Membership? Please join this discussion...

[Squig]

We (admin and moderators alike) have been discussing this for some time and now feel some progress be made lest the forum begin to stagnate, and although many ideas have been mulled over no decisions had been made. So this discussion is being opened up to all our users and current members, so please give your thoughts or approval, any ideas, no matter how small, will be considered...

Proposal;
To create a comprehensive membership package that appeals to all ages at a price to cover the costs of the package and contribute towards maintaining the server.

Ideas so far;
12 month package; branded clothing; discount package; member specific content (none of the existing content however); PLI cover for VBOA membership events...
The discount package should be geared towards OEM/stock parts and other day-to-day perishables, and less towards tuning/styling products (thus said a number of the usual suspects have been approached and discounts discussed, inc LMF for example).

The main reason for the discussion being opened up is to discuss the cost of the package, as at the end of the day it'll be you that will be parting with your hard earned.

With this in mind what do YOU want and what would you pay?

None of us want this site to run a profit, that is simply not why we are here. This forum MUST remain fun and friendly!

[jacko-lah]

I was sort of there at the beginning of www.mk2cav.com as a club. and I remember Cav-web back in the days when it was Bonehead and Charlie Cav in a car part in Northwich.

The 'problem' you have is that there won't be loads of takers, so pretty much all the income will be taken by PLI for attending shows and running the website. You should talk to Andy King of mk2cav.com for advice, I reckon.

Rarely are the 'discounts' worth having in my oppinion. I had vauxhall trade club with the mk2 cavalier owners net work (via the VBOA) and had to fight with my local dealers to accept it. And then next time I went in they refused to honour it.

Also you need to beware the GSI/TURBO/V6 Clique. Andy was very keen to promote the standard 1.6's.

I (we it's my wife's) have a bog standard 1.8 L (with original carb and blue interior) It's unlikely that it's worth showing as it's a bit ratty, and it's unlikely that we'll ever modify it, but I'd like to be in a club and would pay £12 if I got a sticker and a T shirt in Pink (Ladies Size 8).

[Envoy CDX]

I'd be happy with 12 a year too.


Hi Mark - all going well with the mk3 then?

[Squig]

TBH guys I was thinking in the £10-£15 ball park too with a vastly reduced renewal charge after 12 months is up...

[k1ngy]

id join the club just for some stickers and a keyring and £10 _ £15 sounds about right too, if there are other discounts then thats a bonus

[marcia]

Your proposal is indeed very good.Especially if you keep discounts to serviceable items as this suits everyone.
£10 to £15 should be in most peoples budget and this is important otherwise we would all be driving new cars.Well done to all involved.
William

[HAIRIBO]

Lets face it,, if it allowed you discount on car insurance I think everyone would pay the £15.

[solaris]

hi

i have a suggestion via a friend, to cut you costs why not transfer this forum to free isp websapce? theres loads of free web sapce hosting sites out there.

isp webspace comes free with most isp packages, im sure it would not need much space as its mainly text.

just an idea?

[Envoy CDX]

hi

i have a suggestion via a friend, to cut you costs why not transfer this forum to free isp websapce? theres loads of free web sapce hosting sites out there.

isp webspace comes free with most isp packages, im sure it would not need much space as its mainly text.

just an idea?

Unfortunatly, it isn't reliable and whilst we might not need lots and lots of space we do require bandwidth - which you don't really get with isp or free webspace.

[solaris]

http://www.forumer.com/

above site is free and 100% reliable, only need band width if posting large videos ect, ive never had to pay to use forums, forums are free thats the the way they are , i presume your paying for a server to host the site seems silly , i can see yes you want contributions toward this but there are other vauxhall forums that are tottaly free, obviously not as good as cavm3.oc

i think merchandise is a better way to premote the site and raise cash ie t shirts and keyrings wallets just stuff to buy and use and that also will boost awareness of the site.


this is a really good forum and i think if there becomes a need to pay then it must be worth while id like to see quality merchandise and members discounts and special offers guarenteed.

i would only pay £12 for a years membership but id want to know exactly what i am paying for, its a very grey area this

cheers anyway intersting topic i shall see what happens

[Gaz]

For the last few years ive been paying out of my pocket helped with donations from those who could afford it.

In the very early days we were on those free sites and they are crap, you cant backup you cant get to any of the important stuff, theres loads of ad's unless you pay, you cant move the forum, your stuck there forever unless you cough up cash, its like offering free food but only getting chips, you can survive but you really don't want to

We can host everything onsite (videos etc) with zero limitations and no issues with bandwidth or sharing server space, can back everything up, its not a case of just the cost of the website alone, its having the right insurance for meets so we can get in the vboa (billing etc) and actually make a proper go of it.

Merchandise is a great idea but i cant afford personally to spend £300+ on tshirts pens keyrings etc and have them stored till they sell.

To have a membership is a choice not a obligation, the club isnt going anywhere but we appreciate the help with the money side of it.

[himselfunknown]

Personally speaking, I have a Halfords trade card and a Vx trade card, so I'm pretty well sorted for discounts.

I'm a 'registered user' of many sites, but only a full member of one. I can't afford to be a member of all of them!!

