Knifemakers Membership Changes (was Knifemakers)

An alternative that I would be happy with would be two levels of Knifemaker membership. $40 for the current Knifemaker member who would also pay a small commission on sales, or $200 for a Knifemaker/Pro who does not pay a commission. Those of you not selling anything, or selling very little, would not be effected by the small commission. Those making real income would pay for their usage of the system one way or the other.

A 5% commission would add a dollar to a $20 set of scales, or 5 bucks to a $100 knife. It would be a level playing field, so adding that to the sale price would not put you at a disadvantage. Perhaps then Spark could do something about the lags we have been experiencing.


just my .02
 
No one likes a price increase but they happen. Like Stacy said a table at a show is alot more than that not to mention hotel room and gas to the show and and thats just for a couple of days.. My website cost alot more than $75.00 a year and I sale more hawks on BF than from my website. So I will pay the price of the increase if thats all it is.

Just my 2 cents
 
I see everybodys point on both sides, but to me this sight is a necessity. I have yet to post anything for sale because all my knives are ordered or spoken for. I would still pay the annual fee even if it doubled.The knowledge that is passed around here is priceless.And its a good place to get your name out, which is crucial in this business.
 
JBS TOOLMAKER said:
I see everybodys point on both sides, but to me this sight is a necessity. I have yet to post anything for sale because all my knives are ordered or spoken for. I would still pay the annual fee even if it doubled.The knowledge that is passed around here is priceless.And its a good place to get your name out, which is crucial in this business.
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Agreed 100% How would it cost to take a class on what you can learn on shoptalk.


Another thought. If you go back and read the "how much to charge for shop time threads" It can Put it perspective. You get say $15.00 an hour for shop your only talking 5 hours shop time. Thats pretty darn good for the exposure you can get here.
 
I don't sell knives here but do sell W2 and a little walnut. Have supported this site for a long time and will continue to.
 
I am with Rusty on this one. The sales are always for cheap knives and rarely can I sell a knife here for what its worth. I think double the fees is to much. Maybe a 15% increase but DOUBLE? I can understand folks who sell supplies on a constant basis but not the guys who just happen to have some left over cut of this that or the other which I think was the intent of that area. Double is tooooo much.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
An alternative that I would be happy with would be two levels of Knifemaker membership. $40 for the current Knifemaker member who would also pay a small commission on sales, or $200 for a Knifemaker/Pro who does not pay a commission. Those of you not selling anything, or selling very little, would not be effected by the small commission. Those making real income would pay for their usage of the system one way or the other.

A 5% commission would add a dollar to a $20 set of scales, or 5 bucks to a $100 knife. It would be a level playing field, so adding that to the sale price would not put you at a disadvantage. Perhaps then Spark could do something about the lags we have been experiencing.


just my .02
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+1 :thumbup:.

There are a lot makers like me, who are not selling via For-Sale threads. I registered to knifemaker membership due to I like the title of "Knife Maker" under my nickname and to support the site. I would continue to be here at the "shop talk" but with that price raise me and many others won't be able to support the site. But others who use this forum to make money should be paying a little more, not to just support but pay the extra services they receive and extra traffic they cause.

For years I wasn't really aware of other forums, like forsale areas or survival, combat etc. forums. If I will try to sell something in future it would be 1 maybe 2 knives per month, so I would be glad to give a reasonable commision. I think Nathan's advice is a great idea which would make all happy...
 
I have yet to sell anything on this site, I haven't had to yet thank god. But I bought the knifemakers membership to read and learn and I have and I will support the site but not if the membership goes up that much, I just can't justify that. I would say that 75% of the makers listed don't sell anything on this site unless it's materials.
 
I've been a registered member here for a while now, learning lots along the way. Just about a week ago I ponied up for a knifemaker's membership to sell some overstock I had from a show.
I guess it all depends on how many sales I get from the site. I really don't think 75 dollars is that much if you (obviously) reap the benefits of increased sales. I guess I'm saying I'll play it by ear....although if it goes the way it has early on then I won't be renewing.
Later,
Iz
 
I Really enjoy this site and have learned a heck of a lot from the people who are here. So If the price goes up then I suppose I will just have to budget for it.
I know I just have a basic membership right now But the upgrade is close.

Bennie
 
I don't sell anything in the makers for sale area so I may not renew my knifemaker membership. I will get some sort of paid subscription to help support this site. This has been 90% of where I learned to make knives and that to me is why I wont abandon ship and will continue to be a part of BFC.
 
bladsmth said:
Folks, Before you all start running around and yelling the sky is falling, read the entire thread. There are some folks who are running wood businesses, steel businesses, and other supply businesses who are using a knifemakers membership instead of a dealers membership.These folks are cheating the system, and part of the cause for increased rates. ...

Stacy
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Stacy,

Lets look at the choices a guy like myself has when wanting to sell here (eg; strictly in the supplies area here in the makers area):

Platinum Member
Platinum Membership has it's rewards! Not only do you get all the benefits of a Gold Membership, but you also are able to change your own custom title, get 5mb of attachment storage, a 120x120 avatar and storage of 200 private messages.

KnifeMaker Membership
Allows KnifeMakers access to the KnifeMaker For Sale areas, 75 private messages, 1mb of image attachment & storage, a signature and a 120x120 avatar.

Gold Membership
Allows you to sell in the Exchange section, 40 private messages, a custom signature and a 100x100 avatar.

Dealer Membership
Allows Dealers to sell on BladeForums.com in the Dealers For Sale Area. Dealers caught selling at other member levels will be banned.
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I have been operating under the platinum level for over 2 years without complaint. I sell my wares strictly in the supplies section of the makers forums and have never considered posting in the "dealers" section.

