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Is this legit? lmao
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Is this legit? lmao

stefemanstefeman Member
edited March 2022 in Meta

@mikho posted this to discord.

Apparently added and invoiced with no prior communication.

200 USD per year for a provider tag? Holy shit guys.. Just increase ads or open donation box with transparent costs rather than rip off vendors.

This site relies on providers being able to post offers. why put core functionality behind 200 USD yearly subscription? that is pure madness.

«13456

Comments

  • That's cheap B)

  • deankdeank Member, Troll

    Cheap, that.

  • HarambeHarambe Member, Host Rep
    edited March 2022

    LOL

    Thanked by 1Falzo
  • MaouniqueMaounique Host Rep, Veteran
    edited March 2022

    Ha, now I know why the cleanup of provider tags. Frankly I didn't get it then :P

  • deankdeank Member, Troll

    Going down WHT path, this is.

    Already pretty much identical to WHT in many aspects, bar the tag fee. But even that is the same now.

    Thanked by 1FrankZ
  • If this is true, and you consider the equivalent costs of obtaining traffic through other sources i.e. FB Ads, this isn't really bad.

    Plus, this is a buyers audience.

  • dosaidosai Member

    Wtf @jbiloh

  • @SirFoxy said:
    Plus, this is a buyers audience.

    So is LES, except that the tag is free. Its getting harder and harder to shill for LET.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @stefeman

    Take a look at the posted sticky on LowEndTalk (visible only to provider tag holders) about this.

    For all users who cannot see that thread, because you are not a provider tag holder, here is the TLDR:

    This is a private thread for Provider Tag holders to discuss together some potential upcoming changes for how Provider Tags may be handled at LowEndTalk. This thread is intended to offer an open forum for dialog and to help frame next steps as no decision has been made as of yet.

    As frequent users of LowEndTalk and LowEndBox are likely aware we have made significant investments into the platform over the past two years. These investments have been funded by me personally since I purchased the websites from the prior owner in January 2020. Our income, provided by ad revenue has increased since that time and I am thankful to all those who have and continue to support the platforms by purchasing ads. However, the ad revenue alone is not sufficient to cover the additional investments we are making now plus what we have planned.

    In order to boost the financial condition of LowEndBox and LowEndTalk I considered more obtrusive ads, like what you see on most other websites today. I value user experience and therefore believe that obnoxious pop-ups and likewise are not the answer here.

    Over the last two years since I acquired LowEndBox and LowEndTalk, the activity on LowEndTalk has more than doubled and the view counts have nearly tripled. That has meant that community providers have benefitted from being able to post offers here in a very big, and increasing, way as time has passed.

    To help cover the costs related to the advancement of our platform I am proposing a very small user fee for Provider Tag holders, paid semi annually. This fee would represent a tiny fraction of the benefit providers yield from their presence here at LowEndTalk. The fee structure would also help reduce the existence of fly by night operators (aka summer hosts).

    For providers who wish to maintain their presence on LowEndTalk, but who do not wish to advertise - you are more than welcome here. Your Provider Tag would be modified to a Host Rep level as a result and advertising permissions removed. LowEndTalk is an open garden and having a large group of active hosting companies on the platform is a great thing, and a priority to maintain.

    To provide a sense of background, in order to meet our obligations and fund our upcoming initiatives the approximate fee, would be $100 per six months. This fee level assumes that 30 percent of existing providers opt to switch to Host Rep status.

    Looking forward to feedback and suggestions. I realize no one likes the idea of paying for something that previously was free but I'd ask for consideration on that the proposed fee structure is only $16.60/month and equates to pennies compared to the benefits received by hosts who active advertise via offer threads on LowEndTalk.

    Thanked by 1dedipromo
  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @SirFoxy said: If this is true, and you consider the equivalent costs of obtaining traffic through other sources i.e. FB Ads, this isn't really bad.

    Plus, this is a buyers audience.

    Thanks for your support.

    Basically it amounts to very little for many providers who would enjoy 100x or 1000x returns on this tiny fee. The income would be reinvested right back into the platform by the following:

    1. Hire a full time video content creator
    2. Hire a second supplemental tutorial writer
    3. Fund the redesign of the platform to conform with current WP standards
    4. Payoff the note used to buy the platform
    5. Invest in ad spend on social media to drive more traffic to LowEndBox and LowEndTalk
    6. Fund more giveaways, special prizes and etc
  • TGTTGT Member

    @jbiloh said:
    @stefeman

    Take a look at the posted sticky on LowEndTalk (visible only to provider tag holders) about this.

    For all users who cannot see that thread, because you are not a provider tag holder, here is the TLDR:

    This is a private thread for Provider Tag holders to discuss together some potential upcoming changes for how Provider Tags may be handled at LowEndTalk. This thread is intended to offer an open forum for dialog and to help frame next steps as no decision has been made as of yet.

