To SPARK....or whoever runs this site.

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
2,301
Ever consider a collaboration with a knife maker and a series of "Blade Forum" .....KNIVES???

Seems that $30 could be built into the price easily enough.

Starting with #1

Mfr. gets free advertising.

Only available here.

A tangible item for the participants.

Maybe a cash flow?

I know it's tough running a forum as I tried once.

Never know.

:) :confused: :)
 
600 people would say they'd buy one, only 5 would actually buy onem, leaving Spark with a huge bill over and above his normal expenses.
 
Dave - you get them to pre-pay, once you've found a maker that would be interested in custom badging/logos, etc.
 
Then you would also have to deal with all the administrative overhead, and add that time to the cost as well.

I got to say I really don't think it would work, Spyderco never makes their forum speacials in sales and I don't think that has any markup at all. Add $30 markup and forget it, IMO.

If people are don't want to buy a membership now, when it's $20 or $30, they won't buy it later either.
 
Well, I guess it's all about loyalty then, and perceived value.

Other forums have done - or are doing this - and it IS working.

(Edited to remove who is doing what with whom ;) )
 
Didn't they do that a few years back with REKAT? A BF edition Sifu and Carnivore?
--Dave
 
I can only try and make a judgement in what I consider to be a similar situation.

Running passarounds takes some money and lots and lots of time, I do it because I think it's important. One thing Spark made clear to us was he didn't want it to become a burden on him to administrait, etc.

If you think a fundraisor is such a good idea, why not try setting something up yourselves?
 
Benchmade did a limited run of their Model 30 with bladeforums.com lasered on them and they were sold through 1sks.com. It was fairly successful.
 
Since this is an administrative/business query and since it's addressed to Spark, I'll move this to "Service & Support." Probably the best place for him to see it.

But he's out of town for the SHOT Show and will be back after the weekend. Be patient.
 
I have no problem with "Forum" special projects. We've had mixed results with them in the past, but overall they've been really good. The thing to keep in mind is that it:

1. Has to be a product worth buying. Face it, no one is going to pay $35 for a BladeForums.com branded SureFire G2, but people will be happy to get a unique balisong or tactical folder if it presents something unique.
2. Needs to be inexpensive enough for enough members to get it. $800 knives have a limited market.
3. Follow through is important. As previously mentioned, lots of people say "I'll get one!!!!" and then never purchase for one reason or another.
4. It has to be delivered in a timely manner.

I'm always open to good suggestions. Have any?
 
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