Does anyone make money out of me?

[Caph]

I've just had a click around this website out of interest and discovered the advertising packages link. Is there a lot of money made from this?

I'm just asking because this website is effectively just the public forums with other content being negligible, so basically the website is the sum total of the time and effort of us regular frequenters. I'm not sure I like the idea of someone making money off the back of us especially since the cost of a website like this is a couple of quid month and setup is literally a single click with most providers these days.

Maybe I'm just too socialist at heart but when I see all the community effort going on here it doesn't sit too well in my stomach to think of someone leaching off all this community spirit. I'd always thought of this place as by ebikers for ebikers.

 

[Sevenhills]

Is there a lot of money made from this?

I wouldnt have thought so, but given that most people give information to help people, maybe its a price worth paying.
Yesturday I came across a not-for-profit energy company, it was £4 per year cheaper than my current supplier, but there was another one £40 cheaper.

Elecricity supplier Ebico is not for profit

How much of a socialist are YOU?

S

 

[Scimitar]

Hosting cost, data cost, it all adds up.
The only other way is to go to a subscription model, which is very difficult to make work for low-demand sites.
If the ads bother you, use Firefox and Adblock.

 

[Sevenhills]

I use firefox, there are adds to the right, no problem. No pop-ups.

S

 

[Alex728]

adblock is installed on some of my PC's (more against other sites which use so much flash and rubbish it slows down the site) and all I get is a BEBA advert (which doesn't bother me).

Without adblock the ads are for the well known and respected e-bike manufacturers and some of their dealers!

As I've seen many of them on the bikes they sell/design (certainly both David from Wisper and of course Wai Won Ching) and others have talked about their rides I think we can safely assume that all the dealers/manufacturers who advertise are e-bikers as well as just business people..

 

[Artstu]

I know of three forums that charge you £10 to £15 a year for the privilege of posting messages and they still run adverts

 

[jbond]

Hosting a forum is a thankless task. If the sysadmin can cover costs and make a little pocket money, that's fine by me. Especially if it means use of the forum is free.

 

[dmcgoldrick]

i dont think anyone is going to get rich from putting up a site like this.....
there are running costs involved, and the time factor of the person maintaining the site.
i welcome the sponsors who pay for advertising on the right hand column. i found the links extremely useful when looking for my e bike, and a number of people associated with these companies give very useful information in the clinic section on their specific products.
without the adverts we may not have a free site...... how many would prefer no ads and pay a fee ????

regards

 

[morphix]

I agree with the other members, the advertising on this site is minimal and unobtrusive compared to some sites. I'm just delighted to have found such an excellent forum community that's free and provides excellent advice and support. If the owner of the forum makes a little money, I certainly don't begrudge him it. He deserves it for the time spent running the forum and coming up with the idea in the first place. Running a forum costs money, and then there's the time involved with validating members, moderating, backing up data etc.

One comment I would make about the advertising in the right column.. strangely none of the links are working, looks like a bug in their code!

 

[flecc]

Hosting a forum is a thankless task. If the sysadmin can cover costs and make a little pocket money, that's fine by me. Especially if it means use of the forum is free.

Absolutely right, for eZee Torq owner Russell Scott, setting up this site was a labour of love which he had to finance from his own pocket for a long time. He couldn't even begin to live off it, depending on other employment and websites for that.

We are just the fortunate beneficiaries of his efforts, and of those of Richard who helps with the administration, so grateful thanks Russ and Richard.
.

 

[JuicyBike]

There's a chicken and egg view:
Adverts lead to sales which lead to comments and reviews and better informed purchasers...
The issue is having both the raw adverts and the informed feedback in the one place.
However, from my experience both as a forum administrator for a transition group and as a supplier of electric bikes, the administrators efforts are very great and the advertising income is very small.

 

[HarryB]

Absolutely right, for eZee Torq owner Russell Scott, setting up this site was a labour of love which he had to finance from his own pocket for a long time. He couldn't even begin to live off it, depending on other employment and websites for that.

We are just the fortunate beneficiaries of his efforts, and of those of Richard who helps with the administration, so grateful thanks Russ and Richard.
.

Hear, hear.

 

[Mussels]

I think the ads are very useful, they are for the brands most talked about on here so prospective owners can easily look up what they read about.
It would be nice to see a SportsHQ banner with it's sale calendar up there as well.

