[32valves]

If you are seeing this get at me.
I have a question about my tdi Passat...

[Torqu3]

He's banned. I'll PM you.

[dmanb2b]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

He's banned. I'll PM you.

Where is that picture of him on a milk carton?

[AustinMsport]

Why is he banned?

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by dmanb2b

Where is that picture of him on a milk carton?

[RED-d]

For a lot of people he's been mia on the tdi forum... from my observations; and banned from here???
Sounds like he bites off more than he can chew, or just has bad business sense.

[Megs335]

He was banned here because he, like many others, felt $305/month for vendor fees is well past reasonable.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by RED-d

For a lot of people he's been mia on the tdi forum... from my observations; and banned from here???
Sounds like he bites off more than he can chew, or just has bad business sense.

He's still pretty active on the Facebook group where he doesn't have to pay to advertise. He's just a busy guy who doesn't want to spend money when it isn't necessary.

[dmanb2b]

Originally Posted by RED-d

For a lot of people he's been mia on the tdi forum... from my observations; and banned from here???
Sounds like he bites off more than he can chew, or just has bad business sense.

If you've dealt with him, you'd know he's as straight up as can be. Unfortunately, can't rush perfection. He's working on a few things that will be pushing this platform to next level.

[OmahaDZL]

I got ahold of him one night about 2 weeks ago.....Hes extremely busy...

In the 20 minutes that I talked to him, he told me that he got 5 IMs.... Hes constantly getting pinged to the point that very few get a reply... Its good thing...and a bad thing.

Bad for everyone that cant get what they need cuz theres not more of him... But good for the mad dr himself.

[Miko226]

Join the FB group

[BB_cuda]

Originally Posted by Megs335

He was banned here because he, like many others, felt $305/month for vendor fees is well past reasonable.

But Megs loves him ❤️

[32valves]

So is any here a tdi guru that can help me?

[robnitro]

Http://forums.tdiclub.com is a gold mine.

[32valves]

Originally Posted by robnitro

Http://forums.tdiclub.com is a gold mine.

I did already post up there no reply's yet

[dr_dirtg]

Originally Posted by Megs335

He was banned here because he, like many others, felt $305/month for vendor fees is well past reasonable.

HOLY FU(K $305 / month is insane

[Thecastle]

I dunno it’s pretty cheap compared to running google ads, which wouldn’t hit your target audience. All the forums and Facebook have ever been is a special advertising section for vendors. These sites don’t run for free, and it always surprises me when enthusiasts forget these places are paid for by vendor advertising.

Personally I own a company and if I knew I could spend 300 a month to hit my target audience I would.

[Andrew@FixMyVW]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

I dunno it’s pretty cheap compared to running google ads, which wouldn’t hit your target audience. All the forums and Facebook have ever been is a special advertising section for vendors. These sites don’t run for free, and it always surprises me when enthusiasts forget these places are paid for by vendor advertising.

Personally I own a company and if I knew I could spend 300 a month to hit my target audience I would.

Well said sir. It is a choice to be a vendor here. I pay much more than the figure above. In the end, it's a calculated cost v.s. benefit equation.

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

I dunno it’s pretty cheap compared to running google ads, which wouldn’t hit your target audience. All the forums and Facebook have ever been is a special advertising section for vendors. These sites don’t run for free, and it always surprises me when enthusiasts forget these places are paid for by vendor advertising.

Personally I own a company and if I knew I could spend 300 a month to hit my target audience I would.

Definitely good for the larger companies that have the ability to pay that much(or more). For someone that's running a smaller operation $305 a month for advertising isn't gonna work. Especially when word-of-mouth is free. Ask almost anyone here and they will recommend Whitbread in a heartbeat. Advertising doesn't get any better than that. Too bad he can't be as active on here anymore, but he's still alive and well on Facebook.

[GaryE30]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Definitely good for the larger companies that have the ability to pay that much(or more). For someone that's running a smaller operation $305 a month for advertising isn't gonna work. Especially when word-of-mouth is free. Ask almost anyone here and they will recommend Whitbread in a heartbeat. Advertising doesn't get any better than that. Too bad he can't be as active on here anymore, but he's still alive and well on Facebook.

Agreed. I know of multi-million dollar companies that did very little in advertising to get where they are now. Quality work and customer service do wonders for getting your name out there.

[nicklockard]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

I dunno it’s pretty cheap compared to running google ads, which wouldn’t hit your target audience. All the forums and Facebook have ever been is a special advertising section for vendors. These sites don’t run for free, and it always surprises me when enthusiasts forget these places are paid for by vendor advertising.

Personally I own a company and if I knew I could spend 300 a month to hit my target audience I would.

We had 75,000 world-wide enthusiast audience on TdiClub during the VW Tdi's heyday (circa 2013-2014) and we had 30,000 by 2003, and we never charged one vendor one red penny--because we ...WE supported it with our time and money, and we took no crap and clamped down on vendor spats and high school popularity contests. So, I firmly disagree. This is what a vendor-paid site brings: only the ones who pay can play...and you drive away real talent, passion and friendships.

What happens is over time the sandbox shrinks so small that there is eventually only one or two vendors left standing, and the users are screwed for options, and competition dies. Monopolistic practices serve no one well..in the end even the so-called 'Kings of the Hill' aren't making as much money as they could have in a truly competitive, open environment. And a lot of users suffer with crappy tunes and barely-adequate aftermarket equipment and sometimes non-existent support because they've never known any better.

In a healthy, non monopolistic environment, you'll often find aftermarket solutions that are VASTLY superior to OEM's very best engineering. (Not talking when OEM's bean-counters mandate some stupidity, I'm talking when OEM's bring their A-game.

[Thecastle]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Definitely good for the larger companies that have the ability to pay that much(or more). For someone that's running a smaller operation $305 a month for advertising isn't gonna work. Especially when word-of-mouth is free. Ask almost anyone here and they will recommend Whitbread in a heartbeat. Advertising doesn't get any better than that. Too bad he can't be as active on here anymore, but he's still alive and well on Facebook.

Sure, not everyone has a budget for marketing. Especially folks who moonlight or are just starting a business, I was there at one time. But when your running a business as your main gig, and want to grow your business being able to reach your potential customers is a big deal. Business cards, websites, brochures, Facebook, logos, fonts all take time and money to develop. Heck I used to spend hundreds a month on google ads. In fact SEO marketers will tell you exactly how much key word ads cost. In my case in my market area it was estimated I need to spend $20K a month to make sure my page was at the top on google search results, and my ads were being shown to my target customers. Let that price tag sink in for a moment, I was shocked too.

Agreed, word of mouth is a powerful marketing tactic. However, it is not the only way to advertise. You miss out on connecting with potential customers who aren't part of your network. Not exploiting other marketing avenues leaves a lot off potential customers off the table.

I'll take me as an example. I've been participating in these forums for years as a D owner. I have no idea what whitbread sells, but I do buy stuff all the time from forum recommendations. He's missing out on me as a potential customer, and I'm sure a lot of others folks besides myself. Especially the casual browser.