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Can we prepay for several years in advance?

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    #1

    Can we prepay for several years in advance?

    I'm just curious... what if I wanted to pay for, say, 5 years in advance? Or maybe you could offer a "lifetime" subscription or something?

    If it's a hassle, well, no biggie. I just always worry about the annual subscriptions to all this stuff I've got, and forgetting about them and getting hit when my account is low. I know on here, I'm getting a message that I was going to be up for renewal - but then I went to my membership page to see if I could just tell it to charge my card NOW, and there wasn't an ability to do that - it was ONLY to automatically charge it on my renewal date.

    I'm forgetful. Thankfully my wife is the one who handles most of our bill payments... or my credik would SUK.
    Tags: None
    • Likes 3
  • Answer selected by Huskee at February 15, 2024, 03:31 PM.
    We have thought about this and I don't think it can happen. Our member management system is all custom coding (Thanks RayJ) built into vBulletin and it occasionally hiccups. I would rather not add another layer of complication. We did do 3 years for the price of 2 a few years ago when we needed to raise some cash in a hurry and it caused some grief.

    Besides, as a businessman I have long been opposed to discounting a product. Devalues it and can cause customer dissatisfaction. Ever board a plane to find out the person next to you got her ticket for half the price you paid?

    Also, from a financial standpoint, an annual membership is a renewable resource. Our finances are strained, so even though a lifetime membership gives an upfront jolt of cash, in the long run, we lose money.

    Our price is our price and hopefully we won't have to change it for a long while.

    What we do need is $5,000 new members. THAT would solve a lot of problems. Ask your friends! Give gift memberships!
    • Likes 5
    • Selected Answer

    Comment

    • N227GB
      N227GB commented
      December 18, 2023, 11:13 AM
      Editing a comment
      I just purchased a gift membership for someone!
      • 1 like
    • SmokingSteve
      SmokingSteve commented
      December 18, 2023, 08:46 PM
      Editing a comment
      As a former business owner I agree with you wholeheartedly Meathead.
      • 1 like
    • Meathead
      Meathead commented
      December 20, 2023, 12:08 PM
      Editing a comment
      Thanks N227GB !
    #2
    Maybe buy a few gift cards for the site and then use them as your renewals arrive?

    Comment

      #3
      I was actually wanting to pay early as well, or rather have one of my kids do it as a Christmas gift.
      When I checked, it looked like it can only be set up to renew with the card on file. Don’t really want the kids having to do that…

      Comment

        #4
        a few yrs ago we could pay for 3 yrs ahead
        • Likes 3

        Comment

        • realdocBBQ
          #4.1
          realdocBBQ commented
          December 17, 2023, 10:32 AM
          Editing a comment
          I was THINKING I remembered that... thought I DID it, but apparently not.

          Or maybe it was longer ago than I THOUGHT... lol.
          • 1 like
        • RAYMBO
          #4.2
          RAYMBO commented
          December 17, 2023, 10:37 PM
          Editing a comment
          There was a 3 year special at the end of 2018. Paying for 2019, 2020, and 2021.
        • Santamarina
          #4.3
          Santamarina commented
          December 18, 2023, 03:32 PM
          Editing a comment
          I signed up for that 3-year extension, and I’d do it again if offered!
          • 1 like
        #5
        Pay me for 150 yrs if ya want. You'll be "set it and forget it."
        • Likes 2

        Comment

        • texastweeter
          #5.1
          texastweeter commented
          December 17, 2023, 03:01 PM
          Editing a comment
          I don't plan to live that long. As soon as I'm a burden on my family, I'm gonna go hunting, bring a good bottle of whisky, but leave my rifle at home, lol. You gonna assume the mantle of teaching my army of kids how to que?
        • Jerod Broussard
          #5.2
          Jerod Broussard commented
          December 17, 2023, 04:04 PM
          Editing a comment
          texastweeter give me a good Webcam to drool into
        #6
        I will bring this up with the boss. A multi-year or lifetime membership seems like a good idea. Numbers need to be crunched to determine the viability.
        • Likes 5

        Comment

        • FireMan
          #6.1
          FireMan commented
          December 17, 2023, 10:50 PM
          Editing a comment
          When I first read it I thought I read members would have to be crunched. Really caught my interest, numbers not so much.
          • 1 like
        • mrichie1229
          #6.2
          mrichie1229 commented
          December 17, 2023, 11:44 PM
          Editing a comment
          "I want you to kill all the gophers on the course."
          • 2 likes
        • RAYMBO
          #6.3
          RAYMBO commented
          December 18, 2023, 12:04 AM
          Editing a comment
          Members, numbers, something needs a crunchin'.
          • 1 like
        #7
        Historically it was a no on this due to it being a big tech expense. The systems aren't in place to just simply 'pay for 3 years' or more. When we did it before as a one-time special thing it required the system to be built to do that. That requires an expense to pay someone to build the system to do that.
        • Likes 2

        Comment

        • realdocBBQ
          #7.1
          realdocBBQ commented
          December 18, 2023, 07:29 AM
          Editing a comment
          Ahhhh I wasn't aware this was a thing. Ok. Well, it's not a major inconvenience - just I thought I would ask.
        #8
        We have thought about this and I don't think it can happen. Our member management system is all custom coding (Thanks RayJ) built into vBulletin and it occasionally hiccups. I would rather not add another layer of complication. We did do 3 years for the price of 2 a few years ago when we needed to raise some cash in a hurry and it caused some grief.

        Besides, as a businessman I have long been opposed to discounting a product. Devalues it and can cause customer dissatisfaction. Ever board a plane to find out the person next to you got her ticket for half the price you paid?

        Also, from a financial standpoint, an annual membership is a renewable resource. Our finances are strained, so even though a lifetime membership gives an upfront jolt of cash, in the long run, we lose money.

        Our price is our price and hopefully we won't have to change it for a long while.

        What we do need is $5,000 new members. THAT would solve a lot of problems. Ask your friends! Give gift memberships!
        • Likes 5
        • Selected Answer

        Comment

        • N227GB
          #8.1
          N227GB commented
          December 18, 2023, 11:13 AM
          Editing a comment
          I just purchased a gift membership for someone!
          • 1 like
        • SmokingSteve
          #8.2
          SmokingSteve commented
          December 18, 2023, 08:46 PM
          Editing a comment
          As a former business owner I agree with you wholeheartedly Meathead.
          • 1 like
        • Meathead
          #8.3
          Meathead commented
          December 20, 2023, 12:08 PM
          Editing a comment
          Thanks N227GB !
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