PLEASE READ Six FREE Classified Ads is All You GET

[Ledd Slinger]

Just had my first successful dual priced selling add. Bought by a Gold member. Thanked me in the PM about good pricing for site contributors

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/timney-517-16-rem-700-trigger.3941651/#post-37117530

 

[joshb]

Dang! I missed it cause I was watching this thread!

 

[Puzzaz01]

You just can't go wrong with making a contribution to this site! Tell me just one other site that has as many educated, experienced and willing to help members. (and that's not even counting the classifieds) Yep there aren't any.... So I believe these contributions are ridiculously low for what we get in return.

 

[jimmymac]

All I know is that this is a great place buy and sell to like minded individuals. There are some good deals to be had. I've been very satisfied.

 

[Forum Boss]

You just can't go wrong with making a contribution to this site! Tell me just one other site that has as many educated, experienced and willing to help members. (and that's not even counting the classifieds) Yep there aren't any.... So I believe these contributions are ridiculously low for what we get in return.

I really appreciate that vote of confidence. I will say this guys -- we could do so much more if we could boost resources. Looking at all that AccurateShooter offers, including the Forum, one other gun industry Editor/VP type estimated we had five times the budget resources we actually do. If even 20% of our membership gave $20 per year we could do some really significant testing, host live seminars with top shooters/smiths, and maybe even commission custom accuracy products for our members.

 

[4xforfun]

I just re-upped...again. I don't even know if I was due yet. But I'll tell you this...making my contribution has NOTHING to do with buying and selling, and EVERYTHING to do with the wealth of info and the quality of the people on this sight!!! Sure, there may be a pissing match once in a while, but even then, there is usually quality info in the mix somewhere to be absorbed by the readers.

Tod

 

[hogpatrol]

I really appreciate that vote of confidence. I will say this guys -- we could do so much more if we could boost resources. Looking at all that AccurateShooter offers, including the Forum, one other gun industry Editor/VP type estimated we had five times the budget resources we actually do. If even 20% of our membership gave $20 per year we could do some really significant testing, host live seminars with top shooters/smiths, and maybe even commission custom accuracy products for our members.

Just a WAS (wild ass suggestion), add more layers of contributions, maybe start at ten bucks for a bronze supporter and graduate upwards to a hundred bucks for platinum? Another site I peruse frequently has a wide array of support categories, Africahunting.com which can be seen here:
https://www.africahunting.com/account/upgrades

Having said that, I would recognize that there are members that may not contribute financially but they more than make up for it in knowledge and the time and effort it takes to respond to numerous requests for information and advice. For that reason, I would not like to see this a pay for play site.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I fully agree with hogpatrol's idea. If they did an additional Bronze contributor status at $10 that maybe gave the member "X" additional classified add benefits, then all the people who really don't want to contribute $20 may consider the lesser $10 amount.

For argument sake, if the site got an additional 1,000 members willing to contribute $10 each, $10K extra funds per year is a whole lot better than all those same members not contributing anything. Of course the contributions could stay cumulative like they cureently are so Bronze members might want to throw in another $10 later on to get Silver.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I don’t think it needs to get any more complicated. Sometimes simplicity is the best, especially when the tiers would not be substantially apart from one another. Give the current plan some time...

Yeah but when talking about 38,000 active members and we don't even have 20% of them contributing (20%=7,600 members), getting a single dollar from each additional member turns into a lot of money each year. It's the same marketing approach firearms manufacturers use. People have budgets. Manufacturers know there's a large number of people who can't afford to buy a rifle off the shelf for $1000 to $1500+, but they make those models for the ones who want it. Then for example they make rifles in the $600-$800 for people who want a nice rifle, but can't afford top of the line. Yet there's still folks who can't quite afford that price range, so they produce budget rifles in the $300-$400 range. Guess where most of the sales revenue comes from? Yep, the budget rifles. They are nothing fancy, but the rifles are accurate enough and enable the masses to enjoy hunting and shooting.

The Bronze level could be made with the same concept. You don't get all the benefits, but it gives you a little more freedoms and liberties on the site to enjoy it more

 

[dmoran]

In today's world, $20 just seems so cheap already to me.
Even $50 is a bargain for anyone that uses the site much - IMO

Just read a guys "bio" yesterday that had 107 sales history since 2012, and not a contributor.
Bet my left nut he made/saved a whole lot more then $50 a year from those 107.
Donovan

 

[hogpatrol]

I don’t think it needs to get any more complicated. Sometimes simplicity is the best, especially when the tiers would not be substantially apart from one another. Give the current plan some time...

The current plan's been in existence for six months. I think that's more than enough time to prove out the policy. If the site needs more support, it's time to try something else.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

In this case you guys are talking about a ten dollar difference.... not a few hundred as in your example. Sorry I just can’t see $10 making a difference, but hey I have been wrong before. Pretty sure the experts behind this site exhausted all options prior to putting this one in place. Give it more than a few months in place before suggesting more changes. Especially when none of us really know the real numbers or bottom line behind this.

