TechSpot readers, would you pay $3-5 for a subscription, remove all ads, and...

[Raoul Duke]

It is an interesting option, but the ads are not so intrusive and the benefits so great I would pay (I have a pretty low income). If the ads became intrusive I would look at other sites, but as someone mentioned, I don't know how, but this site has become a site visited several times a day and has led me to stop reading many other sites. In other words I really do like Techspot

 

[SNGX1275]

That is why I'm still here @Raoul Duke over time you form a bond with a site and gain familiarity with their posters (frontpage authors or forum posts) and its difficult to just jump ship. Most people want to stay where they are already comfortable. So while I don't want to discount completely the Guest posts in this, they are in reality less relevant than those that have registered accounts and more than 'x' number of posts. So the real question as I see it is how much are people willing to pay to stay in their comfort zone (btw, I have not talked to any staff member on this matter outside of this thread, I have no insight into Julio's thoughts outside of what is presented here, I just happen to have nothing else going on tonight so I'm following this more closely than I normally do).

 

[cliffordcooley]

What matters is paying for the site to continue. If that means adding a contribution button and giving privileges that regular members may not have, I'm fine with it.

 

[yRaz]

I'd pay good money for you guys (mainly Shawn) to stop using Fox News as a source. I frequently find typos and the thought of paying for any of it is disgusting. Drop it now before it's too late. This kind of reminds me of a local bar that "wasn't making enough money." The owner raised the prices and people stopped coming almost altogether. Point being, trying to make more money may cost you more than what you already have. Don't change a thing or you may lose the community you've taken years to build.

 

[mailpup]

Even though especially intrusive ads can bother me and I've even complained about one, generally speaking the ads don't bother me much. Since I spend so much time here I've even clicked on a few ads because once in awhile one will actually draw my interest. It is certainly no worse than most other websites I've visited.

 

[wiak]

$12 a year ($1 monthly) would work or $2 a month
you have to look at other media to see what I mean by my price reasoning, like crunchyroll
http://www.crunchyroll.com/store/p/82552/Anime-Membership-Gift#12 Month
$4.99 monthly (12 months) for anime tv shows
you also have spotify for $9.99 thats unlimited music

just my 200 cents

 

[LukeDJ]

I'm completely fine with the way things are. Techspot has some of the best implemented ads I've seen, unintrusive, small and fitting with the overall look of the site. And if, heaven forbid, my eyes do catch a glimpse of them, they're relevant to what I like and not insulting or stupid at all. If you were to implement a premium feature, I'd be a little miffed that I was missing out on the badge and other cool features. I'd probably pay $20 a year just for those features, but $36 isn't really worth it to me.

 

[wujj123456]

I might be weird, but here are my two cents. I voted for paying $5 a month for support, and you can pick me out if I didn't end up paying. I don't like those sketchy ads, and every 3rd party ad is a security risk. So I will keep blocking them anyway. I guess it's easier to be paranoid now given the leaks.

Techspot has been doing well with ads, but I usually still block them. It take effort to unblock them, right? In return, I subscribe to Ars/Phoronix/LWN, etc, as long as they offer a reasonable price. I also have monthly donation to wikipedia and some random stuff I'd like to see it going. $5 a month is within that range for most technical sites on my RSS radar. (Sorry, some site, $1000/yrs is outrageous.) I am even not always logged in when browsing the sites I subscribed to. Adblock + Noscript + Ghostery + Autopager provides most benefits (if not all) a subscription offers. For me, it's mostly that I understand good contents are backed up by good funding. If I am blocking ads, I'd better pay some tip.

If it's not too hard for you to offer a subscription option, do it anyway, as if it's a donation button. In return, remove ads for subscribers. That's a good starting point for everyone. Everything else is optional to me, but I can see there are many things people might want. Single page browsing and full RSS are nice to have. That really depends on whether enough people will sign up to justify the additional cost for these services.

