speaking for myself, i would pay a reasonable one time fee for a lifelong membership, or if there were some sort of goodies thrown in. like when we made those window stickers that said "myg37.com" i think it was like $9 for a pair.. premium members should have gotten a pair for free.. i think small things like that would definitely get some people to start paying for membership. i also agree with the OP that non-members should be able to vote for contests like "Best G" because limiting the voting really doesnt show anyone whose g is the nicest.. what i mean is that if the winner is the winner in a pool of only 30 votes, it doesnt mean much but if the winner wins in a pool of 300 votes, it means a little more.

 

There is none, but as long as people are dumb enough to pay it, they will take it. It is icing on the cake for IB. They really make their money on ads and vendors, and anything they can sucker the masses in on, all the better.... I didn't even know there was a COTM, and I don't really see the advantage of being a premier member. If this was some mom and pop operation it supported, I would be all for it, but I am sure as hell not going to hand money over to some thankless corporation (and trust me, they are).

I am on at least 10 auto forums, and I don't know of any that charge the people that make the site possible except IB sites. WE ARE THE SITE. WITHOUT US THERE IS NO SITE, AND THEY WANT US TO PAY? THEY SHOULD BE PAYING US!!!! And actually, until recently (last 5 years--sorry I am old), I had never heard of such a thing. As mentioned, they are a business, and they will take advantage of whatever they can. They definitely don't care about me, you, or our cars as much as we do.

Sorry for the rant, but I hope the sheep open their eyes.... bahhh, bahhh, bahhh..... Your giving money to a company that claims 40% gross margins.... They don't need your money to keep this site going. Let them gouge the advertisers and vendors.....

Edit: just looked at the last year IB was a public company in 2009, and they made over $20 million profit in what was by all accounts a horrible year for most companies when it came to ad sales, revenue, sponsorships, etc. This was on over $100 million of revenue. And you really need to give these guys your $30 a year?

 

Yet you all keep coming back. There are other options.

 

I'll answer this for Dj farhan myself, as it's so frikken obvious to everyone except you.

The point is, nobody really gives a fawk about the poll.

 

Yo, Captain Obvious, what's up with your signature? Is it a joke, or are you serious? Not to point out the obvious (no pun intended), but your signature has nothing to do with punctuation; there is none in it. It is a reference/joke about capitalization. Just FYI.... Punctuation is periods, commas, semi-colons, etc. I am not sure if you are serious or not as I can see it being a joke, but people around here have enough problems with punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. I don't know that it make sense to confuse anyone more than they already are.

 

i think he meant to say

helping your uncle Jack, off a horse vs helping your uncle jack off a horse

 

Yeah I paid for premium membership last year, never again. There really isn't much benefit except I could use a custom Avatar. This site has a tendency to go down a lot and is pretty slow compared to other forums out there.

I do like the members though!

 

I don’t really know what all the fuss is about. The premium membership cost is a modest amount considering we’re driving a higher priced car. Yes IB is a business, but it’s a business from which we benefit through the knowledge and insight we gain without having to give them anything in return. In other words, we’re using their product for free. On that basis, giving them $29.95 per year in general support seems reasonable to me.

 

How about they track our clicks and pay us for their ROI...which is the more data they have to show we actually will click the banners, the more banners they'll sell. And some of these companies buying banners here BTW don't even apply to our vehicles. Some are so lame

 

vvvvv VW add right now

 

Sorry Chekov, I know you get a lot of heat on this forum and on a lot of threads I've been on your side, but that's ridiculous! Just because our vehicles cost more then others means we should pay more for an online forum to discuss them!? That's just stupid.

We are not using their product for free. We ARE their product creating them advertising money.

^ Regardless of that theory, the comment of paying more because of the cost of our vehicle erks me.

 

I still don’t understand why you’re so upset. You don’t have to pay anything to be a member here. The benefits for premium membership are, I admit, limited at best, so if you don’t want it, nobody’s forcing it on you. IMO benefits like long, detailed signatures with fancy graphics are unnecessary and overrated anyway, but that’s a topic for another day when I would still need you on my side.

 

Lol, I wasn't that upset. I understand most of us are using the free membership, but the point of expensive cars having to pay more was kind of stupid. Maybe the Ferrari guys should be paying $1000 memberships for their forums? Ya know?

 

guess you dont know sarcasm is when you see it..guess your not CaptainObvious

 

Wow... Its 30 bucks guys... Not that serious. Don't want it, Dont pay for it. SMH.