Bilbobaker Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, Quote Link to comment
+speakers-corner Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Less than $2,50 a month, I think the going rate is a bit low for what is offered, and I think that is what a lot of the members think. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, ...and many feel that this would be an undesirable outcome. Enough of the explosions! We've already had the "explosion effects" of smart phone applications and they're not all positive ones. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, ....just the facts,, 1) Membership is free. 2) Membership levels are just fine... or too high as it is. 3) This is no 'tax debate'... if you want bennies, you pay for them. If you don't, don't. 4) Explosion isn't a good thing anyway you look at it. ....just the facts,, Quote Link to comment
+BAMBOOZLE Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, ...and many feel that this would be an undesirable outcome. Enough of the explosions! We've already had the "explosion effects" of smart phone applications and they're not all positive ones. MrsB + 1........I miss the old days. Quote Link to comment
+spotter/g Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 don't forget we would need to add paying members at a rate higher than 3x's the rate now. At 3x members added we stay even with the amount of money the premium memberships make now. That's a lot of new members! Quote Link to comment
+Lieblweb Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 You think $30 a month is too expensive? This is the cheapest and most fun hobby I've had. The expense is gas....not premium membership. Quote Link to comment
+Sapience Trek Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 You think $30 a month is too expensive? This is the cheapest and most fun hobby I've had. The expense is gas....not premium membership. I sure hope you aren't paying 30/month! Quote Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The expense is gas....not premium membership. You are so right. At $60Cdn for a tank of gas, I can easily spend $30 in gas on a caching day. Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Right now, a quarter-tank of gas for my truck is thirty bucks. I pay more than that each month on my phone bill (sorta-smart phone and add on). I smoke. Guess what that costs me each year. Thirty bucks for a year of fun, when you break it down, isn't all that bad after all. Quote Link to comment
+T.D.M.22 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Let's see. A pack of smokes per day at $10/pack(canadian) is at least $3000 a year. Gas for me just to go to work is $1200. phone bill is about $600 a year. going to see movies once a month is probably around $240 per year. My old hobby of paintball could easily be $600-$1500 a year just for paint. $30 a year is not that bad. In fact I pay more than that on haircuts. An I'm willing to bet a lot of people spend more than that on coffee at Tim Horton's or worse, Starbucks per month. Quote Link to comment
+dprovan Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, You've got it backwards. These concepts are already well understood and, in fact, are the reasons premium membership is only $30 bucks instead of some perfectly reasonable but much higher number. I don't actually know what rate new members are signing up, but from where I sit, the population already appears to be exploding, just as you suggest it should if the rate were low enough. Quote Link to comment
+AKStafford Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 At $30 a year, this is the cheapest thing in my life. And the basic membership is free. So I guess I'm saying I disagree with you completely. Quote Link to comment
+Lieblweb Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I sure hope you aren't paying 30/month! Lol oops... Thanks for pointing that out! That would get a little expensive .... Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This topic is more appropriate for the general forum. It's not really a getting started issue. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, Why do we want an exploding membership? I can see why Groundspeak might, but I'd kind of like to see fewer, myself. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 In 2000 not many people owned handheld GPS units, and there were much less people than today who had internet access. Currently you don't need any GPS or computer, only a $10 app added to the cost of a smartphone. I don't know how much easier it can get, but it appears that there are many more caches than ever before with much lower quality, in the locations, in the swag, and in the sparse logs. Quote Link to comment
+bflentje Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I think all members should be paying so that we get back to this as being an elite and exclusive hobby. Geocaching gets way too much exposure nowadays and was more fun when "everyone" wasn't doing it. Quote Link to comment
+Walts Hunting Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 don't forget we would need to add paying members at a rate higher than 3x's the rate now. At 3x members added we stay even with the amount of money the premium memberships make now. That's a lot of new members! Actually it would have to add members at multiples of that. You have to account for the reduced income from the multitudes who are current members. Quote Link to comment