What might bother me is subscriber exclusive content, even if it's time based exclusive (e.g. open to public in a week.) It's better not to do that, because everyone might end up losing. I still subscribe to LWN due to its highly technical status, relevant to my job and its very very narrow audience.

I am still puzzled why $3-5/mo to remove ads is not a standard model for many sites. I honestly don't think you will earn more than $5 from any single user a month, base on my own experience of running websites. Every single user it converts is a win-win for both sides... Maybe I am missing something?

 

[Julio Franco]

Thanks for your feedback @wujj123456.

What might bother me is subscriber exclusive content, even if it's time based exclusive (e.g. open to public in a week.) It's better not to do that, because everyone might end up losing.

Just wanted to add that while adding the opt-in subscription is just a possibility we are exploring at this point, it's absolutely clear to us that nothing will change on the content end of things.

 

[Xyvis]

I'd have no issue paying a few dollars a month for a no-ad experience. I can't afford too much as a college student, but I visit Techspot several times. I know that maintaining this site has costs.

 

[wujj123456]

I'm not so sure. I would think there has to be some research published (if not formally (journals), at least informally (websites)) out there about how subscription vs donation sites and a comparison to sites just running standard ads.

Edit - I haven't read this yet - but a quick google scholar search returns a lot of NYT papers. This one does mention it, but the title seemed more relevant to this site, but again I didn't read it yet so don't take my word for it:
A Mixed Bundling Pricing Model for News Websites

Extra Edit: I used the wrong search terms in the first edit - Here is a better, although not free (unless you are at a university with a partnership) addressing paying to remove ads: Information Economics and Policy

Be careful about these articles though. They might be good academic papers, good food for thought, but all econ papers have one simple scheme: maximize profits. That's what they study, which is probably not independent journalism should pursue. The formula changes dramatically if you are just trying to substitute some ads revenue with something more stable.

 

[captaincranky]

TechSpot readers, we want to gather your opinion about an optional subscription program, giving you a way to directly support the site while receiving some cool extras and recognition. Among the benefits: no ads anywhere, a special contributor badge, full-text...]

Well @Julio Franco, I'm still a bit stumped and offended by this. The only people answering this thread are active regular members. And as such, they actually ADD value to the site.

For example, free malware removal, free computer diagnosis and repair advice, and a host of other topics large quantities of supplicants come here seeking wisdom upon for free.

It seems counter productive and counter intuitive, to ask people that already, in essence, work for free, to pay to continue to do so.

I've been here pushing 8 years, and during that time, I've seen hoards of people come and go, with only the most blatant of self serving interests. After they blow a bunch of sunshine up everybody's behinds, get what they want, (gratis), they quickly move on, while the faithful remain.

\(In fact, I've gotten warnings for calling trolls, trolls, and parasites, parasites). Of course that's probably my failing, in having never learned to kiss someone's a** properly, and with the necessary humility,

So, if the paid staff has gotten to a point where revenue no longer supports the extent of it, maybe you might consider a budgetary snip along those lines.

Whether I'm delusional, or merely an egomaniac, is debatable, but I do think what I contribute is of value and I almost NEVER ask for help.

BTW, since you've made it quite plain to me that, "addict" (*), is the only title you feel is appropriate for me to hold, be aware that, "I don't need no steenking badges" either.

(*) FWIW, I'm comfortable with "addict". I found it to be quite liberating.

 

[Guest]

I only discovered techspot a few months ago (you may want to increase your advertisement buget on sites like slashdot, reddit, etc.). I took $3, but in reality my limit is $20 - 25 per year, at $12/y or lower I would not even hesitate. $25/y is what I am paying the escapist magazine for similar benefits (though, they include better quality / offline access to podcasts and videos, so I'd say their benefits are of higher value). You may want to ask them if they are willing to share some data with you regarding subscriptions. Check also with slashdot, who offer similar benefits.

Your benefits should include full content advertizement free rss, so I can read offline. In fact, consider offering apps for andriod and ios with offline reading. If you are clever, enlist one of the top rss app makers and buy a version that shows only your content. You could also team up with escapist, who I do not think have an app yet.

