Had an idea spark a while back after engaging in the topic of Armorama revenue/ A-Guard membership/ bandwidth costs,etc.
For me, idea sparks can be bizarre,weird, and down right strange. So bear with me on my mental path on this.
How about KitMaker Auction Forum? For model related-hobby items only,for established members only. Structured somewhat like the site of same purpose that we all love and/or hate. .
Can't have Bingo Night like other clubs and associations to raise funds so this might be a viable solution?
Yes,this is going take a considerable amount of thoughtful planning to launch successfully but it certainly could accomplish the objective of sustaining the existance of this website.
So there it is my fellow members,in all it's preposterous scope and scale.
Mull it over in your own cranium spaces that are normally filled with glue fumes and then tap out your opinions
Cheers!
Rick

Hi Rick,

Don't we already have a Buy/Sell/Trade Forum?

I understand what you are saying, but if the bidding is restricted to site members doesn't that defeat the object a little if you are trying to raise cash and not just get rid of unwanted models/kits?

I'm not a fan of the place you mentioned and wouldn't buy anything off it, but that's just personal. I can see the advantage of buying from fellow modellers at reasonable prices. Would the seller pay a commision on the sale as is normal in auctions? Could you sell whatever modelling stuff you wanted, ie kits built or unbuilt, tools, books etc.

It's a basically good idea, but I have no idea how it would work in practice. Would it be a monthly thing or on going daily?

It will benteresting to see what others think.

Cheers

Al

Hi Alan! I'm sure if you didn't want to haggle price as a seller,you could just post up a 'firm' price and be done with it. Commisions payed to KitMaker per sale? Sure! I mentioned established members only to keep out the riff-raff so to speak in order to keep the headache factor down. I can see this as being a continuous action forum because of our large membership, 30k+ now? World wide of course.
Staff Jim could have a Swiss bank account!
The usual ugly stuff still applies-ie non-payment,item not delivered or damaged,other fraud,etc.
The inevitable legal requirements will need their cut of proceeds also......
PayPal,or a method close like it, would have to be our friend......
There is a ton more items like these as pre-flight check-offs prior to opening the doors,but we're not in a rush,right?
Thanks Alan!

edit- Modeling related stuff only!!! No kitchen faucetts,Pez dispensers, antique dog brushes,etc.
Kits,aftermarket,dio items,scratch materials,paints/finishes,plans/drawings,referance books, and maybe even.............finished works auction pages for collectors to peruse. There's more I'm sure,but I wouldn't care to rival Evil -B.!
-R

Why not a kit drive/donation? Have members "donate" kits to the site using the B/S/T forum with a set or negotiable price. Have the buyer pay Armorama (via PayPal or some other online method) and the seller/donor then mail the donated kit to the buyer.

The seller/donor could be reimbursed by the site for postage or could just eat the cost as part of the donation. Reimbursement would probably be beneficial for overseas postage.

For a "Money for Armorama" idea yes it would work fine.

But if I remember correctly it was stated that just reviving A-Guard at somewhere around $12.00 for membership would be enough, let alone what they were originally. I believe the main problem is additional storage space as the incentive for this.

I still like the idea of site promotion and modeling promotion which would best be accomplished using kits and reference material and not strictly cash.

For example, if I donate my Hunnicutt Sherman History reference book would it best be served as an incentive for finishing a campaign entry and sent to the winner of a campaign, or Armorama contest for best new Sherman model, 17 and under class or beginners class.

Or if I sold it for $100 and used the money to rejoin A-Guard? (Which would have covered a whole year plus some)

If I just wanted to get rid of it I suppose I could just sell it and let Armorama have the money. Kind of defeats the purpose somehow.

Just my 7 Cents. Inflation everything is going up,
Bob