non plats, post here and tell us why you are not plat yet

[pintoca]

George, you have to stop being so predictable. I was counting the seconds it will take you to sniff this post!!! you took longer than expected (must be the time zone)

Then again, Im also in this field, and agree: It's all about the Business Plan. Commodity Business are a dime a dozen, only by diferentiation can you sustain a profitable margin. In your case your DB is your diferentiator (and well, the likes of Lestat and Woot)... so you cannot cut costs in the one thing that keeps you floating. That is easy to understand, and it is obvious the reason behind making the search a Plat-only feature.

 

[ringperm]

These are all very good points, and I wish advertising would pay for everything. Unfortunately, it does not. Not here or anywhere else. Witness the many sites that have to charge for content now.

Of course the site would not be what it is without our members, but by virtue of the fact that we have so many members, we have larger costs than other bodybuilding sites.

The two largest factors that make Elite costly to run are the number of members and the size of the database. We could delete posts from the past 9 years, but we chose to maintain the database, because this is the largest body of fitness, bodybuilding, and steroid information that has ever existed. I think it would be a shame to lose that.

Online businesses are taking a mad scramble to find other means to increase revenues. Yahoo is now charging an annual listing fee. NetZero, a free Internet provider, has reduced its free offering to 40 hours and introduced paid subscriptions. Bizland now charges for Web hosting it used to provide for free to small businesses. Salon.com, the online magazine, will now carry fee-based premium content. And Wall Street Journal has always charged.

The low ad rates and poor affiliate returns are what have forced Elite and other sites to look for other sources of revenue. The state of running a free site only to earn $1 for every 1,000-banner impression per month can only last so long. With the current slump in ad market rates, a site generating 100,000 page views a month can only expect to earn $100 - an amount that is not even enough to cover dedicated server fees.

The other bodybuilding sites have come and gone since we got started 10 years ago. We made the decision that we would have tons for free and even more for our paying members. This will ensure that we will be around for the next 10 years as well.

Of course, many of the other "free" boards, exist to generate leads for steroid dealers who are involved with the running of them. That's a whole other story and something we do not take part in.

Thank you, Sir.
It was a very enlightening post, and it gave me more insight into a world, that I admit, I do not know much about.
If it's true what you just said, and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt that. I have no problem seeing the need to have paying members to keep the ship in orbit, and of course making a decent living out of it.
Good luck in the decade to come.

 

[hawaii50]

well my reason is a good one. i got hit by a fullsize 4x4 truck (idiot ran a redlight and creamed me) a month and half ago while i biking (cardio).. 6 inch gash to the skull, cracked femur, completely screwed rotator cuff, and $11,000 dollars in hospital bills (which insurance is still pending on paying... cuz the drivers insurance is stalling or some BS), PLUS i've only been back to work for 2 weeks.. and now i'm behind on truck payments .. insurance in kansas doesn't pay for lost wages and time.. how messed up is that

ANYWAYS, i still plan on going platinum, theres a lot of good bros here, but it'll prolly have to wait til i get my school loans for this year...

ok. sob story done

 

[Lestat]

Great posts from ringperm and George.

Its a give and take around here, George needs us as members to make the site what it is, but we need the servers up and running fast, the database, the support from admin and mods, etc.

Although the boards may not make money without plat, I realize that us being here gives Elite a captive audience for its sponsors, something that is hard to put a price on, but its worth a lot.

Also with all these posts, when someone on the web searches for any topic under the sun, odds are they will likely come across a post on Elite Fitness. The more memebers they have posting the better these odds are. Getting people to visit a site is also something that is worth a lot.

I support the site because I have a means to, and I look at it as a way of giving back a little. This site has enhanced my life in more ways then one.

Plus when I went plat my penis grew 2 inches.

 

[Cutiebaby]

Plus when I went plat my penis grew 2 inches.

wow thank you for sharing that with us

 

[hawaii50]

oh yeah. i forgot to add that its worth paying a little bit of money to get all the knowledge everyone possesses.. and having your penis grow wouldn't be too bad either.. COME ON SCHOOL LOANS!!!

 

[Lestat]

wow thank you for sharing that with us

no problem, I like being an honest salesman

 

[ringperm]

Great posts from ringperm and George.

Thank you, Mr. Lestat. Does this mean that my post was approved, and you and your devoted squad wont bomb me to smithereens?

Adding 2 inches to the "dictator", would probably be worth going plat for, but since my inflatable "maid" already is stretched to the limit, it would be somewhat redundant

But this salespitch was way better than the previous one.

 

[Lestat]

Thank you, Mr. Lestat. Does this mean that my post was approved, and you and your devoted squad wont bomb me to smithereens?

Adding 2 inches to the "dictator", would probably be worth going plat for, but since my inflatable "maid" already is stretched to the limit, it would be somewhat redundant

But this salespitch was way better than the previous one.

yes man, post approved, you will not be targeted!

lol @ the dictator

 

[pintoca]

Great posts from ringperm and George.

Its a give and take around here, George needs us as members to make the site what it is, but we need the servers up and running fast, the database, the support from admin and mods, etc.

Although the boards may not make money without plat, I realize that us being here gives Elite a captive audience for its sponsors, something that is hard to put a price on, but its worth a lot.

Also with all these posts, when someone on the web searches for any topic under the sun, odds are they will likely come across a post on Elite Fitness. The more memebers they have posting the better these odds are. Getting people to visit a site is also something that is worth a lot.

I support the site because I have a means to, and I look at it as a way of giving back a little. This site has enhanced my life in more ways then one.

Plus when I went plat my penis grew 2 inches.

Hater, I get no love