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carguy

Pay to be, membership site

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I was just thinking if this was a pay to belong, you know membership dues based, would you still want to belong to this site?

Would annual dues keep you here, or is about a cool no cost site to meet riders?

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A good question, carguy............

Everyone, feel free to answer......but the reason we have not charged membership dues, is because then the club has to be formal, we have to provide a service for the fee........meaning newsletter, meetings, etc., and this takes at least 15 dedicated members to run a club.

It'll be good to hear what people have to say, but the core members listed as officers already have said in the past........keep it simple.

I do not want to charge a fee for people just to be members of this site.

A formal club with dues is a different story, if that's the way people want to go.

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my opinion only... If it was a dues club, I might not have joined. Now that I'm here, and have seen the benefits of the club, I would pay...

I know advrider is technically a free site, but baldy does use smug mug/advrider to run a business... Smug mug is the business; advrider supports smug mug

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KTM talk uses a voluntary system that includes graded system. You can pay a certain amount- like $35 for a year, and you get a little icon next to your avatar for that year. You spend $100, you become a "lifetime member". But they are also advertising supported.

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I think charging for this resource could potentially damage the membership base. You would lose the many casual users who view but don't typically participate. To keep the member base in tact and continue to grow, it would be better to keep the message board free. A model similar to thumpertalk would probably better serve SDAR. Access to the member base is the value of the site through advertising, "opt-in" email lists, etc.

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What Erick types is true- by nature, if something stops being free, many will choose not to use it any further. But the site holds little value other than the forums. By keeping them free, what's to pay for? I don't agree that the membership list is valuable, because I wouldn't pay to be put on opt-ins and email advertising.

You MAY be able to get local advertisers, depending on the metrics the site is generating. And I think there would be little resistance from membership- in fact, it may be a service. And I think it would be a good buy for the advertisers- we're a strong core group and someone like Clairmont Cycles or San Diego Sports Cycles might be well-served. But I'm not confident of the amount of money you could make.

If I were the site god, I'd do both- the "membership" idea and the advertising.

Let me know if I can help- I'm well-versed in PR advertising and social media.

p

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I'm pretty certain that I wouldn't have joined up. I also wouldn't have joined up at Photobucket, Myspace and Cafe Husky.

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Web sites cost money, no matter what, so in order to help with the load, let me know a address and i will send a check right away. Membership or not, I lhave learned a great deal from members here. I have yet to ride with any so i,m still kind of locked out of the password areas, no biggie.

send me a address and i will send a check no worries

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I think if you had to pay to sign up, we could loose many of the members, and future membership would be slow. I think if is not costing Randy or Cameron a bunch of money out of pocket to run the site, I don't think it should change, I like it the way it is. I think the core members that volunteer to lead rides, have maintenance days, geek meetings, ect. are paying their way. Even members that take the time to take pictures on a ride and post them up are paying their way.

I think if there is ever a need for some money for a new server or whatever, just one thread would raise the money in a heartbeat, without going to all the trouble of dues and advertisers. Until that day we can still give, by helping out our fellow riders, and making this a great FREE recource.

I am a life member over at KTMTalk, but they offer a great discount on KTM parts. Paying members are going to want lots of stuff for their money. Paying new members are not going to wait a week or two or three to get logged into the system. They will expect it the same day (most sites sign you up in a few minutes). They are going to want 10 times the storage for their mail boxes.

There are going to have to be more rules and the rules they have are going to have to be enforced more stringently. You may hear a lot more things like, I am sick of this guys crap it's against the rules and as a paying member I should not have to put up with it. As it is now we are pretty self sufficient, kind of like a big dysfunctional family.

If you get advertisers on the site, things will change also. Advertisers are not going to want to hear good things about their competition, or bad things about themselves. I think honest and open threads about where to get stuff cheep and where to take your bike to get worked on will suffer. I do think having advertisers would be better than a paying membership. Advertisers want the hits and big membership numbers. If you cut that membership by charging a membership fee, that will hurt advertisers.

These are just some of my rambling thoughts on the subject. :lol: Ken

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FBC, House of Motorcycles, etc. might be interested... and would it be a real problem to have an advertiser bar across the top of each page? Not to me...

but... when we have a thread about what FBC stands for, and the "F" is NOT FUN, then they pull their ad...

Everybody here seems to get the best service from the small shops... they don't have an advertising campaign... good service IS their campaign, and the free internet fits well within their budget.

Randy- are there costs right now (or needed in the near future) that aren't being met? If so, put me down for a donation...

X Plane T shirt prices just went up :lol:

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I probably wouldnt of joined either if it was a pay to join site.

From what I have sensed with those that I have met, and are what could be considered core members, is that if ever anything was needed to keep the site up it wouldnt be a problem finding creative ways to help out.

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There are going to have to be more rules and the rules they have are going to have to be enforced more stringently. You may hear a lot more things like, I am sick of this guys crap it's against the rules and as a paying member I should not have to put up with it. As it is now we are pretty self sufficient, kind of like a big dysfunctional family.

If you get advertisers on the site, things will change also. Advertisers are not going to want to hear good things about their competition, or bad things about themselves. I think honest and open threads about where to get stuff cheep and where to take your bike to get worked on will suffer. I do think having advertisers would be better than a paying membership. Advertisers want the hits and big membership numbers. If you cut that membership by charging a membership fee, that will hurt advertisers.