I am of the belief that the platinum level of membership was the best fit for my particular situation, not an opportunity to "cheat the system". No moderator or administrator contacted me and told me otherwise, and noone reported me for "cheating the system", during that two plus years.

I make and sell one specific product, handmade laminates, not a wide variety of knife making supplies. When the rules/ definitions changed recently, I locked my sales threads pending a resolution. I am trying to be a good guest and work with the system.

Knife makers are faced with an increase from $40 to $75 whereas I am looking at going from $50 to $200 in order to continue as before. Hopefully a decision will be made to reflect that I am a craftsman/supplier and not particularity a "dealer". $50 was easy to justify, $200 is not so easy to justify in my present situation. Hopefully, a more reasonable fee will be set.

A high fee will have the effect of keeping innovation down and stop folks like me from trying out entrepreneurship. That will keep guys like me from trying to sell their unique wares in the supplies section. IMO, bad for the knife makers here, but good for those who decide to stay and pony up the bigger fees; it will kill a lot of competition.

I will be waiting patiently for a decision to be made and the definitions made clear. I cannot decide on my course of action until then.


-Todd


.
 
I have yet to sell anything on this site, even though I originally justified the platinum membership price 2 years ago as a way to sell some of the knives I make. I have spent a lot of time on the site, I have learned a bit, kept in touch with a lot of people whom I can hopefully count some as friends, I have hopefully given out good info to help some new folks get a jump on the learning curve that took me 25 years to climb since for the first 20 years I was self taught. There are some folks that are selling lots of stuff on a $35 a year membership, and complaining that the cost of that membership is likely to go up. It is unfortunate that their sales have become the catalyst for the owner of the forum to consider raising the prices. My opinion is that they were gaming the system and got caught, unfortunately causing the rest of us to pay. Sucks to be us. I for one will continue to support this forum maybe I will actually put up a knife or two to cover whatever the price of the platinum membership will rise to.
For the folks bitching about having to pay a higher membership to continue to be able to keep constant for sale threads up, it's a cost of doing business. If you want to do business, pay. I was a professional photographer for 25 years I paid all sorts of "cost of doing business" expenses. As a goldsmith it sucked when the metals prices doubled, a lot of my market wouldn't support the adjustment to pricing for silver and gold, so I adjusted and now sell mostly bronze (reenactors are my main market) I now sell gold and silver jewelry as custom work only. I adjusted to the change in my cost of doing business.
I will continue to pay for membership, and I hope others do as well.

-Page
 
I will support this because I have learned an incredible amount of info in a short time. You can't buy information or get your name out like you can on here. I do not sell on this forum but I do post my work on the Custom and Handmade area where I have had great critique and my work has been introduced to many many collectors.
 
I guess I should say something here.
Some of you know I have a small knife supply business. I operate it part time nights and weekends with my wife. I have a day job that pays the bills. One of these years I may slip over to it full time, I may never do that. Right now we are just trying to build something.

I have been a paid member here for at least 7 or 8 years as a knife maker or platinum level. I have posted a couple for sale items in the for sale forums but none lately and those were mostly around the No Weld Grinder. I have sold some knives in the past that I have posted here.

I never saw myself as a dealer and there really wasn't a Supply Seller membership that I was aware of so I continued under the membership I thought best fit. I didn't want to use this place to hype and sell supplies. I have answered some questions that have come up but mostly I have tried to avoid selling as most of my time here is spent in the makers forum and that isn't what it was about for me. I've got some good friends here and I have learned a lot from the makers forum over the years. I have had to almost stop participating in the makers forum as it always seem to come back to the appearance I was trying to sell. That wasn't working well.

As a result, I recently took some steps to further separate any of my personal knife maker activity here (or other forums) such as selling or answering supply type questions. It was a pure business decision for marketing properly and developing partnerships I couldn't other wise.

I have a great deal of respect for Blade Forums and Spark. I hope to continue supporting BF with some type of membership in the future. I hope I am allowed to continue my membership in that fashion.
 
It looks like I will be one of those caught in the middle of all of this . I make knives for a hobby and make very little profit on them . I have sold most of all that I have made in the last 2 yrs. here on the forum . Some now come here looking to see if I have any offerings . I do not do shows and do not like taking orders , so here is where my table is . Hope the rate increase is not too high , I live on a tight budget .

It feels like I may be in a " catch 22 " sort of speak
 
Sounds like Spark needs to speak to this thread.
I like being a member of this forum, as a knifemaker. 75.00 US is a bit much. What I question why the change? Have knifemakers traffic increased so much over the lower priced members?

I have found this site to be a huge help in my hobby, but its a hobby.

Best Regards
 
Nathan for President! His post #21 is brilliant. :thumbup:

$75 seems steep to me. I don't look at it as JUST "did I sell a knife?" as I've only tried to sell one ONCE over my ten years here as a "knifemaker."

There are many aspects I look at.... keeping my name in front of people, keeping my face in front of people (I know some folks have this misconception that it's based on some kind of arrogance/conceit on my part, but the fact of the matter is that I go to shows and people recognize me from seeing a pic on this forum... THAT is easy advertising). I learn a lot from perusing the custom section.

If the forum was like it used to be around 2000-2004 or so, I'd spend $75 without even flinching.... but it's not. I will have to put some serious thought into spending that or not (IF it goes to that).

Read Nathan's #21 post!!!!! :thumbup: :D :thumbup:
 
Doh! I forgot to mention that over that last several years I mostly viewed the $40 as simply supporting the site over anything else.... which was something I was happy to do.
 
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