Patreon for Bartertown?

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Linrandir ( 108 )
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Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by Linrandir »

Good evening everyone!

Since MM's latest Troll-splosion, a number of people have suggested we start a Patreon for Bartertown. I will look into this in the next few days, as well as trying to get an idea for the workload required.

That said, and making it clear that user funding the site will never be mandatory as long as I own it, what are y'all's thoughts on us starting a Patreon page to generate more funds for the site?
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MagickalMemories ( 832 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by MagickalMemories »

I'm up to my eyeballs. I'm too old to be raising kids AND just now getting around to pursuing a CIS degree for data analytics. But, here I am, doing it anyway.

I CANNOT be a regular contributor, maintain it, etc. But I'll be glad to post occasional things for members, like "How To's" for packing, shipping, etc., and stuff, to contribute to whatever our obligation will be to supporters.

Eric
Lower rating? You ship first.

Give me a sense of humor Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life and pass it on to other folk.


I think what this situation needs is some imagination.

"...I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell

Want my help with a BTR or backout? All messages sent/posted should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order. Otherwise, I just won't read it.
MagickalMemories ( 832 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by MagickalMemories »

Heh heh heh Troll-splosion.
I like it.
Lower rating? You ship first.

Give me a sense of humor Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life and pass it on to other folk.


I think what this situation needs is some imagination.

"...I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell

Want my help with a BTR or backout? All messages sent/posted should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order. Otherwise, I just won't read it.
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pretre ( 1340 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by pretre »

Yeah, Patreon's cool and all but it's just a platform for regular deductions of donations. Most places feel like they need to give value to get it, but the problem is that you are already giving value, you're just trying to find a different way to capitalize it.

Instead of patreon, what about donate links? You can setup a paypal widget that donates $1 or whatever and put it on the page.
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wsott1970 ( 132 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by wsott1970 »

pretre that is super smart... A good bit of people are just too cheap to pay the yearly fee; however, periodic $1 donations for something they might end up doing... (it would) be easier to guilt people to cough up some change for a service that saves them a lot of eBay/Paypal fees... they shouldn't have to be coerced/guilted (but you can't change human nature).

Perhaps, try this... $1 (or maybe even .50 cents) donation to allow a single posting in the 4-day window vs the normal 7-day window... I would think people would pay for that... Maybe even sub out other components, in single-use versions, of paying members for cheap (.50 cents)... I would think people would use them... and generate a money stream (trickle)... and if they use them enough they will realize that paying for a year is way cheaper... ie it is a small trickle (vs a stream) that will lead to a full stream.

Maybe to go along with that tighten restrictions on total posts... Because I believe that is abused... I get a mixed add in 40k/Fantasy... Maybe even bits... but some people post the same damn add in every category it could fit in... That is annoying as hell (worse than thread bumping IMHO)... If you reduced to say 3 total postings in the 7-day window (with the same no posting in a specific category for 7-days)... I don't think it would have a chilling effect (most people don't use more than 3-4 trade topics is my guess - on a regular basis)... that could generate more people that pay the yearly fee and definitely give you another thing to use for the system above (ok you are over 3 total adds cough up .50 cents to get a single-use membership permission)...

The above would hopefully make people stop hitting every topic and hopefully start to split their bits/board games/PP ads out into specific parts and maybe even 40K/Fantasy (I am guilty of that one for sure - I can split it but I don't split it because I am lazy (sometimes) and I know it hurts my ad because I would get tired of reading through a long mostly fantasy ad if I only played 40K)... That makes ads easier to read, more topical (which I would prefer), and maybe less MM has to check (because when people only have 3 adds in 7 days (if they use the service a lot) they will want to make sure they get the most out of it)... I see the current post in any topic (and get yelled at later) as probably a bad QMS loop (at least for the abusers) and it may be a way to turn it into a self-reinforcing QMS loop (make it in the users best interest to do what is right vs what is wrong).

I prefer PayPal but I am old... The young 'uns do like different things.

Sean
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wsott1970 ( 132 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by wsott1970 »

Lol... or provide a profit motive (one of the above benefits) for purchases made form supporting businesses... Much harder to track but that does show somebody like pretre that hey we enacted this policy and it made your volume go up 15%... how much would that be worth to the business??? I really do believe that the businesses that supporting BarterTown do an awesome job... and I will buy from them (even if a little over what I could get elsewhere) just to support them... Perhaps there is a way to use self-profit to cause it a user to act as I do.

Though there will be abusers here as with anything (Hey pretre - can you sell be this $1 item and ship it for free????)... and I could see that being annoying.