+wimseyguy Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Not the facts, just one new person's opinion. And the price has never increased since the beginning of paid premium membership. I think we have enough phone app dilettantes around here already. Quote Link to comment
+captnemo Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 You could have saved money if you had joined on 1/1/2012 as it's a leap year and the per day cost is .0002245 cents per day less but now you have to wait 4 years. IMHO $30 per year is dirt cheap and exploding the number is not a good idea. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Not the facts, just one new person's opinion. And the price has never increased since the beginning of paid premium membership. I think we have enough phone app dilettantes around here already. tftp Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, ...and many feel that this would be an undesirable outcome. Enough of the explosions! We've already had the "explosion effects" of smart phone applications and they're not all positive ones. tftp Quote Link to comment
+OZ2CPU Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) lets remove the free memberships compleetly and see what happens.. my guess is : better :-) we want quality players, not kids and one week members creating caches that are bad and newer maintained, so we need to go and CITO all the bad ones all the time. stuff you get for free, is seldomly worth anything, but if you PAY for stuff, you take more care of it.. Edited October 23, 2012 by OZ2CPU Quote Link to comment
+gpsblake Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) $30 is very fair, and inexpensive. In fact, if Groundspeak made it $60 a year, they would still keep most of the premium accounts so give Groundspeak credit for not just thinking of profits either (although I'm sure they do make a good profit, as they should). Edited October 23, 2012 by gpsblake Quote Link to comment
+lamoracke Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 lets remove the free memberships compleetly and see what happens.. my guess is : better :-) we want quality players, not kids and one week members creating caches that are bad and newer maintained, so we need to go and CITO all the bad ones all the time. stuff you get for free, is seldomly worth anything, but if you PAY for stuff, you take more care of it.. so, you think a family which has 4 accounts, one say for the main interest person...and then one for the wife and then one for the 8 yr old and another for 10 year old, you expect them to suddenly pay $120 when they paid $30? I think the current system is fair. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 lets remove the free memberships compleetly Never gonna happen... Quote Link to comment
+DonB Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, More members, more bandwidth, more cost for Groundspeak. Anyone that can't afford 8.2 cents a day for membership can't afford a GPS Quote Link to comment
Trinity's Crew Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, Why do we want an exploding membership? I can see why Groundspeak might, but I'd kind of like to see fewer, myself. Can I give exploding memberships as gifts? A couple of people come to mind... Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, Why do we want an exploding membership? I can see why Groundspeak might, but I'd kind of like to see fewer, myself. Can I give exploding memberships as gifts? A couple of people come to mind... Wow! I hope those are not geocachers... Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Not the facts, just one new person's opinion. And the price has never increased since the beginning of paid premium membership. I think we have enough phone app dilettantes around here already. tftp Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, ...and many feel that this would be an undesirable outcome. Enough of the explosions! We've already had the "explosion effects" of smart phone applications and they're not all positive ones. tftp tftp Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is like a tax debate but.. if you lower your cost of yearly admission you will explode you contributing members. Why not try and see. Ten bucks membership will eventually explode the numbers and partisanship, It just the facts,, Why do we want an exploding membership? I can see why Groundspeak might, but I'd kind of like to see fewer, myself. Can I give exploding memberships as gifts? A couple of people come to mind... Do you really want to be known as the UniCacher? Quote Link to comment
