firstly, take a look at your competitors, if theyre charging more than you then theres room to put up prices a little,
noone will be pleased that prices have risen but thats human nature.
but (and in response to another earlier post) i would say that i paid for rhp cause i like the site - not the people. when i made the decision to pay i didnt know the people from adam and therefore wasnt taken into account, is was purely based on the features made available upon subscription.
i dont think $30 pa is too much to pay for the site
Originally posted by BernardmidgleyI don't think $30 is too much at all. But I do know that this kind of number can be a barrier, particularly for young players and students, which make up a large portion of potential subscribers.
So the result of this, subscriptions will rise from $19.95 to $29.95.
Thats a massive jump!!!! Personally i suspect this will deter new subscribers more than anything.
Sorry Russ, $20 was a good reasonable price but $30 i think is just too much
Russ, can there not be some way in which existing subscribers can pay additional "loyalty" subs. Maybe we can have gold subs ($30) and platinum subs ($50). It doesn't have to provide additional benefits, maybe the subscription "star" can simply be more snazzy.
The point is that you want to make initial subscriptions an easy pill to swallow. If existing subscribers feel as I do, and have the means, a large number will opt for the higher re-subs. I almost feel guilty that I can have this much fun for so little outlay.
New users, however, will always have a different perspective, and $30 may be just too high a hurdle.
I don't know if this ad is still one the site for nonsubscribers, but $30 is not the price of a pizza... things do change here and so does the "soul" of this wonderful site. It's climbing up in google, getting more popular and fees increase as well. But for me it's the money worth, especailly if Russ and Chris keep on developping the site, this is what makes me stay here 🙂 cool site, crazy project: I support it, although it's getting expensive.
th
I may regret saying this, but I don't think it will ever rise beyond $29.99 (subject to inflation - I don't want that statement waved in my face in 10 years time!).
All I can do really is try to reassure everyone that this in not a profiteering move - running at a loss is fine when the site is small, costs are small, and the risks are small, but as the site grows, that needs to be addressed. (This site is approaching its 4th birthday!)
-Russ
Assuming that the issue of cheating -- by far the most serious
concern for those of us who come to this place to enjoy a game
of chess -- is being addressed, I, personally, would have no objection
to renewing my rate at the higher cost.
I figure if I spend, say, 300 hours a year on this site (an
underestimation, to be sure), it costs me a dime an hour or less than
four dollars a month.
Except for National Public Radio, I can't think of a service less
expensive that gives you such bang for your buck.
Nemesio
There seems to be a consensus that many existing players would not mind paying a higher rate.
Russ, why not set the default for renewing subscribers to be at least $20? Maybe you could provide a way to let people insist on renewing at their existing rate.
If you got enough people to up their sub to $20 or $25, could you keep the new subscribers' rate down to $25? I think that would be a significantly better price point than $29.99.
This is an amizing and very good site where I have spent many hours,many days playing even if I have tests or homework or I have to work at 4a.m. I sacrificed all that to play in this cool site. What I really wnat to say is I don't care if I pay 20 or 30 dollars to play all year because I will be happy +(*!*)+.
I just want to echo that I would gladly pay $30 to re-sub. The is the best site I've ever found on the net and wouldn't consider leaving.
It also helps that you come out and explain that rates are going up and why. If you were Bills Gates and wanted to raise rates because you wanted a new Ferrari, it might be a different story.......
Perhaps you tacle the problem the wrong way:
On the one hand side it's hard to get new subscribers - and you increase fees for them. 🙁
On the other hand there are many many subs who are very very happy to play here and they would pay more if the site and it's existence is in danger (me! 😉 ).
So why not make it $25 for everyone (which means much more money for you!?
I personally would pay it voluntary because you, Russ, are really behind this funny HQ-chess site and what've read in the forms so far you really respect people, their whished and concers. Thank a lot! It is a good site, but I stay here because I like this kind of project and the people maintaining it.
And another thing: I like chess-stuff very much here. I post a lot in some forums, but I would not mind if all this would not exist. Do you know how "expensive" the community related stuff here is and how much the chess-stuff is? Perhaps this is a disproportion - I don't know... I like improvements like the board analysis, why not the clan leagues and I don't care too much about forum moderation and things like that.
Just an idea to keep the site alive (I see very well that you are taking a big risk and you want to minimize it),
th
