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I love this site....dont get me wrong...I do feel that the people that put this site together deserve to recoup their money, make a profit, have a legitmate business as a means to support their families...but since i have been here, i have heard, (read) of all of the reasons that people (like myself) have left other sites, to come here...("chess.com is all about community" has been mentioned before), there started being posts about maybe getting some sponsors to offset the costs of running this site...people did not seem to want annoying "pop-ups", when chess mentor was added, several complained that the banner add was annoying, and some even wanted to leave.....now I feel that since the beginning the "folks" that "envisioned" all of this could have been upfront and said....this is going to be the next ICC paid site....instead of giving subtle hints as to "this may someday be a prmium feature" I am not opposed, to paying for this sites usage....but i feel that the "community that was created".....the "foundation" of this site together with the owners could possible come up with some better ideas....I myself would not mind "popups" to pay for my free usage.....p.s. what about all of the work that people put into the videos on this site? that (to be honest) was how i stumbled on to this site through YOU TUBE.
Jan 22, 2008
0
#43
ckellygolf, short and sweet response, the site still is 95% free. Things that were free still are free and will remain that way (with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 pages that we labeled as "future premium features"). You can still enjoy the community 100% without paying us a dime. You can still play chess without paying us a dime. enjoy!
If people dont want to pay to play thats fine play for free. I for one am delighted at the wide variety of features available on this site and will be getting my membership sorted out shortly. This is a superb site for free and an amazing one if you want to pay the extra. Its all choice if you dont want to pay you have the best site around if you do it just gets better and better.
Manipulated wrote:
Too expensive? Yes
Does it matter? No
Why? Because of freedom of choice. No one is forcing it down your throat. Don't like it? go buy chessmaster. Chessmaster too expensive? Go borrow books from your library. Library too far? Search on the internet. Don't have internet? Then how are you reading this?
Somebody else's computer?
Jan 22, 2008
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#46
Clownfish wrote: I know, because I still think the yearly subscription of CM is way too expensive...
i wish that Chess Mentor could be less expensive. but the truth is that this last month we spent more than $20,000 on getting Grandmasters and other quality teachers to write the content that appears in Chess Mentor. Chess Mentor is only for those who understand the value of high-quality chess instruction and are willing to pay for it. 1 hour of personal grandmaster teaching is $80-100+. one year is $150. doesn't seem so expensive when you consider that....
Hey, $150 is a good price for what CM offers. Those who want to pay by the lesson will probably not fully commit to the training and in turn will not get much from it anyway. I understand that $150 is a bit of money to some, but that does not mean that the product is over priced.
I think this is a great site and I get a lot from it for free. Thanks guys!
Jan 27, 2008
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#48
billybob wrote:
If you don’t have any money the library is your best bet and of course the internet as I said has thousands of resources.
Free games, free lessons, free puzzles etc. If you have a little money and you want GM, IM analysis you can try http://www.chesspublishing.com/content/ this site might be in your budget range.
Most of the stuff is current and up-to-date.
It looks like chesspublishing.com is mostly opening books. Is that right?
Jan 27, 2008
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#49
I really want to pay for this material - I'm not sure if I will or not. It seems extremely valuable, if chess improvement is your real goal and if you'll use the features. Now I will ask my wife over and over again for permission (and yes, I ask, not tell - she's the boss!)
Erik - your site is awesome. I appreciate what you're doing.
Jan 27, 2008
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#50
I am a current satisfied user of ChessMentor. At $15 per month (only 50 cents per day), I feel it is well worth the cost considering what you get. Of course, what we can afford is relative and some may think at this rate the cost is rather prohibitive. To those who share this view, they can enjoy all of the other free products such as the daily puzzles, 10 daily tactical challenges, and the informative articles that this free sight offers. As for me, I plan to continue with ChessMentor and next payday purchase a Chess.com membership. I would like to thank all of those who have brought this site with all that it offers into existence and maintain it for the myriad of chess enthusiasts.
