[QUOTE]We don't do selling.
In return you don't get spam, 'sales' information or your addresses flogged on to marketing companies.
Also we don't attempt to sell you tat, pens, T-shirts or dodgy souvenirs.
Instead you've had a completely free service for the last 17 years and we continue to chose not to turn the place into a flea market. That's simply how we want it and it's right there in our terms and conditions.
The internet is overwhelmed with places where you can buy and sell so we will continue to plough our own furrow.
Regards
Rob/QUOTE]
As I've said, it's the owner's prerogative to run the place as it wishes. Assuming that PPRUNE is not a charity (Check?) then it is a business, and if it doesn't charge its readers, it charges advertisers. So, whilst the banners I've been observing for flyinpoland.com, unibet (not sure of the aviation connection there,given we try to take the gamble out of flying), Skymark, Modern Shutters, Online CRM Software, Internet Brands, Korean Air, Aviation Medical Services, Rishworth Air, etc etc, may be of interest to Professional Pilots, they aren't news or rumours either. But if they're not sales information , then I'd call them advertising, by people who want to sell us something There's no moral high ground I can see, in favouring one form of advertising/selling (banners) over another (small classified ads in a dedicated sub-forum) - it's a business decision.
The service is free (to members), because we, the members, are the product, the "eyeballs" that the advertisers pay for, on a per view or click-through basis. Google Ads and cookies can help make them more relevant, but it's a well established business model. Some businesses rely on the same model for years, some look to exploit other revenue sources. I don't recall being asked if I wanted to see banner ads, but I understand that it's the way you do business, as of now.
A Sales Corner sub-forum, for classified ads, as, say, Pistonheads, or the Sydney Morning Herald (Domain, Cars, etc), or Watchuseek all do, could be a another revenue earner for the site's owners, and a very useful facility for the site's members. In any business environment I'd be very wary of saying that "350,000 registered members can't be wrong". Unless you've asked them, of course. And if you did, I must have missed the questionnaire. In which case, I'm sorry!
Last edited by HappyJack260; 27th Feb 2013 at 11:40.