you know, there's tons of members on this site but there's not many premium members. why aren't there different degree of membership?
like gas Premium-> MidGrade-> Regular

i just think people will pay to become paid members... i mean not eveybody can pay $10/mo or annual $100 right?

I think this should be in website discussion and its a pretty good idea

Personally, I'm not paying $100 a year for anything on a website, especially one with such few perks as this website. The only reason I'm here is for the forum and I suspect a high number of people are also here for the same reason. I seldom look anywhere else on this website except the forum.

Here's what they offer for $100 a year or $10 a month:

Increased image storage in the Scion Life Gallery (5Mb) that will allow you to post images without leaving the site
Big deal. 5Mbs is nothing when it comes to pictures. That's about 10 decent quality pictures taken with a 5MP camera.
Access to the service manuals and microfiche in the reference section of the Scion Life Tech area
A simple search on the forum turned up a zip archive of all the tC pdfs I'd ever need.
Upgraded forum account icon indicates your support next to every post you create or reply to
Not a big deal
Annual members get one free plate frame, lanyard, keychain bottle opener and sticker pair.
$10 worth of stuff wholesale, if that.

To me, there's really no incentive to join other than to "show my support" but I show my support by posting :D

this looks like it should be in Website discussion so I'm going to move it over there. I actually like the idea of different levels. Makes sense to me!

Well guys... here is the deal with that. Each different level of membership takes more of my brain power to keep track of, etc. I used to have different levels, but I consolidated them to just one level.

The rational is that this site is meant to be a free site and I didn't want to create a heirarchy of royalty. BUT -- there are those that can afford to help support the site and I wanted to show my appreciation by offering them some goodies. It is a matter of perspective whether someone is getting $100 worth from their upgrade... but those that use the manuals and want the simplicity of hosting their images here, etc, it is obviously worth it.

Those that want to use the site for free can do so without having to feel pressured to pay a penny.

I am open to all ideas, I would like to hear a persuasive argument as to why a tiered premium level system would benefit the website.

Increased image storage in the Scion Life Gallery (5Mb) that will allow you to post images without leaving the site
Big deal. 5Mbs is nothing when it comes to pictures. That's about 10 decent quality pictures taken with a 5MP camera.


All large images uploaded in the personal gallery are automatically resized to be 700 pixels wide -- that means that people can upload about 100 images. This is designed for people that are not experts and image hosting and linking... for those that are photo experts there are obviously better alternatives.

Access to the service manuals and microfiche in the reference section of the Scion Life Tech area
A simple search on the forum turned up a zip archive of all the tC pdfs I'd ever need.


That is great, but we have more than just the tC manual in there, we also have part fiche and are adding new Toyota and Lexus models. We also feature an easy-to-use menu system that let's you zip around faster than using PDFs, and we are integrating it into our new super search.

Upgraded forum account icon indicates your support next to every post you create or reply to
Not a big deal


You are right, it isn't a big deal, unless you want to show that you support this website and have paid money from your pocket! You might want something to show that you are a ScionLife supporter.

Annual members get one free plate frame, lanyard, keychain bottle opener and sticker pair.
$10 worth of stuff wholesale, if that.


Well, the only person that can purchase that stuff wholesale is me... because everything is custom-made. The purpose of those products is to make a small profit to help pay for this website. The point of including them in the package is so that it is easier for people to show their support of the site.

To me, there's really no incentive to join other than to "show my support" but I show my support by posting :D

And we will NEVER force anyone to pay us for the bulk of services we provide... this site started as a free site and will continue to be 99% free. The premium memberships evolved from asking people for donations to run the site. We no longer ask for donations, now we try to give people something for their money -- but the point is still the same. If someone finds our site useful and can afford to help support us then we will be grateful and continue to work our hardest to bring you one of the best automotive enthusiast sites IN THE WORLD.

Thanks guys!

Thanks Darren!

3 Cheers for Darren!!! From This Soil Just to let you know Darren could be charging you for posting in Website Discussion!! if he wanted to but he isn't!!

Hehe... well, the point of this site is to build a community of people that share a common interest. Thanks for the props guys. :) I am going to close this thread because the main topic has been dealt with. :)