Please Support Car-Seat.Org: Advertising, Sponsorships and Subscriptions

[Admin]

Please Support Car-Seat.Org

As many of you know, our forums have been experiencing some growing pains lately. Presently, our websites are generate around 1 million hits a day from around 10,000 unique visitors, transferring 4GB of data. Our forums account for the majority of visitors, including over 7000 registered members, of which about 500 visit each day. Over 600 members and visitors are browsing the forums at peak times. The growth in the last few years has put the server resources used by our websites beyond the limit of most standard hosting packages. Combined with the cost of the new chat room, the additional costs of a virtual or dedicated server package could increase the amount needed to maintain the websites close to $2000 or more per year in the near future. Until mid-2007, the costs had been much lower so it was not necessary to accept subscriptions, sponsors or advertising of any kind. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

• AMAZON.COM: Anyone can support Car-Seat.Org simply by using our link and then shopping at Amazon.com and Endless.com. You may shop for any item at Amazon.com using this link, shop for shoes and bags at Endless.com or visit our Amazon.Com Store .
• TARGET: Anyone can support Car-Seat.Org simply by shopping at Target through our link. You may shop for any item at Target using this link.
• DIAPERS.COM: Anyone can support Car-Seat.Org simply by shopping Diapers.com through our link. You may shop for any item at Diapers.com using this link.
• CAR-SEAT.COM: Shop for carseats and gear in the official store of Car-Seat.Org Forums powered by Amazon.com .
• EBAY: Shop through our ebay link and support the forums with every auction or store purchase!
• CAR-SEAT.ORG T-SHIRTS AND MORE: Also, $1 from each purchase at our new Car-Seat.Org Branded Merchandise Store will go to support our forums.
• SPONSORSHIPS: We are accepting a limited number of Premier Sponsors. This type of sponsorship may include text and/or banner advertisements. These ads may be static or rotating and may be visible to various usergroups depending on the type and placement. Please see below for more details or contact Admin for pricing and additional information.
• SUBSCRIPTIONS: Finally, Car-Seat.Org is also accepting optional forum "subscription." Like a donation, it is completely voluntary. Current members and visitors will not have any changes made to their access or features and may continue free of charge as they do now. Though the forum software calls them subscriptions, they are essentially personal gifts with no goods or services provided in return to individuals. As a "thank you", members who do choose to subscribe may be able to receive some additional forum features depending on the type of subscription and their current usergroup. In any case, there are no major features or content for subscribers that cannot be earned free of charge by meeting the requirements for existing usergroups.

How to Subscribe? Members will now find four major levels of subscriptions available in their User CP under the Paid Subscriptions section. Subscriptions can be paid from within the forums using Paypal or using a credit card through the Paypal service. For most Paypal payments made from within the forums, the subscription should begin automatically within minutes of a completed transaction (eChecks and certain other types of Paypal transfers may take a few business days before Paypal considers them completed). You may also arrange to mail a US Postal Service Money Order by contacting me via Private message. Subscriptions from individuals will be used entirely to pay the costs associated with the websites, forums, chat room and related child passenger safety expenses. They are NOT tax deductible. They are considered gifts and no goods or services are provided in return.

Subscription Levels

1) The first level of subscription is the Car-Seat.Org Supporter. The cost is $3.99 for 2 months or $8.99 for 6 months. Members who subscribe at the Supporter level will gain full access to the Carseat Swap forum as well as a number of other enhancements. Community Members (10 posts, 10 reputation, 30 days registered) and Senior Community Members (100 posts, 50 reputation, 180 days registered) who subscribe at this level will also gain some additional features, such as increased private mailbox size (500), attachment size, profile customizations, photo album size and storage space. Supporters may also select a new title (Car-Seat.Org Supporter). Even for those techs and senior members who don't gain many new features, subscriptions at this level are still a big help for offsetting rising costs of operating the forums! Plus, supporters will never see Google ad placements or top banner ads. Supporter subscriptions are personal gifts, no goods or services are provided in return and are not tax deductible. They are non-refundable and no credit will be given for forum downtime or other issues, sorry!