Thinking about the price, it,s quite expensive. But if improving your chess is your ultimate goal,why not get your hands on it.Furthermore,you can know where you are and how good are you.
Once I get ahold of some money, I'll most likely buy a monthly subscription and see how I like it.
Feb 25, 2008
0
#53
I just think of it as a donation to keep the site running. It's helped me as much as face-to-face lessons with Expert and Master rated players.
I do though wish though there was a Paypal option so my credit card wouldn't get dinged each month.....
I'm now 40, so just missed the "everything on the internet should be free" generation. When I was younger I did (sadly) pirate tons of software when it came on floppys... I found that anything I stole was not good enough to buy. The good stuff I paid for.
Here's my problem. I've got a full time job, 2 kids (6 & 9) and and interest in chess. I learned as a child how the pieces move and I've played many times, but I've never really understood any of the real strategy. So $15/month seems a bit much to learn more about a game I don't really play that much to begin with (nobody I know plays seriously). I'd like to learn, but can see myself spending a few week jousting at this windmill and then moving on to another more pressing one (like figuring out how to get my kids through college - yikes!).
So that's my issue. $15/month seems silly for something I may never use. What would work for me would be having the option of spending say $15 (or some price) for some amount of lessons. The number of lessons should be lower than the average usage per month for subscription customers to make it economical for the site. If I spend 4 months getting through the 15 lessons, I'm not upset for wasting money. Also I've probably learned more that way versus trudging through them in a few free moment every day. If I start using up my lessons at a rate faster than the monthy (or yearly) cost, I would easily switch to a time-based membership.
I understand the cost of running a website - I've been involved in many aspects of it. I'm just throwing out a business model that might get a few more folks like me to pony up some cash to help you keep this thing running. BTW, the reason I'm currently not a paying member is that I'm still dabbling in chess (I might be learning German tomorrow) and that the premium features are not things that I really would use (or have time to use) anyhow. If I'm still visiting this site three months from now, I'll probably spring for a gold membership just to keep the site running. Hold me to it and cancel me if I don't!
Good luck!
Mar 2, 2008
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#55
Thanks for the feedback. We do already offer Chessmentor by the hour so you only pay for what you actually end up using. Good luck with your German. :)
Uh... Um... $15 for 5 hours? That's $3/hour!!! Gracious sakes. Lord have mercy. It's soooo expensive! OK, you've got me. I'll take the free lessons and if I like them, I'll sign up for 5 hours. And if I like that I may take the plunge.
I did notice that the gold membership (which I'm considering) comes with 10 days of CM. I'd much rather a certain number of hours (assuming it's not already 240 as that would do me fine) since sometimes “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.” (to quote Burns). If you know what I mean.
Again good luck.
3 dollars an hour is 1 dollar per 20 min, or a nickel for 1 minute, or a penny for 12 seconds. so you see, for every penny, you get 12 seconds of whatever the heck you're talking about
Mar 3, 2008
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#58
:) Well, the reason we did it by days is because it "gels" better with our members who are ALREADY Chess mentor subscribers. If someone is already a yearly subscriber, and then buys a gold...it doesnt do much good to add hours to their unlimited subscription, but it is possible to add days to their subscription. This is the only reason we did it this way, its easier and makes more sense technically and "businessly" :) for all users to understand.
Mar 7, 2008
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#59
erik wrote:
for those who think it is too expensive, how much WOULD you pay? :)
i'd pay $99 USD in a heartbeat, and i could probably even convince my wife to spend $9.99/month, if she didn't want to fork over the $99 right away so i could try it out. (yes, since i've quit working, i feel like i don't wear the pants anymore.) ;-)
::sighs::
this site is amazing, and chessmentor is super cool. i will be looking forward to a subsctiption as soon as i can be sure of making next month's rent. lol. its not too much for what it provides--that is for sure. although its too much for me right now, i hope to benifit from it in the (near) future.
i am all for this site being profitable! go chess.com!