You should not be absorbing any costs associated with the website!
Keep the fee.
You should not be absorbing any costs associated with the website!
Keep the fee.
...oops, wrong hat!
There would be no pros other than saving you $10 per year and opening the website up to everyone who wanted to join.
There are many reasons I have been wanting to get rid of the membership fee. I'll list them off for you:
1. I hate being compared to Splitcoast everytime someone has a beef with paying the membership fee. We are not Splitcoast and I have no desire to be like Splitcoast. New users are always emailing me and asking why we charge a membership fee while Splitcoaststampers, the motherload of all stamping sites, is free. What they may not realize is that Splitcoast has a HUGE advertising campaign in place - it costs $100 a day to advertise over there. They also have the Dirty Dozen membership ($14.95 for six months) and have just started their Member Company Campaign, which I'm sure costs money to join. I have no idea what they do with their profits but I can tell you that EVERY cent that this site makes off of membership fees goes right back into The Stamp Shack via upgrades, contest prizes, software purchases and renewals, and of course the dedicated server cost. Without the membership fee, we would NOT have our awesome swap board.
2. I feel bad when a member comes to me and tells me they can't afford the membership fee but would love to become a member of the website. This tears me up! I want everyone to feel welcome here, regardless of their financial status or ability to pay the membership fee.
3. It seems as though whenever I make any sort of change to the website, I am met with some resistance and complaints. Sure, that is to be expected - I know you can't please everyone but I do not like having the 'I am a paying member' card tossed in my face. When I do make a change (which is most often for the better of the website), people will often email me and tell me they feel they are getting less and less for their $10. When this happens, I become upset and begin to feel guilty. I do not like feeling guilty and second guessing myself about the changes I am making. I spend every moment of my free time tending to this website and making templates for you all and I do that because I love to do it and I love the community that we have built here. But when I start feeling guilty, I begin losing my passion for doing this.
The membership fee is not a money thing for me - I personally don't make a dime. I would get rid of the membership and keep things as they are IF I could. What the membership fee does, though, is allow me to offer you a fast, much more stable website, and a website that is filled with cool features such as our custom coded swap board (which I will remind you that Splitcoast does NOT have), our Creative Corner, the chatroom, and our template section.
Like I said, I will go with whatever you guys decide. We are a community and I think we/you should make this decision together.
My vote is to keep the fee too. I like our site just the way it is.
I know there are some who feel that we could get more members if it was free - but I personally don't care if the membership doesn't get very big.
We have all visited the " big" sites - I go to one of them regularly to look around, but I never post or get involved. There are just way too many people. I wonder how they ever get to know each other?
wow. I can't believe things that come out of people's mouths sometimes!! The whole "I'm a paying member" or "I feel like I'm getting less and less for my $10." Give me a break!
Sherry...you shouldn't feel guilty about anything---EVER! It's your website. PERIOD. I understand how you feel though, because I am too a people pleaser.....and I feel guilty about having to make business decisions sometimes even though I shouldn't.
I just want to say something about SCS too. I love SCS. I visit the demo forum of SCS every single day without fail. I get SO many great ideas for my SU business there. SCS is like my upline, since my upline never says "boo" to me. I rarely visit the general side...only because I don't really have the time. However, with all that said....I have FRIENDS here. I don't have friends at SCS. It's just too big. I love having a place where I can come and hang out and feel like we're all friends. That's what I love about the Shack! Plus I can get inspiration and great ideas here as well. So for what it's worth, I agree with you. I wouldn't ever want this site to become like SCS. I love them both, but I love them each for their own reasons, you know? I would totally feel lost without our "homey" and comfortable feeling here!
Traci
I don't care for the shared server bit. I remember all the down times we had with it. I don't mind the $10.00 fee at all. Glinda
ETA: Sherry, I just read your last comment and I don't think you have one thing to feel guilty about. As far as I am concerned, someone is pulling your leg when they say they don't have $10.00. Yes things may be tight but they have money to buy stamps. All the benefits they get here far out weigh the fee cost. The templates alone will more than pay for the fee. Sherry you do a fabulous job of running this site and never let anyone tell you different. Glinda
Ok, so I think we should keep the fee and I promise not to waive my paying member card at you!
If there are people who truly can not pay the fee then perhaps we can put up an anonomyous tip jar for them or something like that, but I think those who do come forward saying they can't afford it should reconsider their stamping addiction. It's an expensive hobby and $10 for an annual membership is nothing compared to what some of us spend on stamps every month. ** that being said, I do know that issues do come up.. jobs lost.. illness and all that that could hinder someones ability to pay. When someone steps forward with true circumstances that would not allow them to join, then I am all for helping those people join. If they just spent too much on stamps and have no more money left in their mad money jar for membership, then I say let them figure it out themselves.
I like the closeness of this site and do not want it to get huge and crazy and just out of control. Everyone is nice here, there are no petty arguements over which is a better color red or cranberry or whether or not you like the new wall decor line from SU.
As one of the new members I vote to keep it.
When I first discovered this great website I thought I had discovered the mother load. Yes, I lurked around for weeks before I decided to become a full member and when I did I didn't think twice because a fee was required.
Margaret
l say keep the fee...and don't feel bad Sherry we are so greatful for all that you have done for us and why should you have to put money out or even have to explain yourself ..Thank you for given me a new family and a safe clean place.
Please Bear.. with me while l grow.
I say keep the fee...and don't feel bad Sherry we are so greatful for all that you have done for us and why should you have to put money out or even have to explain yourself ..Thank you for given me a new family and a safe clean place.
I belong to 2 other boards where membership is small (under 50 and 25). I like it that way, personally for the above reasons, too. It's easier to get to know each other, as I have at the other boards and slowly (would help if I was here more often!!) getting to know everyone here, too.
So I guess you know I'd vote for the fee to stay.
Life is uncertain ~ eat dessert first!
To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides ~ David Viscott
Okay, I'm gonna be honest here and not trying to flame or be rude or anything like that, but the only reason I said I was looking forward to the no fee thing is because Sherry posted several days ago that there would be no more fee starting in October. So I was like great! I can save a few dollars. Every dollar I save these days is important to me. We are a one income family as well and I have a son going to college in the Fall. The only stamp money I have spent is money that I have made from selling things and birthday money. Other than that I go months without buying anything stamp related. I certainly understand that it is expensive to run this site. I just assumed Sherry had come up with a way to cover the fee....whether it was advertising, sponsorship or whatever. I certainly wasn't trying to resist or complain. I do appreciate the site and all that is given to us here and it is definitely worth the $10. But now I feel a little bit like an outcast for being honest.