Pro's cancelling trade memberships SD attitude?

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Paul at Fechan

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so over the years I've paid £580 in trade membership fees to advertise my courses and stuff... often to have many of my posts hijacked or derailed by serial d'heads that when reported, nothing happens and the damage is done.

In light of the following posting by SD admin, I and at least a couple of others have decided that an SD trade membership is not worth the money for the service and issues that admin fail to address. Many times we have reported deliberate attacks on our business and reputation often hijacking ads but nothing happens quickly yet admin freely delete and moderate their own posted interests and that of their buddies in an instant for the admins gain. The statement here:
Sikamalc said:
This is the sites business NOT yours. And this morning you were politely asked to refrain from plastering the Zeiss logo all over your posts. Now we find that in a childish manner you have posted the above and also posted on another thread with only Zeiss logos all over it. Quite frankly this is not what I would expect from someone who is running a business and claims to be supported by Zeiss.

You are free to leave the site if you wish. Good luck with the other forum.

Sorry SD but the facts are simple and the professionals do not need SD, it's SD that needs the professionals to maintain any level of credibility. Your active membership is 2.8k, that's not even a decent size Facebook stalking group. Why should pro's pay to advertise when Facebook groups welcome our input and contribution for free. Reality check SD..
 
£120 is not value for money for a year's advertising to an active membership of 2.8k when one of many of the closed groups on Facebook like Scottish Roe Stalking has a 3.2k membership and you can post for free? On here you get serial haters directly posting against pro's saying stuff like 'this is overpriced' or real pokey comments like 'that was unsafe' on a video or worse. Admin lets them pretty much rock on or the best bit is they get banned and come back again under alias.

SD is a keyboard warrior play area due to the alias system for membership name, d'heads can say all kinds of crap and are untouchable. On Facebook, your names right there so there's accountability.
 
£120 is not value for money for a year's advertising to an active membership of 2.8k when one of many of the closed groups on Facebook like Scottish Roe Stalking has a 3.2k membership and you can post for free? On here you get serial haters directly posting against pro's saying stuff like 'this is overpriced' or real pokey comments like 'that was unsafe' on a video or worse. Admin lets them pretty much rock on or the best bit is they get banned and come back again under alias.

SD is a keyboard warrior play area due to the alias system for membership name, d'heads can say all kinds of crap and are untouchable. On Facebook, your names right there so there's accountability.
Look Paul
So what your saying is because you pay a tenner a month nobody can say that in there opinion something is overpriced or again in there opinion that something wasn't safe that's called debate and although yes sometimes it does getc a little heated when it shouldn't on the whole it's not half as bad as in my opinion your making out
Let's face it your last paragraph isn't exactly professional or pc is it ?
Oh and by the way I do post under my own name unlike some ''yourself included I see''
Regards
Jimmy
 
I admit i rarely advertise on here now due to the debates starting on paid adverts. no where else do i see it. my thread roe bucks in the east had more hits then any other on here and i dont think ive added one picture or video this season. the platform is sound but the protection nil the money we pay should allow for an ad to run free from heckling. on many occasions ive had to report posts to admin. they have done there best to delete and edit the trouble posts but thats not the point and they then read badly as the replies left dont make sense. just my thoughts. If i pay for an ad to run in a magazine i get what i pay for and no heckling. regards YDS.
 
Sorry Paul but just to add regarding your comment of sd advertising not being value for money I'm afraid some trade members must think it's excellent value for money, ie.. hunting dogs europe as that's all they do is advertising on here I can't remember ever having seen them post anything else other that ''.......'' to bump a post up on the dogs for sale section
Again regards
Jimmy
 
Not a trade member and never likely to be but,I fully sympathise with your opinion,SD is a very one eyed autocratic concern...
 
Sorry Paul but just to add regarding your comment of sd advertising not being value for money I'm afraid some trade members must think it's excellent value for money, ie.. hunting dogs europe as that's all they do is advertising on here I can't remember ever having seen them post anything else other that ''.......'' to bump a post up on the dogs for sale section
Again regards
Jimmy

Jimmy,

I respect your views, but I also now only use SD for advertising, as John Robson said, there is too much heckling and personal attacks from faceless members. I have received a vile personal attack on here from someone who I had never met, even though admin did eventually delete the offensive posts, the damage was done and no one was accountable. Regards user names, it had been advised not to use full names because of those who disagree with our profession / hobby. My identity, including pictures are freely available on my website, plus many other websites. I use the company name to ADVERTISE!!