 

[allen-uk]

I

Maybe I'm just too socialist at heart but when I see all the community effort going on here it doesn't sit too well in my stomach to think of someone leaching off all this community spirit.

Greetings across the ether, comrade!

I am a FULLY unreconstructed Marxist. Old Labour (very old, about 1890). Definitely way to the left of Tony Benn.

To every worker a decent e-bike... (How's that for a revolutionary slogan).

Allen.

 

[Jimod]

I've just had a click around this website out of interest and discovered the advertising packages link. Is there a lot of money made from this?

I'm just asking because this website is effectively just the public forums with other content being negligible, so basically the website is the sum total of the time and effort of us regular frequenters. I'm not sure I like the idea of someone making money off the back of us especially since the cost of a website like this is a couple of quid month and setup is literally a single click with most providers these days.

Maybe I'm just too socialist at heart but when I see all the community effort going on here it doesn't sit too well in my stomach to think of someone leaching off all this community spirit. I'd always thought of this place as by ebikers for ebikers.

I don't understand this post. Since when was making a money something terrible? I don't know how much is made from these adverts but I'd bet it isn't 'sit back in the sun and do nothing' money. Why do you describe it as leaching from you? If you think it's easy and cheap to run a site like this, set up one of your own with NO adverts.
I never gave much thought to the adverts, I see them more as a link to the company web site of a bike I might like. It simply saves me from googling companies like 50cycles or wisper.

 

[JuicyBike]

The point is that the content is produced by members. The effort involved in administrating the site is not so visible though, and so it would appear that advertisers are enjoying a site in which the value is created by its membership.
However, administration of these sort of forums is time-consuming and sometimes a real pain.

It's great that so little spam ever reaches these pages and that is directly because of the admin efforts.

 

[BBB]

I've just had a click around this website out of interest and discovered the advertising packages link. Is there a lot of money made from this?

I'm just asking because this website is effectively just the public forums with other content being negligible, so basically the website is the sum total of the time and effort of us regular frequenters. I'm not sure I like the idea of someone making money off the back of us especially since the cost of a website like this is a couple of quid month and setup is literally a single click with most providers these days.

Maybe I'm just too socialist at heart but when I see all the community effort going on here it doesn't sit too well in my stomach to think of someone leaching off all this community spirit. I'd always thought of this place as by ebikers for ebikers.

For one, you do not have to click on the links, secondly I do not think that many people do. You also neew hundreds of thousands of clicks to make any real money. But whatever they do make, good luck to them, for all the wealth of free information that you get on here, and yet you still complain.

Its seems to me that kettle, black! comes to mind , you do not mind all the free infomation that is availible all over the web, as long as someone else pays to put it there.

A little give and take and everyone gains. I just wonder how long the economy would really last, if eveyone expecte d noone to make a profit.

 

[tillson]

But whatever they do make, good luck to them, for all the wealth of free information that you get on here, and yet you still complain.

Its seems to me that kettle, black! comes to mind , you do not mind all the free infomation that is availible all over the web, as long as someone else pays to put it.

Firstly, I don't mind the adverts. This forum is someone elses train set and they are a liberty to do what they want with it. If anyone doesn't like the way that it is run, they are free to leave and join another forum dedicated to electric bikes, or start an advert free forum for themselves and other like minded people. No one is forcing anybody to stay.

However, the information on here is not free. The provision of the information on here is not an act of benevolence from the forum owner. We all, "pay" for it with our individual contributions. Some contribute more than others, but we all pay in some way on every occasion that we write something on here. So it's not free.

 

[JuicyBike]

I don't think this is a serious rant or massive complaint.

Caph is asking a perfectly reasonable question, and I think demonstrates a sensible attitude towards advertising: try to find ways of avoiding it and try not to encourage it. Get the information you need from the horse-riders mouth, so to speak.

The problem is that to fund these forums without any subscription means getting revenue from adverts, which thankfully can easily be blocked.

A government which funded the internet, returning it to the days of free, mainly academic access and use, is now unfortunately never ever likely to appear, and we're stuck with the commercial structure we have.

Caph, do you have any other hints and tips for choosing to avoid adverts?

 

[allen-uk]

The world is full of adverts, full of people trying to get us to spend our money more or less unwisely.

On the tele, I use the remote control to distance myself from the rubbish; on sites like this, I just ignore them.

To get upset about them is like getting upset about the weather.


Allen.