Enhanced BeerAdvocate Services. Would you pay?

Oops I totally misread that. Carry on...

 

Maybe I'm jaded/lucky in my trading experiences. I'm sure a lot of members would find use in it.

 

I don't like the idea at all and if there was no other choice I would rather the site be pay for use of any features across the board then pay for partial.
My not be a popular opinion. I love it the way it is and would want it to stay this way rather then the pay option, I don't mind a couple banner ads or whatever.

 

I would pay personally. I would be happy to see this site grow, in the size of the community, what the site can do & offer, and for as much as I use it, getting more features would be like a bonus. I've supported the site through my mag subscription, buying some stickers, a T-shirt, & a bottle opener from the store, and even just a donation as well, so for me it would be easy to toss in $20+ a year or something.

BA to me should be far more prominent & prevalent on the web then it is, imo, (what it is now is great, and nothing to scoff at of course) but growing with a community takes money, & support.

Though still early, it looks like there are a few more "no", but time will tell. If so many vote no, then might I perhaps suggest a "donation drive"? I've seen breweries do things like this, where they say sold t-shirts, and all proceeds from the sales went directly into improving/expanding the business. I know the donation field has been there for some time, but not sure how many actually contribute. Just know some of these upgrades, & others mentioned in the past, would go over well, but are not cheap, so perhaps a pledge drive (perhaps breweries around the country would be willing to donate "swag" i.e. stickers, glasses, shirts, so memebers receive something depending on the size of their donation) or something which would help raise funds for some stuff, especially if its a one time upgrade, though I realize some of these need permanent support, & therefore are an increased business cost.

Otherwise, just push the shit out of stuff in the store more to generate more revenue. For now, it's just seems to sort of be "there". Perhaps run sales, change what merchandise is offered, etc. Do clearances, etc. For as many events I attend, I rarely see others in a "beeradvcoate" t-shirt, surpringly, which is sad to me, since I know all of them are on here, all day, everyday.

 

I agree that it is overdue or would greatly help deter people from making bad trades. But if it is such a valuable tool, why make this a paid-only feature?

Here I truly do see there becoming a division. For many of the more seasoned traders and people opting into the paid feedback system, I see them refusing to ever trade with someone who does not have feedback/paid into the system. The logic being that if you care enough about trading then you're willing to fork over an extra $20 or whatever to ensure that everyone else knows what kind of trader you are.

Bad traders will still trade, just not within the paid feedback system, in which case they'll never be penalized for their actions. Of all the things mentioned, the feedback system, if implemented, needs to be free to every user, or else it's meaningless to me.

 

If I continue to get what I am getting, I will not pay.

If having a paid section of the site "divides" the community like Mark said, I will move on.

If I don't find anything comparable (and free) after moving on, I will reluctantly pay.

Bottomline being I will not pay unless it's essential.

 

What I really enjoy about BA is that it is completely free at this time. The other site has the paid membership idea going on and that just rubs me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, I would pay if you did something like this as I would like to get the full BA experience but I would prefer to keep things as they are right now (free for everyone). I would advocate for alternative revenue generating through other means.

Also, I have been thinking about this a lot and I think other BAs might agree but I think it would be pretty neat if in the future you offered personalized BA shirts for sale. Much like how sports fans can get their name on a team's jersey you could offer a service to somehow get our BA username on a BA shirt. I would definitely wear that to festivals, beer releases, etc. just to meet new people in the community. Just a thought.

 

I see a lot saying they wouldn't pay for the features added since they don't need them. What if it were rolled into the mag subscription as stated earlier? I mean right now it is $15 a year, how about make it $30 a year and add this "site enhancements", maybe throw in a membership bonus like a hat or T-shirt or something when someone signs up.

That way even if you don't "need" the bonus features of the site, you still get the magazine...

 

see Todd's reply to that earlier in the thread- they're wary to up the magazine rate.

 

One feature you might consider is removing ad banners for paying members. I would much rather have no ads. Yes, I know you can get around these with ad blockers and other browser tricks, but I'd rather remove them and still help the bottom line somehow.

 

I'm inclined to support the site depending on the price, I already do it for RB. Like someone else said, the other benefits are just welcomed extras.
I'd fork over w/e price it would be in a heartbeat though if that meant getting rid of the hover and something opens advertising even if it didn't come with any of the other stuff. Ever since you guys switched to the new ads, when they are those stupid hover and you get a video or w/e expanding screen ads, they open without me hovering over the ad and that really gets on my nerves...enough to pay w/e the price is to not have to deal with them

 

Not a bad idea, but that probably makes it marginally harder to sell ad space to people.

Edit: Todd, I'm a bit curious about the idea that trader feedback being paid means people are less likely to abuse it, maybe because I'm not sure what system you're envisioning. Do you mean people will leave bad feedback instead of good? People will create fake accounts in order to make trade history appear bigger than it is? I can see the latter being a problem, but a group who have only given feedback to each other should throw up massive red flags, and is probably trackable on you're end.

I'm just curious about it, as that seems like the kind of thing that's really valuable for everyone to have, so it seems like there'd need to be a really good reason to make it paid.

 

I was looking at it the other way, as you'd pay for the site benefits and get the magazine for "free".

 

That price, should you choose, can be free.

 

I choose paying and not dealing with those damn ads

 

You're not following. If the ads annoy you, there are plenty of adblock programs readily available to you right now for free.

 

You guys are seriously annoyed by the ads on this site? Compared to other sites I frequent this place is great.

 

Have you considered just accepting donations of any amount without worrying about providing specific services in return? Or just something small in return for a minimum level of donation, like a vanity title (as you suggested) or appealing but not content-related like removing ads (as sommersb suggested)? I like to donate money every so often to people who provide content that I use regularly and don't necessarily want *stuff* in return.

Providing content limited to donating users risks dividing the community, as others have mentioned, and providing services for some fixed amount (particularly physical objects like the magazine) limits the amount that any one user or household can really give you.