2) The second level of subscription is the Car-Seat.Org Benefactor. The cost is $5.99 for 2 months or $11.99 for 6 months. Benefactors who are currently in the Member, Senior Community Member and Technical Professionals usergroups will all gain some minor additional features, such as slightly increased private mailbox size (750), social group creation and other options, group blog creation, plus image and attachment size and storage room increases. Benefactors will essentially get most all of the features of the free CPS Guru usergroup, including access to Carseat Swap, the Community Member Coffee Break private forum and live Chat Room, plus read-only access to the Technical Professionals forum. Benefactors receive increased profile customizations and photo album allocations, animated profile pictures, animated avatars and see who left them reputation comments! The Car-Seat.Org Benefactor title will also be an option in your User CP. Benefactor subscriptions are personal gifts, no goods or services are provided in return, and are not tax deductible. They are non-refundable and no credit will be given for forum downtime or other issues, sorry!

3) The third level of subscription is the Home Business Sponsor. The cost is $23.99 for 6 months. A Home Business Sponsor will gain the same forum feature benefits as Car-Seat.Org Benefactors. Also, they receive an increase to 1500 private messages, increased photo storage, animated avatars, more profile customizations, a Sponsor title and listing in the "Forum Leaders" webpage and a few other perks. This sponsorship is for home-based businesses that are typically unincorporated, sole proprietorships, such as network-marketing sales (Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, etc), independent contractors, personal services (child seat inspections, graphic arts, photography, sewing) or personally hand-made products and crafts (diapers, toys, jewelry). It is also for indivduals who would like additional features or to contribute at a higher amount. In regards to advertising your home business, only a single, simple text advertising link in your signature is permitted to your personal webpage or network marketing affiliate webpage. Other forums of advertising allowed to full Car-Seat.Org Sponsors are not permitted, including signature logos, profile logos, and sponsor sub forums. Basically, no other forums of advertising, solicitation, links or announcements of any kind are allowed at this reduced rate. All advertising will be subject to moderator's discretion and will be removed if it exceeds the guidelines or is considered spam or inappropriate. Please contact Admin for details. Subscriptions at this level from non-business members are not tax dedcutible. They are also considered personal gifts, as no goods or services are provided in return. They are non-refundable and no credit will be given for forum downtime or other issues, sorry! Subscriptions from home businesses at the sponsor level will usually be considered as advertising and will be treated as taxable, but may be a tax deductible business expense (consult your accountant!).

4) The fourth level of subscription is the Car-Seat.Org Sponsor. The cost is $47.99 for 3 months, $74.99 for 6 months or $19.99 monthly with recurring Paypal payments. A Sponsor will gain all the same benefits as Home Business Sponsors, including an increase to 1500 private messages, plus a Sponsor title and listing in the "Forum Leaders" webpage. The main difference is that Sponsors will be permitted to include more commercial content in their signatures and posts. Specifically, in addition to a single, simple text link to their commerical, corporate entity will be allowed in their signature, they may add a small (234w x 60h max) commercial logo. In addition, they will be able to post about their child safety or children's gear related business and products in their Car-Seat.Org blog and also in their own special sponsor sub-forum in the Sponsors section of the Shopping and Deals sub forum. They will also be allowed to customize their profile as a storefront and use a logo in their user profile image. Other forums of advertising are not permitted, including logos in the avatar image. Other advertising, solicitation, links or announcements of any kind are not generally permitted outside the Shopping and Deals forum, as per our guidelines for sponsors. All advertising will be subject to moderator's discretion and will be removed if it exceeds the guidelines or is considered spam or inappropriate. Please contact Admin for details. Subscriptions at this level from non-business members are not tax dedcutible. They are also considered personal gifts, as no goods or services are provided in return. They are non-refundable and no credit will be given for forum downtime or other issues, sorry! Subscriptions from businesses at the sponsor level will usually be considered as advertising and will be treated as taxable, but may be a tax deductible business expense (consult your accountant!).

All supporters, benefactors and sponsors will not see any banner advertisements while browsing the forums, except for the static banner bar from our premier sponsors at the bottom of each page, the logos included in signatures and profiles from our sponsors and any "sticky" threads that may indicate a forum sponsor.

In addition to subscriptions, we accept banner and other advertising.

