This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.
Awhile ago, Groundspeak has sent out survey requests to many of it’s members. The survey contained a lot of generic questions about the website, geocaching in general, and many other topics that I suspect they wanted feedback on. One of the questions on the survey was whether or not you would pay a higher cost for a premium membership. Some folks are reporting they were asked if they would pay $39.99/yr for a membership. The survey I filled out asked if I would pay $31.99.
There was a thread on the ACGA forums that was discussing the possibility that a price increase may be on the horizon. It seems that the hot topic is that Groundspeak has said they would never charge you more than the $30/yr for a premium membership. I believe it was Pa that gave the excerpt from the benefits of a premium membership that indicates you would never be charged more than the original amount you were charged as long as you continued to renew your membership.
I thought this would make for an interesting discussion about whether or not an increase to the premium membership fees would affect your desire to continue to renew, or even obtain a premium membership if you don’t already have one.
To my knowledge (and please feel free to correct me if this is wrong), the $30 fee has never gone up in the entire time that premium memberships have been around. I’m not sure when premium memberships became available but I’m thinking it was in the early years. Perhaps not 10 years ago but pretty close. Is it that out of the ordinary to see a price increase on a service over the course of almost 10 years?
What are your thoughts on the possible price increase? Would it deter you from getting a new membership? Do you think they are justified in upping the cost to fit the times? Would you continue to support them despite the increase? What are your thoughts?
15 Responses to The Price Of Premium Memberships