Forum Boss stated that we have less than 20% of 38,000 members contributing earlier in the thread if you read the earlier posts. But let's just say it's a full 20% of the members contributing. That leaves us with over 31,400 members NOT contributing. If the Bronze level only brought in a mere 2% of those people to contribute $10 each, that's over $6,000 extra that could be put to use on the site.

If you haven't looked under the cushions of your couch in many years, you might be surprised how much money all those lost coins add up to when you find them

 

[Big Mc]

For some reason (too much spiked Eggnog?) we have been deluged this week by Forum members (all non-contributors) angrily asking why they can't post more Classified Ads. One fellow demanded "Immediate Action... or else!". It's remarkable how indignant some folks get when their FREE Stuff runs out...

HERE is the deal. All members get six free ads (including WTB threads) in a 12-month period. After that you need to upgrade to Silver or Gold. That's simple and more than fair. Here's the upgrade link:

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/account/upgrades

As of 6/3/2017 we instituted a new system for the Classifieds.

All members can continue to post classifieds for free. However basic members are limited to six (6) free classified ads per year.

You can get UNLIMITED CLASSIFIEDS for one year with a $20 Silver membership or a $50 Gold membership.

We have made this change because, with over 38,000 members, our Classifieds system has been consuming a huge amount of time/money resources with no revenue return.

With this new system the basic level user can still post a half-dozen ads for free. However, the power users who sell many items will now be asked to help support the site. The $20 Silver membership works out to just $1.67 per month -- less than the price of a cup of coffee.

The or else fool needs to someplace else. My two cents Tommy Mc

 

[Rooster7.62]

Hi everyone! This Sounds fair to me. As soon as I have sufficient privileges to post in the marketplace I will be taking advantage of the 6 free listings and then possibly try the Silver membership out. I hope to frequent the reloading sections as well.

 

[Tommie]

Worst of the worst:
“Members” who use this site solely to sell items. Never participating in any discussions. Just using this place to make money...and not even donating a dime.

When perusing the classifieds I look at the seller’s posting history. If it’s obvious the seller isn’t a participating member, I move on.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

shooters version of welfare. Cut back on free time at the trough and the whining starts...

 

[rangertim]

I would pay $50.00 a year just to read what Alex Wheeler @ WheelerAccuracy post, I don't shoot Long Range but I like His Testing & Info he shares ! This site has many many Knowledgeable members that share a ton of information on many many topics, If a guy is truthful he would admit no mater How long or how knowledgeable he is on the discipline of Shooting reloading Gunsmithing and all things Gun Related, You can still learn something from this side. Hey being able to Sale or buy is just another plus. Thanks for a Great Site and all the Hard work you do to make it possible RangerTim !

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Begs the question: Since you infer that LESS than 20% of the membership pays then that means less than 8000 (roughly $250000/yr) of the 38000 have premium site rights. Surely with all the ads that are displayed there must be some revenue stream from that source, and by and large that's driven by total membership numbers, not just paying members. So, there's another example of non paying members contributing and paying it forward. Seems like setting up a "caste system" could be counter productive. I for one will continue to use this site for information, buying and to a lesser degree selling.
I'm not complaining, I'm actually content with this site and my position within this site as well. However, input from practicing smiths would be outstanding (might even get me to fork over).

There are a lot of practicing smith's that participate on this site and write articles. Some of the best gunsmith's in the world in fact. Start a thread asking practicing gunsmiths to identify themselves. I think you'll be quite surprised how many of them you find here. So go ahead and 'fork over'.

 

[hogpatrol]

Begs the question: Since you infer that LESS than 20% of the membership pays then that means less than 8000 (roughly $250000/yr) of the 38000 have premium site rights. Surely with all the ads that are displayed there must be some revenue stream from that source, and by and large that's driven by total membership numbers, not just paying members. So, there's another example of non paying members contributing and paying it forward. Seems like setting up a "caste system" could be counter productive. I for one will continue to use this site for information, buying and to a lesser degree selling.
I'm not complaining, I'm actually content with this site and my position within this site as well. However, input from practicing smiths would be outstanding (might even get me to fork over).

Plenty of smiths, active and retired, on these forums. Same goes for skilled basement and garage part timers. I've contacted some through PMs, got their phone numbers and conversed with them about proposed gun build projects. If not for this site, I would have never had the opportunity to utilize their expertise and experience.

Edit: They saved me more money than a gold membership and more importantly, TIME.

 

[gtl1946]

Gentlemen I do understand your frustration that few of over 38000 members contribute but when was the last time someone called you a cheap As Some Itch did you just want to jump in and join .A member here , nakneker started this and when he was done I thought I would just pick up where he left off and continue his idea . He offered to send them $25 to which they would add their own $25 and donate to the forum .We each limited it to the first four and each had a late comer to which we honored. The result is 10 new Gold Members who have sent their thanks and they have started to explain what has stopped them in the past with their new Gold Member tag attached to their name. I know - - - that’s very “liberal “of me but both of us were willing to help someone out and put our $ where our mouths were. To nakneker I owe a big thank you for a great idea. Your frustration is for you to deal with BUT venting ain’t going to work - find another way.