The key is not to have a chilling effect on the use of Bartertown... More users = More trades... and that is good... but to find a service or policy change that isn't a game breaker and set a common profit motive between BarterTown and the users... Once symbiosis is achieved almost everything can start to get better... but people don't part with money without a profit motive... even though long term it is in their best interests to keep BarterTown in funds... they think too short-term.

Last thought for now.

Sean
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by MagickalMemories »

One thing we have to keep in mind, on the back end, is whether we can even incorporate certain things into our software.
We use phpBB software. So, using wsott's example of paying a one-time fee to most an ad sooner than normall, allowed, we'd have to do one of two things:
1) Find a plug-in that someone happens to have already created for phpBB that does that action, test it, then implement it.
or
2) We (Plarz) would have to create it from scratch.

I sincerely doubt that anyone's done #1 yet, and Plarz, like the rest of us, isn't exactly brimming with free time.

@Pretre
You make good points.

I think the benefit of Donate links is that they're always here and always on.
On the other hand, Patreon is a "set it and forget it" kind of deal, where someone can set it up to give us a buck a month, then not have to worry about remembering after that.

Frankly, I can see benefits to both.
...and there's no real reason that they need to be exclusionary, really.

Eric
Lower rating? You ship first.

Give me a sense of humor Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life and pass it on to other folk.


I think what this situation needs is some imagination.

"...I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell

Want my help with a BTR or backout? All messages sent/posted should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order. Otherwise, I just won't read it.
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jason1977 ( 208 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by jason1977 »

OK. Im sorry. Im just a noob in the world. What is a patreon??

Jason


PS Trolls answers should be nuked.
In an act of kindness and respect, please respond to PMs one way or the other with in a timely manner.
Im sorry but I do not ship outside the US.
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wsott1970 ( 132 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by wsott1970 »

I thought technical implementation might be a pain... not a lot I can tell you on that one.

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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by MagickalMemories »

jason1977 wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:12 pm
OK. Im sorry. Im just a noob in the world. What is a patreon??

Jason


PS Trolls answers should be nuked.
Real answer:
https://www.patreon.com/

Patreon is a website where... well, almost anyone... can let people give them money for... stuff.
It's often used by artists, webcomic creators, and online contributors as a way to be able to offer their services "for free" online, and allow their fans to pay them for those services.

That's a SUPER basic description.

Eric
Lower rating? You ship first.

Give me a sense of humor Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life and pass it on to other folk.


I think what this situation needs is some imagination.

"...I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell

Want my help with a BTR or backout? All messages sent/posted should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order. Otherwise, I just won't read it.
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by bluemeenie »

Long time no post... :)

I like pretre's idea...and would add if you display that donate "checkbox" as an option right before you press the submit button with the "1$" already entered (but someone could always make it more) then that would be good.

Then when the user goes to submit they can check the box.


Also, i know we don't have a "sold" button or anything like that, but what if you were to create something that allowed posters to close/complete their postings when the "trade" is completed which would have the "donate" option.

This would benefit the site a couple of ways:

1. If a trade is created in the site you could set it up to "email" the poster if the items are still valid and if they are not because they have been sold you can prompt them to come back and "complete" the posting. in the completion button you can have have it prompt the user to leave their reference and also a little line about "if you were successful and want to support the site for future successful trading donate here" with the checkbox.

2. If a user completes the trade then it could update the posting with a banner that says "SUCCESSFUL TRADE" or something. (like the banners you see on the locked posts because they tweaked MM :P) This will help people filter through posts that no longer have stuff available (huge time saver) AND show new people how successful Bartertown really is as those successful trades pile up on the boards pages (before pruning)

I know when I first started here many, many years ago I was tentative to trade at first because i really didn't know how successful the site really was in trades. if I came and saw a bunch of banners that say "Trade completed" after something was only posted about a day ago I would have been much more comfortable.


3. (or 2s) in regards to #2 it also saves posters time from having to respond to numerous "do you still have it" PM's which is also time consuming. I know if I could just complete a trade and then people know it's gone that would be awesome.. I know I am not the only one that has gotten the "at least you could have responded to my PM to let me know, your kind of a jerk" message after I got rid of my item and then didn't come back for a couple of months only to find multiple PM's for something I didn't have anymore.




I have some more thoughts but don't want to overwhelm... :)

Michael
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by ssapper »

Please let me start by saying I am a nobody here. But I have been on and off of here for the past few years. I want Bartertown to grow and prosper because it benefits me and my community as gamers and hobbyists.

Perhaps instead of following trends and going for a decade old cash grab that barely makes money for people who crank out 5 to 10 pieces of content a day (Full time job, that I do not think anyone here wants) Perhaps we go a different route. So many of these things start with good intentions but turn out to be a complete waste of the creators time and effort. And a massive cash drain on them for equipment and content costs.

