Biting the hand.........

[Letzin Hale]

There has been a spate of slagging off suppliers which at times gets near to the knuckle. I'm sure some of those problems could/should be resolved off the forum and sometimes the forum is misused for personal purposes.
One thing that is worth remembering is that it is the suppliers who are financing the forum and keeping it alive, both by their subscriptions and advertising revenue. Subs alone account for almost 2000 Dollars per month and then there is ads on top of that. I have no problem with that, or with SJ maybe making a few bucks each month and I don't advocate 'sucking up' or becoming fanboys, but just have a little respect when making negative posts please. I am a member of other forums where each member pays an annual subscription of 10 GB Pounds and that doesn't come anywhere near the 100,000+ Dollars a year that the suppliers on here contribute.
Alan.

 

[Ramblin]

Good post. There is a balance that needs to be found. Only after a number of failed attempts at getting the attention of the supplier via email, web submission forms, did I post a message on the forum. I guess I should have sent a PM as the next step.

I do hate to see suppliers ripped without cause. I know their businesses are taking off like a rocket. Ramping an operation up to meet the demand isn't as east as flipping switch.

 

[Elendil]

Part of the problem is everyone's expectations are different. I have seen people fly off the handle if they do not have a response in an hour (or less sometimes), when many people are fine with a response within 48 hours.

I would be willing to lay odds that many(but not all) of the "complaints" that we see in the forums are by people who are exaggerating the delay in responses.........

 

[kinabaloo]

Wow, I had no idea the forum generated so much money. What gives you that idea? I never saw any ads.

 

[Letzin Hale]

Wow, I had no idea the forum generated so much money. What gives you that idea? I never saw any ads.

Suppliers pay 40 dollars a month subscription and there are currently 49 listed suppliers. As for the ads, there was one on the page with your reply in the style of a banner below the top post. I think it costs a few bucks per thousand impressions for the ads. All in all a nice little earner and a reminder that if push came to shove the forum is controlled by the suppliers as they are financing the deal.

To keep the balance, I think it is deplorable that any commercial website is allowed to run without disclosing contact details and can hide behind contact forms and whoisguard. In my personal opinion, sites without contact details are run by cowboys who have something to hide and are not to be trusted.
Alan.

 

[katink]

One thing that is worth remembering is that it is the suppliers who are financing the forum and keeping it alive, both by their subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Does this mean that members supporting the forum are donating so little, that this way of supporting is no longer of any importance?

 

[tribalmasters]

If suppliers were so nice they would send us loadsa freebies! hmph!!!!

 

[Skad]

Suppliers pay 40 dollars a month subscription and there are currently 49 listed suppliers. As for the ads, there was one on the page with your reply in the style of a banner below the top post. I think it costs a few bucks per thousand impressions for the ads. All in all a nice little earner and a reminder that if push came to shove the forum is controlled by the suppliers as they are financing the deal.

To keep the balance, I think it is deplorable that any commercial website is allowed to run without disclosing contact details and can hide behind contact forms and whoisguard. In my personal opinion, sites without contact details are run by cowboys who have something to hide and are not to be trusted.
Alan.

While I agree that some of the threads lately have been somewhat over the line of good taste, I don't think they should be censored by any means.

I also have to disagree with your math. 49 suppliers paying $40 per month for 12 months is $23,520. I haven't seen nearly enough banner ads on here to make up the difference. Obviously only the owners really know for sure how much income is being generated by the suppliers, and any figure we come up with is simply speculation.

 

[Oliver]

I should point out here that the money accrued by the forum is hedging a huge risk I have with the server contract I have entered into. Bear in mind that if E-cigs are banned, I'm still paying for this for another year.

If things continue, I'll make a few bucks - but in real financial terms, ie, hours spent doing admin, days off work to do admin etc, any profit in the foreseeable future is likely to be very, very small.

If I wanted to make big bucks, I'd sell e-cigs!

As to $100,000 per year - What?!

The balance is tricky. My philosophy is that the forum has always been for the members, and suppliers are here to benefit the members - that is, members get access to a range of suppliers, and can get the best deals because of that.

Suppliers are heavily regulated in their posting privileges, and are not allowed to promote their products outside of the stipulated areas (suppliers forum and their own personal forum).

Obviously, with such competition between suppliers, there will be some who try to get around the rules using nefarious practices. The members here are excellent at figuring this out, however!

The corollary of this is that sometimes members do go a bit far, and I have worried that a bit of a negative culture has set in, although I think that is redressed by having such careful, considerate members as yourselves.

Two things I hadn't anticipated: 1. that so many suppliers would want to sign up, and 2. That suppliers would be so scared of deleting posts in their forums for fear of being described as "shady".

 

[RhinoOne]

Thanks, SJ for the forum (priceless) and for trying to keep it civil. I've learned, and continue to learn, from the careful and considerate members here.

 

[Vape]

oops scratch that thought...

 

[Letzin Hale]

While I agree that some of the threads lately have been somewhat over the line of good taste, I don't think they should be censored by any means.

I also have to disagree with your math. 49 suppliers paying $40 per month for 12 months is $23,520. I haven't seen nearly enough banner ads on here to make up the difference. Obviously only the owners really know for sure how much income is being generated by the suppliers, and any figure we come up with is simply speculation.

8-o My apologies, I have been trying to catch up on posts and emails with my grandaughter sat on my knee and I calculated months as weeks, wish I could do the same with my wage! 1960 a month ain't bad though;-)
Alan.

 

[Idahojo]

Well I would like to thank SJ too. Yesterday when I couldn't get on here I started looking in other forums for the answer. I got on 2 other forum sites and was not impressed. This is by far the best. It's easier to navigate and read.

 

[fenez]

I hope sj makes a million, he has provided us with this awesome place to hangout and exchange info,

 

[taz3cat]

We enjoy the forum that is all that matters .

 

[Elendil]

Well I would like to thank SJ too. Yesterday when I couldn't get on here I started looking in other forums for the answer. I got on 2 other forum sites and was not impressed. This is by far the best. It's easier to navigate and read.

Not to mention the fact that the "other sites" have almost no activity. I think you should raise your prices Joe................

 

[Kendra]

Well, I just wanted to add that my issue with the one specific seller isn't exaggerated. I also wanted to mention that I emailed him first-- no answer. Then I pm'd him. No answer. Then I posted politely. No answer. I do agree that some complaints may be out of line, but mine wasn't.

And, by the way, I've had excellent service with every single other seller I've bought from, including eastmall, ruyandirect, vaporguys, Trog, centraltrade (so far-- it's in customs), and njoy. I am waiting for vapordrag.ca, but I think that's in customs, too.

 

[BARENETTED]

SJ is entitled to make whatever he can.
He puts a lot of time and $$ into this.
This is free enterprise.
If it pays off - good for him.