Paid Services or Free with help...

[huntva]

IMHO, it really comes down to how successful the Ebb Tracker and Trader Fred systems would be over time. If I can get a 15 or 20% return every year over the next ten years, I would make it a priority to pay whatever the TPS Talk fee may be. Since the Ebb Tracker has less than a year of performance, you may have to start small. For now, either $9.99 or $19.99 per month sound good to me.

If the Ebb Tracker pans out over the long term, you may have subscribers lined up to pay $29.99 or $49.99 per month. In fact, my college-age son made the interesting observation that the long-term success of the Ebb Tracker may tip him towards a government career, partly to get into the TSP. Imagine that. TSP Talk becomes a recruiting chip for the Feds and the military.

RS

 

[Removed1]

I like GG's idea, $100 a year is acceptable,yearly instead of monthly,make it simple,we subcribe financial ,tech stock,mutual fund newsletters from well known names prices range from $79-199.I like Ebb with his personality,professionalism and his system,I wish I have followed his system since the beginning,but because it is so new like GG said..
Also I don't know where TSPGO gets money from,it is also a valuable source,may be you charge a little more if some one want to read all Ebb,Fred and TSPGO..
$25 a month,sound is a lot to me, specially have to pay monthly,I would rather pay once a year,less time consumed and with cheaper rate,like everything else.Thanks

 

[tsptalk]

In fact, my college-age son made the interesting observation that the long-term success of the Ebb Tracker may tip him towards a government career, partly to get into the TSP. Imagine that. TSP Talk becomes a recruiting chip for the Feds and the military.

Welcome to the board, and thanks for your feedback! Tell your son he can trader S&P or EFA ETF's just like the TSP. Wow, there's some acronyms for ya. He doesn't have to work for the Gov. As matter of fact, he should save his tuition money and start trading for a living. (Don't let him see this. He might do it.).

 

[tsptalk]

$25 a month,sound is a lot to me, specially have to pay monthly,I would rather pay once a year,less time consumed and with cheaper rate,like everything else.Thanks

I'm sure we'd make an annual or six month option. RevShark's newsletter has a six month option that saves you 10%. And we have about 4 monthly subscribers for every 3 6-month subscriptions.

 

[budnipper1]

Like most topics, everybody has opinions. This is my suggestion:

Set up your site like the cable companies, phone companies, etc. Offer your services in tiers with prices based on the amount of service provided or desired.

1. Your site is already available for viewing only, by "guests" for nothing/FREE.

2. The first tier above "guests" could add "post comments" privileges for registered users.

3. Second tier could include your current "premium" services, part or all.

4. A third tier, if needed, could be offered to include any services not offered in tier #2.

My belief is that low-pricing the 1st/lowest fee-based tier should entice many people to participate that might not otherwise, and also provide new revenue to help lower the price of the higher level tiers.

Fees would be proportionate to the level of services desired. The excellent features such as the the Timing News Letter, spreadsheet tracking, ebbtracker, Shark, Fred, etc. could be offered in any tier level that you felt appropriate. (You=Tom since it's your yard we're playing in. As for the specific pricing of these services, that would also be your decision, not mine.)

 

[tsptalk]

As for the specific pricing of these services, that would also be your decision, not mine.)

LOL, thanks for letting me decide.

The tier system sounds great and I'd love to do it that way, but it will require a lot of billing and bookkeeping programming. That's another reason why advertising is a much easier alternative - but again - I'd need to dramatically increase traffic to go that way.

 

[McDuck]

TSP Key is $99 per year, I believe.

Personally, if it were my site, I wouldn't go above that. And I would make it inclusive for all who want to be tracked, not just those who want to view the two systems.

For one thing, the Ebb Tracker is too new to start charging $15 a month for it. I don't know about Freds. That's not to say that the Ebb Tracker is not great. It just has not been tested thoroughly.

The real value to this website is the contribution of ideas and efforts from many, and the tracking, etc.

GGAL

I agree with GG. $300 is a premium price.

Ebb Tracker is interesting, but no financial professional would advice someone to follow a system that doesn't have a real track record of less than 4 or 5 years.

For $300, I would expect same kind of money-back guarantees.

 

[ebbnflow]

Greg, I think you got your math wrong. $15 for a service comes out to $180 a year, not $300. And that doesn't even include any discount. As for track record, I did have 32% last year with just the ebbtracker tracking the I-fund (no C and S-fund tracking yet). I also did backtesting for 2005 with great results. But this year, with the included cross-checking function of the C and S-fund included on the ebbchart, the new improved system has beaten the ebbtracker's I-fund in 7 out of 8 months.

And by using the recommended ebbchart stock and safe haven patterns, we increase the percentage of catching an up or down day by 10% on average. That's 10% each. Even a professional gambler would have a problem sustaining a 7% to 8% increase in winning percentage. With the ebbchart, you get a casino-like house advantage built in. In any kind of gambling endeavor, a 5% to 10% advantage is huge and I can't emphasize that enough.

 

[tsptalk]

I agree with GG. $300 is a premium price.

Ebb Tracker is interesting, but no financial professional would advice someone to follow a system that doesn't have a real track record of less than 4 or 5 years.

For $300, I would expect same kind of money-back guarantees.

Just to clear things up, based on what we've said, and nothing is set in stone yet, $300 would be for both systems - and that's if you pay by the month. A yearly subscription would be discounted.

It would be approximately $180 each for system, and possibly less for Trader Fred since his is not as active. Again, no decisions have been made.

