Need A Bit of VBulletin Help

[LeetPCUser]

How does VBulletin exactly work? I mean it costs like $150 for a liscense and then $30 a year for updates? Is it easy to make the money back. The reason is because I am really looking to start a forum and get a nice skin for it, but I don't want to drop too much. In the past I have had decent success with forums, but now I want to step it up, and that would involve VB.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Jaynesh]

$150 is very cheap considering all the features you get.

There are various ways you can make a profit out of vbulletin or any other forum. Here is some of the ways:

You could sell adspace on the forum.( I think there are MODS that can automate the advertising process )

You could offer paid subscriptions on the forum. (vBulletin has a built in paid subscriptions manager)

You could also have a credits system ( similar to the np$ system ). (vBulletin has MODS for this feature)

Once you are a licensed member you get access to all the MODS for free.

 

[CrazyTech]

The money is well worth it if you're serious about the forum. Note that forums aren't necessarily the biggest moneymakers when it comes to websites, though. vB really is a step up and well worth the money IMHO. It has proven invaluable for me as I have come under SPAM attack from some groups. It's very easy to administrate and very powerful with the community behind it.

 

[LeetPCUser]

The prices are even higher now. I saw they are something like $185. Just ludacrous. Well I got out of this question what I wanted, thanks for replyiing.

 

[Jaynesh]

the price is $160

If you cannot afford it you could get the leased license ($85) which lasts one year. After that you have to renew it.

 

[LeetPCUser]

Well I got offered one by someone that is 1 month old a full version for $40. He says he needs money to buy land, but is 18. I am questioning if it is a scam. What should I do to ensure it is not?

 

[Jaynesh]

$40 for land?

confirm that he has a license by emailing the vb staff.

get his name and email address and website and pass it on to the staff. If his details are in the database than he has a license.

But this does not mean he is still legit, he can still scam you.

If you purchase his license, it will have to be transferred to you. Makesure he just doesnt send you the zip file for vb.

 

[Brian]

vB lisences can not be transferred if only a month old..

 

[LeetPCUser]

Thanks everyone. That is what I thought. It seemed a bit phishy. I just needed more info.