Like I said, I’m not advocating for Paid Membership as a requirement … just as an option that those who would like to help support CHU in a small financial way … Optionally …
I think another point to be made is that the great community that is CHU, all the regulars who visit frequently as well as those who are new or newer, provide a lot of information for the community as well. The idea of sharing in the community would be somewhat lost if certain members were given access to certain info, for a monetary fee. For me, it’s a slippery slope that may grey the area of transparency and such. I believe a CHU swag shop would be a better solution to raise revenue. M2c.
I don’t recall any mention of Special Certain Info … and, if a paid Membership was offered, once again, it would be optional … not a requirement …
I’m beginning to think folks have never frequented any Forum that has a paid Membership option … it’s not uncommon …
CHU Exclusive Shwag Boutique … ?? Hell, yes …
Is there a rule about posting what books you are looking to part with and handling things through PMs? Otherwise you could do this now.
I am actually fine with that as it takes any burden off of CHU for the transaction if it’s all done behind direct messages.
Selling and Trading is something we’d have to look into for sure, as I would be onboard but something like that we’d want CHU to be a neutral 3rd party. If a deal with south or sour, a disgruntled person could try to lay blame on CHU or come after us for resolution, etc.
Honestly at this point, if we were to implement something that directly supports CHU, I’m leaning towards the CHU swag as well. Buy a pint glass, sticker or t-shirt, profits go to supporting CHU, etc.
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This is exactly one reason we started these forums, a place for everyone in the community to share their specs, information and so on. Anything goes here and yes, that’s what makes CHU great I think. For me, I’ve checked out some of the other groups out there and it just seems like there’s more bickering and drama. It’s a reason I stuck to CHU all these years and grew into more when I really started helping out Anthony on site related stuff.
I was fortunate to find CHU right as I was getting back into comics, being one of the really early readers of this site. I enjoyed comicflippers views on books on crap to pick up (I was looking for good reads first, didn’t start flipping until way later)… and yes, Anthony is comicflipper.
I’m leaning more towards what Poyo wants to do. It gives more of that option that we are looking for. “Wanna support the site? Buy some CHU exclusive swag.” Instead of “Wanna support the site donate some money.” At least that’s how I’m seeing it. Ether way, I’ll back up CHU!!!
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Don’t give them any ideas… seriously, we don’t all have loose cash lying around. What makes CHU cool is that it’s free. It never works to add the membership tiers- just turns it into Animal Farm where everyone resents each other, and the people who can’t afford it give up on the site entirely.
I couldn’t even deal with Key Collector charging 2 bucks a month, their fake news alerts wore me out after a week.
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Bake sale? 
Jeeze … It would be an option … not a requirement … nothing would change other than an added Optional Membership …
I think it’s insulting to the CHU staff to imply what they do, time, effort and money, is essentially worthless … which seems to be what some posters do imply …
I’m going to add the following ::
When CHU runs a give-a-way, folks flock to register themselves as a wanna be Winner, garnering a hundred individual registrations or more at times … yet, the topic of “Would You Pay for CHU … ??” becomes, for some, a sort of no-mans-land of doubt … even when the idea is floated as Optional …
"Dude, I’ll take anything as long as it’s Free … "
I didn’t get the sense that was what bandrew was implying. But I’ve been wrong before… actually numerous times… the wife says I’m wrong all the time… 
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I’m not pointing fingers at any one individual … 
I will acknowledge that giveaways do bring out a lot of folks there just to win it and we don’t see them again until the next “giveaway”… but I’m okay with that. It’s expected in any contest.
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I know you weren’t. But I get what you’re saying as well. I’m really on both sides of the fence myself.
I will openly admit, if I were just a CHU reader and follower, would I pay a subscription for info? Probably not, it’s just not my style. Would I buy some CHU swag or donate a few bucks to support the site? By all means yes.
I actually found a technical script that I used for work about a year ago. The dude’s script pretty much saved me about two weeks worth of work if I were to write it myself. First thing I did was look for a Paypal donate on his site where I found the script, was looking for a way to throw him a few bucks for his hard work. So I’m all for free and throwing a tip where applicable, it’s just a nice way to keep what’s free… well, free!
My point is, contests add worth, and somebody is paying for that worth …
CHU Shwag Boutique and/or Optional Paid Membership is logical, IMO … at the same time, if you and the rest of the Gang at CHU want to continue as-is, hey, it’s your Site …
Ultimately it’s @Anthony call, I’m just a worker bee myself. But this is why we’re experimenting with a new Ad Manager on the main site, to see if that bumps up revenue. I think Anthony thinks along the same lines as me though when it comes to keeping the info free.
He does have a bunch of pint glasses sitting in boxes (yeah, I had them shipped to his house cause he drove to NYCC where we intended to give a bunch away) we do need to unload, so yeah, a shop or at least a way to buy those for interested parties is due sooner rather than later.
I have never mentioned changing anything to not free … it’s Optional Membership … everything else stays exactly as is …
That’s the question though, when people pay something, they want something special or extra in return. Deciding what’s shared to subscribers and not released as free…
I think we have discussed just throwing up a Paypal donate though… throw CHU a few bucks if you like what we do.
My experience as an Admin on a large site :: We gave out a Badge that was visible next to the Members avatar with a one year membership … and, membership gained you access to a Classified Ad section where you could buy or sell … that’s it …
In the case of CHU, incentive is easy …
Good discussion …