We're thinking about starting a marketplace type forum on our website where members can buy and sell stuff for their birds, or even adopt birds themselves. We want to make it for paid members only to eliminate spam and this would help ensure that most people posting there are completely serious about it and not just fooling around. The only problem is that we don't yet have a premium (paid) usergroup set up yet. Would it be right to start this forum and have it reserved for premium members only when we don't even have any yet? Or should we give everyone a "sample" period of a few months, and then make it paid-only. Any advice on this situation?

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Talk Budgies - a site for budgie owners to talk about budgies
Talk Parrotlets - where parrotlet enthusiasts come to talk about parrotlets

Is there a demand for this? The only way I would require payment would be if your members have already said up front that they want to be able to do this. If it's just you "thinking" that your members would like it, I'd prod them about it first...Ask them if they'd use this and if they'd pay for it. You would need to explain the benefits to them and also explain why forcing it to be paid would be better.

Also - If you are going to start free and go paid, make sure that your members know this up front. You definitely don't want to offer a free service and then all of a sudden make it paid if your members don't know it's coming. That would put a lot of people off.

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...some super-sweet signature

I have recently set up a Market Place at my forums. It was something I thought the memebrs would find useful. I put it to them and the ones that replied agreed it would be a great idea. I am now considering removing it as it's not being used.

Good luck with it