These are just some of my rambling thoughts on the subject. :lol: Ken

Rambling maybe, but good. There would also be trouble keeping people reminded about paying their fees, etc.

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Randy- are there costs right now (or needed in the near future) that aren't being met? If so, put me down for a donation...

As I said in the original post about donations, I have never asked for donations, and don't feel it is necessary. The ONLY reason I posted the thread about donations was because a couple of people expressed sincerely that they wanted to donate. If others decide to donate.....great, if not......that's fine also.

I don't expect people to donate. The costs of running this site are just part of being a site owner, and even though it's sometimes a bit of work, it's a passion and a hobby to Cameron and I...........and fortunately Uncle Cameron really takes care of us by hosting the site (webspace) for FREE, and a very small associated fee (compared to if we were a normal customer). BTW, Cameron has a new front page and some changes in the works for the site.

Yes, I would like SDAR to promote 2 or 3 organized dualsport events a year.....I have a plan for another local ride thru the Cleveland Nat'l Forest, Mount Laguna and Corral Canyon. But it's a lot of work, and even with volunteer help, it takes months to prepare, especially for a new ride.

Possibly a ride up in the Southern Sierra in conjunction with my friend Damon Powell from the ex- Team Dual Dogs. I will be talking with him about it, he lives up near Tehachapi and has easy access to the area.

Just so you all know, the biggest thing I'd like to see is more people getting involved in supporting the fight to keep public lands open...whether it's just sending donations to BRC, SDORC, CORVA, Stewards of the Seqouia, etc., and/or making the occassional phone call, e-mail or letter to help in the battle. Also, people staying informed about the issues so they can pick and choose what they want to do. I'd love to see more people attend local meetings with SDORC, etc. I will be trying to make quarterly meetings at the Cleveland National Forest headquarters in Rancho Bernardo. Jan McGarvie from SDORC usually goes by herself, and she smiled when I said I want to attend those meetings. It's a great way to keep an open dialogue and have good relations with the Local Forestry Service. If anyone else (1 or 2 people) is available on a weekday when those meetings come up, please PM me and I'll give you the details.

I'd rather see more people involved and sending donations to those groups, then sending donations to SDAR. One of my PRIMARY GOALS of starting SDAR was to influence people to get involved and help keep them informed. SDAR supports the AMA, BRC, SDORC, CORVA and Stewards of the Seqouia yearly, using proceeds from the Desert Dash....and even if we didn't have that ride, I would be sending in the money myself to support them.

Whew.......thanks for listening, hope that wasn't too much :lol:

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Whew.......thanks for listening, hope that wasn't too much :lol:

No, it was just right. :lol:

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Good point Randy. Last year I joined CORVA, SDORC, and the AMA. It doesn't cost much and is a great way to help. When the AMA talks to a lobbyist or an elected official and and has the weight of the membership numbers behind him, you can bet it means something to them.

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Free. Voluntary donations. Advertising okay as long as contract rules weren't imposed.

Check's in the mail (literally).

Thx Randy!

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KTM talk uses a voluntary system that includes graded system... You spend $100, you become a "lifetime member".

And you also get 25% off most parts and equipment that Munn Racing has to offer. This was negotiated by Pat (KTMTalk founder) and it took me about a year to make mt hundred bucks back. The past 3 years have been gravy.

If Rad could negotiate a similar deal with a local supplier, I would gladly donate. I'm sure this is an "apples and oranges" comparison though since KTMTalk is a nationwide site.

I would also be willinfg to pay the $5 a month if necessary for site expenses, but I agree that there would be fewer of us here.

My $0.02

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Just remember riders that this was my hair brained idea/ curiosity, not Randy or Cameron. It is just a test, only a test. :angry:

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I'd pay a yearly fee, just like I do for BBTR. THings take money to run, I'd be happy to do so.

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check sent in the mail this morning,

thnaks for all you guys do

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I'd pay a yearly fee, just like I do for BBTR. THings take money to run, I'd be happy to do so.

I sent in my registration fee (full amount) for the Desert Dash plus and extra $10 for my wife's meal. Randy called me when he got the check and told me he was tearing it up because I was a volunteer worker (even though I was sick and not much help). I would have even been happy to have paid for the volunteer's tee shirt.

Don

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SDAR Members,

We at All American would be glad to offer a standing discount program to any and all SDAR members. We fully support the local riders, and only use word of mouth as a major ad campaign. We have been talking about doing a monthly ride day from the shop, and also haveing the shop open to the SDAR club if needed for future meetings, or take off point. I will put the ball in motion, and post an official deal. I do think that the site needs to stay FREE! If not for that, many of the people that I have personaly recomended would have never even looked at it. As for the DONATIONS... My opinion is even though this site may not cost much now, I am certin that donations going tward the future rides, breakfast meeting, and even promo items would definetly help Randy.

Just a note.. ALL your membership fees to SDORC, AMA, etc... are tax deductable. So if your not a member DO IT!

Great post, I am glad to have all of you as a resource, and as friends. I have meet and rode with very cool people, and gained great knowledge from this diverse group. I am glad to represent you, and all you are about. Thanks to all

Brent

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Anza Borrego

Randy, are there Dualsport related land use meetings with ABSP. With the retirement of the Supervisor down there, contact people are changing.

I would love to get involved opening the top of Mason Truck Trail to Hwy79.

Dave

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