+mcallahan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Thanks Mike for summing up my feelings and presenting them in a calm, coherent, and rationale manner. Agreed. Robb has some head banging tendencies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangelr Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 So we have to pay in order to use the classifieds? Not a fan.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 So we have to pay in order to use the classifieds? Not a fan.. to sell yes, to buy, No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoneroller Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Cool beans! I look forward to ARC 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I also feel that only premium members should be allowed to win any contests. ie... the photo of the month.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I also feel that only premium members should be allowed to win any contests. ie... the photo of the month.. agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I also feel that only premium members should be allowed to win any contests. ie... the photo of the month.. Wait a minute, then you take away the one prize I have to give away ... a premium membership In all seriousness though, we have to strive to find a good balance of incentives for getting people to become premium members. With the low contest submissions we had last year, I would be afraid that the contest would end if it was premium only. But this does bring up a good point. Maybe in the future premium members might get an extra prize..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 But this does bring up a good point. Maybe in the future premium members might get an extra prize..... If you say a damselfish I am going to come smack you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Who needs contests when Dr. Cob is giving away Xenia in the premium for sale section! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 But this does bring up a good point. Maybe in the future premium members might get an extra prize..... If you say a damselfish I am going to come smack you. LOL. I'd like to keep the picture of the month contest open to all. The Tank of the Quarter contest, however, will be only open to Premium & Professional members. I've had two very good meetings with sponsors in the past few days, so be sure to watch our group buy forum for some new types of deals! I'm working hard to make sure that the Premium Membership continues to be a great investment for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I also feel that only premium members should be allowed to win any contests. ie... the photo of the month.. Wait a minute, then you take away the one prize I have to give away ... a premium membership In all seriousness though, we have to strive to find a good balance of incentives for getting people to become premium members. With the low contest submissions we had last year, I would be afraid that the contest would end if it was premium only. But this does bring up a good point. Maybe in the future premium members might get an extra prize..... Premium member renewal.. I do like the idea of something different. I feel like every time I enter I win, or come very close.. I'm more interested in the sponsor membership though. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Maybe it's just me but it definitely seems like the attitude is going down a negative path. I think it's most important to maintain this club as a good resource without discrimination or making non-paid members feel like they're not part of it. Most people who are in the hobby for the long haul will see the benefit of membership and join. I plan on renewing my membership and I think the new effort to create more benefit to members is awesome, seriously it's great to see someone putting this much work into making the membership and forums more beneficial. I think the membership fee is absolutely worth it, but it seems a little petty to tell someone they have to pay $30 to sell an extra heater or something here because it's a good bargain to be a member. I think a minimum post count, or minimum length of time after joining, would be far more appropriate in allowing people to post for sale items than requiring paid membership. It would prevent the drop-in one time for sale posts, and would prevent creating any sort of rift between paid members and others, which there's probably 300 or more that are relatively active. Not trying to start an argument and I completely understand the reasoning and expenses in running a site like this. I just think changes like this can have unintended consequences that can easily lower the quality of the entire club for everyone. Anyway, nothing more to say about it, looking forward to seeing ARC 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 But this does bring up a good point. Maybe in the future premium members might get an extra prize..... If you say a damselfish I am going to come smack you. Come one, I would have said six line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Jestep: Some of your ideas were discussed in the past as a means to prevent Joe Public from joining, dropping in, selling items, and then never hearing from them again. As Mike mentioned earlier, this site doesn't run for free and too many 'members' freeloaded. I'm not sure what the total numbers are but we have ~1900 members and only a few hundred who participate in a regular fashion. Limiting sales initiation to premium members prevents this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Just going to add my 2 cents. I have no problem with the cost of premium membership going up 200 percent. I guess the site and club is going to be 200 percent more awesome. So yeah! I would like more info on the professional membership. I don't really see any incentive to pay more than a sponsor who will definately get business where for a painter, dentist, florist etc. it's a crap shoot. As far as people becoming members just to sell stuff why not just put a post count into play? Like I said just my 2 cents so that and 4.98 will get you coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Post limit was also discussed, BM(before Mike), but the feeling at the time was we would get someone posting random crap up to the limit and then selling. The net result is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Post limit was also discussed, BM(before Mike), but the feeling at the time was we would get someone posting random crap up to the limit and then selling. The net result is the same. Besides, who has time to monitor post counts. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michae52 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Well, I just joined. Why, it is easy to come to the conclusion that menbership does have it's advantages. First day I started looking around here, I was welcomed by a couple of people and told if I needed any help just to ask. Guess what the next day I was able to borrow six 5 gallon jugs and a couple of buckets to use to move a 34 gal tank that I purchased from another person on this website at a great price. I have received a few frags at great prices and even a few free items. I even have run across someone that I went to high school with. Small world. The discounts will be nice and the friendships will be even nicer. It does cost money and time to run a website so Mike deserves our support. Think of this as going to college ( University of Oklahoma 1974) my dad had to pay the tuition (University of Texas Austin 1951). Besides, if enough people join maybe the club could purchase a par meter and let members use it with a damage deposit. So get youself the ARC card and don't leave home without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Just going to add my 2 cents. I have no problem with the cost of premium membership going up 200 percent. I guess the site and club is going to be 200 percent more awesome. So yeah! I would like more info on the professional membership. I don't really see any incentive to pay more than a sponsor who will definately get business where for a painter, dentist, florist etc. it's a crap shoot. As far as people becoming members just to sell stuff why not just put a post count into play? Like I said just my 2 cents so that and 4.98 will get you coffee. Prior to me the site ran on a server that also served other sites. Andrew ran this site as a labor of love and was very successful at it. The $10 annual membership ran .83 cents a month and had not changed as long as I'd been a member. He pretty much absorbed the cost of running ARC . To offset his costs, however, he had to institute a few policies that some members didn't like, an example being group buys being limited to sponsors only. An annual membership went to $30 initial, $25 annually. That's $2.50/2.08 per month respectively, much less than a Starbucks latte each month. When I took over, the underlying costs changed but additionally many of the rules here changed. Group Buy limitations went away, which alone should allow interested members to more than make up their membership cost on saved shipping. Along with the membership fee increase you'll be seeing an increase in activity that I feel well exceeds the $1.25/mo increase. I am currently working to arrange bringing in some professional speakers for our meetings. Additionally I've had conversations with several of our sponsors about providing incentives to new (and renewing) Premium Members such as a "beginner coral" pack at no extra cost. I've talked to a few sponsors about new Group Buy options that will save members on clean up crews, coral mini colonies, and after hour "members only" sales (open to ALL ARC members, not limited to just Premium Members. I'm glad you brought up the point about the Professional and Sponsor memberships. Professional members are really paying for the ability to advertise their business. That is the extent of their commitment. Sponsors, on the other hand, contribute more than cash. In addition to their membership fee they are required to provide products, services, or gift cards to be given away as door prizes at ARC meetings. They also agree to provide some additional incentive to members such as a standing discount, special Group Buy discounts, or some other incentive. The cost of these incentives alone will exceed the cost of an annual Professional membership. Sponsorship is not the cheaper way to be involved on the board. Being a sponsor is expressing the desire to support our local reefkeeping community and rewarding its members. As for the door prizes at meetings, all attendees are eligible to win (both members and non-members), and ARC will be contributing Premium Memberships as door prizes as well. Hopefully people see the value in a Premium membership. Previously there wasn't much distinction between a Member and a Premium Member which lead to stale invoices and the former owner absorbing the cost. I don't expect (and won't) get rich off this site, but I do require it to be able to support itself. From the many members who have PM'd me, called, or expressed their support and understanding I appreciate it. For the rest of you, give it some time and watch the changes, I think you'll like what's coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Ok I have one question so of I am a Basic member but I have been on the site since jun 14,2009 will I not be aloud to post items in the (want to sell) with out paying $30? 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Ok I have one question so of I am a Basic member but I have been on the site since jun 14,2009 will I not be aloud to post items in the (want to sell) with out paying $30? Yes Christian, that is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua-Dome Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Want to sell for free? Use Craigslist. Want to have a more attractive ad? Pay eBay a percent of your sales. Want to target your specific audience? Pay ARC $30. (Far cheaper than the eBay route by the way, and much less flea market than craigs). Of course in this case, the fee is MORE IMPORTANTLY getting you the INFORMATIONAL AND GROUP BENEFITS of this site. If you are here just to sell, PAY FOR A SPONSOR MEMBERSHIP. If you are here just to unload some stuff and never talk to us again, WE DON'T NEED YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Winning the monthly photo contest can get you a fabulous shiny new Premium Membership .... all you need to do is enter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Winning the monthly photo contest can get you a fabulous shiny new Premium Membership .... all you need to do is enter There will also be plenty of other opportunities to win a new, unopened Premium membership. Watch our meeting thread for the Feb meeting where you'll have a chance to win a new or renewal Membership and card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 If you are here just to unload some stuff and never talk to us again, WE DON'T NEED YOU. If you are here just to unload some stuff and never talk to us again, WE DON'T NEED YOU. Why not if it is a good deal? Maybe it doesnt matter to you because you own a store full of anything you might need but if I can get a good deal on something that I want or need, I don't care who it comes from and I don't care what they contribute to this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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