Now talking about value for money, I will continue to pay my £10 / month even though I have been threatened with suspension for non payment of subs and have had double paid some months (not the fault of SD according to admin, but my bank disagrees). Proportionately it is NOT good value for money. I also advertise elsewhere and get information on offers sent directly to 72k people.


unfortunately SD is not the site it used to be, but you can't please everyone all the time (especially on forums).

Ade
(tin hat and body armour on)
 
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Ade no you shouldn't get abuse on here ''or anywhere else for that'' but all I can say is I don't think something is good value then I don't buy it, so with that in mind surely it must be deemed as value ?
Regards
Jimmy
 
Well all this through JAYB asking for someone to take the Zeiss logo off the site as Zeiss had not paid trade membership.

And that's all that was asked of someone. Zeiss have had their banner on the site free of charge whilst there was a change of management, and had forgotten to renew even though it was requested. Nothing else was asked of anyone, just the removal of the Zeiss logo. From this we are accused for all sorts of things!!

As I told the offending poster I had a meeting with Zeiss about 4 weeks ago, NOTHING to do with the site at that time, but about the Zeiss Pro stalker programme continuing. Whilst we were in discussions I mentioned the site was still holding their banner in place without payment. At the meeting I was assured that they wanted to remain on the site. Since the meeting the Zeiss representative went sick and only TODAY did they respond with a positive yes we want to support the site. In the meantime I have also been sent as of today a renewal of my personal contract to be a Zeiss Pro Stalker.

That is the full story, apart from the throwing the toys out of the pram because someone was asked to remove the logo for a short period as it turns out. Nothing to do with the person themselves being a trade member or anyone else, but somehow we find that one or two others who dare I say it find it to be their business as well.

I am aware of other forums, and I am sure they will or do have the same issues that any site has. We do not spend ALL the time on this site, however what ever we do we will never please everyone, and there is NO favouritism on here, everyone is treated the same. But don't expect us to jump on every thread as soon as there is an issue. We have lives to live, and some of admin have bigger problems than the moaners on here will ever know. Some of you are aware of this many are not, but we still keep the site going.

And if you think that other forums linked to facebook will not give you heckling or abusive Pm's think on, you must be joking.
 
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Can't really comment on trade membership other than to say that not all SD pro members advertise on here, I am not a trade member and have never advertised on here in fact I haven't advertised anywhere for a long time, I am fortunate that all my clients now are repeat business.

I would say that £10 per month seems very good value for as many ads as you wish to place, When I was advertising I was spending considerably more than that on ads in the shooting press.

I have noticed that there is a faction on SD who appear to be anti professional stalker , nothing to do with ads but just posts in general, don't
really know why that should be, but it does seem at times that Professional and hobby stalkers are entirely different animals.

As for heckling not nice but don't really know what admin can do that they are not already doing
 
Paul.Close the door behind you.
Says the guy who joined one of my deer stalking syndicates paying in full only never to attend or even do your shooting test. Guess you needed the permission for your deer rifle then lol... but took the place of a stalker who would have contributed... booted your worthless effort at the end of the season haha what a champ!
 
I admit i rarely advertise on here now due to the debates starting on paid adverts. no where else do i see it. my thread roe bucks in the east had more hits then any other on here and i dont think ive added one picture or video this season. the platform is sound but the protection nil the money we pay should allow for an ad to run free from heckling. on many occasions ive had to report posts to admin. they have done there best to delete and edit the trouble posts but thats not the point and they then read badly as the replies left dont make sense. just my thoughts. If i pay for an ad to run in a magazine i get what i pay for and no heckling. regards YDS.

John ,Have I missed something or didn't you used to be a distinguished member ?
 
Says the guy who joined one of my deer stalking syndicates paying in full only never to attend or even do your shooting test. Guess you needed the permission for your deer rifle then lol... but took the place of a stalker who would have contributed... booted your worthless effort at the end of the season haha what a champ!

Paul,

You have decided to come on here and post, of that I have no issue. You started your business a short while back, and if you want to make comments fine but don't let it slide into this sort of thing please.

If facebook etc can give you better coverage then I am surprised you have not advertised on there before. The 2.8K you mention is active members, many look and do not post. I for one get a lot of people stalking with me that hardly make a post but come out stalking, which has possibly been the same for you.

Good luck with other forums and the heckling or bad mouthing that appears on there, I wish you well.
 
Thing is on Facebook sikamalc, we don't get told off when we tell the facts in stern and frank language. And we use out own names making you the poster accountable because we know who you are!
 
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