And never, ever, paywall. Even advance showing is problematic - if I see something good in 'advance', how do I share it with my non-paying friends? I can't post a link on e.g., facebook...
//Rickard

 

[Railman]

A subscription in USD would be difficult for us foreigners. Don't forget we would possibly face FX exchange fees on top. Frankly I find Techspot one of the better sites when it comes to ads so I am not too concerned about them. I just hope that Techspot never go down the same route as Toms Hardware as their site is a nightmare to navigate.

 

[havok585]

I would be interested in a subscription model with the following points:
- No Ads (this is the single biggest reason, because they are screen clutter and can link to malware)
- No subscription (don't want another re-occurring payment). Make it yearly, give options like paypal and card
- Cut back on the java script and external links, my no-script is as high as my screen with scripts on this page. I just want a more safer browsing experience with less tracking.
- That's it, no more features, we want to keep the price low. $50 or even $36 a year is still a bit high. Need to remember that people have other bills to pay, if all sites charged this no one would commit to this model because it becomes expensive and thus prohibitive.

Keep up the great work and congrats on 15 years.

Ever HEARD of ADBLOCK ? geezes ...

 

[cartera]

$ 2-3 a month or $10 - 15 for 12 months I think is fair. Higher than that for the perks mentioned I don't think is worth it. If this route was to be followed ensure that current advertising practice doesn't change for non subscribers. As mentioned already tomshardware is a mess so I actively avoid their articles and pages.

 

[WangDangDoodle]

To be perfectly honest, I don't want to pay for anything unless I have to, and tech news isn't exactly critical to my lifestyle. I like TechSpot, so I registered. That's me showing my support.

I really do enjoy TechSpot's reviews (especially the CPU/GPU benchmarks), and I'm grateful for all your hard work. TechSpot has become my absolute favorite and go-to site for tech news. Partly because I love the design and layout, but most of all because the content is just right for my digestion. Tom's Hardware can get a bit dry and windy sometimes.

 

[highlander84]

Honestly,

I've never even noticed the adds...I ignore anything non-relevant... as long as you don't start with those BS pop-up adds we will get along nicely.

 

[Benny26]

I like the fact that this has been thrown out there first as a debate, shows how much respect Techspot has for it's members for the most part, in my opinion. However I personally had to vote no on this. I'm the type of person that prefers to keep things as equal as possible between members; adding badges of basically "this guy pays" I'm not in favour of. Titles based on how much content a member has given the site or how loyal they've stayed through the years I consider different, however.

I agree with the donate button though, that could be worth exploring. I'd kindly kick a few doubloons over when I can wrestle my account back from Paypal...however many thousands of years that will take.

 

[Shaun2312]

What ads?

 

[VitalyT]

I read way too much everywhere, and Techspot is just one such website. There is over-abundance of technical stuff to read, and if Techspot starts throwing more AD-s in the way, I will just leave for better alternatives or install an AD-blocker.

Also, I find it more convenient and fast to locate such news on news.google.com, in category Technology:

https://news.google.com/news/sectio...p=d66cda4a45341aa27db8e481c14e33c5c8a7&ict=ln

It is a much faster update on every technology that pops up. Most of the articles I read on Techspot nowadays is something I have already read about on news.google.com

 

[misor]

I'm a magnet for free stuff so no...

 

[agissi]

Wow the new HP banner at the bottom is horrible. The articles here arent good enough, or frequent enough, overall aggressive enough, for me to pay money.

 

[SNGX1275]

Ever HEARD of ADBLOCK ? geezes ...

Well, I'd bet that adblock has its part in why this discussion is even occurring. I do run adblock, and I have been on this site for a long time, I would be open to kicking some money towards the site because in a way I know I'm getting this content totally free and subverting a revenue stream.

 

[misor]

Wow the new HP banner at the bottom is horrible. The articles here arent good enough, or frequent enough, overall aggressive enough, for me to pay money.

What hp banner?
(currently viewing techspot on ie11, windows 8.1 x64)