How much does it cost to run this site?

[Knight302]

I don't know if this has been discussed,brought up,thought about or a later option so I will just ask.It may be a bit forward or even none of my business but here goes.
I know that it costs money to run a nice site and bandwidth costs can become a decisive factor when deciding to even operate a site.As for The Bench,I don't know truly how long it has been up and operational,whose idea it was or if only one person updates and runs and pays for the service but i know someone must be. (maybe I have just not paid close enough attention )
My question concerns the operational costs.I don't need to know all the numbers cuz it's really none of my business but as people join and threads are added,costs can/may go up.That said,are there any plans in the future to charge a fee for joining The Bench to offset some of the operational costs? or will it be supported by ads?
The reason I ask is I for one would be willing to pay a fair monthly fee to be a part of a great group where trading is fun,safe and somewhat a "revival" of the Hobby of card collecting.If none of this is planned or intended,who can I send a donation to from time to time in way of cash or a few cards to help support it? It probably wouldn't be a tremendous amount (maybe a few bucks from time to time or some cards of players you collect or a few packs of a new release or maybe even a box if I have the extra fundage,who knows).
Anyway,that is my question.Hope it didn't seem too forward cuz I just asked cuz I want to be sure the site will be up...well...forever!Maybe it wouldn't hurt to purchase some of the space you provide even if I don't use it.
Any other members feel the same way or along those lines? I know all may not be able to help but of those who can maybe we should?
-Frank-

 

[lprimus]

Frank,
Pete (Champs96ws) is the owner of this site and you're right, we all owe him a big Thanks at the very least! The site has been up since October (Amazing what a small amount of time has gone by) and now boasts over 750 members. Outstanding!

As for the costs.....Well, I have no idea, but Pete had switched the board to a new server at the beginning of January, thus giving him a little more leeway as far as bandwith goes.

And, Pete, anytime you need any help whatsoever, don't hesitate to ask! This is the greatest place to be and I've never felt so welcome anywhere. So, whatever you need, just ask!

Jason

 

[PriorityCards]

And you know....

That you can count on me to be there when Jason can't....

I have always offered and will continue to offer in any way that I can....Thanks of course for everything that you have done in the past and for all that you will do in the future!! I will gladly participate in that future in any way that I can....

Troy

 

[JamesNevans]

I try to show my appreciation by using the link for my eBay browsing. I was told that every bid, whether it resulted in a high bid or nor, would generate a nickle. I easily make this site a $1 a week! Also, if you don't have a PayPal account, use the link on this site, when you fully fund the account with $250 checking account transfer, you and the site both get $5. Then there are sponsor links that pay for leads and maybe site placement.

 

[Champs96ws]

Here are some of the facts:

Site was created on 9-30-02 and went live on 10-1-02. In a very short time we have created a very nice trading site with plenty of active regular members (growing everyday). I am the sole owner/ operator of the site. So everything that goes on in the background is being done by me, that is why sometimes it may take me a couple of days to get back to emails and PM's.

As far as costs you have domain name,host server and lots of time. I'm actually sharing space on the server with my borther, he owns that actual site www.teamsr.net and since thebench.com or .net is taken I didn't really have a name I liked for a site ( maybe in the future I will start up a MAIN page). After about 1 month my part of the site alone was using up our bandwidth and by the 2nd month we were going over our allowed BW by the 2nd week of the billing cycle. That is why we moved to a bigger and better server, we should not have any of those problems anymore.

The main reason I started the site was, I just got tired of reading thru 100 post to try and find people who only wanted to trade. Seems that everyone wants to sell or dump what they have. The way the site is set up and maintained, everything is in it's own category. I'm not only the brains behind all of this I'm also a collector and I like the way the site is and from the responses I get I'm not alone.

Thanks for the support everybody!!!!!

Way people can help out:

1) Just stay active and keep trading with our members
2) Anytime you are going to do some bidding on EBAY use our link we get a small reward everytime anyone places a bid using our link. I have set it up to go directly to the sportscard section on ebay.
3) I do accept donations thru paypal (use the link in the drop down menu)
4) Instead of sending me cards use them to run a contest for our members. Just run the idea thru me first.

