RE: membership renewal poll

[Gone-Camping]

 popuptimes
I m not sure if I ll stay or not. I really like PUT, and have been here quite a while, and one of the more prolific posters here. However, I really have to agree with YellowXterra about seeing the same thing on the other boards. Being a moderator at one them keeps me busy anyway! So I m just not sure if I ll spend the money on it again. Guess I ll cross that bridge when I get to it...

[Ab Diver]

 popuptimes
Dave, I ve received in personal benefits much more than the cost of this membership. I ll be back one way or the other-- I d miss some very close friends I ve met through your site, and some I ve " yet"  to meet. []
 
 I clicked on the coupon option, only since the price of a membership seemed to be such a problem for many other people. Perhaps if they felt they were getting something in return, they wouldn t feel that the price was so objectionable. But I can see why an *included* magazine subscription would be desirable for others.
 
 Keep up the good work, and see ya in February! (unless you make it to another  NCC rally before then [] )

[moderator1]

 Gone-Camping

 

ORIGINAL:  Gone-Camping
 
 I m not sure if I ll stay or not. I really like PUT, and have been here quite a while, and one of the more prolific posters here. However, I really have to agree with YellowXterra about seeing the same thing on the other boards. Being a moderator at one them keeps me busy anyway! So I m just not sure if I ll spend the money on it again. Guess I ll cross that bridge when I get to it...
 

 We understand that there are multiple free choices out there.  As a matter of fact, we have them posted here in the general forum and send the following to every trial member:
 
 

As PUT is a pay site, we could never expect someone to pay money for something they have never seen.  If you are not happy, no problem.  We want everyone to make an informed choice as to what is best for him or her.  If you are not interested in Pop Up Times and would like some direction to other sites, just drop me a line and I?ll send you some links, or check on the board.   I have already posted the links to all the free sites we know of on the board.  You can check them out on this thread after you log in:
 
 http://www.popuptimes.com/members/tm.asp?m=16021&p=1&tmode=1
 

 This post provides a direct link to the following sites:
 
 alt.rv.pop-up-trailers
 
 iRV2
 
 Pop Up Explorer
 
 PopUpPortal
 
 RV Net - Open Roads Forum
 
 Pop Up Trailer Camping
 
 First and formost Pop Up Times wants to promote pop up camping

[garym053]

 popuptimes
Hi Dave!
 I lllll be Baaaacccckkkk!! Couldn t resist doing my Arnie imitation!
 Anyway, just wantd you to know I checked the Magazine Subscription, but that doesn t mean I wouldn t renew if it wasn t included!!!
 How about include the subscription but do away with the 1st Class Postage? That would save you some money in postage as well as labor in sorting, I would think!

[Dee4j]

 popuptimes
I vote for the coupon. My magazine subscription is paid thru Mar-05 so I m looking for some instant gratification. It s a bummer the manufacturers, campgrounds etc. backed out since that was one of the incentives to join. If I do renew its outta loyalty only, the only part of the board I really use is the rally section. which I could be a " guest" .  maybe you can offer free subscription OR coupon.  Thanks for asking our opinion

[don]

 popuptimes

  I had thought including the magazine would have been a good idea last year, as I only really bought it to support the board but now I don t know if that would bring me back. The magazine is really thin on content and I haven t seen that change. I never cared about that with the great board we had but since it went pay the board is also pretty thin for content.
 So that said I think the only thing that would keep me here is if you can find a way to increase membership to the board for increased activity (your putting up this poll is a great starting point). People say that there are other good alternative free boards (including you) but that is not the case. There are other boards out there and they are all just as slow as this board. That s just what happened after PUT became a pay site. You had " THE"  pop up community on the web. Since January we have been scattered across the web. I don t know what might bring some back, a magazine subscription and making the mag have a little more content? Maybe once you decide if you are going to change anything you could send out an email to previous members trying to get some of them back. Some of them must be as frustrated and bored on those other slow boards as some of us here are they may only need the olive branch extended to bring them back.
 So, I think if I see members coming back and activity increasing I would stay.
 

