Would You Pay for CHU ..?

Copy below of a reply I made to Mr Poyo on the Main Site ::

"Mr. Poyo … speaking as a Denizen of on-line Forums / Chats / etc, since the days of USENET and the BBS’s … there is nothing wrong with offering a “Membership” for a nominal fee … a year or more for a small fee that gets you a “badge” or indicator of some sort … offer up a free gift of some sort to those that contribute …

I think the financial gain that CHU helps some obtain is a valuable commodity … of course, still have free access, but collecting a few shekels from those that are willing to chip in is not a bad idea or a bad thing … you fine folks provide a service, and, as you mention, it’s not cheap to run …"

This was in reply to his “Likes and Dislikes” column and discussion surrounding Pop Up Ads …

I just thought it was an interesting enough issue to warrant a bit of Forum discussion …

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I would be game. I would like the idea of the continuation of the “Lounge” for paying members perhaps.

If you got me a heads up on a comic that was heating up then I would pay pay for that information

I understand what would be accomplished by a membership, but I have never been a proponent of paying for online information.

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Like I said, not mandated, just voluntary … with a perk or two for those that are willing …

When I was an Admin on a large TV / Movie discussion forum, we had a Membership option … the site remained fully free to all, however, if you were a paying Member, you got a “badge” that indicated such and you had access to Member Only areas, such as a classified ad section …

We did not gain a huge number of paying Members, maybe one out of 15 users would join … however, it did help defray the cost of the site and at the same time, did not really limit the non-Members access or ability to contribute …

Depends on the price and the perks.

$1 a year I can swing. Maybe even $5 for a year.

You start charging my card monthly, then I have to justify it to the wife as a monthly expense worth funding…don’t do that to me.

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I think what value that, say, a Fictional Member of this Fictional Club that I’m writing about would be somewhat dependent on cost vs benefit … I.E. if CHU tipped you off quick enough to get a book or three sold for a tidy profit that otherwise was collecting dust, that’s worth something …

I’ve said it before … Tony (Anthony) and the Supporting Players here do this more out of love than anything, and, I would guess, have had to dip into their own money at times to keep it going …

Yes, I know there are other Spec sites, but I believe CHU is more than just spec … and, from what I’ve seen over the years, these guys try and present factual information as much as possible … as a bonus, there is much more than just spec on CHU …

I don’t advocate paid Membership, simply an option that could be made available for those that would willingly pay a little something to help support the effort that I see the CHU “Staff” put in …

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I’ll admit, we need to setup a way for people to buy the pint glasses and other swag I got made but we’ve only given the CHU swag away thus far. I can claim I spent about $500+ or so of my own money just to make the stickers, buttons and pint glasses we have on hand.

Before we really got established on the new host provider we are using to run CHU, I spent about $200 or so in hosting fees just to test and set it up in advance as well. So yeah, we dip into our own pockets all the time. Even when we’re not spending money, we’re spending a lot of time just to provide the content and I don’t know about the rest of everyone else but time is more valuable than money for me.

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I like this discussion. Would really be nice to see more feedback from actual users in what their thoughts are on paid subscriptions, other perks like removing ads if you throw a buck or two in donation or perhaps we start selling CHU swag, etc.

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I don’t call it donation … I call it Support … nothing wrong with having a CHU Shop, either … sell some shwag, why not … ?? :vulcan_salute:

Yeah, I think the CHU swag shop would be nice but the only issue with that is, to get a decent discount, you have to buy more and not knowing what type of orders you’re gonna fulfill, I know @Anthony and myself don’t want to get stuck with a lot of CHU product we can’t offload, etc. But this is the route I’m leaning towards myself, we have some swag already, maybe starting a shop will give us idea what people are willing to pay, etc to help support the site while getting something in return other than the free info we already provide. :slight_smile:

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I’ll add :: I personally see CHU as an online Community of like minded folks … that just happen to be into making a buck at times with their Hobby …

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Easy answer :: Being the Capitalist that I am … on New Shwag where the market is unknown, take pre-orders … simple as that … :vulcan_salute:

Of course… my only fear is we hope the impatient ones can learn to be a bit more patient. :wink:

Can’t be worse than the turn around time in grading comics, right?

Sometimes, Mr Poyo, you just have to do it … forget the debate, don’t listen to the voice in your head that’s transmitting any negativity, just go for it … as Master Yoda says :: “Do or do not” … I’m confident you know the mechanics … :vulcan_salute:

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I’m not selling anything currently. Actually like 7 items on eBay but I’m going to take those down. I’m focused on buying graded keys and firsts so I no longer have money and really use the forums to show off and see what others are getting in my fields of interest. I have no interest in special badges but can see the appeal for others. My 2 cents
I’m getting ready for a big purchase and can’t make my mind up. I can get a CGC 8.0 Hulk 180 for $800. Although I think I can get him lower. I’m going to take it over to another thread.

Bump

I wouldn’t mind paying for members access. It would be nice to also sell our own books to one another and not pay fees. That way we can also use that money to support the site and get more in our pockets. Plus get exclusive access.

I remember Hoknes comics also started to charge for their info and they started to lose people. Hoknes comics did some info videos back in the day with CHU.