My collection online

For the last 4+ months I've been uploading photos and collector information for pistols in my collection to a new site I launched today. I currently have, on the site, more than 1100 photos of roughly 200 pistols and about 60 other items, mostly related to the M1911 and M1911A1 pistols.

I've also included on the site photos and information for roughly 30+ other USGI pistols/revolvers and foreign mfg. and Captured by U.S. Troops pistols and rigs. In addition to that, there are categories in the Gallery for holsters, belts, mag pockets, lanyards and various other accessories.

The Gallery features a Pistol Search which allows subscribers to the site the ability to search 11 different search fields...Year, Manufacturer, Model, Branch or Service, Serial Number, Finish, Final Inspector, Barrel Marking, Caliber, Action, and Arsenal Marking. The search engine will deliver a page customized to your specific search entries.

The site primarily focuses on the M1911 and M1911A1 pistols and various services and Solutions I offer for M1911 Buyers & Sellers. Over the last 30+ years of dealing and collecting these pistols, I think I've managed to get a pretty good idea of what information is important and what most guys trying to collect need.

I've posted a video demonstration of how the Gallery navigates on YouTube, as well as on the site. You can see the full screen version at YouTube by searching M1911info. It's only 1 min 18 sec longs, but does show how easily the site delivers useful information. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnMqtLXJJIE

One of the key benefits of the Gallery I've created is that all the left and right side photos are large 1024 x 768, and they're shot in the same lighting and background for consistency. Every gun has at least the left and right views, many have other photos, and Featured Pistols provide numerous views and detailed information.

The results for all 11 search fields automatically display, along with a written description for every pistol with the photos at the bottom of the page. Once you click on a photo, you can click "N" on your keyboard for Next, "P" for Previous and "C" to Close and go back to the pistol detail page.

I pre-sorted all the Gallery items into 12 different Categories which allows you to more easily view related content. While it has been a lot of work to prepare and upload all the content, I must admit I am pretty pleased with the end product. I will continue uploading more photos and information. I already have shot more than 4000 photos for the site since April. I plan to add a few more Categoreis to the Gallery...but there is already a lot to see.

I hope all the photos and collector information I provide proves to be useful to subscribers of the site. I'm sure there will be some glitches I'll have to work out as I start hearing some feedback. But for now, I'm just happy to take a break and catch my breath.

You should let people know that you charge an annual fee for this site. Nothing wront with that, but they should know.

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Originally Posted by Scott Gahimer

I hope all the photos and collector information I provide proves to be useful to subscribers of the site. I'm sure there will be some glitches I'll have to work out as I start hearing some feedback. But for now, I'm just happy to take a break and catch my breath.

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He does mention subscribers.

I thought this and other site`s were to share info NOT sell info .And if you are trying to sell info that should be in the classifieds ad`s.

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Originally Posted by prewar

I thought this and other site`s were to share info NOT sell info .And if you are trying to sell info that should be in the classifieds ad`s.

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I do see your point and it could have been placed in the Classifieds, but it's probably a bit of a gray area ....

Unlike our MKL which is completely FREE to anyone who clicks on the link to it, apparently Scott charges $30.00 U.S. annually for a user to have access to all the photos and information in his gallery, which is what he refers to as being a subscriber to his site at M1911info.com

When his post first appeared last August, we never realized ourselves that it was essentially advertising for a paid commercial "subscriber" only site. As our Site Mission Statement says …. This site is designed to encourage the open exchange of information amongst the general military surplus collector community, thereby helping all of our members to better enjoy their chosen hobby.

In keeping with that spirit and after re-reading the content of his post, as well as examining his web site, I don't see anything wrong with him letting our members know of its existence as another potential educational tool, but some mention in the original post to the fact that viewing the picture galleries were for paid subscribers only and since it's clearly a commercial venture, perhaps contacting us to request permission to advertise his site within the regular member posting forums, would have been appreciated.

I do understand why Scott feels a need to charge for his site and do empathize with the challenges of creating and maintaining a high performance free web site 7x24 over time. ;)

For those of you who have never read about how we've survived and paid our bills over the last 5 years, the thread below located in our Q&A - MILSURPS.COM forums provides a lot of background many of you may not be aware of. If you haven't read it, we'd appreciate everyone taking the time to do so. :thup:

Google Ad-sense helps pay the some of the bills and keep the lights on ...

Thanks for everyone's understanding and ongoing support … :cheers:

Regards,
Doug

Hi Doug;

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I assure you the intention of my post was only to make the membership here aware that the site had launched, and that it picked up where forum boards typically left off...in providing detailed information on all the M1911, M1911A1 and other sub-variations all in one place. The information and photos in the site's Gallery are Categorized to allow intuitive searches guaranteed to bring up the results one seeks. I also provide hands-on services through the site, which I thought some members here would like to know about.

