Any thoughts for doing merchandising in house?
I just searched for 'FreeRepublic t-shirts' and that link and a few more popped up...so someone(s) is making money off your product, wouldn't it be better to do it here? Authentic! As a Premium for donation?
ie: $50(?) donation and you'd get an authentic FR keychain - $100(?) donation for an authentic t-shirt, etc.
Rush 24/7 has 'bonus gifts' to generate more members, many places do.
Bob J and BadJoe did some merchandising with our logo as a separate entity long ago when we first got started, but then gave it to another FReeper. We chose not to participate when they transferred ownership to the new owner, to avoid being involved in merchandising or commercial ventures on FR. We did run a banner for him on our front page for many years as a public service for those who wanted to purchase gear with our logo, but I don’t think he made much money on it and gave it up recently.
What's up with that, Jim? If these are FReepers, they need to at least pay a premium. (Hopefully they do already.)
While I'm at it, add another one that will pay $10 for new monthly donations over $30 per month - anytime throughout the year, not just during FReepathons.
I don't want to see FR have to move to paid membership (pay to post) - just the software to handle that would give John fits. Neither do I want to see ads come here.
Maybe we should consider a more obvious and permanent reminder that this is a user supported site - automatically on every thread created.