Geoff101 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Well, just had my "see ya" if you don't pay up email today. What a shame. I mix in a few different car circles and i have to be honest and say this is the most cliquey and un welcoming ive come across. You guys could learn a tonne from the Lotus Scene You've clearly never met the Ginetta owners club (ex-member). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polly_x Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Its a shame you'll be going and not choosing to support the club to the tune of 8p /day with having been on the site for so long. Cant argue with the cash side of it after building probably the most expensive Westy ever! But I wont be doing it. Honestly I would like to continue to use the forum and contribute any knowledge and learnings I can, but I'm not paying for the privilege. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meakin Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I have to echo about the 8p per day bargain that is wscc. I joined when I got my westfield just about on the road and although not been on that long, feel that it is a bargain. esp as I was a member of club lotus for many years and didn't get half of what is available here, and it was more expensive! They also had the policy that your fees stopped the same each year so long standing members got all the facilities for far less than new members. I don't know if they still do that policy but at the time I thought that was very unfair. With this club everybody pays the same, regardless of how long you have been a member. On an additional note about club lotus I found that there was quite a bit of elitism even in the meetings - I owned the m100 elan, fantastic car but still some members looked down their noses saying it wasn't a real lotus! I started going to the meets less and less and the magazine detioriated into an elise or F1 fanciers club (IMHO). Perhaps its changed, I don't know. With this club its clear even if you own a completely different make of car you are welcomed with open arms. The magazine a a good read and this forum is second to none, with a blend of happy banter, abundant technical advice, and support for when you need it - be it car or none car related. I am hoping to actually get to some club meetings this next year, but often work and family commitments (mostly work) gets in the way. The forum alone is worth 8p per day imho. If you own a westfield then I would say membership pays for itself (even just through insurance) if you don't, well you have to think more about membership. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I saved more than 30 quid *today* by buying a part from a fellow member. Who knows what the next 364 days will bring my way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I saved more than 30 quid *today* by buying a part from a fellow member. Who knows what the next 364 days will bring my way... I couldn't agree more. I've only been a Westfield owner and member for about 18 months but must have saved the membership fee tenfold or more from parts bought on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polly_x Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I've sold tonnes on here too and I found that one of the most useful reasons to join in the past. Probably the most for me actually as my car constantly evolved. I've got nothing left really now though other than a box of "maybe I will use those odds and sods one day" bits. A friend of mine is trying to persuade me to build a big power Audi 20v engined car at the moment so maybe I will be back with another creation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcoopers Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Scott, Scenario 1, you assume that members will be interested to broker a deal, perhaps they will not now hence the situation will never come about. That said, as already mentioned I have no beef with member x getting a free gearbox if I can get one at a price I wanted. There was no lower price option, so it was not a decision or a debate. This is my point, if less members can be bothered, and many have voiced their opinion here about that, then there are less BB's and that is not right at all. If you ask the membership if they want more or less BB's we all know the answer. For the record I was one that purchased a "gearbox" in the scenario 1 you mention, quite happy that the organiser got his for free, I got mine at a price that was good. Adrian, I don't think it is the same, if I was a newbie visiting the site, I would be looking in the cars and parts section for Westfield bits, not links. If you think it is the same, then you will have no argument about allowing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 Mark, We (the committee) and you have different points of view on bulk buys. Payment for helping out your fellow club members wether implicit or explicit isnt right in our opinion. In you example of a gearbox (and I dont know the details) one free should have been put into the bulk buy for the benefit of all. I think most would agree this is the right and proper way (except maybe those that have benefitted from others). You know that the external Ads forum was links in the past, any newbie, and the rest of us with time will get to know its where non member ads are placed. (links to external and real ads). If a newbie checks out member ads first, then this is good as its probably better for all if they buy off a member ahead of a non member. Regards, Adrian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I feel qualified to comment on Bulk Buys. When I organised what were probably the biggest bulk buys ever done by car clubs (the last one saw me sending $98,000 to China) I never gave a thought that I could get my stuff free. I paid exactly the same as everyone else. Of course I was accused of making money out of it. I can show anyone who's interested the accounts for both BB's and they will see that I never took a penny and paid in full for every item purchased. The first one had several hundred pounds over which went to Leukemia Research and the second had £12 over which, I admit, I kept. However on the second BB I had made several long phone calls to Mr Ma in China and they cost far more than £12. This is a club. To say it's OK for someone to get something free for organising a BB is wrong. That person is, in effect, taking money from fellow members. If a supplier offered me something free for organising I wouldn't have any hesitation in converting that into a lower price for all. OK, said what I feel and am now in trouble again. