To me, the paid membership is like a magazine subscription. Except that you don't have to deal with ads, overblown hype by knife-bribed writers, or bias towards advertisers.
Plus, the forum provides actual discussion between thousands of users, not just the sterile opinion of a few people. There's far, far more information available here than in a magazine.
Of course, non-paying members can get this for free, but I like to support a system that helps me. Plus, the knowledge that I've gained here has certainly saved me enough money in unwise purchases that the cost of the membership is of no consequence.
A paid membership also allows you to use the Private Message system, upload pictures, have an avatar and signature line, and (Gold and above) sell knives and gear here so you don't have to deal with ebay if you don't want.
And finally, you get access to the Pirates Cove forum, were we can post whatever we want, and talk about all the non-members behind their back. Arrrgh.
