Knifemakers Membership Changes (was Knifemakers)

There is no other site that even comes close to Bladeforums in the amount of traffic and the quantity and quality of information found here.

I just spent 75.00 dollars on two blocks of stabilized wood; spending that amount on a yearly knife makers membership is a deal.

Thanks for keeping the site up and running Spark.

Fred
 
Mike, I have been pondering this for awhile. Seems like the selling issue is what brought all this up and will likely be the difference in membership prices.

I have fun here and have also supported this site without the need to sell here. I do sell stuff in the supplies for sell area. Shop talk doesn't need to change because of the memberships. But knifemaking is a business to me, so maybe I look at it differently.
 
I'm a little lost to the complaints. If you don't make enough profit on your knives to afford $75 over the course of a year, then don't sell knives on BF. No one is forced to pay to post, and there are a few membership levels between free and knifemaker for features and site support. But it comes down to - if you don't make/sell enough knives, nor earn enough profit on each, then don't pay to sell here. The price increase is a dime a day (total just twice that), to advertise and sell every one of those days. If the price of a newspaper is too much for a week's worth of sales' opportunity, the margins are entirely too tight.
 
Don Hanson III said:
Mike, I have been pondering this for awhile. Seems like the selling issue is what brought all this up and will likely be the difference in membership prices.

I have fun here and have also supported this site without the need to sell here. I do sell stuff in the supplies for sell area. Shop talk doesn't need to change because of the memberships. But knifemaking is a business to me, so maybe I look at it differently.
Click to expand...

Knifemaking is a business for me too. Maybe this just hit me at the wrong time but with various organization memberships, show fees, payment processing fees, insurance, taxes, etc. coupled with the current economy doubling the BF fee seems a little much. I know, there is always going to be the cost of doing business and overhead but sometimes it seems like anytime you make a couple of bucks there is a long line of people all wanting a piece of it.

$75 is not a big hit in itself but when you add up a bunch of $75 (or more) hits you have to prioritize. I may rethink it and go along with it but if it fees have to be raised I think $50 would be more in line.
 
I'm not arguing your point at all, Don. I agree completely that, as a businessman, $75 a year is a cheap price to pay for constantly updated exposure to the large audience that BF provides. A knifemaker sure as hell won't get this exposure at anywhere near that price through any print literature or at another website.
While it will be disappointing to some (including me) to downgrade a membership, your point is entirely valid that there is no need to maintain that if one isn't selling. I will still know my level of knifemaking skill, and having Knifemaker under my name won't change that. Not to mention, at this point I could give a sh!t less what anyone else thinks about that. :D
By the same token, I hope folks will understand that those of us here just for the fun may feel it inappropriate to suddenly pay a marked increase to support others right to sell. If Spark had simply said, "Forum costs necessitate a marked increase in membership rates to support its continuing function," I would probably go along without a second thought. However, since it's been tied into a benefit I do not derive, it makes me pause to consider whether I want to suffer additional "premiums" to support other people's income.
Tied into my thoughts is the fact that, for a number of months now, my access into the forum has been drastically slowed. I can't begin to count the times I have clicked on my BF link only to have the screen time out after 2 minutes because the forum was overloaded and inaccessible. Or, write up a post only to have it spin its wheels and time out without posting. Very frustrating. Despite the changes in last week's updates, I am still experiencing this at times, and twice today already. I know it's not my ISP or computer, because I can cruise everywhere else on the 'net with ease.
To be honest, my decreased participation and this difficulty with access already had me questioning whether I wanted to renew in November.
When I'm told that I would have to pay more because of selling issues, that adds another dimension to my determination.
I say all of this without rancor. I have lived long enough to know that everything changes. Everything, including me. I am happy to see so many people learning here and developing to the point they can sell knives where they learned. I also understand the increased traffic necessitates costly upgrades and thus a need for more income from membership to support it.
 
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First off I'll second what a number of folks have been saying that for what I get out of the forum the cost is a real bargain.

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading to knifemaker for a while so I checked on what it would cost for a knifemaker membership today and guess what it's $120 for 3 years even though I have 6 months on my gold membership it was still cheaper to upgrade and have price stability for 3 years.
 
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Personally I like knowing whether or not a person that is commenting on the forum is a maker or not. Some that post often like Mike aren't a problem, but others that don't use their names and don't post regularly I am not sure about. I don't care if the maker is a Master Smith, Knifemakers Guild member, retired maker or someone that is still working on his first knife or 50th. He will have a different view on things than someone that is a collector or dealer and doesn't make knives.

I hope that Spark can work something out that allows makers to still be identified as makers. I like the idea of a hobby makers classification with no selling and limited pvt messages, knife business classification with selling, web site in signature, and pvt. messages maybe. At two different rates that reflect their usage of the site, but still identified as makers.

Either way I'll be here listed as a maker for a long time........I hope.
 
I would like a membership that would still allow me the search feature, without selling privileges. 10 PMs in file would be 6 more than I'd need. I can take or leave a sig line that's never contained more than my name. the "Knifemaker" title would be nice but not necessary.
The search is important to me as an educational tool. I seem to have a good memory for past threads, and have repeatedly dredged up threads from the distant past that are very pertinent to a current thread. I often use the "Advanced Search" keyword and username simultaneously to achieve this. Google doesn't work well for that.
That said, my inability to do that would not be to my detriment, but more to those more in a student mode.

I'm sure Spark has considered many scenarios already, and will consider more before he makes his final decision on the impending changes. I wish him the best with this task.

Added: perhaps I've described a "Basic" membership, though it doesn't mention anything about Search.
 
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Have been spending a considerable time in this section of BF.
I have never built a knife, but it is a long time desire of mine to do so,
and I must say that this forum has more information available than all the rest combined.

Maybe a $40 Knife Maker membership and a $75 Knife Maker membership with selling privileges would work.

Leadfoot
 
whats to stop folks without knifemaker memberships from advertsing in wss or the customs and handmade sub forums? Or even here in shop talk? Heck simply being a knifemaker and posting a bunch is advertising unless of course you go 100% unamed. Those who do not choose to use the for sale section still reep the benifits of this forum wether they have knifemaker under their name or not. Those who play by the rules and support this site will have to pay more. Certainly as a maker whos income is based primarily on his knifemaking $75 a year is not bad. But the title and the use of the 'for sale' section being the only things you are actually paying for I am not sure. I will pay though and play by the rules. Also I am not realy that upset by the idea just a little nervous about how things will work out.
 
On average it takes people 21 days to accepts change. The more I read through and really look at what we're talking about, it really makes sense and even though it's almost double the going rate, Spark is right, he hasn't changed rates for years. Heck, my home owner's association fee goes up every year and I don't even like them. At least I get invaluable knowledge and even some friendships on here!
 
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