kissakai Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 I checked 10 random items for sale in 2022 excluding Dealers and they had a total sale value of £11,809 – $16,100 There were 2 Gold Tier members and 8 without Gold Tier status I know that some will donate a % of their sales but I expect many do not I’d like to prose that only Gold Tiers members could sell on the NMB Being a member of the NMB I get good views (to date 725 views with 5 sales) of my latest tsuba sales It is not only accessible to so many experts there are the downloads, photo and links etc that are available to me Recently I asked for additional information about one of my tsuba and there was so much help and with the information sent it doubled the value. That was not the reason for my enquiry it was only for my records and FYI this tsuba is not for sale 1 Quote
kissakai Posted January 17, 2022 Author Report Posted January 17, 2022 As I can't edit my post I'll add a bit more here: Brian could give a load of facts and figures about this post but I know he will not wish to part of this post I posted this up as an independent proposal Quote
Infinite_Wisdumb Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 When I sold stuff on here, i used some of the proceeds to buy a gold tier membership. And will do so again, should I sell anything else. That was my way of supporting and visually showing my support. Quote
DTM72 Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 I just wanted a Gold Sticker under my avatar. To me, the price of Gold Membership is not even a fraction of the value of the knowledge gained on this site. Just my .02 cents. 4 Quote
nickm Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 Honestly I have been a member for several years and have made several donations but have never even known purchasing a membership was an option. How does one go about such a thing? 1 Quote
DTM72 Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 On 1/17/2022 at 8:31 PM, nickm said: Honestly I have been a member for several years and have made several donations but have never even known purchasing a membership was an option. How does one go about such a thing? Expand Click on the "Store" tab at the top left of the page, then click "Subscriptions" 1 Quote
Stephen Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 Wondering why one cant edit. I thought all Gold Members had that option. Mtcw we shouldn't require Gold....id go with sell more than one a month required to donate before selling again. Something along those lines. Quote
Stephen Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 Reason: members may miss a good sword from a civilian stopping in to sell his sword. Probably won't be back with another. Quote
DTM72 Posted January 17, 2022 Report Posted January 17, 2022 American Express Gold Card "Membership Has It's Privileges" Sorry, I'm a jokester. 1 Quote
Brian Posted January 18, 2022 Report Posted January 18, 2022 Grev, Thank you for this (unsolicited) post. Just for the record, as a Gold member, you should be able to edit your post for 2 days after. Please check by clicking on the 3 dots top right of the post? I don't really want to get involved in this thread, but I will say that limiting sales to Gold members is tempting (most of the other collector forums I know do that) I don't want to go that route. I want to leave it open for a person stumbling upon a sword in an estate or at a sale, to be able to sell it here and offer it to the members without having to pay anything. So I won't charge a fee or a subscription to sell or buy here. That is one of the perks on the NMB. BUT...that said, there are people with over 30-50 sales who have never subscribed or contributed a cent. So be it...it's their choice. But I MAY consider a limit to have many items a non subscriber can list at a time. It's something I have been thinking about. The average person can still list a few items a month. But regular and frequent sales should come with some sort of give-back to be fair. Nothing set in stone yet. I'm still debating it in my head. Especially since it has come to my attention how many HUNDREDS of sales come from pm discussions and don't even make it onto the forum. How many..I have no idea. But feedback I'm getting is that some people make a tidy living from pm sales. Thanks again to all those who do support us with contributions, memberships, percentages of sales or even just helping with info. 8 Quote
Kmad Posted January 18, 2022 Report Posted January 18, 2022 I think it is a good idea to limit non Gold Members to one sale a Month. Personally I will probably never contribute much knowledge to this forum as I know damn all. However, I am a Gold Member and will contribute to the forum as a way of thanks to you members who have been so generous with their time and knowledge. I want you to all be still here on this fantastic resource for a long time. That is me being selfish as I know for a very small contribution I have 100's of experts who will advise me on my purchases or acquisitions in a field that I just have not the time to study. I have acquired some great pieces (well to me they are great) due to the kindness of forum members in advising me both on PM and on the forum I will probably not sell on the forum for a long time but if I ever do I would think 5-10% would be a fair hosting fee as it is a great captive audience where sales are exposed to 100's of genuine buyers. Kind regards to all and thanks again , Ken 1 Quote
Bugyotsuji Posted January 18, 2022 Report Posted January 18, 2022 Well, if you never drop anything in the thanks/donations box, then a version of three strikes and you're out (for a month) might be a workable middle road... Just tossing something into the communal pot here. 1 Quote
kissakai Posted January 18, 2022 Author Report Posted January 18, 2022 Dan C you made me smile - who doesn't want a shiny badge! I see we only have two non gold tiers members replies and they have had or getting a gold Tier membership so it’s like preaching to the converted Can any non gold tier member say the reasons that whilst selling on the NMB they will not go to a gold tier membership or make a sales contribution. Although early days I’m liking the option for someone to sell say one item a month but I’m sure it’s not an easy thing to set up I have gold tier and contribute to the 5% of my sales but that is my choice. Many of my items are below $200 and as I donate 5% of my sales it would only be a $10 donation, so I wait until I have sold enough to send $50. A few times I’ve had so much help from the NMB I have made a donation. These were for papers translation, mei queries etc. I’m no goody goody I just think it’s worth it to me If a sales donation is made how much should it be? In my opinion it is up to the seller as 5% of $100 is vastly different to 5% of $5,000 Gold Tier membership is vital to the NMB and it’s far better as a regular contribution as this allows the planning to ensure the NMB’s continued development 1 1 Quote
Gakusee Posted January 18, 2022 Report Posted January 18, 2022 Gold members bantering = preaching to the converts indeed. There should not be naming and shaming of specific people who do not contribute, as that could be counterproductive and viewed as finger-pointing and victimisation. Mechanical, objective, software-imposed limits to how many items can be sold a month by non-Gold members is probably the most equitable. It feels like 2-5 sales per month is probably right but perhaps Brian and the other administrators can decide. I feel that beyond 5 sales a month is actually generating a recurring income and people who sell more than 5 items are month are running a business out of it. How one controls for private sales is different..... Unless there is 'big-brother' policing of private messages (which, I am sure, we all want to avoid), I cannot see that being feasible. I do not sell on NMB but feel that subscribing to the forum is a small thank-you gesture for the knowledge and relationships NMB has brought. 5 Quote
Brian Posted January 18, 2022 Report Posted January 18, 2022 Make no mistake, there can not be, and will never be..any "outing" of anyone. It is completely voluntary to donate, and there is no public stigma attached if you don't. Some contribute in other ways...assistance to members, or articles, or help given to the community, or shows or in other ways. One of my regrets is that I can't always send a personal thanks to donators, although I try. Sometimes PP makes it difficult to get emails. And in some cases, I don't have a member name so don't know who the person is. And lately PP has stopped sending notifications in many cases, I often don't even know someone donated until I log in. Are there a very small minority that take advantage? For sure. Multiple sales monthly without a word. So be it. I do think some form of limit is inevitable. It won't be one sale a month..I think we need to be fair and allow some freedom. Maybe 5 items a month without Gold membership. or maybe something based on sales and not listings. Not sure. No rush and all good for now. At some point I want to restart a fund raiser for a trip to Japan when the world opens up. But that's for another day. 4 2 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.