9 months ago I showed up at the Cape Corral PR w/my OSO t-shirt.... You guys wanted to burn it and give me SOS gear, So I jumped ship, let my membership lapse...now I'm back.

Randy

No doubt about that... I've also stuffed more down the G-String of a hot blond...

Those are "pay to play" scenarios though, this isn't...

LOL.....was it a sweater vest?

Another interesting thought....how successful would the classifieds be if this was just a small site for paying members? Not sure the cost of an add, but if it's $20 times the 1,234 in there right now sure seems that's not bad money for just having some servers and software.

i can say i paid religously for 4-5 years, once the whole IB/Serious Offshore / Sunkin thing came about it was just a turn off, so i stopped paying, and i havent missed any paid features as of yet

That's why I say that the membership isn't needed for the site to maintain itself/be profitable. I'm not a paying member, but I have purchased items from the classified ads.

stand by my post.

all the paid membership and supposed exclusivity cheerleading aside...

to say that this segment is "evolving" implying growth or into something better is denial period.
It will never be what it was and is less every year as builders continue to drop out (lack of demand), existing values continue to tank (continuing and growing lack of demand), and more and more move away from this segment (see original post) which is responsible for the prior two...
how can anyone deny that?
really?
this downward "evolution" has a few years under it's belt now...
and I firmly believe it's gonna get worse, excuse me, further "evolve".


as far as the membership thing goes, again I stand by what I said...
you think this is friendly?
answers are fast?
wealth of info?

not so fast...
examples like (there are many) dieselplace smoke that theory and this site(pun intended) as posting traffic of real value seemingly continues to diminish since the IB takeover
and the site I used as an example is FREE
should I say, the epitome of friendly, fast, info rich,
oh... and did I mention FREE
how in the world does that site survive?????

and yes I've met and know members there, have done business with members, they have local clubs and get togethers by state ect, ect
there's MORE of that and get this...it seems FEWER banners!
How in the hell does that site survive????

paid human interaction is legit for doctors, lawyers and whores.
Wait a minute...
I get a SERVICE for those $ !!!
(sometimes the same service LOL )


some of the other posters on this thread have hit all the fringes of my original points right on the head.
To insinuate that non-paying members (such as myself) are somehow "freeloading" on this site is ludicrous...
as is the thought planting that paid membership has anything to to with establishing relationships, friendships or goodwill.
I have added real value to this site with detailed how-to and project threads including step-by-step pics that forever add value to this site, are permanently archived and available to all.
many have over the years...
The question for those taking the other stance is...have you?

don't take this wrong, I'm not being hostile just further defining my points.
It's just "winter chatter"

I think there's a lot of overlooking some stuff here...

such as those benefits that come from being in the right place at the right time and having a little vision, maybe a lot of luck,
and managing an online community into something who's sum is worth more than the individual parts.

and then making a business move with impeccable timing.

Is this not the heart of capitalism and entrepreneurmanship in action?
I thought this place was full of republicans.

it is.

and in that light Steve is a hero of capatalism.

but that's old news and the topic at hand is the present incarnation of this site.