    As frequent users of LowEndTalk and LowEndBox are likely aware we have made significant investments into the platform over the past two years. These investments have been funded by me personally since I purchased the websites from the prior owner in January 2020. Our income, provided by ad revenue has increased since that time and I am thankful to all those who have and continue to support the platforms by purchasing ads. However, the ad revenue alone is not sufficient to cover the additional investments we are making now plus what we have planned.

    In order to boost the financial condition of LowEndBox and LowEndTalk I considered more obtrusive ads, like what you see on most other websites today. I value user experience and therefore believe that obnoxious pop-ups and likewise are not the answer here.

    Over the last two years since I acquired LowEndBox and LowEndTalk, the activity on LowEndTalk has more than doubled and the view counts have nearly tripled. That has meant that community providers have benefitted from being able to post offers here in a very big, and increasing, way as time has passed.

    To help cover the costs related to the advancement of our platform I am proposing a very small user fee for Provider Tag holders, paid semi annually. This fee would represent a tiny fraction of the benefit providers yield from their presence here at LowEndTalk. The fee structure would also help reduce the existence of fly by night operators (aka summer hosts).

    For providers who wish to maintain their presence on LowEndTalk, but who do not wish to advertise - you are more than welcome here. Your Provider Tag would be modified to a Host Rep level as a result and advertising permissions removed. LowEndTalk is an open garden and having a large group of active hosting companies on the platform is a great thing, and a priority to maintain.

    To provide a sense of background, in order to meet our obligations and fund our upcoming initiatives the approximate fee, would be $100 per six months. This fee level assumes that 30 percent of existing providers opt to switch to Host Rep status.

    Looking forward to feedback and suggestions. I realize no one likes the idea of paying for something that previously was free but I'd ask for consideration on that the proposed fee structure is only $16.60/month and equates to pennies compared to the benefits received by hosts who active advertise via offer threads on LowEndTalk.

    Its fair.

  • stefemanstefeman Member
    edited March 2022

    I appreciate for posting the announcement.

    Maybe I just have distorted view of the costs, but I believed that 50€/m hetzner server would had been enough to run both websites but I guess im wrong and hence have hard time understanding why we must do stuff that LES is not forced to implement? this is clearly hurting the provider base.

    I just wanna see the site grow.

    If its to support LEB, then I can kinda understand it, but few providers will.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @stefeman said: I just wanna see the site grow.

    If its to support LEB, then I can kinda understand it, but few providers will.

    The additional resources will be used to fund a number of initiatives, such as:

    1. Hire a full time video content creator
    2. Hire a second supplemental tutorial writer
    3. Fund the redesign of the platform to conform with current WP standards
    4. Payoff the note used to buy the platform
    5. Invest in ad spend on social media to drive more traffic to LowEndBox and LowEndTalk
    6. Fund more giveaways, special prizes and etc
  • TGTTGT Member

    @jbiloh said:

    @stefeman said: I just wanna see the site grow.

    If its to support LEB, then I can kinda understand it, but few providers will.

    The additional resources will be used to fund a number of initiatives, such as:

    1. Hire a full time video content creator
    2. Hire a second supplemental tutorial writer
    3. Fund the redesign of the platform to conform with current WP standards
    4. Payoff the note used to buy the platform
    5. Invest in ad spend on social media to drive more traffic to LowEndBox and LowEndTalk
    6. Fund more giveaways, special prizes and etc

    To that point just open it to open donations so not only providers can support.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @TGT said:

    @jbiloh said:

    @stefeman said: I just wanna see the site grow.

    If its to support LEB, then I can kinda understand it, but few providers will.

    The additional resources will be used to fund a number of initiatives, such as:

    1. Hire a full time video content creator
    2. Hire a second supplemental tutorial writer
    3. Fund the redesign of the platform to conform with current WP standards
    4. Payoff the note used to buy the platform
    5. Invest in ad spend on social media to drive more traffic to LowEndBox and LowEndTalk
    6. Fund more giveaways, special prizes and etc

    To that point just open it to open donations so not only providers can support.

    We considered that in the provider tag announcement thread. It was decided against because ultimately we are for profit company and so taking donations does not seem fair.

    I'd rather offer providers a quality service in exchange for a very fair (very small) fee.

  • VoidVoid Member

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @jmaxwell said:

    There ya go!! :)

  • VoidVoid Member

    @deank said:
    The end is nigh.

    how much are you paying for the Troll tag?

    Thanked by 1yoursunny
  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @jmaxwell said:

    @deank said:
    The end is nigh.

    how much are you paying for the Troll tag?

    That one is all free!!