• Premier Sponsor: In addition to features given to Car-Seat.Org Sponsors above in #3, premier sponsors will also receive a 200x53 static banner link in the premier sponsor section of the foooter on every page that appears to all visitors. They also get various link backs from our page rank 5 forums and static webpages at Car-Safety.org. This helps to improve search engine rankings and website popularity. As an optional upgrade, premier sponsors may choose to add top banner advertising or a sub forum sponsorship.
• Top Banner Advertising: This is an upgrade for Premier Sponsors. It includes a 234x60 top banner advertisement (to the left of our Google ad placement) that appears to all guests and almost all registered members, with the main exception being subscribers who do not see most advertising. This banner may be rotated with no more than three other premier sponsors. For an additional cost, we can also arrange that this banner would be exclusive in terms that no other banners in the same rotation would be from competitors in your specific area of business (child seat manufacturer, baby gear retailer, specialty product, etc).
• Sub Forum Sponsorships: This is a less expensive upgrade for Premier Sponsor. You may choose to have a static text link advertisement at the top of an individual sub-forum. This link will appear to guests and non-subscribers who browse that particular forum. The link may go to your website or to your sponsor sub-forum. You may also request a "sticky" post in that sub forum with information about your business. Both of these will appear in a manner such as, "This Forum Sponsored By Your Business".

Please contact Admin by email at webmaster "at" car-seat "dot" org, by private message, or use our contact form for rates, details and how to arrange payment.

Premier Sponsorships are not available through the forum subscription system but include an upgrade to a Car-Seat.Org sponsor account. All Premier Sponsors may also request a text back link to be included on our About Us webpage, our links webpage and in our forum sponsors thread. A forum account is not necessary to be a premier sponsor, but all premier sponsors already with forum accounts have their accounts upgraded or extended for the duration of the premier sponsorship. All advertising, images and banners are subject to Admin approval. We reserve the right to reject Premier Sponsorship inquiries, especially for advertisers outside the areas of child products, child safety and auto safety. These sponsorships are considered advertising. As they are generally taxable transactions, they are not considered donations or gifts.


The Fine Print

Subscriptions are non-recurring so you will have to subscribe again after your time period is complete. If you choose not to renew a subscription, you will be placed back into the usergroup appropriate for your current level of posts, days as a registered user and reputation points. While the features are a nice perk, the intention of these subscriptions is to allow people to support our forums. Many people have asked over the years if they could send a donation and now this is possible. This decision was not made lightly, as I was not willing to accept donations, subscriptions or advertising for many years until it became absolutely necessary. If you know of any childrens product or safety related business who may want to become a premier sponsor, please refer them to Admin!

I hope the community will understand the need for these changes. Hopefully, if our server issues continue, this will allow us to fund a new and improved hosting package in the near future to make the forums run much smoother and quicker- with less downtime when the forums do not respond at all. It may also allow for other enhancements and upgrades to the forums and websites. Whether members choose to subscribe or not, the time and effort from our entire community made on behalf of child passenger safety education is a huge benefit to all our readers. It is this effort from our community of parents, caregivers, technicians and advocates at Car-Seat.Org that make this forum even possible. Thank you!

Please consider personal subscriptions like a donation, in that no goods or services provided in return (as you would a personal gift). Features, content and pricing are not guaranteed; they are subject to change at any time. All content can be obtained for free with the necessary time registered, number of posts and reputation points. Like a donation, refunds and credits will not be issued for cancellations, downtime or other reasons. Car-Seat.Org is not a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so subscriptions can not be considered charitable donations. All subscriptions from benefactors, supporters and individuals at the home business sponsor level will be used primarily for Car-Seat.Org forum costs and related expenses. They may also be used for the Car-Safety.Org and Seatcheck.net website expenses and possibly for other child passenger safety related expenses incurred by its owner(s). Proceeds from supporter and benefactor subscriptions will not be used for any type of personal expenses that do not pertain to child passenger safety activities. Sponsor level subscriptions from personal businesses or retailers (or other corporate entities using it for advertising purposes) are generally not considered donations and these payments are excluded from the above stipulations as they are taxable transactions and may be a tax-deductible business expense. Premier Sponsorships and upgrades are also treated as taxable transactions and are also excluded from the above stipulations.

You are welcome to comment on these changes in this thread, positively or negatively. Unfortunately, the sad, economic reality of forum costs will not allow them to continue with no source of revenue. I am happy to try to answer your questions or concerns, but cannot guarantee that any suggestions will be implemented. The above list of features and details is subject to change at any time and may not be reflected in all references to subscriptions throughout the forums. For example, as of 5/2008, subscription access to private community forums was changed.

[cpsaddict]

I just wanted to say that I don't think the costs are unreasonable at ALL. As much as I come here, it is worth it too me to donate. This website provides such a great service to so many people!

Thanks again for running this forum!

