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| Matatk | Donations??? | ||
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Bogus -
Wondering if there is a way to donate to the site besides buying CG gear on cafepress. I'm down with the swag, but I think it would be more beneficial to donate $20 through paypal as opposed to buying a $20 t-shirt where you make $2. Will we ever have a "supporting member" designation? Thoughts? Matthew |
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Posted on: 2008/4/5 20:07
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2002 EBM convertible, Magnusson supercharger, cam, headers, etc. 1989 Corvette...RIP |
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| tobijohn | Re: Donations??? | ||
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I asked the same thing a few months back when things first started picking up:
http://www.corvette-guru.com/modules/ ... 1402&forum=5&post_id=9237 |
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Posted on: 2008/4/5 22:43
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| bogus | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
 
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I have been thinking about the "supporting member" concept. My only concern is that there isn't much we can offer yet, short of an email address!
The other problem, is that after some of the mess that occured over at CF, many who became supporing members lost interest, but they still have the $$. I don't want that. I guess we should set up something for random donations, but in general, I am not in a hurry. What you all CAN do is use all of our link through vendors. For example, one set of tires from Tire Rack and the Guru makes a lot of money. The link throughs are rather sophisticated, it takes a blind link and converts it at the company who handles the commissions to the site selected. Remember - you MUST use the click through banner ads!!!! |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:01
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The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw Education is the best tool to overcome irrational fear. - me |
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| DaleD | Re: Donations??? | ||
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I wasn't at the other place that long, but the concept of being a supporting member and having it sold that reeks. If I had donated to a site, assuming it was user owned and operated, only to have the jack boots come in, I'd be more than annoyed.
Here's an idea. Supporting membership translates to a small piece of the action. Not daily, not like stocks, only in the event of a sale. So, if someone gives $100, they own 0.0x% of the guru, on event of sale. No dividends, no payments to those buying in, unless you sell. That way, if someone wants to, they could buy in as much as they like. Those buying in, unless it was substantial, would have no say so on when or if to sell, or daily operations, (beyond that of all the users here). I'm not sure of the legal aspect, but I would guess it could be constructed fairly simply. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:10
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Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". |
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| bogus | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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On other thing... with swag, people SEE it.
It is a form of (God forgive me) viral marketing. Sure, money is nice, but for the bigger picture, people seeing we exist is even more important. That's why the static clings are free... to show a little love to our loyalists and to get the word out. I never understood why CF charged for theirs. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:14
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The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw Education is the best tool to overcome irrational fear. - me |
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| CentralCoaster | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Quote:
Interesting concept. Sort of like making it owned by the members. When that happens, you have to have share prices and then those people with ownership have a say in what happens, and then someone like Bogus/Bastet44 could own 51%. Then obviously as time goes on and the value increases, buying in costs more. That's how my company is at least, but I'm not much of a business man, they want me to buy-in but I don't want in. How do you determine the value of a forum anyways? I guess it's all a matter of profitability? |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:25
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1985 Z51, ZF6 |
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| DaleD | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Where I was trying to get to with my idea is that on the event of a sale, those donating would get their money back and maybe even a few extra bucks. That's why the it would be a percentage buy in, even if it is a very small percentage. So, assume I give $100 to the Guru. Ok, what does that buy me? Not much, I just support the Guru. I don't vote on anything. I don't get dividends. Bogus and company get to run it as they see fit. I don't have the option to withdraw my donation. Once given, it's gone, so no obligation to Bogus to keep cash on hand for those leaving. Now, let's assume the Guru has become the #1 destination on the internet, and Bogus sells it for $2 billion. My $100 helped Bogus get to a position to sell his empire. It's not quite fair for Bogus to take all the money and run. So, I have a 0.01% stake. Bogus pays me $200k for my help in creating his empire. It's a stake excercised only upon sale of the Guru. Seems fair to me. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:38
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Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". |
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| tobijohn | Re: Donations??? | ||
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I think the idea has merit too. I believe it can be set up so that there are different classes of stocks (non-dividend, non-voting, etc) so that the current owners would keep any income and retain control. In the event the forum was sold, some profit could make it back to those "supporting owners". There are probably other ways to structure it as well. I think Runner140 would be the guy to ask about the particulars. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 0:41
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| bogus | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Grand Imperial Pooh-Bah
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I would rather not have to be an OTC listing on NASDAQ.
It just sounds way complex to manage. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 1:01
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The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw Education is the best tool to overcome irrational fear. - me |
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| patsfan05488 | Re: Donations??? | ||
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I just bought some tires from them last week, Wish i had known this was how it worked. i'll makes sure I use the banners for future purchases :banana21: |
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 1:08
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| TommyT-Bone | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Chair-man of the bored
 
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If I win a piece of Fantasy Racing, you can have all my widgets.
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Posted on: 2008/4/6 2:18
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| Matatk | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Sorry...haven't been on in a couple days.
I didn't mean for this to become complicated. I guess my point was this: it takes a lot of money to run a website. I don't think it's fair for one person to have to shoulder that. I consider this forum "entertainment". I spend 7-10 hours a week on here. If I were to find another activity that I spent 7-10 hours on per week it would cost me at least $100 a week. So you're saving me money! Seriously, though, I understand that not everyone is in the position to pay $XXX.XX to become a supporting member or whatever designation. Even if donations were anonymous, with no recogntion, I would like to do that. This would be the first forum I've ever contributed to financially (besides my charming personality, of course). I don't want to step on anyone's toes, imply anything, or insult anyone, because money issues can be touchy. Bottom line is I appreciate the forum and would like to support it to keep it going for as long as it can  Matthew |
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Posted on: 2008/4/7 21:09
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2002 EBM convertible, Magnusson supercharger, cam, headers, etc. 1989 Corvette...RIP |
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| CentralCoaster | Re: Donations??? | ||
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Senior Guru
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That's usually my choice. It never feels as good for me after getting recognition for donating. And then I think some people do it only for the recognition, like a bragging rights thing, hopefully that's the minority though. But ultimately, if peoople are willing to give back, for whatever reason, that's always a good thing! I guess I just don't want it to feel like there's different classes of members beyond the necessary mods and such, since it hurts the overall quality of membership. |
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Posted on: 2008/4/8 17:37
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1985 Z51, ZF6 |
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