Quote:
Originally Posted by sphelan
86 does sound like a nice round number...but...would people take advantage of the situation just to get free shipping and stop posting after 86?  I guess we'll find out soon enough. 
Seriously though, I think it would be great but might need to be done on a time basis also and not just on the number of posts. If someone is regularly posting over a period of two or three months rather than just posting 86 times in their first week, it might make more sense.
However, I think this would be difficult to implement and costly for DV as there are SO many members on the forums. I am interested to see the DV response!  |
Fair point. Maybe free postage for members with, say, 1 post a day or more, then?
I know it would be quite costly, but then, I get the impression that this entire forum is intended as an investment in the company's future. I guess the idea is, draw lots of clever people into the forum, keep them here by rewarding them with very-excellent stuff, and what DV soon gains is a community of members who can offer great advice to anyone with a question. This works for them in two ways, first, in that the average punter comes to associate DV with its hive of wisdom and advice and are more likely to shop there than anywhere else for the support benefit, second, people who grow attached to the forum grow also attached to DV, and become much more likely to buy from DV, even in situations where the price is a little higher. When that happens, it subconciously becomes buying from a trustworthy mate. The other 95% of the time when DV is cheaper than the competition, it just feels good to give something back. The whole added trust factor of personalising its staff helps, too. I like the idea that if something went disasterously wrong, rather than phoning some 0844 number and hoping some nameless mook would pick up as with other shops, I can just PM someone like NDK, or any of the other guys here, and they all seem the sort that my next £400 would be safe in the hands of. I guess most people feel the same way.
So it's all mutually beneficial, and the thousands they've spent on this forum so far will pay off nicely in future. It would cost them probably the best part of a grand to give everyone free postage, although it could maybe be done on the basis that members get a new free postage voucher code every time they gain a certain number of posts. I guess 200 might be a fair figure, but if any of the DV crew are reading, I'd strongly recommend 87 as a much fairer figure. Possibly 88.