 

[Knight302]

Thanks Pete! that was a great answer and to the point.I was unaware of the eBay link thing so I will start using that from here out when I place a bid.Had I known that,I would have started tonight,though I only bid on a few items tonight.

As the others have stated,if you do need help in any area,I will help to the best of my ability,just don't hesitate to ask.
Great site,glad I was invited (Thanks to Bob, NYJeterFan).Look forward to more fun and being a part of the site growth.
-Frank-

 

[Ramtart]

Here Here!

Pete,

I'd also like to thank you for your generous deeds. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and it seems like alot of the dealers and collectors here don't even think of Trading!

I'm glad James (jamesnevans) told me about this site from the eBay forums and I will also the eBay link from now on to help out.

Regards,
Ram

 

[Giantsfandan]

I love this site!! Until a week ago I thought that the only way I would be able to collect cards would be to buy box's of the net (much cheaper than the local card shop) and pray that I got what I needed. This kind of reminds me of a large school ground where younguns sit around and transact their trades over lunch. The very way in which I had always envisioned card trading.

 

[bdangelo]

Cost to run ...

Peter,

Great reading. I didn't realize the site had only been up since October. By the time I joined in late November there were several hundred folks already.

Bob

 

[Fatboycards]

Thanks Pete

The best thing to happen to me in a long time .Pete bought a couple cards from me off ebay ,and upon contacting me via email,he sent me a link to the Bench. After only a couple weeks I have been made to feel very at home.Someone is always there to awnser any questions. Let me also step up to the plate and offer any assitance you may need now or in the future. Thanks again Pete!

 

[Bottom9th]

Well, I didn't know about the Ebay link either. I will be glad to use it in the future. Anything to keep The Bench running on all cylinders!

Bob....

 

[PriorityCards]

Thanks Bob!!

Spread the word

Troy

 

[Champs96ws]

Thanks for the support!!!!!!

Every little bit helps......all you have to do is click and bid...the bid is what actually earns the reward, and it's don't matter if it's a winning bid or losing bid. So get them bids in but remember to click on the banner each time you want to bid.....only 1 credit given per bid ber click.


Ex. click on banner and bid (1 credit) bid on 20 other items using same window and no credit is given....but if you come back and click on the banner 20 times for each item we get 20 credits. It can be a hassle, but it helps out.


ONCE again Thanks for all the support to everyone who does use the ebay banner!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cardinal fan #1]

i've been here a week and my bids on ebay have already decreased dramatically! why pay for a card when you give someone what they want and get what you want at the same time? i love this site and will use it as long as it is up and running. thanks a lot and i will also use the ebay banner.

karl

 

[PriorityCards]

Thanks for the compliment!!!

THE BENCH truly returns the TRADE back to card trading....THanks for using the EBAY baner for bidding and continue to enjoy the site!!!

Troy

 

[Bruno]

Thanks AZEVEDO for doing this . This is tipical of portuguese ppl , lol.

 

[JamesNevans]

I just want to check on something regarding the eBay banner. In the past when you clicked on it, it would open a new window, now it just directs the open window to eBay. My question, since I now use the single window and click on the banner to get to the site, once I make my bid and come back to the site to click on the banner again, will the site get credit since technically the window never closes? If it is the case that the site get's screwed if there isn't a new window each time the banner is clicked, is there some way to make a new window open upon clicking the links?

 

[penguincontact]

rawr

great site. immense amount of work. plus there are improvements all the time. Thanks a lot.

 

[therookie]

it truly means a lot to me, been a collector for 10 years and I just happend to stumble to this grate site, thank you very much pete, for getting this site runing and it's a great place for trading.

 

[Trader Rich]

I want to thank everybody responsible starting and maintaining this site. There is nothing else like it. It is so well organized and the members are so very friendly and helpful. I only started trading about eighteen months ago and with the help of the Bench, I have filled six of my old son's old 80's and 90's sets and four of my newer sets. I knew little about cards and nothing about trading. With the help of this site I have learned so much and understand the complexity of our hobby.

T h a n k Y o u