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Thread: Whaddya Think?

  1. #61
    Join Date
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    Our House...In the Middle of the Street
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    Well whatever can be set up easily. I just don't want it to become some huge time consumeing thing for Sherry you know
    Of course. Of course. But, for the long-term viability of the site, it should be thought-through, and something that can be sustained for the long-haul. Sherry, if you read this, (and if you like the idea I have) it might be worth contacting the owner of the AMRSC website and ask her how she handles the $1/month membership for the "discount deals." (Or, if you like, I can contact her for you).


    EDITED TO ADD:

    After reading Kimmy's concern of "overpaying" up front, my suggestion would eliminate this to a degree. Say, we have 500 members. So, each person only wanted to pay $2 for March membership. That would be $1,000. With what is already contributed, we're SOOO CLOSE to hitting our $1,500 goal, already! But, we know some folks will go ahead and pay $12 up front. Not everybody.....but some will. Not only will one person have access to the site for a full year, but the extra $10 they were able to pay up front will "make up" for five other folks who don't wantto or can't pay anything right now (or at all).

    So....here's the "rough math" of where we stand......

    If we asked each person to pay $12 (that's $1 per month)....we would need about 90 people to commit to this to cover the cost of running this site for one year. For everybody else, who can't afford it right now, that's OK. Pay as you go. No skin off my nose. Sherry could use the extra money to enhance the site or provide fun prizes for ALL members....or whatever.....
    Last edited by Vintagegal; 02-16-2007 at 07:34 PM.
    Ethel

    We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. --Aristotle

    Ability is what you are capable of doing.
    Motivation determines what you do.
    Attitude determines how well you do it.

    My Blog: The Paperquilter

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Swanie78 View Post
    While I understand what you are saying, the tone of your post sounds like a handslap. And its also demeaning.
    .
    I've read her post over and over looking for what in it is demeaning and it's not coming across that way to me at all. I believe there is a misunderstanding if you think that was her tone. We want everyone to feel comfortable to say what they truly think on this issue so the best decision can be made.

    Let us please not bicker on this, it is very important that we provide input and ideas for Sherry as a huge decision about the future of this site needs to be made. We all need for this thread to continue to be positive and for everyone to feel welcome to put whatever their feelings are.

    Thank you,
    Erin

    edited to include:
    If I'm missing something in Joanne's post that is inappriate please PM me do not continue this discussion on this thread. We need to move on and get back to ideas and input on the money issue. I will happily read and consider any person's concerns about anything they find hurtful, I'd just rather do it off the main board.
    Last edited by Erin K; 02-16-2007 at 09:07 PM.

  3. Good evening, gals

    Thank you all so very much for your feedback, comments and suggestions! I am so pleased that this thread remained diplomatic and very peaceful

    I am going to mull this situation over for a bit - perhaps over a large candy bar or an extra large glass of wine, haha. Erin is right, this is a huge decision for me and it won't be an easy one no matter which way I decide to take it. I may contact a few of you via PM to discuss your opinions as they do mean a great deal to me!

    Thanks again!! I will leave this thread open in case some of you haven't had the chance to voice your opinions.

    Sherry

  4. #64
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
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    466
    I don't have anything new to add or suggest. I really enjoy this site and want to see it continue with all the great features that it has now. I work on Web sites for a living and I do understand all the time and effort Sherry puts into this site. I also understand very well the costs involved. It would not be reasonable to expect Sherry to continue doing this without some way to pay for the costs involved. I am more than willing to pay a membership fee to help keep the site going. I understand that not everyone has the same means so what would be comfortable for me, may not be for someone else, so I don't feel that I can suggest an amount.

    We need to consider not only the costs of moving the site to a dedicated server, but also other costs that might come up. I also agree with what someone said (I think it was Joanne) that having the membership fee also would provide a more "secure" income so to speak than relying on people to participate in fund raisers, etc. However, I do think those would be great ways to supplement the income provided by membership fees. Finally, I would not want this to become a site where you have to pay a fee to be able to access it at all. I think there should be "free" areas and then other areas accessible only by paying the fee. If you restrict it too much, it would difficult to attract new members.

    I don't post a lot, but I'm here every day. I really appreciate having this site and everything that Sherry does.

    Judy
    Create like there are no critics.

  5. #65
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Our House...In the Middle of the Street
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    6,876
    Sherry........ like the Santa stamp, do you have access to a stamp designer who can make stamps exclusively for Stamp Shackers?

