mFrame Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 As most of you know by now Austin Reef Club is starting off 2012 with a new owner, me. I hope you're as excited about it as I am!. After dabbling with a small reef aquarium almost ten years ago I gave up on it after killing countless fish, inverts, and corals. At the time ARC didn't exist and I didn't have such a readily available source for guidance and advice. Jump forward to about three years ago. I was lucky enough to find ARC due to the time and hard work of Andrew and all the greater Austin area reef junkies, addicts, and tank dabblers he managed to attract to the club. Since then I have had several reef aquariums, starting with a simple 29g, then a 29g Biocube, and ending up with my current 90g DSa and my 34g Solana. I've bought equipment and livestock from River City Aquatics (thanks Jake!), Aquatek (thanks Bruce!), and the Austin Aquadome (thanks Gary, Teri, and Hunter!), all of whom provided tons of advice in setting me off on the right track. Of paramount importance though were the members here. They are the ones that advised and helped educate me, and they continue to inspire me. When the opportunity arose to take the reins of the Reef Club I couldn't pass it up. With no slight intended to Andrew (who we hope will continue to stick around and eventually jump back into the hobby!), I will be making a few changes to the club. These are primarily to strengthen and grow the club for the benefit of its members. A strong active club will provide a community of peers who can share advice, guidance, and accompany you on the ups and downs of having a little piece of the ocean in your home. You'll notice some changes in pricing and changes to some existing policies. All of these have been carefully considered to try and make this a member-centric club. The reef club serves all types of users, but over time some distinct "groups" have become obvious to me. The result of this is that memberships will be changing. My plan is to implement the following membership types starting this week: Basic Member Premium Member Professional Member Sponsor Basic Members might be people just getting into the hobby (or back into the hobby), new to the Austin area, or wanting to check things out before committing to a membership. They can browse the forums, ask for advice, and purchase items in the "Want to Sell" and "Want to Buy" forums. They also can list or respond to items in the "Free" forum. The are granted wide access to the club to see how things work. There is no time limit to how long someone can be a guest. But there are definite incentives to becoming a Premium Member, such as being able to list items for sale. (Membership Cost = $ FREE) Premium Members are the heart of the Austin Reef Club. They make up the lion's share of the contributing members here and are the people you'll find sharing advice and years of reef knowledge. Some might even say they're addicted, but it's not like that's a bad thing, right? Premium Members can do everything a Basic Member can do, but addtionally they can list items for sale in the "Want to Sell" forum. Premium Members also gain access to the Premium Member's section which will have its own discussion forum. Premium members will receive discounts from our Sponsors, have the use of Club Equipment in the case of emergencies, and receive discounted or free admission to Austin Reef Club events (yes, EVENTS!!!! see more later) (Cost = $30 annually, $25 renewal) Professional Members are just like Premium Members, but they work in a Non-Reef-Related business or career. By "Non-Reef" we mean that you do not sell aquarium livestock or equipment. Aquarium services such as Tank Cleaning and Tank Sitters are allowed under Professional Membership. Who better to take your business to than the fellow reefer who has provided you helpful advice for your tank? We have members who are doctors, lawyers, plumbers, ACH Repairmen, you name it! These members will now have a way to advertise their profession and business through their membership, all while getting to write off their membership as a taxable expense (see your Accountant folks, I am NOT a tax attorney). (Cost = $180 annually, $144 renewal) Sponsors are the often unrecognized backbone of our hobby. How many of you would have gotten into reef aquariums if you had to buy every single thing over the internet? Our sponsors collectively provide hundreds if not thousands of years of reef experience. Our Local Fish Store (LFS) sponsors are often your entry point into this hobby, providing advice on how to start up your tank with lights, skimmers, and all those lovely critters. They are the ones who are there when you have an emergency, when you have an afternoon to kill browsing fish tanks looking for that next new prize coral or fish, or when you can't tell heads or tales of some new device just by reading about it on the web. Sponsors receive numerous benefits from the Club (including banner advertisements), but they are also the providers of door prizes at our meetings and events, so show your support by shopping with them whenever you can. Active sponsors help reduce club membership costs for you! (Cost = varies, please contact me to discuss terms) Now on to the Events. As mentioned, this club is for YOU! Personally I would like to have a bi-annual or annual frag swap. I would like to bring professional speakers to town to discuss a variety of reef topics. Both of these types of events require your participation. Tell me what you want to see. Tell me what you want to do. You want an ARC trip to SeaWorld to spend the day with other reefers, then let's plan it! You want an expert in to talk about a particular type of coral or to discuss the controversial topic of LED versus MH and T5? Let's find someone and get them here. If you're a Professional Member and would like to offer up your place of business for a club meeting, frag swamp, or guest speaker then let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I, for one, am totally stoked! With all due respect to Andrew (without whom, none of us would be here), I am excited to see things get taken to a new level. Thank you Andrew, and thank you Mike, for all of y'all's hard work and dedication to bringing Austin a great reefing community. Quick question after reading all of that: As a Premium Member, nothing is being taken away from us under the current setup, correct? Just things being added? Also, do we get to view the Professional section of the forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yes to both. We will add the Pro section as people come on line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Sweet!