112 replies to this topic

[Joel]

As many of you know, I have tried and tried to keep this site free for all to use, and have been receiving support ($ donations) from mfgrs, home brew shops, and some donations. I have considered in the past, and have held off so far.. But would you pay an annual fee for access to sections such as Grape Wine Making, Kits, Mead, Chemicals, Vineyard, Equipment, Classifieds, and a few others?

Keep in mind that all this information has hopefully helped you out in the past. Some have donated, and it's greatly appreciated. But an annual fee would help me have a better handle on what to expect financially each year.

I apprecaite your help with this.. I would really just rather have more advertisers, but some mfgrs don't show interest, or just no budget....

THanks
joel

[Little Blind Guy]

I would also have a few "free" forums to pique the interest of people and hopefully get them to join. Pat's pinned item at the top of kit section would be a good example of the kind of information they would find here.

[HonkingGooseWine]

I would think that if you could make the site free to read that would get a new members interest going. So, that when they wanted to ask a (question/post their own thread) they wouldn't mind paying the annual fee.

Good Job Joel

Frank

[ThistleDew]

I agree there should be some limited free read privileges, but you should have to "pay to play" the whole forum. As far as the cost, I have noticed some retirees (Me), students, and others on the forum with limited incomes. Cost could cause some to leave, but $10-20 a year shouldn't be a problem. WinePress is well worth it!

[Andy in SoCal]

I think you deserve every $ you can get for Winepress.

That said, 99% of the content on the internet is free, like all the winemaking and grape growing yahoo-type groups, and even previously fee-based newspaper content is increasingly moving to no-charge business models.

I'm not sure what the right answer is for you, Joel, but I'd sure miss Winepress if it wasn't around any more.

Andy

[Joel]

hmmmm.... 100 people have viewed this thread, and yet only 10 have posted their votes. Should that be a symbol that of 5,500 members, only 10 % will be paying members? 90 people looked at the thread and didn't even take the time to vote... just click here or here.. voting is done.. this is an important poll.. please vote.

Cheers,
joel

[Gizzy]

hmmmm.... 100 people have viewed this thread, and yet only 10 have posted their votes. Should that be a symbol that of 5,500 members, only 10 % will be paying members? 90 people looked at the thread and didn't even take the time to vote... just click here or here.. voting is done.. this is an important poll.. please vote.

Cheers,
joel

Joel, I enjoy WinePress.US. I very much appreciate all the efforts you put into this forum. It would be devastating to see it going away. What would I do all day?

I am one of those 10 that voted and if it requires an annual fee to continue WinePress.US so be it.

Salute
Gizzy

[jca]

I voted, and I would gladly pay an annual subscription fee. This site and the folks who frequent it have helped me greatly.

Some thoughts.....

1. As far as "read for free" goes, can the site be set up so that anyone can read, but they can't post or search unless they subscribe? If someone wants to participate, they have to subscribe.

2. Is there a cost associated with making bandwidth available for a bunch of non-subscribers who would essentially be just lurking?

3. If the server happens to be loaded to at or near capacity, and a subscriber logs on, will a non-subscriber get bumped off?

Jack

[zscape123]

Joel,
I'd gladly pay $10 a year to continue to be a member of this site.
John Z

[ThistleDew]

hmmmm.... 100 people have viewed this thread, and yet only 10 have posted their votes. Should that be a symbol that of 5,500 members, only 10 % will be paying members? 90 people looked at the thread and didn't even take the time to vote... just click here or here.. voting is done.. this is an important poll.. please vote.

Cheers,
joel

It's not that bad Joel. I voted, I commented, and I think this is my 5th or 6th "peek" at the subject. Interested in your poll, curious, or just plain nosey? Call it what you want, but I think it's an important subject so I'll keep checking back ...and drive up your views! You provide a great service for all, and hope you feel appreciated for what you are doing for us.

OK! This is 7 views and one vote!

[Hammered]

I'm guilty of peeking and running, but mostly because I'm not sure what the structure would look like. I think like any business, you have to look carefully at the value to your prospects and all of the options/ramifications to your day to day decisions. Be careful to just slap on a fee. You may have one lonely forum, or...

This site is extremely valuable, and like a "tasting fee" at a winery, a marketable charge shows that the owner thinks highly of the value of his business and it is then perceived by the consumer as more valuable. Who is your competition? What do they charge? What is your benefit to the market? And WHAT WILL THEY PAY? These are some of the hardest questions to answer in any business.

Other forums I've seen charge after a certain number of posts/looks, and leave a free segment that some will frequent but never join up. I'd say, carefully consider it and the value that is absorbed, and then you need to do a LOT to market it on the general website and elsewhere. It may mean a significant website redesign to accomplish this.

[NorthernWiner]

I'd gladly pay a yearly fee. I currently pay dues to belong to a winemaking club, and WinePress isn't really that much different. Well, except I spend more time on this forum than I do with the winemaking club.

Steve

[alanr]

I agree with Andy's comment that just about all content on the Internet is available free of charge and I'm not sure how well a "pay site" would be perceived. I think we would see a significant drop-off in participation and I would hate to see these forums loose their value due to lack of participation.
Having said that, another way to look at it is how much does a subscription to Winemaker magazine cost? I think the amount of knowledge and advice found on this site should be worth as much as that or more. We don't expect to be able to get a magazine like Winemaker for free so should this site be available for free? Personally, I think we all need to voluntarily contribute so that's there's no need to change it into a pay site.

[gregorio]

This is a difficult question to answer. How would charging a fee change the free flow of information? Would some of the more experienced winemakers be more or less inclined to post? Would it reduce the number of new subscribers that sign up to ask one or two "newbie" questions and then leave or would they stick around for the long term?

I'm still undecided.

[D'Augustine Vineyard]

I'd lean toward voluntary subscription donations too. You could have an annual "suggested" subscription donation comparable say to the cost of a subscription to a winemaking/gardening magazine and an annual fund drive or whatever you want to call it to go with it. People can then pay in accordance with the value they feel the site returns to them and/or whatever they feel they can afford to spend.

I participate on paid boards and non-paid boards and there is 500+ times the traffic and participation on a non-paid board. Most boards have at least two groups of participants - oldtimers (experienced folks) who end up giving more advice than they get and newbies who ask more questions than they can answer. If everyone has to pay that means the oldtimers are paying to give advice for the benefit of the board. It's no wonder that you start to see the oldtimers clamming up on the paid boards. I belong to two boards relating to making movies - one paid and one free. There are some oldtimers I know who belong to both boards. On the free boards they chat up a storm - on the paid boards you only hear from them a little bit because they figure the moderator of the board and receiver of the fees ought to put in the work as the "expert" because they're getting paid for it.

I think if you make it voluntary, then everyone feels they're contributing to a collective good. At least it seems that way to me.

Heather