Mumsnet offers

[Carriel]

Hi there

Can we pick your brains for a moment?

We have had a very disappointing response to the recent mumsnet offer (Wicksteed play equipment see www.mumsnetpromotions.co.uk/ for details). In our endless quest for revenue we managed to do a deal which gave a discount to mumsnet users while contributing a little to the mumsnet coffers. But sadly we've had no response at all. We just wondered:

Are mumsnet offers the sort of thing you're happy to see on mumsnet?

Is it just that it's the wrong time of year to be flogging outdoor play equipment, or were you not aware that we were? Or was the range too small/not suitable?

Are there other things you'd like to see us sell from mumsnet (we can't promise anything but...)

Any feedback at all would be most welcome and if you, or anyone you know , are looking for swings, slides and climbing frames you know where to come! Seriously though Wicksteed make equipment for most of the playgrounds around the country, so it's good stuff.

Didn't mean to start advertising - would just be interested to know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance

Carrie, Justine and Rachel

Tiny garden, great park just round corner so outdoor stuff not interesting

Would suggest smaller, more impulsive buys may be better - things you might want more than one of. Large things, like swings, you are either looking to buy (in which case you'll search out the best deal) or you're not - your unlikely to spot the add and that'll be enough to swing the decision.

Also - small suggestion - setting up the front page so that you can open the left hand banner link to "talk" in another window (rather than the home page dissappearing) may make it more likely that front page info will remain open and be read.

Re subs - having it free for an into period is good - gives you time to check it out and get hooked - but the lack of compulsion means that good intentions to subscribe get put back and put back. I do understand and appreciate the concept that those who can not afford subs should not be excluded - though don't have a solution to that one.

I go straight into Talk too. I'm not buying online atm as we're living in Indonesia but would be interested in smaller items, books, reasonably priced clothes etc.

Willow2, that's agood idea. I know Amazon do commission for orders from links from other sitesd, our local childminding group gets a lot of commision that way. Lots of people use Amazon. I know we get a discount by using the link to Red House, and I always use it, but Mumsnet must get something too!

I always go straight to talk: active conversations/last day too so rarely see anything on the home page. Do go there to have a look sometimes though. I would buy something if it grabbed me but don't need garden stuff - small garden. Really, really, really don't think subscription should be compulsory - advice shouldn't only be available to those who can pay for it, as mumsnet said when they started the subscription. Would probably just close any pop up as I do where one appears on other sites (Hotmail, Internet Explorer etc) unless it was particularly relevant or interesting to me. And PLEASE don't sell the mumsnet mailing list: people will go I think.

I just go straight to talk too; and probably wouldn't buy anything as big as slides/swings even if they were heavily discounted. Internet buys are definitely more impulsive or for things you know you want eg buggy you've checked out which is half price online. subs should definitely only be voluntary...and I'd be off if the mailing list was sold. this site is so different, that's what is so refreshing about it.

maybe, instead of mumsnetters getting discounts from logging on to linked sites, Mumsnet should get paid the equivalent amount?

I think the huge number of members compared to the number who have actually subscribed is down to the competitions - I have seen Mumsnet comps on The Prizefinder and I'm sure people are just registering for the competition then going away. I must admit that's what I mostly do on other sites that are advertising a comp.

No wonder I never win anything!

ks, oh good! not just me then. i have suggested this also - no response. this would have a number of financial benefits. for example, getting tax back on the donations - so for a higher rate taxpayer, the donation would actually equal the amount given plus 40% courtesy of the gov't. plus - many large employers (like mine) have "matched giving" schemes whereby if the employee donates money to a regisetered charity, the employer will match it. therefore, my donation would have been increased by a staggering 140% if mumsnet were a registered charity.

ks - thanks for mentioning this again, i thought i was a lone voice. although of course there may be disadvantages of which i am unaware.

Many thanks for letting us know your thoughts about these offers. There are some great suggestions in here which we'll act on - we will put details of any new deals/ discount partners up on talk and we'll also put a mumsnet offers banner on talk so you can link to it now and then and keep abreast of what's available. Do also check the home page for competitions ? there are some really good giveaways most weeks.

We agree that compulsory subscription should be avoided if at all possible, so we'll just keep plugging away at all the people who use mumsnet regularly but have not yet subscribed... any ideas on how to prick people's consciences would be most welcome.

Some of you have suggested we register mumsnet as a charity. But although it often feels like one ? as you know we?ve all worked unpaid for more than two years now ? that was never the original idea. We believed when we launched it that mumsnet would some day be a viable business, and we believe that it still could ? even if that day looks rather more distant than it once did. That?s not to say that we don?t believe passionately that mumsnet exists to provide support for parents. We do ? that?s precisely why we have resisted compulsory subscription for so long. We hope none of you who have subscribed feel uneasy about the idea of mumsnet operating ? in theory, at least ? as a business rather than a charity. We took care when we introduced voluntary subscription never to present the site as a charity. We have sunk an awful lot of blood, sweat, tears and money into mumsnet, and ? assuming mumsnet was able ultimately to operate successfully as a business - we hope you don?t feel it would be inappropriate for us to receive some financial reward.

Thanks as ever for your support,

Justine, Carrie, Rachel and Steven

hi justine

oh dear! my suggestion was only meant to help you boost the finances not to suggest there was anything wrong with wanting to operate as a business. tbh - although you would be able to draw salaries as a charity, i hadn't considered this proposal from the perspective of capital ownership.

i suspect you may be between a rock and hard place when it comes to the issue of voluntary subscriptions...

thanks very much for the explanation, and i wish you continued success with this excellent site.

please keep us posted on anything we can do to ensure the continued success of mumsnet.

PS - re the wicksteed offer, towards the end of a rainy summer, maybe not the best timing?

I clicked on the link and looked at the Wicksteed stuff, as we are thinking about getting a climbing frame - but to be honest it seemed pricy, and 10% off wasn't that much of a bargain....
There's a Toymaster outlet near us that sells TP Toys stuff with approx 10% off, and I can get a further 10% off in there with another offer - so I'm afraid that's winning at the moment!

Not sure how long this will work but I think I've cracked the code for ELC 20% on line discounts... the formula appears to be "BCmonth in numbers, year in numbers so 20% discount code for Sept 07 is BC0907, my guess is Octobers will be BC1007 etc

Hope it helps

We have a board for promotional offers, could we not have something in there for all the links and discounts?

I dont have much use for big play equipment, but if you had links to say Boots, Amazon, Asda, Adams etc i'd would certainly use them as 99% of my shopping is done online.

I've not been a member long and didnt know about the subscrition as i was given a link straight to the message board and havent really looked at the other pages. Off to have a good nosy know to see if I have missed anything else.

You haven't missed anything, Happymumof1, this thread is 5 years old!