I simply refuse...

[effendude]

I am a proud site contributor. I use this site for research, entertainment, and also my shopping. This morning morning while cruising through the posts, I reached my limit. I noticed that there is a fair portion of forum members who have their own businesses, mostly gun related, that are not site contribors. They make use of this site, and have their business including their websites as part of their signature line, but don't contribute.

I simply refuse to do business with any forum member, especially those who advertise their business here, that is not a site contributor. I may occasionally miss out on a good deal, but I enjoy this site too much. Maybe we need to start calling these people out.
Scott

 

[DennisH]

You have a good point!

 

[CoverDog]

+1 on the good point. I don't think they would have any problem selling to someone who doesn't care about their contributing or not, but from now on I will PM and let them know why I will not purchase from them.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

Dead on. If you are thinking of doing business with one of the people, maybe send them a e mail and tell them why you are passing. A few of those and I bet they get the message. A lot of small business people are just so busy, but this is important. Love this site!

 

[Forum Boss]

I don't want folks to feel pressured to contribute -- we don't want to drive people off the board. But regular sellers should keep in mind that they could easily incur $30-$50 in fees to sell a single rifle on Gunbroker. So our FREE Classifieds are a bargain!

I ask regular site users to consider donating $12/year (that's just a buck a month). These days, you can spend that much ($12) on just three gallons of gas, or a movie ticket and popcorn!

 

[effendude]

I donated $200 a while ago. I am not bragging, but considering the knowledge available here, the donation was a bargain. My wife teases me that I spend more time here than anywhere else when I am on a pc. I will continue to donate in the future. I know this site has saved me more than the donation in wasted time and effort on certain projects.
Scott

 

[nosualc]

Rabble Rouser....



-nosualc

 

[Scott Harris]

Agreed, people who are in the business and use it for "marketing" should be contributing: the Forum Boss is too nice to say so.

 

[peter6mm]

Some people contribute and choose to keep that private.

 

[NorCalMikie]

I would think that a Business has to "pay" to advertise here??

 

[DennisH]

My wife teases me that I spend more time here than anywhere else when I am on a pc.

My wife feels I have a problem studing this site so much!!!

 

[Nodak7mm]

Scott,

I am behind you on the matter. Someone mentioned on another thread that we should get into the habit of contributing a certain amount of the sale whenever posting something up on the FS board.. I dont want to see a mandatory fee like other boards, thats just too rigid and does nothing to promote the sale of some neat stuff. An "Honor" system..

But I think we should take it on ourselves to be good patrons of the board and if we sell something, give something back to the to the board..

I admittingly have not done this from my past sales, never thought of it. But now that someone else said it I think it is a great idea and I am going to do it from here on out.

A novel thought crept forth from the recesses of my brain that hasn't been seen since 1979. I have seen this done on other boards. Stand by and I will try to gather my wits and try it out this weekend on the FS/WTB section. HHmmmmmm.

Rod

 

[butchlambert]

Well,
This strikes me wrong. I pay a yearly fee to advertise, but you folks wouldn't buy from me because I'm not a "Contributor". Should I contribute $5 to get the contributor status?

 

[DJSBRS]

I too pay an annual fee to advertise here as well. One wonders how when you pay for the right to be here, why does some members think we are not worthy to be here.


Strikes me wrong on how one can boycot a paid advertiser in good standing.

 

[DennisH]

Replying to the two post above:

You two plus any other advertisers should have a special notation stating so! Just like the site contributors are plainly shown!

I don't believe you should pay a fee to advertise, then pay donation fee!

We need to get a solution for paying advertisers!

JMO

 

[butchlambert]

Dennis,
I am certainly not against contributors. It is a good thing that the board has it to support its being here. It makes me think, Why should I pay to advertise here if some of the contributors will boycott me for not being listed as a contributor? Thanks for your support.

 

[Cigarcop]

Replying to the two post above:

You two plus any other advertisers should have a special notation stating so! Just like the site contributors are plainly shown!

I don't believe you should pay a fee to advertise, then pay donation fee!

We need to get a solution for paying advertisers!

JMO

I agree with yah, it should be noted

 

[Leaddog]

I think it works fine as is. No need to ever boycott any advertiser on this site. These are the folks that work hard to make our sport enjoyable. They are the people with the knowledge and expertise to help you.

If you want to bang on someone, go after the private individuals that are constantly using this site as a garage sale to clean out their unwanted wares. Leave the vendors alone. They are the good guys.

Maybe instead of a site contributor tagline, they could be listed as a vendor. Problem solved.

 

[Forum Boss]

First, remember we have a separate area for Commercial sales. Access to the Commercial classifieds is restricted to current, paying sponsors only, so If you see a member selling there you can be assured he/she is providing some funding to the site.

It's absolutely not my desire or intent that a commercial advertiser should feel he or his company should somehow be obligated to make an additional donation.

I don't think the comments are directed at ANY of the sponsors, but rather the individuals who buy and sell regularly.

I can create a new category for "Commercial Sponsor", but I'm not so sure that's necessary as we have an area for commercial sales.

 

[DennisH]

Why should I pay to advertise here if some of the contributors will boycott me for not being listed as a contributor?

As the boss stated, if your in in the Commercial Sales section, NOBODY should boycott you!

I think this info should be listed below your name as "site contributor" is listed below the name of the contributor!

Then you will be identified on any thread you post on such as this one!

The below posted after I posted the above, sounds like a simple solution!

A simple solution would be for the powers that be, to add or annotate a line under your user name that states, "Paid Sponsor" just like the site contributors have.