I have a box full of keyrings/pens/tax disk holders etc, so have no need of any more! None of my cars have any club stickers in (bar one, which the previous owner put on and it will be going when the car is re-vamped!).

However, I would happily contribute something towards server costs, and would do the same for the other forums I use.

So maybe you could have the 'full membership' for people who do want loads of merch, etc, but a 'contributer membership' for those, like myself who just want to, well, contribute?

I think something worth thinking about is, what does the merch cost, and how many members do you need before this is paid for and fees actually positively support the site rather than just paying for merch?

Just my 50p's worth.

[Envoy CDX]

There is a contribution thread kicking about somewhere - will see if I can find it Tony
As for the club side of things, everything I've read is: VBOA will only consider clubs with a paying membership base - the reasons behind this are unclear, and I am waiting to hear back from someone there, but there seems to be a bit of a staff upheaval in the VBOA ranks.

[Squig]

It's more to do with PLI as I understand it... or at least is was...

[Envoy CDX]

It's more to do with PLI as I understand it... or at least is was...

Well, it stands to reason - no paying members, no PLI really. So it kind of makes sense where they are coming from.

[Colorado]

Am happy with the fees discussed. Would be happy to join up as the club supports all Cavalier mk 3s not just the sporty ones so on that basis i believe there is potential to grow.

[andysri]

I will second colorado. being a proud cavalier owner i will happily do my bit to support the club how i can. i am soon to be a paying member of another club for my second car and as the cav is my main car i think its even more important i support the club that represents the car i rely on day in day out

[carlos_canter]

£15 for a year?

Sounds spot on for me, its 3 packs of fags, a bottle of decent whisky or half(?) a tank of juice?
Little over a £1 a month, and if it keeps the community going on a more "official or recognised" basis then crack on.

Im in the trade any way so i can get parts at cost, which im not too fussed about, I'd be happy with a car sticker and membership to a recognised club.

[Envoy CDX]

Nice to see the support

[jacko-lah]

£15 for a year?

Sounds spot on for me, its 3 packs of fags, a bottle of decent whisky or half(?) a tank of juice?
Little over a £1 a month, and if it keeps the community going on a more "official or recognised" basis then crack on.

Im in the trade any way so i can get parts at cost, which im not too fussed about, I'd be happy with a car sticker and membership to a recognised club.

If only I smoked so I could give up. I'd be rich. !!!!
I did buy a mk2 cav for a bottle of Kwik Save Blended. £6.64 IIRC.

I'd be happy if I could tick a box for Gift Aid and you got an extra 30% from my contribution.

Also thinking out loud. I wonder if it's a legitimate business expence ? I'd ask my accountant, but he'd charge me more than £15 to tell me.

[jacko-lah]

I'd be happy with 12 a year too.


Hi Mark - all going well with the mk3 then?

There's a leak into the boot. It needs a service, but the Handbrake cable is now replaced and it has 2 new 195/60/14 Barum's on the SRi 130 alloys. The heater, never gets past luke warm and you have to scrape ice off the inside. Apart from that : Still got the original 1992 Shocks and the man in the garage refused to believe me when I said that the rear brake shoes (at 99K) were genuinely fitted IN the factory.

[Squig]

Let 's try and keep this thread on topic guys

[brettscav]

thanks gaz for redirecting me. i would be happy to pay £15 a year. used to be a member of cortina mk2 club years ago (had a 1600E) magazine worked well but club got bogged down with agm's accounts and comittee elections, also got clicky. i think web forums are way to go perhaps identifying members by area so that regional groups can develop. cavs are disappearing fast and we need to start looking forward to preserving them. also need to ensure club caters for all mk3's. cortina club had this problem in early years only concentrating on lotus, gt and 1600E. our cavs are the same and their is a danger to look to the gsi, sri, turbos. site is excellent mate and if i can help in any way. just let me know. perhaps a mag is something i could help with??????????????? keep up the good work...

[CarriesGirl]

Hi guys and gals!

Here's my tuppence worth I would happily pay £12 - £15 a year to join the club! At first it may seem a lot but when you break it down £12 a year = £1 a month saving and at £15 a year = £1.25 a month saving (roughly). Instead of buying those sweet 'goodies' the money could go towards membership! lol I have probably posted this elsewhere by mistake, apologies if I have but I'm not quite on form yet after incident with black ice

Keep up the good work guys and if I can do anything here in icy Norfolk, please do not hesitate to ask as I have time on my hands.

[branny361]

after reading all the post it seems to be at a happy medium of around 12-15 pounds .
VODC is 12 pound which i found reasonable and paid to join.
Although not a member of cavmk3 yet! I try to contribute as much in the way of help, advice, ideas , the odd joke ,to keep the site interesting ,

i do like this site and the variation of cavs that owners have from 1.6 to whatever and with no stigma towards anyone who may be starting off with a "rusty looking base" project coz we have all been there!!!!!.

Cav mk3 should stay cavmk3 and cover every model vx made. theres already fragmentation of the model cavturbo, gsi .etc

I think a specific model /spec forum is too small and the activity on it limited which makes it boring