That $180 is less than what RevShark currently charges and he has a pretty good following still, so I know people will pay if we go that way.

Again, if we can't build up enough traffic to offset the compensation we're looking for, then it will just be a matter of those who are willing to pay will have access, and those who don't want to pay obviously won't have access. I realize not everyone will want to pay. You can pay your $1 to $2 for your cup of coffee every morning, or you can spend $0.50 and get your ebbchart fix.

As far as finding a financial professional that would advise anyone to follow a system (whether it is new or old) - it won't happen. They will tell you to buy and hold and then charge you a fee on top of that. No one else, in their eyes, is smart enough to make market decisions. As RevShark says, they want to have control over your money - they don't want you touching it because it takes it out of their hands. nd as weatherweenie says, "Friends don't let friends buy and hold."

 

[SkyPilot]

While the EbbChart is doing well (really well), I think I would want to have it backtested over several years, preferably a decade or so.

Most other advice services have done this and display those results. This would help to understand how the system works in a variety of market situations over a reasonable period of time. While backtesting is no guarantee, it is informative.

 

[ebbnflow]

SkyPilot, rest assured that if we get a big correction, the ebbchart would get hit less than a buy and holder. It's in equities only 56% of the time. And as we've seen during this correction, a lot of folks lost more than 10% of their gains while the ebbchart lost a whole lot less.

 

[Spaf]

Tom,
Don't know if others would agree??
IMHO, U need a TSPTalk Store.
i.e., Ur caps are cool! My granddaughters all want one! I keep mine in a safe!
Advertising is the key.....Like best performing trading cap!......:nuts:

Explain this one!
Hickory Farms sends me a catalog ever so often. And, I buy something every dang time!...... Must be the pictures!.......

 

[wv-girl]

Tom,
Don't know if others would agree??
IMHO, U need a TSPTalk Store.
i.e., Ur caps are cool! My granddaughters all want one! I keep mine in a safe!
Advertising is the key.....Like best performing trading cap!......:nuts:

Explain this one!
Hickory Farms sends me a catalog ever so often. And, I buy something every dang time!...... Must be the pictures!.......

That is a GREAT IDEA.. Count me in.

 

[McDuck]

Ebb, I think you are doing great things! I would pay $15/mo to get your moves but I would prefer $9.99. Your posts and my being able to read/post on the MB is the only things I would be interested in paying for.

My other comment was one of fairness because Tom and other people here have pooh-poohed people on this MB when they posted had a new system for high returns and said they had back tested as proof.

Once again, I think you are doing great things - as witnessed by you being out of stocks today.

Greg, I think you got your math wrong. $15 for a service comes out to $180 a year, not $300. And that doesn't even include any discount. As for track record, I did have 32% last year with just the ebbtracker tracking the I-fund (no C and S-fund tracking yet). I also did backtesting for 2005 with great results. But this year, with the included cross-checking function of the C and S-fund included on the ebbchart, the new improved system has beaten the ebbtracker's I-fund in 7 out of 8 months.

And by using the recommended ebbchart stock and safe haven patterns, we increase the percentage of catching an up or down day by 10% on average. That's 10% each. Even a professional gambler would have a problem sustaining a 7% to 8% increase in winning percentage. With the ebbchart, you get a casino-like house advantage built in. In any kind of gambling endeavor, a 5% to 10% advantage is huge and I can't emphasize that enough.

 

[JTH]

Tom,
Don't know if others would agree??
IMHO, U need a TSPTalk Store.
i.e., Ur caps are cool! My granddaughters all want one! I keep mine in a safe!
Advertising is the key.....Like best performing trading cap!......:nuts:

Explain this one!
Hickory Farms sends me a catalog ever so often. And, I buy something every dang time!...... Must be the pictures!.......

I agree, Tom should open up a store so I can use my TSP coffee mug as a conversation starter!

 

[tsptalk]

I agree, Tom should open up a store so I can use my TSP coffee mug as a conversation starter!

TSP-r-us?

I have considered it but what has discouraged me is the price of shipping these days. One of those travel mugs now costs over $7 just to ship it and that doesn't include the boxes I have to buy. The total cost would be too high to be able give a decent deal. Hopefully the T-shirts will be cheap to ship using 1st class mail in large envelopes. Pens anyone?

 

[Spaf]

Tom,

use Ground!

I buy a lot off the internet! The (time) driving, gasoline, etc.....Why...I can't go to Wal-Mart to buy a TSP mug!

Please send 3 caps with invoice, I'll send you a check! [Caps are good-luck fishing equipment!!!!!]....

You only live once!

Don't ask me how much I spent to get mags for my golf cart!.....:embarrest:

 

[350zCommTech]

Tom,

What is being proposed here? Access fees for TraderFred, Ebbchart, and/or the message board?

I will not pay for access to the message board. As for Ebbchart, I agree that he should be compensated for his work. Members here or guests that follow his chart should pay a fee, but what about members who contribute regularly to the board, such as myself? Can we have free access to the Ebbchart?

 

[tsptalk]

What is being proposed here? Access fees for TraderFred, Ebbchart, and/or the message board?

Ebbchart and Trader Fred. The message board and the rest of the site will remain free.

 

[oreo]

You know, reading this topic, the one thought that keeps going through my mind is that I keep thinking this would make a really good task for the show, The Apprentice. I just keep thinking of Donald Trump sending the two teams out with the goal of selling the most TSPtalk subscriptions, the teams strategizing the best price to make the most money and Donald Trump firing the losing team in the boardroom. I think that would make a really interesting episode.

Just kidding