[angelsmom10]

 popuptimes
We ll be back is DH has a job by then.  His unemployment is getting to be a bummer.  Love the site and all the friends we have met here, even if we ve never met.[][][]

[SactoCampers]

 popuptimes
I will remain here regardless of what happens but I didn t vote because perhaps some change should occur, but I don t have a preference as to what. I ll let others decide what they think would be most effective at bringing in more people.
 
 

[Campaholics]

 popuptimes
Dave,
 Business is business.  If you don t turn a profit, there will be no PUT or board.  As long as I get value I will be here and subscribe to PUT.  PUT has some excellent maintenance articles, which are a great reference.  The forums have information and entertainment not available in a magazine.  I would rather have a reduction on the subscription price instead of 1st class postage.  A package deal on PUT and Arvee would be good.
 
 Either way, I expect to be here as long as I am camping.  We ve been camping for twenty seasons, and look forward to another twenty.
 
 Best Regards from
 The Campaholics
 

[jawilson]

 popuptimes
Personally, I would prefer the price be lowered because that s where I spend most of my time; on line. As it stands now I can read most issues of the magazine fairly quickly, so I don t know that I ll be renewing that. But this web site I will keep coming back to for sure.

[GeneF]

 popuptimes
My vote is for lowering the cost to a more reasonable amount.  I think that more people would join for a lower cost without the magazine.
 
 If the cost of joining is still 29.95, including the magazine, initially new people may still find that too expensive.
 
 
 

One disappointment was the manufacturers who indicated they would support the club with rebates as well as other support have not been able to move ahead becuse pop up sales are way down and they re struggling to maintain.
 

 I wish that I had seen the above quote a long time ago.  Some of us have been wondering about the discounts that were mentioned when the board first went to a pay site.  Discounts and other savings that were mentioned other than at the store.
 
 Also, how about some smaller less expensive items in the store.  I am not talking about pots and pans but maybe some reasonable priced t-shirts, boxers, key chains or different camping items that we can t get at wallyworld.
 
 As for staying, I have met a lot of friends here but will sit on the fence a while longer.

[Jeffrey]

 don
Lower price or include magazine those would both be good if they work financially.
 IMO There is still something needed that would bring in more people.
 It has been alot busier here lately. But just like the other boards I have looked at, 80% of the posts seem to be conversations between very few people.
 
 Will I renew ? Not sure...... if it gets busier probably.[8D]
 
 But then I have been a PU camper for a long time, It could be my time to move on anyway[]. But that has nothing to do with this.[] (And no NOT to the Darkside!![: (])

[pcasey250]

 popuptimes
I have been wondering for the last couple of months whether I will come back.  I find that the there has been a significant lag in campground reviews and that the boards are not as active as they were before they were a pay site. If you look at some of the review boards there are no activities for weeks at a time. I used to check the boards 3 or 4 times a day - now I generally check it maybe once a day and somethimes not every day.

[iwantapopup]

 don
We won t be back for several reasons, 1) we have a TT now so throwing in the magazine doesn t really appeal to me and we did not renew this year.  2) sorry, but the board just isn t as good as it used to be, too much fluff talk and not enough " meat"  to keep me interested.
 
 I will continue to post and or be the moderator for the MAPPUC group if that continues to be a free option.
 
 I will wish Dave the best of success though; we have learned alot in the last 1-1/2 yrs and have made some new friends along the way! []

[GaryWT]

 don
I am not sure either.  I was a long time poster on the old board from way back.  When I came to the new board I have always felt like an outsider since I did not pay intime to be a charter member or did not even know about it.  
 
 The board in general has a lot less info on it with the number of posters down.  I use to look at the old board 3-4 times a day, it is now only a couple times a week and all the new posts are still on the first page.  At one time, if you took a day off you would miss pages of new posts.
 
 We will have to think about it when the time comes.