How many "paided members" are there?

I don't know how many there are at this point.Hopefully they will get more than a thousand.He will be very lucky if he gets enough to self support the site.If Spark can make a profit,than I hope that happens.After all,the goal of a business is to make money.HOw about the magazine subscriptions people pay 30-40.00 for a year.I've gotten alot more from this site,then I'll ever get from a magazine.THey make millions from the sale of the magazine plus the ridulous ad rates they charge,but nobody is bad mouthing them from trying to make a profit.I don't see the point of begrudging Spark to break even or ya even make a profit.Everyone has a choice to become a paying member or not to.I probably will hopefully within a few months.IF you think your getting scammed then don't become a paying member.I got to tell you though all this bitching about it will not change things back to the old way.So lets just live with it or go your seperate way,it's you choice.
 
but no one is gettign rich
IIRC, this site costs 3k per month to run.
36k/yr

and i highly doubt there are,or will be 1000 gold(?)members on the site.
 
It would be great if Spark could make money from Bladeforums. I do not know if that is something that is ever going to happen. For this forum to pay for itself at a cost of $3000.00 a month, 100 new gold, 150 new premium or a number somewhere in between of a mix of the two would be required to break even. To make a worthwhile living from this twice that many would have to sign up. To get rich, more people than join Bladeforums each month would have to pay the membership fee.

I think it is unlikely that Spark will get enough of the current members to sign up to cover anywhere near the costs that have been incurred to this point.

What I hope is that Spark gets enough of a response that it will be worth his while to keep Bladeforums going. It has been wonderful that Mike before him, and now Spark, have been willing to fund this site without much help from the membership. He certainly does not owe us anything and it is up to each of us to decide if Bladeforums is worth enough to him or her to support it with our hard earned cash. It is to me, so I did.
 
Have you noticed these questions are always by non supporting members.

Todd, I think your question and your answer to your own question are in poor taste.

It is obviously meant to insight trouble.

IMHO, you don't deserve an answer!

Do you want to talk about knives or support the forums?
 
Another thread on the subject last nite finally galvanized me into enough action to head upstairs, find my fanny pack, and bring it down here. W/CC in hand, I popped for the Gold Membership. Had originally figured on becoming a Premier member, sinces sales aren't in my future.

Last thread did a great job of pointing out how much benefit one can obtain from participation in the forums. I know certainly, that nobody gets any more from them than I do. Embarassed me to think about being cheap about $10. So went for the whole enchilada. Makes me feel a whole lot less guilty than I felt before I made the move.

Yeah, it is hard to see something that has been free finally have to charge to stay afloat. But, the received value far outweighs the tariff, for me. So, I is a Gold Member!
 
Way to go, Bugs!

Some people just don't get it. :(

I know I would sure miss this place.
 
Todd,

Think about it... If it is that easy to get away from a life a toil by opening a site, go ahead, do it, Man. If you don't have the cash, get a loan. If your calculations are right, you'll be enjoying a life of leisure. ;)
 
well i paid the $30 although i swore i wasnt - i really enjoy surfing this sight and although ive learned a lot about knives its also cost me alot of $$ - but its worth $30 i guess - best of luck to them...


sifu
 
Your the only one who can decide if it's worth it to you.If you don't want to pay fine but lets stop whipping a dead horse.If by some twist of fate Spark was able to make $30,000 a year before expenes I don't think that would make him a very rich man. ;)
 
Didn't mean it to sound bad ,guess I should have put in a smiliy face !! Damn I mean it's the American dream!!! More power to Spark!! some of you guys need to lighten up !!! just because something isn't word to suite you! Good luck with it Spark, this IS a great site!!
Todd
 
Todd, business just ain't that simple. After you subtract operating expenses and other overhead, I seriously doubt that "anyone" would be "getting rich" at five times that subscription rate. You should probably keep your day job!
 
As was already said why do non paying members seem so concerned about how many of us have paid? Its none of their business since they haven't paid so what possible difference could it make to them other then to stir up trouble? As I said before you use the forums you should support the forums.
Bob
 
I guess the the biggest problem is trying to understand how 30k is going to make someone "rich" when it costs more than that to keep this place flying. Not to mention the time. Servers alone that can handle the volume we have as well as the traffic are expensive. Software is expensive. If Spark only cared about $, my advice would be to drop this joint run some adds for 1SKS and call it a day.

Empty complaints over 20 or 30 bucks are pretty cheap. Dealer complaints from folks who have not given back come across even cheaper.

Kind of like selling stuff at a loss in volume to make up for the loss. :confused:
 
Hey guys and girls,

We do appreciate those of you that are trying to support us and help keep the site going.

As of close of business yesterday we had 142 paid menbers.

Todd we should be retiring sometime next century :rolleyes:
 
It's all in how you look at the figures. If 11,810 members all become knife dealers and buy dealer memberships at $850 each that'll come to $10,038,500 -- and that's only in the first year. $38,500 will more than cover the expenses of running this place for a year, so that leaves over $10,000,000 pure profit. No question about it, Spark is gonna get filthy rich out of this ... and so are us moderators. 'Scuze me, I gotta go to 1SKS and decide what knives to buy with my share of the profits....
 
Well we are up to 151 paid members now... I'm thinking of buying a Mercedes....... hood emblem.

:D
 
I JUST SIGNED UP!!! I AM NOW A PREMIUM MEMBER!!! WOO HOO!!! :D :) :D :) :D :)
 
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