+SKAMS Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Perhaps a different approach would make a membership attractive for new members. That may not be desirable for all geocachers but probably for Groundspeak ;-) The term "Premium Member" leaves space for another member level above "Basic Membership". I could imagine a "Plus Member". Perhaps especially for (those) smartphone users. You purchase the geocaching app for i.e. $7,50 and get half a year "Plus Membership" included. This means that you can import geocaches to that smartphone app/account only (limited Live API access). Membership can be extended each 6 months for $7,50 (or 5$) by "In-App Purchase" or "upgraded" to a normal Premium Membership. That would make geocaching perhaps more attractive to those users which currently use "unapproved apps" on their smartphone. Edited October 23, 2012 by SKAMS Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Perhaps a different approach would make a membership attractive for new members. That may not be desirable for all geocachers but probably for Groundspeak ;-) The term "Premium Member" leaves space for another member level above "Basic Membership". I could imagine a "Plus Member". Perhaps especially for (those) smartphone users. You purchase the geocaching app for i.e. $7,50 and get half a year "Plus Membership" included. What means that you can import geocaches to that smartphone app/accound only (Live API access). Membership can be extended each 6 months for $7,50 by "In-App Purchase" or "upgraded" to a normal Premium Membership. That would make geocaching perhaps more attractive to those users which currently use "unapproved apps" on their smartphone. I'm still wondering what problem we're trying to solve here. Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) I agree with the dog. I have no clue how many premium members their are. Honestly, I don't much care. To some extent, I want their to be 'enough' so that TPTB make money and the company survives, but that's my level of caring about the issue. If TPTB feel that something must be done to boost membership, I imagine that they will make decisions that promote membership. (That is not to say that they don't already do that.) I will say that I seriously doubt that they will either lower the cost of premium membership or do away with free memberships to further this goal. Edited October 24, 2012 by sbell111 Quote Link to comment
+McFlyAway Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Ever notice that if you get the year's membership ($3 a month), it's less than the three monthes membership ($3.33 a month)? Always nice to try it out, though. Yes, I would agree. I would love a premium membership, but I also wish it were less expensive. If you think about it, though, you get plenty of benefits with a basic membership. I would say that until people start caching more (from what I'm at right now), it would be a good idea for a PM. Quote Link to comment
+CajanCacheMan Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 These geocache forums are just like FB/ppl are always gonna complain about something.. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 tftp Help an un-hep brother out. tftp = ? Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 TFTC = Thanks For The Cache TFTP = Thanks For The Post Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 TFTC = Thanks For The Cache TFTP = Thanks For The Post Okay, I was close but still confused. Apparently we've replaced the 1+ without telling me. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 TFTC = Thanks For The CacheTFTP = Thanks For The Post Okay, I was close but still confused. Apparently we've replaced the 1+ without telling me.In this case, I don't think +1 means the same thing. As the saying goes, it's not funny if you have to explain it. Quote Link to comment
+The_Incredibles_ Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) They should charge more, not less. lets remove the free memberships compleetly and see what happens.. my guess is : better :-) I agree. Maybe 5 caches for free, then you have to pay. Edited October 23, 2012 by The_Incredibles_ Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 TFTC = Thanks For The CacheTFTP = Thanks For The Post Okay, I was close but still confused. Apparently we've replaced the 1+ without telling me.In this case, I don't think +1 means the same thing. As the saying goes, it's not funny if you have to explain it. Ok, Ok. Let me know when the internet has sarcasm, irony, humor font. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 These geocache forums are just like FB/ppl are always gonna complain about something.. Can you please spell out Facebook and people? Geeze!! Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 TFTC = Thanks For The Cache TFTP = Thanks For The Post Okay, I was close but still confused. Apparently we've replaced the 1+ without telling me. +1 Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 They should charge more, not less. lets remove the free memberships compleetly and see what happens.. my guess is : better :-) I agree. Maybe 5 caches for free, then you have to pay. Yes, but make it the LAST 5, not the first 5. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 (edited) ... Edited October 24, 2012 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 +1 You are aware that people can discuss things without having to be right or perfect. Or do I need to report you? ah yeah Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Gotta disagree with the OP. I say raise it up to $100/year, no more freebies, and eliminate the riff raff......is what I would really like to say, but courtesy forbids me to say that out loud, so I won't. Paying membership keeps this ship afloat, and has not gone up since day one. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Besides! You don't have to pay to play, so it won't make a difference. You can sign up for free. Quote Link to comment
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