    If so, you could offer that as incentive for paying for a full year's membership. Not just one stamp, but a FULL SHEET or a full plate. Like a 9 x 11 sheet of stamps! The stamp designs could be designs created by Shack members. We can all have a chance to submit our designs (anonymously) and then we would have a chance to vote on which ones would go on the unmounted sheet.

    Just throwing ideas out there...................
    Ethel

    We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. --Aristotle

    Ability is what you are capable of doing.
    Motivation determines what you do.
    Attitude determines how well you do it.

    My Blog: The Paperquilter

  6. #66
    It's wonderful to read all the thoughtful responses here.

    So I'll join too.

    Here's what I LIKE:

    ~ Membership fees I think this is the best way to go. I like Margot's suggestion of "trial membership..." sort of a "try before you buy" thing! I also like the idea of, perhaps "limited" memberships for those very valuable members who couldn't afford the full membership fee, giving them access to some but not all facets of the site, and doing so anonymously so other members wouldn't know.

    ~ Charging for the acquisition of the templates...another great idea!

    ~ Creating more rubber stamps, exclusive to Shack members. I think that's a FABULOUS idea! I could just KICK myself for not having bought the Santa stamp!

    ~ I like Kerry's idea of "free-with-membership" stamps for the backs of cards too. This is one I'd just LOVE to see developed more!

    Here's what I don't like:

    ~ "Status" levels of donations

    ~ Advertisements!

    Re any funds over and above the cost of maintaining the site, I believe that's Sherry's decision, and hers alone. She spends a huge amount of time maintaining and trouble-shooting this site for us all, and frankly, I would be tickled pink if she had a little extra $$$ to treat herself. I wouldn't even THINK of asking where money over and above the strict cost of site maintenance goes, in the same way as I wouldn't think of asking a magazine publisher where their money goes, once expenses are paid. I don't see this as much different than, for example, profiting from the sale of a self-designed rubber stamp. This site is a service to us, and it causes me no grief whatever to see a little financial incentive to site owners (this and ANY others I enjoy, to be honest) to keep up their valuable work.

    Wouldn't it be interesting to calculate the number of hours spent maintaining this site, maybe with a little "profit" from memberships after site maintenance fees are paid, we could look at this as an "hourly age..." hmmm... I'd be surprised if it came to the double digits in pennies per hour.

    So, I'll keep watch, and am happy to participate in whatever ways Sherry needs us to, in order to keep this the vibrant, interesting community it is.

    Deborah.

  7. #67
    oh my!! i go to work and look what happens!!

    my two cents (or maybe 50!)...

    --pay a annual membership fee.

    --while i can see both sides of the argument of paying vs not affording to pay, it's been said before, this is a spendy hobby. don't buy extra supplies for a week or two or cut back on starbucks for a week...would someone rather have a subscription to papercrafts or the stamp shack? my point being, like someone else said, throw your change in a jar...in no time you'll have some extra cash.

    --i'm in suppot of whatever sherry decides. this is her baby, so she is the one in charge. or we could form a committee, so to speak, like the creative team...who would be the ones in charge of major decisions.

    i'm tired, had a crap day at work, and just want everyone here to get along!! this place has far exceeded my expectations of any "craft" website that i thought could be. seriously, i have friends litterally around the globe and in my backyard, compliments of this website. i'm willing to hang onto that.

    {click above for my craft blog!}

  8. #68
    cahinton Guest View Member Photos
    Quote Originally Posted by Sherry View Post
    We could do without membership fees and rely soley on donations OR we could implement a yearly fee for templates OR I could always do what most other website do and install advertisments. While this is unsightly and EXTREMELY annoying in my opinion, it can create revenue if it is done properly.
    Sherry, I think advertisements can be done tastefully and still bring in a lot of revenue. On the following site, the blog author has a post where he claims to bring in over $30,000 a month but he does have an extremely large amount of traffic http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...rom-your-blog/

    I don't feel the advertisements on his site are obtrusive. Google ads in particular are context sensitive, so they will be relevent to the text on each page.

    Carol

  9. #69
    Wow, after reading everyone's post, I have a headache. This topic may have hit a sore point with some members. I am very GRATEFUL that Sherry has provided this great website for us and really APPRECIATE it to be able to come to a site and feel right at home. For some this is a like a second family, a great resource and great friends.

    I had no idea how much it cost to run a site nor the amount of work put into - I am not computer savvy, but I do now.

    Normally, I would not pay a fee to join a club, but I do feel that something needs to be done and it is not fair that Sherry should have to put any more money out of her pocket just to make everyone happy.

    I agree that $15/per person may be too much for some and others have no problem paying more.

    So what ever you decide Sherry, I will support it.

    Pat

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