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Great stuff. The requirement to be a premium member to post in the for sale forum will help turn away the people who want to free load off the board. It will also get rid of the people who show up with 1 or 0 posts and put up things for sale and think they'll actually sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for the updates Mike, these are all great changes!!!! So my only question is my membership is about to expire, will there be a renewal option when the store comes back online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yes, there will be a reduced price renewal option in the store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Exciting! I'm so glad I found this club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 when can we expect this to take effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yes, there will be a reduced price renewal option in the store. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Woods Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thank you Andrew and Mike for your contributions to this club! I have found it highly valuable the last 18 months in setting up my first reef tank and then converting my 180g from freshwater to a mixed reef. I look forward to renewing my membership when the store reopens! One question I have about policies is around Group Buys... I have read in the last few weeks that policies might be changing slightly. Are those formulated enough to disclose now? If not, when do you expect to announce them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Good ideas Mike. Looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thank you Andrew and Mike for your contributions to this club! I have found it highly valuable the last 18 months in setting up my first reef tank and then converting my 180g from freshwater to a mixed reef. I look forward to renewing my membership when the store reopens! One question I have about policies is around Group Buys... I have read in the last few weeks that policies might be changing slightly. Are those formulated enough to disclose now? If not, when do you expect to announce them? Yes, they have changed, as reflected by the pinned post being removed from the Group Buys. Group buys can now be started for any place ... though, just like selling items, Group buys can only be intiated by Premium Members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Great news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Re: group buys. I'd, personally, like to see people try the sponsors first. RCA came through, and still does, with salt. Although some items may be more difficult to arrange through the locals, it always worth at least asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Re: group buys. I'd, personally, like to see people try the sponsors first. RCA came through, and still does, with salt. Although some items may be more difficult to arrange through the locals, it always worth at least asking. I agree, but I do think that most members naturally look to the local shops and sponsors before going somewhere else for a GB. Between the sponsors and the local shops, they've got a lot covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeferMadness Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 +1 to Robb. We should always shop locally if we can help it to support our local sponsors. This is AUSTIN Reef Club afterall. Thank everyone for their hard work, this is very exciting!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Woods Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I will always shop our LFS, and do so weekly! They are great stores and have provided me key information and help along with some great live stock over the years. Sometimes specimen availability, 2 week guarantees, and other factors do warrant purchasing elsewhere at times. But yes, sponsors and LFS come as our first choice. Is there going to be behind the scenes efforts to expand our Sponsors list to other LFS that are not currently involved in our club? I know when I was last down in SA, an LFS there mentioned they might be interested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 I will always shop our LFS, and do so weekly! They are great stores and have provided me key information and help along with some great live stock over the years. Sometimes specimen availability, 2 week guarantees, and other factors do warrant purchasing elsewhere at times. But yes, sponsors and LFS come as our first choice. Is there going to be behind the scenes efforts to expand our Sponsors list to other LFS that are not currently involved in our club? I know when I was last down in SA, an LFS there mentioned they might be interested... I currently am meeting and talking with our existing sponsors to see how we can improve things for everyone. It is my hope to have sponsors start posting their own group buys in order to meet the wants and needs of members. I am also asking them to commit to having something like an after-hours or exclusive ARC member sale. In order for that to work our members need to continue to show them our support. LFS are invaluable to the club. More details will be posted on that after I have been in contact with the majority of the sponsors. Yes, there will be a renewal discount for existing members (see pricing notes in the shop). Yes, group buys are now open for any vendor, but a new group buy thread can only be initiated by a sponsor or premium member. As with any online sale, BE CAREFUL who you buy from. If you have a new vendor you wish to group buy from, you'll still want to appoint someone as the group buy coordinator. It is always a good idea to try a small group buy before doing a larger order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Woods Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks Mike! Yes, we definitely want to keep our sponsors happy as well so finding out what would improve things for them is very important. I like the idea of our Sponsors initiating Group Buys for our membership to participate in. I think that accomplishes multiple things for both them and us. Things like Salt group buys could be ones they initiate and allows them to control the timing of when their vendors do extra discounts or even for them to negotiate an extra discount if they can order a specific quantity ordered. This may allow them to give us a discount but still maintain a reasonable margin, and it also helps them advertise their business. Personally, I tend to frequent the Sponsors/LFS that are actively posting on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Cob Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Great job Mike! We are very excited to be a part of ARC. Many blessings for 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Get ideas Mike. 100% on target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 So, once again when should I be expecting to pay for my membership! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbrown Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Love the clubbbbb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 This all sounds great. I'm very excited about the changes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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