Ah ok. I see your point. I don't know enough about how a forum works to have a legitimate opinion. Thank you for the clarity.
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The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
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We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules
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- Thread starter Bowhunter41002
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smcchevy
Well-Known Member
Would you pay $15 dollars not to have to pack a stupid ladder stand a mile deep on some public?
I would. Would you?
That's basically how I justify any membership fee (even though the site is still free cept the contest and the ol trading post).
I would. Would you?
That's basically how I justify any membership fee (even though the site is still free cept the contest and the ol trading post).
You feel this way because your definition of "free" is not accurate. If Saddle companies "sponsor" the site - their prices will go up. They're not going to lose money by advertising, they're going to add profit margin to cover it. So you don't see the charge directly, but you will pay it if you continue to buy saddle gear. This takes the middle man out, with misaligned incentives, and passes the cost directly to you.
The cost, I might add, being borne by a dude, just like you and me, with a family to feed. Do you understand that Red is paying for the forum maintenance out of his own pocket, and with his own time?
Making it a mandatory 15.00 fee for a membership is a good idea because that equals less members. Less members equals less repeated questions/posts, more people utilizing the search function, less drama, less scammers, less trolls, etc. 15.00 isn't much but it is some form of a deterrent.
Vtbow
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
- Messages
- 5,516
The other thing to keep in mind is TIME! Red is a father and a professional in the medical world. Both of those are full time jobs. I'm guessing this started out as a hobby for fun on the side. The site has grown exponentially in members and I'm sure backend maintenance, front end management and cost. The time he is investing needs to come from somewhere, and as a father, I can tell you time doing something away from my family, or when i should be sleeping has a lot of value to it.
You pay everywhere, one way or another. Here you still get the content for free! And no ads/tracking/etc! No concerns or obligations to cater to sponsors! Just a nominal fee if you wanna sell your stuff.
I can't even imagine the aggravation and frustration that would come from running a free classifieds sute for thousands of people. The inevitable scamming/bad deals. The conplaints from people signing up just to sell their stuff, etc. That's a no-win situation - especially if you don't want to commercialize the site and just want to be a community resource! The classifieds arose as a place for the online friends and saddlehunting community to buy/sell/trade with other community participants. That model breaks when you have like 10k members.
pesqimon
Well-Known Member
No such thing. Someone is paying.
Profit is not the first motivator this time. Seems to me those other forums you refer to aren't as fun, but what do I know?
Yooper14
Active Member
If that's the case there would be hardly any need for a classified section. There would only be a few things a week being sold if that. You're no longer paying in order to use the classified section you're donating yearly so that there wont be a classified section.
I want to reiterate that I'm not against any of it. I really dont care how someone chooses to run their site. It's a useful tool for me that's for sure but if on January first we go from thousands of people being able to use the classified section - 9 thousand at the most‐ all the way down to a hundred then like I said essentially you arent really paying for the classified. You're paying to limit it.
I'm going to add to this. I understand the people who have been on this forum for a long time who have met friends and hold the forum in high regard in terms of the information it hands out to new saddle hunters. Its helped me. And they may think that this is the best place for saddle hunters to get information. It is, but that doesn't mean it always will be. Enough information that may originate from this site gets distributed all over the internet. YouTube, and Facebook specifically. The old heads on the site put the information on youtube themselves. You can say whatever you'd like about those places but as time goes on those groups and distribution methods will grow and the need for the forum will either grow with it or diminish based off peoples willingness to pay for something like a classified section. A lot of new people will probably come here looking to scroll the classified and when they find out they can't without paying I'm sure they'll be surprised and just leave the site. Especially since there's several places on facebook that sell just as much if not more saddle stuff and distribute the same information. I guess a lot depends on whether or not mr. squirrel wants the site to grow or if he's just trying to recoup some money and protect the classifieds buyers from being ripped off while the forum is as popular as it is.
Once again. I'll be paying the 15$. Most likely as payment for my use of the site not because I think I'll be buying or selling much after that fee is enacted. There wont be anyone to buy or sell from lol.
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Red can chime in, but this site was created for a much greater purpose then to resale gear. It is a benefit given over time. Unfortunately, when money becomes involved you get all kinds. Personally I could care less if the for sale forum disappeared - there are plenty of other ways to off load unwanted or used gear.
Patriot38
Well-Known Member
I think I've saved about $50 via this website. $15 bucks is well worth it to have access to a good crop of used gear. Thanks for keeping the site going!
I'll happily throw $15 at #papasquirrel. I'd do it even if I didn't use the classifieds and enjoy losing the contest. He built something cool, and has been reluctant to charge for it. The guy kinda built the industry. Tethrd would've been a wet fart without saddlehunter.com, as would Aerohunter, Wild Edge, Treehopper, Trophyline, etc. Sure, he didn't invent saddlehunting, but I'd argue he's gotten way more folks into it than the "godfather" Eberhart himself has. And Eberhart has made himself some money with his books and dvds.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free." @redsquirrel has been doing it for free for far too long.
Anybody who wants to throw a hissy fit and leave, enjoy facebook. Paracord bridges, "does this knot look right," saddle selfies, hashtags, fanboy circle jerks...
Bleh.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free." @redsquirrel has been doing it for free for far too long.
Anybody who wants to throw a hissy fit and leave, enjoy facebook. Paracord bridges, "does this knot look right," saddle selfies, hashtags, fanboy circle jerks...
Bleh.
It's nice to have a one stop shop, and I picked up my saddle here when I first got involved, from a guy that hadn't posted much, but was aweso.e enough to expedite shipping so I could hunt over the weekend...but first and foremost is the knowledge and community. with any choice there are things gained and things lost. 15 bucks to support Red? Done. It'd be great if non-members can still buy, but that's not up to me. If trades were tracked/recorded etc. Even better, but that's a bonus not an expectation.
I think I've spent many multiple over what I've "saved" lol.
ImThere
Well-Known Member
please go to the "other" website that provides the information given here
I agree with most of this - but there were many of us, to include Red Squirrel, on another forum doing DIYs when Red created this site (He invited us over when he created it). Tether'd was well represented and would have probably still came to be at some point. Social media no doubt has created rise and fall in a lot of industries. Trad bows are experiencing a major growth right now as well. Marketing has always been the biggest hurdle - in todays social media world it is just easier to reach more people. You Tube has probably done more than most because a video shows details hard to capture with words alone - more people like videos than reading.
And, the classifieds here are dope. I've sold thousands of dollars worth of stuff. It let's me try things risk-free. I have literally sold gear in a matter of minutes, and bought stuff and had it to me 2 days later when the less time from the manufacturer was weeks or months.
I've never seen anything like it, and I do a lot of horse trading.
I've never seen anything like it, and I do a lot of horse trading.
ImThere
Well-Known Member
freaking natural born freeloaders I swear I'm amazed, shocked and surprised!
Here is something for most of these PO'd folks should look into - MOLLE tissue holder for their saddle
Letemgrowitllshow
Well-Known Member
Nickel and dimed???? Wow dude. You cant be serious.
Yooper14
Active Member
That's the thing tho. He doesnt have to. He can still get all the information here. So you may think whatever of him and his opinions but you may still see him on the forum a year from now freeloading all the good info that's on this site. By limiting access to only the classified people like that will still be here. In the end I would say limit all of it or none of it. If people get ripped off then so be it.
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