ADVERTISE

I love Bartertown, but it is becoming stale. In my opinion. And that is not a hit or meant to criticize anyone. It may well be that I am just not a 40k'er and so I look at the other forums and see 5-7 posts in a week...and of those...3-5 are re-posts from earlier just trying to get to the top of the forum. I think an injection of new life and some young fresh blood (even if it is a bunch of new old guys) will do more to get fresh investors and supporters. I looked to support the site before, but the membership program really did not sell me on anything. The opportunity to post more in a shorter period of time really isn't a big deal since in my areas of interest...posts are few and far between. Different colored letters, not really something that interests me.
Helping keep bartertown alive and growing...You have my attention.

Advertise

What if...you asked for 1% of all sales? This way a buyer or seller get what they are here for, and that is a sale. And the pay a 1% small fee for that service you are enabling them to have. It is 14% cheaper than ebay, and 24% cheaper than Amazons fees. And if a trade is completed, maybe ask each party to submit a dollar to the site. While I am sure some tech savvy way of tracking that might be an investment, I think even the honor policy amongst the faithful Bartertown members would raise more an a month than membership may possibly be raising in a full year. While, I admit. I have no clue what the expenses of the forum are. I can not imagine they are two intrusive.

Advertise

Or, How about before feedback posts, a party has to pay $1. This way if you want your rating to increase, you support the site financially.

Advertise more.

How about an amazon smile account?

Or pm me me the operating costs, and I will set up a go fund me account and lets see if we can get a year or two paid for without having to entice folks with pretty colors.

If your read this far, you can see a trend. I wear many hats in my personal life. And I will tell you, anytime I place advertising first, everyone of those hats succeeds. But when I place time and effort on thrills and invest in improvements and what if's...I just lose time and spend money with little to no return.

I wholeheartedly believe the growth and financial sustainment of bartertown is in advertising in other locations. And I am happy to help that.

So here is a few starter ideas.

Start a share-a-thon. I am happy to sposor it with some new in box kits...I am sure some of the retailers on here will as well for a shout out. This can be done every 90 days or so, perhaps for a month at a time. Open a thread, one entry a day, (They post the link to their share via FB, Twitter, Instagram or some forum we have never heard of) and they can do this daily. At the end of the month, tally up points, highest points get a prize. And what does it cost the member? less than five seconds a day to post a savvy comment and bartertown.com on social media... we an do this. Hell we should have all been doing this for the last few years. Recruitment never stops...this hobby is a revolving door...and it does not help that most sellers are likely on their way out of the door when they join this community.

How about a bartertown fleemarket day. Remember the old chat page...how hard would it be to open up a chat page or thread here on this very forum that deliberately targets a yardsale or auction style type of day. Where folks know, for 12 hours or so, that they can upload a photo and have X hundred buyers actively looking to buy (or sell, or both) and then once it is over Btown could maybe ask for that 1% of sales?

How about bartertown consignment shop. Someone mails in their goods, someone inventories, and sells it all, funds for shipping come from the sales, and bartertown takes 10%, then cuts PP to the consignee. While this may be a ton of work, there may be someone in this trying time with an empty garage, looking to find work and support the page at the same time. Perhaps Btwon could cut them a slice and they work for Btown, and both benefit.

Here is my last one for now.

Post the expenses and ask for help.

I do not know how many times people have tried to sell me shiny crap and terrible candy bars for 400% of the actual value as a fund raiser. I constantly wish they would just show me their financial goals and ask for money. With the return being that if I invest in them, I invest in their future and they would rather spend time making something better than begging me for a few bucks. Why do we not just ask the community to support with X amount as the end goal. You may be surprised how much you get. We have a few sugar daddies hanging around here who likely have made tens of thousands off the site and may fund you in one day if you just ask. Everyone can benefit from a helping hand, and a helping hand does not mean a hand out.

I dunno, just tossing ideas out there. Please be gentle in your feedback, I sincerely want to help.
MagickalMemories ( 832 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by MagickalMemories »

Good information and thoughts. Thanks.
And you're NOT a nobody here. LOL

I'll need to read them at least one more time and digest them before I can give good replies to anything... but excellent feedback. Thanks.

Eric
Lower rating? You ship first.

Give me a sense of humor Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life and pass it on to other folk.


I think what this situation needs is some imagination.

"...I'm a nerd, and I'm here tonight to stand up for the rights of other nerds.” – Gilbert Lowell

Want my help with a BTR or backout? All messages sent/posted should be in CHRONOLOGICAL order. Otherwise, I just won't read it.
ssapper ( 292 )
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Re: Patreon for Bartertown?

Post by ssapper »

I know times are challenging us all. And they look to get worse before they get better. I hope everyone is doing well. Any thought to my previous comments? Any insight to the way a head for B-town? I would love to help.

Thanks
Eric
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