    Thanked by 1dedicados
  • VoidVoid Member

    @jbiloh said:

    @jmaxwell said:

    @deank said:
    The end is nigh.

    how much are you paying for the Troll tag?

    That one is all free!!

    Are there any other free tags?

  • I can't see how many would want to pay considering they have to compete with Racknerd spamming threads with double my bandwidth etc...

    Thanked by 1KermEd
  • risharderisharde Patron Provider, Veteran
    edited March 2022

    I find this to be utterly ridiculous. This is a 'lowend' forum but the price to be a lowend host adds to the cost for users. What about super cheap or near free providers? Right now my dns hosting is free - would still like to one day dream of being a provider but not 100 to 200 a year. Also, this seems as expensive as a subscription fee to something like Apple! It sends a strong signal that you are in for the money as if you are breaking even and I hardly doubt that from the ads and traffic and attention this site gets. As a very old forum user, I am borderline offended considering that I would like to be a provider one day but to not be able to advertise on the first forum I was introduced and remain faithful unto this day is a great disappointment for me on my views of course. You have admitted to having great success here. Your last support response to me also left alot to be desired regarding domain winning thread. Sorry if I come across resentful but your current and future success is partially due to inherited value from free users as us.

  • StealthyHostingStealthyHosting Member, Host Rep
    edited March 2022

    @jbiloh said:
    Basically it amounts to very little for many providers who would enjoy 100x or 1000x returns on this tiny fee. The income would be reinvested right back into the platform by the following:

    You're dreaming if you think providers are making $10-100K/6 months off LET.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @risharde said:
    I find this to be utterly ridiculous. This is a 'lowend' forum but the price to be a lowend host adds to the cost for users. What about super cheap or near free providers? Right now my dns hosting is free - would still like to one day dream of being a provider but not 100 to 200 a year. Also, this seems as expensive as a subscription fee to something like Apple! It sends a strong signal that you are in for the money as if you are breaking even and I hardly doubt that from the ads and traffic and attention this site gets. As a very old forum user, I am borderline offended considering that I would like to be a provider one day but to not be able to advertise on the first forum I was introduced and remain faithful unto this day is a great disappointment for me on my views of course. You have admitted to having great success here. Your last support response to me also left alot to be desired regarding domain winning thread. Sorry if I come across resentful but your current and future success is partially due to inherited value from free users as us.

    Appreciate your opinion.

    The $16/month fee for Provider Tag holders, who benefit immensely from our community and the investments made into the platform seems very modest to me.

    If a Provider Tag holder does not want to pay they are still welcome here, as a Host Rep, who can be active but cannot advertise their products.

    As we work towards implementing our initiatives this is the best to accomplish the goals:

    Here are just some of the things we are working towards...

    1. Hire a full time video content creator
    2. Hire a second supplemental tutorial writer
    3. Fund the redesign of the platform to conform with current WP standards
    4. Payoff the note used to buy the platform
    5. Invest in ad spend on social media to drive more traffic to LowEndBox and LowEndTalk
    6. Fund more giveaways, special prizes and etc
  • deankdeank Member, Troll

    @noobjockeys said:
    I can't see how many would want to pay considering they have to compete with Racknerd spamming threads with double my bandwidth etc...

    Pretty much this. Even on a level playing ground, it may be tough to pay up 200 which will surely go up.

    Hosts will need to pay 200 while the purple guy gets special treatments for being a former you-know-what.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran
    edited March 2022

    @StealthyHosting said:

    @jbiloh said:
    Basically it amounts to very little for many providers who would enjoy 100x or 1000x returns on this tiny fee. The income would be reinvested right back into the platform by the following:

    You're dreaming if you think providers are making $10-100K/6 months off LET.

    Sure, some are smaller. But many are.

    Even if it's just 10x ROI. That's pretty good.

  • jbilohjbiloh Administrator, Veteran

    @deank said: Pretty much this. Even on a level playing ground, it may be tough to pay up 200 which will surely go up.

    As I mentioned in the private provider tag thread, if we fall short of our goal I will make up the delta personally.

  • deankdeank Member, Troll

    Aaaand he evades the core concern.

    Yeah, it's going WHT path.

  • risharderisharde Patron Provider, Veteran
    edited March 2022

    @jbiloh thanks I know you said that but you have left out start ups and basically anyone providing value added services. Your intentions are it not to continue to make it more popular and profitable making your changes? I am not saying no fee but you are focusing on the winners, not everyone is going to be in that category. If in the real world, a man is a millionaire and he goes to buy a burger at McDonalds, does he pay more for the same burger than the poor man that begged for money to pay for the same burger. Give or take the minor oddities that arise in my argument. It cannot be a fee that is so out of reach vs the value - you will push away potential providers like myself from being a normal user as well.

    Thanked by 1bulbasaur
This discussion has been closed.