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLADDIN Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I feel qualified to comment on Bulk Buys. When I organised what were probably the biggest bulk buys ever done by car clubs (the last one saw me sending $98,000 to China) I never gave a thought that I could get my stuff free. I paid exactly the same as everyone else. Of course I was accused of making money out of it. I can show anyone who's interested the accounts for both BB's and they will see that I never took a penny and paid in full for every item purchased. The first one had several hundred pounds over which went to Leukemia Research and the second had £12 over which, I admit, I kept. However on the second BB I had made several long phone calls to Mr Ma in China and they cost far more than £12. This is a club. To say it's OK for someone to get something free for organising a BB is wrong. That person is, in effect, taking money from fellow members. If a supplier offered me something free for organising I wouldn't have any hesitation in converting that into a lower price for all. OK, said what I feel and am now in trouble again. i do admire your attitude and it would be better world if it applied to everyone no doubt. however (had to come lol) i think the issue is that the "club" is now dictating that the values of the "committee ?" should apply to everyone and its simply a step too far. is it therefour decreed as "better that no one should have got a discounted gearbox" in the example above ? i fail to see how that benefits anyone? on a slightly sideways note , is it possible that the wscc and the forum is possibly too closely linked ? i speak as a multi forum user who could simply not afford to pay 8p a day to every site online i use. it should be remembered that a forum is by definition a place for sharing ideas and information, the less active users the less usefull the forum. maybe the forum sub should be a seperate but integral part of full club membership ? apologies if these are points already fully discussed previously . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Well, just had my "see ya" if you don't pay up email today. What a shame. Had some good debates on here but still think there are a few at the top living in an analogue world with some strange thinking. I used to think they said some strange and odd things 5 years ago and they still do today! I am a real car enthusiast and found westys through this site. I built 2 of the what I think are the best cars in the country in 7 years I've been around and have given as much technical advice as I've sought I hope. I mix in a few different car circles and i have to be honest and say this is the most cliquey and un welcoming ive come across. You guys could learn a tonne from the Lotus scene. Anyways I've got 5 days of "freeloading" left to do so better got on with it quickly! Stu 650 posts in 7 years is hardly giving loads of advice ,dont take that the wrong way though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Alladin, the committee is put in place by the members. The forum is run out of club funds. The gearbox example is a different matter. So, I could make a fair bit by arranging a BB and then adding 5% on for myself. That would have been about £3,500, not a small amount. Just seems to me the whole raison d'etre of a club is just that, to club together for each others benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Dastardly Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I don't want to prolong this thread but...... The forum is the WSCC's forum (and, of course, paid for by WSCC) so they are, in my opinion, inextricably linked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 A question probably best answered by me (for once) - there have been some unhelpful and unfounded rumours and speculation flying about on this subject for some time, which I am very happy to lay to rest. We are NOT losing members - quite the opposite, in fact. I can happily confirm that since December 2011 (pre-new boardroom), we have gained over 200 paying members and that number is still increasing. We did NOT lose members in January when the new boardroom came online - quite the opposite, in fact. The old system that previous MemSecs had to endure, and which I also inherited until I did a great deal of work and got all club members manually migrated to the new boardrooms, was an absolute nightmare to administer. The new boardroom has greatly simplified joining the club and renewing membership for both member and MemSec alike. Although I cannot put an exact number on it, we have definitely gained, not lost members. Members are NOT forced to pay via PayPal - they can also pay via credit card (through the PayPal site), set up PayPal to take the annual subs automatically, send me a personal cheque, or press filthy cash money directly into hand at any time they wish to delight me by joining or renewing, which is clearly explained in the Membership FAQs. Nothing is going to be to everyone's liking from a standpoint of making a membership payment, but there's sufficient variety to please practically everyone. Part of the reason membership numbers dropped in 2011 was, of course, the economy, as you would expect, but much more of it was because members were living in the 21st century while the club was not. Many members in 2011 either failed to get renewal notices in the good old-fashioned post, didn't look at their membership cards and forgot their memberships had expired, or forgot to fill the forms in and return them with a cheque to the MemSec - as a result, member numbers pre-new boardroom were tumbling at an alarming and dangerous rate. Let's face it, how many cheques do most people write these days? How many letters do you post versus emails? Most people prefer to do things online these days, and the club had to respond. The new boardroom and new online payment system, and I'm not being over-dramatic here, has significantly helped towards saving this club - fact. I would go so far as to say that without it and the other decisions taken and changes made by the committees past and present, there'd be a good chance that you'd all have a long weekend at the beginning of May 2013 with nothing to do, i.e. no WSCC at Stoneleigh - or anywhere else. So there's the facts, and let's not have any more false rumours about club member numbers please. Things are significantly better now than this time in 2011, and I'm doing all I can to keep that trend going. Thanks. (Members can go into the WSCC Members Only section and download my 2012 AGM Report for more details, which has been up since July 2012.) well said wuv , kep up the good work ,no one can knock you at all for anything all you have done is positive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polly_x Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 650 posts in 7 years is hardly giving loads of advice ,dont take that the wrong way though Irrelevant and where did I say I gave loads of advice? I've said what I used the forum for most above. Damn you letting the Lotus gang down too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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