[rlsadc]

this is awesome. woo hoo! cant wait to help out!

[Simplysomething]

I think it's very reasonable. 36 dollars is...3 bucks a month.



Not bad.

[Connor's Mom]

I don't think that the cost is unreasonable at all especially thinking about all the time and possible money that this site has saved me. I have CC in hand.

I have a question though. I am 3 months and just a few rep points from being a "Senior Community Member". Am I reading it right that if I pay the $36 and become a "Benefactor" I can access the Carseat Swap, the Senior Community Member private forum and live Chat Room, plus read-only access to the Technical Professionals forum even before I reach the "Senior Community Member" level.
I am just wondering because I have been told by several members that the chats are quite fun.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by Connor's Mom

Am I reading it right that if I pay the $36 and become a "Benefactor" I can access the Carseat Swap, the Senior Community Member private forum and live Chat Room, plus read-only access to the Technical Professionals forum even before I reach the "Senior Community Member" level.

That is correct. The only Senior Community Member feature you won't be able to access as a Benefactor is the actual title of "Senior Community Member." At least, not until you reach the necessary thresholds.

Incidentally, those thresholds were increased recently in part due to the rapidly increasing number of users getting access very quickly and also in part to the possibility that subscriptions would be necessary at some point. So, you might want to revisit them if you haven't checked recently.

Again, prices and features are subject to change, especially before the system goes live. I want to stress that the subscriptions really should be considered as donations. The perks are more of a "thank you";-) I could probably figure out how to get the system to rename subscription to donation, but I don't have time at the moment to look into it. That may be fixed before it goes live.

[Connor's Mom]

Originally Posted by Admin

Incidentally, those thresholds were increased recently in part due to the rapidly increasing number of users getting access very quickly and also in part to the possibility that subscriptions would be necessary at some point. So, you might want to revisit them if you haven't checked recently.

Is it now 6 months, 100 posts and 50 rep points to be a "Senior Member". That is the threshold I was basing my PP post on. If I remember right it was just increased here recently because I was much closer to the title just a week or so ago I think.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by Connor's Mom

Is it now 6 months, 100 posts and 50 rep points to be a "Senior Member". That is the threshold I was basing my PP .

That's it. I don't anticipate any changes to this, at least not for a while. These numbers have moved both up and down since the system started late last year, based on trends with members' posting and reputation.

Great signature, by the way. It is a nice model for the maximum height that should be used for the combined total height of images+text ;-)

[Connor's Mom]

Originally Posted by Admin

Great signature, by the way. It is a nice model for the maximum height that should be used for the combined total height of images+text ;-)

Thanks, I was worried it might be to big. Good to know I am with in the guidelines.

[lovinwaves]

Sounds Great, and thanks for letting us have the opportunity to donate

[Starlight]

$36 is a sweet deal for all of this.

I carseat.org!

[CRS]

Sounds great! Would love to "donate" !

[Admin]

Originally Posted by starlight

$36 is a sweet deal for all of this.

I carseat.org!

I hope so! The Benefactor donation is still tentative.

[Starlight]

No tentative. I just spent 30 minutes convincing dh!!!

[Erika Ruth]

I don't mind paying the $36, as I have learned SO much, and I enjoy all the details that are probably in the forums I can't access, as I can't become a tech for at least 6 months to a year (We are moving, and I'm having a baby).

Erika

[Connor's Mom]

Originally Posted by starlight

No tentative. I just spent 30 minutes convincing dh!!!

I am just not ganna even tell my DH, not that he would care.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by starlight

No tentative. I just spent 30 minutes convincing dh!!!

Don't worry, it wouldn't change much higher or lower I think. Still surfing other websites and forums to see what is typical but so far it seems in line. Also trying to balance not charging too much for what is really a donation with trying not to have a huge influx of people overloading the chat room.

[nisi]

Just a couple ideas. I don't really need a response.


Will there be an option to donate an amount of our choosing? Some may want to donate, but at a level lower (or higher! ) than the subscription levels.

What about a "one time donation" option? I realize since the subscriptions don't automatically renew it's essentially the same thing, but a one time option might be more appealing to people who have found the forums helpful but don't necessarily plan on sticking around. I know I've visited a few forums where I would have used that. Sort of like "Thanks for all your help, here's $5, buh-buy!"

Oh! I've seen a few forums allow members to change another member's title (temporarily) to something of their choosing in return for a small donation. It might be a pain to administer, but it's fun.

