New to the community? Start here

Supporter starting fee

Is it possible to add a startup fee for supporters?

I would like to provide the domain as I’ve experienced that my users find it difficult to buy their own domain. So I either raise the total fee or I add a startup-fee…

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:58:38
  • Andrew
    • Champion of Loops

    Hiya,

    That could definitely be added but to be honest I’m not really sure that would be a feature a lot of members would use.

    I’d like to get input from other members on this one. Note that I’m referring to the startup fee and not the domain feature. We won’t be adding domain registration into the supporter plugin.

    Thanks,

    Andrew

  • drmike
    • DEV MAN’s Mascot

    I’m wondering if maybe setting up the subscription on Paypal’s end which allows startup fees would work in this case. Not in a position to check though.

    Gotta admit that if your profit margins are that slim to not cover a domain, your prices may be a tad too low. I know with my hosting and at $7.95, I can run a yearly special at $59 and throw in a domain, and still turn a profit per client. It’s a numbers game though. Some go that route, some go monthly. I just throw it up there at June-July since all of our yearly payments are due around then and it helps keep the cash on hand at it’s required level.

    But answering Andrew’s post, I don’t see it as usable. Setup fees are usually frowned upon in hosting although some companies use them. When I see them, I usually just go away and never return though. You also have to match that up against other wpmu sites and if they use them.

    Then you also have to work with the clients who don;t need a domain and may resent any additional fee if they find out it’s for the domain that they don’t need.

    Hmmmm…..

    How currently are you doing these domains? Manual or were you looking for an automatic method? (Just for reference, I’m not offering to write one either.)

  • Qlof
    • The Crimson Coder

    I’m looking to do it manual.

    The fee is ok. I don’t want it too high but it’s (in my opinion) not too low. The problem is if a user signs up for 1 month he/she will not cover the domain. It will be covered in 2 months though. .se and .nu domains are very popular in Sweden and especially .nu is a little more than a standard .com or .net.

    I could make it so that the domain is covered if they pay for a full year in advance, or even for a quarter.

    The thought to handle it on the paypal end of things struck me aswell. But I’m looking at implementing some local payment methods too.