Genealogy Chat

My membership is due for renewal later this month. I was shocked, but not really surprised, that it has increased by 33% from £7-50 to £9-95. GR had this to say 'We tested various prices through a survey of our customers via the website and the feedback showed that an annual subscription of £9.95 was still a very fair price considering the many new services that have been added to the site.' Was anyone on this board surveyed as how much of an increase they'd be prepared to tolerate? What new services? Hot matches? Good idea, but it doesn't work. What are the other many new services? A system that is constantly failing by refusing to accept gedcom imports. A system where the export facility failed to work. So I've removed my 5000 name tree and will be voting with my feet.

It does seem a huge rise, but I would be nowhere without the generous help of the members here, so I will (grudgingly) pay up when the time comes.

Im sure someone said that if you ticked the continuous membership box in your account details then the price would be the £7.50. I will see if i can find the thread.

Just nudged the thread on general about it

Rate of inflation sort of goes out the window. Rod

I would think that, for anyone with broadband, access to this board alone is worth £9.95 a year. Where else could you get 24/7 friendly advice and discussion from so many enthusiastic, experienced and knowledgeable people from diverse backgrounds, living almost everywhere in the English-speaking World? Not to mention the occasional good laugh. By comparison, my local Adult Education is offering one-day six-hour courses in genealogy on the internet at £25 a time.

But Roger, imagine if the site actually WORKED!! Imagine if they listened and responded to suggestions (other than the survey on price hikes, which is the only thing they have responded to since I joined!).....wouldn't it be wonderful? I don't think it's the actual cost in pounds people are fed up with.....just that however you look at it, there is a large percentage increase for apparent New Services that either don't work or we don't know about. One might be the ''privatise'' button which is now available to privatise your tree, but they don't seem to have TOLD anyone about this?? Merry

Yes. Merry, I do agree that it could be much better. I don't think they realise what a SELLING POINT this board is. Far more than the Success Stories which they give such prominence. Indeed, I don't think I would bother to renew if they were stupid enough to close the Tips board down. I bet the powers that be at GR spend more time gloating over the success stories than they ever do considering suggestions for improvement. Having said which, to quote the WW1 saying 'If you knows a better 'ole, got to it' Can you recommend a better 'ole at the price?

No, I can't, and that's what they are banking on.......... The site is only as good as it needs to be..........unfortunately! Merry

Actually Merry, it's as good as people like yourself are generous enough to make it. This may be a good place to thank you and the others (we newbies all know who they are!) THANK YOU ALL

Don't think they'd close the tips/records boards down - they need these to hook more paying members in - either that or they can go and watch the telly (preferably ITV)

Agree with everything you say Ann.........How thay can justify ''testing'' some people and not others is unbelievable! Merry

have to add this. i dont have a credit card so paid by postal order. i dont have the option of continous membership so i guess next year i ll just have to pay the £9.50 and lump it, or as some have suggested vote with my feet. however i have so far found it to be the best £9.50 i have spent, many have helped and my tree has sprouted many new branches. but i think it only fair that we all pay the same price, be it £9.50 or £7.50 - but would be happy to pay more if certain services actually worked like the hot matches. also while im at it, when u do a name search can there be some way to know if peeps are still members, or non members. as i often dont get any replies and do wonder why???

I do not agree with the price rise either. I joined when this site first started up and also paid a fiver. There are many other free website out there that i use but unfortunatley they are not as well known as this. I am sure if I put them on here for you, they would soon be removed. No doubt I will pay up to but not made my mind up yet. As I find it so much easier to put my tree on tribalpages, which is a free website but I pay extra on them for 2 websites as it is so easy to use and share with your family. Also you can choose to keep website private and passwords or you can share it with everyone. I choose to keep mind private and add pictures and stories to share with the family. back2dfuture is great and needs more members. Dorset ancestors too. Lostcousins etc.

Hi I renewed on the 16th June, I'd ticked the continous membership in my account details but my account was debited with £9.95 instead of the anticipated £7.50. I emailed GR and within the day they sent me an email saying I would be refunded the difference which they have done. So I'm still happy especially now I have found 2 relatives on here on my Mums tree, 2 on my Dads and at least 10 on my husbands. All except 2 in the last year.

Well, I don't think £9.50 is too bad for me. I have certainly got more than £9.50 worth of help from the very kind people here. I know that there is room for improvement, but I just see these hitches as irritations. It's the tips board which I find the most useful. And afterall, it's still good value for 79 pence per month, isn't it? MandyX

I agree with Ann from Sussex 'When I joined, several years ago, the fee was £5.00...and there have been no improvements to speak of since then' There are other free sites out there who do the same, if not more than this one.

My membership is due for renewal and I will, reluctantly, pay up. I agree with everything that has been said about the shortcomings of this site, which has the feeling that it still operates from someone's back bedroom, by people who dont have any great interest in genealogy. Its operating costs are a shoestring budget and the main focus of this Site is PROFIT for the owners. My biggest complaint though, is the way this site advertises itself - its misleading if not actually illegal. To read the blurb, you would imagine that there are many records held on site to search - there arent, the only database on this site is the trees entered by members. The 1901 census, the bmds etc are all only links to a paying site. Any useful information you get on this site will be from the other members, who have paid for the privilege of being a member! I am also maddened by the supposed membership figures and the Search 90 million Ancestors. Take away Mickey Mouse, Darth Vadar and all those people who regularly update a Gedcom and the reality is very different - Search Half A Million Useful Ancestors might be nearer the mark. And, careless as they might be, the owners of this Site are never going to do anything which reduces the supposed membership/ancestor figures - they just keep going up and up, according to them. OC

Is there any way we can find out how much money they make? Merry

Merry If they are a PLC then in theory their accounts should be available at Company House. However, the fact that they were bought out by ITV recently, may obscure the records.(lost in the middle of ITV's records, I dare say). At the time of the sale to ITV the GR site had a paper value of £135 million(???) which is a ludicrous, but legal, overvaluation, based on projected profit in the future, rather than any actual assets, which seem to comprise of a couple of computers and a small number of part time staff! OC