[CPSDarren]

Originally Posted by nisi

Just a couple ideas. I don't really need a response.


Will there be an option to donate an amount of our choosing? Some may want to donate, but at a level lower (or higher! ) than the subscription levels.

What about a "one time donation" option? I realize since the subscriptions don't automatically renew it's essentially the same thing, but a one time option might be more appealing to people who have found the forums helpful but don't necessarily plan on sticking around. I know I've visited a few forums where I would have used that. Sort of like "Thanks for all your help, here's $5, buh-buy!"

Oh! I've seen a few forums allow members to change another member's title (temporarily) to something of their choosing in return for a small donation. It might be a pain to administer, but it's fun.

Good question. It hadn't been posted so as not to confuse this option with the in-forum donations that will be available soon. You can indeed donate outright if you aren't a member, want to donate extra, don't care about forum features, etc. Since it isn't tied into the forum system, no forum changes will result. There is a donation button at the About Car-Safety.Org webpage and you can also send from within a Paypal account to donate "at" car-seat "dot" org . Arrangements can also be made to send a money order to the address listed on that webpage, but you need to send a PM to Admin in advance to do so. Please DO NOT donate in this manner if you want your forum account to have the Supporter/Benefactor designation added to it.

As for titles, I'm not sure the admins and mods want to be policing custom ones lol. Mods for forum enhancements generally add to the resources used by the forums and can also decrease security so none have been added other than the chat room which is mostly external.

[chloespurple]

I think I can speak for alot of parents here on how valuable this site is! If I would not have stumbled on this site months ago (while researching for the next seat up after an Infant seat) then Karli would be FFing now because I would have thought that is what you are suppose to do.
I can also Proudly say it is because of this site & the great people here that I want to become a CPST (hopefully this Oct.). I want to be able to help others the way I have been helped here!
The only question I have (and I assume the answer is yes)is ...... will new and visiting people still be able to post and view questions in the Safety Topics Forums, without making donations? Since that is the whole reason for everyone being here.
I will donate yearly to keep just that feature alone, I refer people here all the time, so anything it takes to keep it going is worth it.
Michelle

[CPSDarren]

Originally Posted by chloespurple

The only question I have (and I assume the answer is yes)is ...... will new and visiting people still be able to post and view questions in the Safety Topics Forums, without making donations? Since that is the whole reason for everyone being here.

There will be no changes at all for current members or visitors. Donations are completely optional.

[chloespurple]

Originally Posted by CPSDarren

There will be no changes at all for current members or visitors. Donations are completely optional.

Yes I understand that

My question is regarding Non-Registered users (visitors-needing help with choosing or installing a seat)being able to still access the Safety Topics without donating. I just want to make sure that, that is going to always be accessable to anyone, since it is such a valuable source of knowledge. Does that make sense?

[CPSDarren]

No changes for visitors or members, registered or unregistered.

[wondering1]

Is this set up as a non-profit for tax purposes? If not, that would be important. Start the paperwork now, it'll take time to go through the process but I believe it is effective retroactively as soon as you get approval. You can set up a PayPal account as a non-profit as well after you get the status.

I like the donation schedule.

[Admin]

An update was made to the text in various places. Mainly, I have decided not to accept donations for 1 year terms initially. The terms and cost of the Benefactor donation levels were cut in half. Donations for 1 year or recurring payments may be accepted in the future once the system is established for a few months.

A third tier was also added. This will accompany a change in guidelines for forum advertising. Advertising for personal businesses, corporations or other for-profit entities will no longer be permitted in signatures, posts or profiles. The exception will be for those who donate at the sponsor level and they will have limited advertising permissions in their signatures, profiles and in a new sponsor forum. This change should make the policy on advertising much clearer and fairer for all members and will keep the products announcements and services in one forum that visitors may elect to read or not.

Specifically, Sponsors will be allowed to include a simple text link to their child safety or children's product related business in their signature. They may also include a link and logo in their profile. In addition, a new subforum for Sponsors will be created in the Strollers, Travel Systems and Gear section. Sponsors may post information about their products or businesses related to kids' gear or services. This might include soliciting orders, announcements of new products and other commercial information. Repeated spam and products outside the scope of these forums will not be allowed and all advertising will be reviewed by the Admins and Moderators. Since advertising will not be allowed in the other forums, in signature images or avatar images, this should not have an impact on users and members who are not interested in this information.