickets, cool forum tags, or an ads off option. Maybe if you got enough money, you could cancel ads for the year.

[Andy D]

I am willing to pay to play. I don't mind most of he adds, like most sites I visit the adds have just become "white noise" and ignorable.

I would prefer a donation box, and not a monthly auto-pay. I don't like auto-pay as it is just too hard to discontinue when I lose interest in a thing.

From Eurobricks I get the value similar to a magazine (only better), so a yearly donation similar to a high quality magazine would be good, maybe $30 per year, as high as $60 per year.

I do not feel it is right to have a few pay and thousands use EB though. Maybe the paying subscribers should get something in addition to removal of adds, this might encourage more to pay-to-play. Maybe premium contests or raffles for subscribers or something else.

Put me down as a supporter.

Andy D

[JGW3000]

I'd pay a small amount, already doing so on another, unrelated adult-oriented hobby forum. On the other site, they offer "sponsorships" in which donors get to sponsor particular pages, with their name/screenname and a courtesy link posted. For this site, perhaps someone could sponsor a particular topic and get a discrete link to their BL shop at the top of certain index pages?

[Andy D]

I do not think you should just flat out remove the adds. I have subscribed to sites where subscribers got an add-free site and others got adds. The adds can help make up for those who choose to not subscribe, you pay with $ or you get adds which pays as well, either way everyone contributes. Maybe EB should be a tiered site for subscribers and non-subscribers, also that would encourage more subscribers.

Just MHO, YMMV

I'll pay.

Andy D

Edited December 1, 2013 by Andy D

[Spitfire2865]

Ads do not bother me. Infact, i hardly notice ads on EB anyway. I just noticed theres an ad at the bottom of the page!

[Freddy Bricker]

I myself do not have the kind of money to pay on a website, it may just drive me away, as much as I like this site. But donations could work, I imagine I would contribute at least $2 a year on this site, that is on good years. I just imagine paying for eurobricks would cause too many problems, especially for inactive members, if a member who has been out for at least 3 years decides to come back to revisit the site, and find out they had to pay, well then that would be confusing. Also, what'll happen to all those spam bots that sign up every now and then, do companies who send out bots like those pay in the long run?

But if you are going to make paid membership a regualr deal, I suggest having a tag (like Knights, fellows, lady's, vassals) for inactive members, that way sorting out who even uses EB and who just signed up for the hell of it. Heck, I love EB but I don't imagine being online for 5-6 years. So my main suggestion would be to have about $2-5 a year per each member, and have a special donations month event where all members who join could sign up for a donation and give back to EB. But as you have already pointed out, EB is no longer a small site, this isn't 2004, and I suggest finding a way to sort out the members who are no longer active to better keep track of who owes money, and who isn't even using this site. I hope that was all understandable, with 33651 members, keeping track of who actually uses this site could be useful. But remember, this is all a suggestion if you decide to make EB a paid site, I don't mind the ads but I would mind paying.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

i kmow server costs for a highthrouput forum. Its nothing a company that makes money with worries about but for a couple of fans, yes thats and expensive "hobby". I am an admin myself of an >1 mio post >10k members forum, and "my" mods dont get payment either. It is "good" nobody earns money with it because then you only do things you really like to.

I pesonally, even i know work of some of you is worth a couple of 10k bucks a year, would not pay. I am a child of the internet, being online since 1996. I am accustomed the internet is "for free".

I you would charge "all" this forum would be dead, from one day to another. If you charge those who wants to, that might work. I know at least one "Canon" forum where people can pay for pro membership. This model works for years. There is also no big gap between members and pro members. You are not going to be "special" just because you paid for it. Ask yourself " what would be different, if e.g. Blakbird, would not pay, but a new member would pay?" Ranks should not be for sale, maybe fuctionality e.g. bigger pm mailbox, store own images, link, like your posts, other posts to FB and so on...

May i ask you a question? In Germany a high power dedicated and managed server if significantly cheaper than 500€/month. If you knwo your peaks and if your forum is sleak and fast, a 100€ machine would probable work. Why the heck Lego is not paying for that. You guys with that forum bave e a HUGE HUGE marketing machine. Its hard to measure in money your value but its more, much more than those 500€/ month.

Go, tell Lego you need to money, to be free, independent from shops and to keep the forum running. I would sign this letter to get you on a reliable base. Paying members might quit every month, but Lego would be diferent. Good luck!

Dino

[Alasdair Ryan]

I suggest setting up an official EB PayPal account with a link on the frontpage so you could get donations

I think this is probably the best way in my opinion,then anybody that is wiling to support Eurobricks can choose how much they can donate.