The intention was never to advertise, in hopes of picking up a $30 subscription fee from anyone. The only reason the subscription was mentioned, was simply to be up front with the membership here and let them know in advance that to have full access to the site, there was a fee.

If you have visited the site, I'm sure you know there is no charge to be a member. Anyone can register as a member at no charge, contact me, submit Wishlists...all at no charge. The subscription is simply for those who wish to take things to a different level, have full access to images and detailed information on more than 200 pistols from my collection and order services which I provide. The $30 simply keeps the tire-kickers to a minimum and allows me the time to better serve those serious about learning and acquiring/disposing of specific items.

For nearly 12 years I have furnished free information and thousands of photos on this and every other site I am a member of...all free of charge. And I continue to do that. However, providing images and information as I have leads to members e-mailing, private messaging and telephoning for information almost 24/7/365 to the tune of about 50-100 e-mails and phone calls each week. I could not keep up with the work and saw a need for something other than online forum boards.

Many needed help privately trying to get information on something they were looking at online to purchase, and couldn't ask their questions without drawing attention to the item for sale. Others only wanted help buying or selling, and weren't really interested in learning anything...they just wanted coached by an experienced collector/buyer/seller in a purchase or a sale. There were numerous needs that forum boards do not really address.

The site I envisioned to help meet the needs I saw involved posting what I considered to be all correct information and consistent, high quality images of pistols I had personally inspected and believe to be excellent, original examples...all in a searchable format and in one place.

Forum boards are places of open discussion and several different opinions. That can be pretty confusing for someone new trying to sort out what information is correct. So I tried to keep it simple and direct by taking away all the mixed opinions and images with different backgrounds and lighting.

I never considered announcing the launching of my site to be a rules violation or an encroachment on anything this or any other site offers. It was never my intention to advertise anything...except the fact that there was an alternative solution available to those who needed or wanted more than, or something different than, an open forum to help them achieve their collecting goals.

If anyone really thinks there is anything to be made with $30 annual subscriptions for what is provided at my site, they should really look into the cost of building the site I have and providing the information I provide. They'd be surprised at what it costs. All the $30 subscription does is keep the guy who won't buy a book, won't do the work, won't spend the time, won't do the networking, won't do anything to help himself, etc...it keeps him from e-mailing me or calling me 25 times a week for information...because he is normally not willing to spend a cent to learn or help himself.

I struggled with the idea of charging anything for full access to the site. It was my wife who convinced me to charge something in order to limit the number of persons I'd try to work with. I was concerned about the guy who might not be able to pay anything for help buying or selling. She said "Anyone who isn't able to spend $30 for the information, images and access to the services I provide is absolutely too poor to be buying a .45 in the first place. And if they've got one to sell...they can afford the $30. It's just that there are some who do not appreciate the information, images and services." I had to agree. So we opted to charge a small subscription fee to limit the group we try to serve, in order to better serve them.

I never considered posting anything about my site here on this site in the Classifieds because it wasn't my intention to sell anything here...and I haven't. The thought never crossed my mind. My post was simply to announce the new site had launched and what its purpose was.

I invite the site Administrators to either move my post to an appropriate place on the site, simply edit any content from the post they believe is inappropriate...or to even delete it if they believe I've violated a rule by posting the announcement.

I viewed my announcement about my site as I would any other announcement about a book or other source of information that is available to the members. It is simply an FYI type post. I'm not selling anything here and anyone can vist my site for free. There are items and services one may choose to purchase at the site, but visiting the site is free. The announcement was simply to encourage members to check out the site free of charge and see what was there.

I would further clarify that nothing I ever post on any forum discussion board is for sale. I do not stump items to get any free advertising. Anything I have for sale is posted in my own Classifieds category of the site, which requires a subscription to even get to. So absolutely nothing is being sold here, or on any forum discussion boards where I post. All images and information I provide on this and every other board is provided free of charge, with no strings attached, for the benefit of anyone who views it.

Discussion boards are, IMO, for the free exchange of information. Every thread I've started on this, and every other discussion board, posts what I believe to be useful information for the collector about appropriate content. There are often questions on this, and every forum discussion board, about where to have this or that service provided, or where to find specific information, or who can perform a hands-on inspection and authentication. The collectibles discussed on this, and every other board where I am a member, are typically very expensive. Anyone who has collected for a while understands the benefit of a hands-on inspection as opposed to opinions offered on sometimes poor or inadequate images online. With online images, good items often appear bad, and bad items often appear good. It was in the spirit of providing a simple "heads-up" for the membership that my site announcement was made...not to generate any income at all. I had been asked by some who are members here, and at other boards, to be notified when the site was up and running. So I posted the site announcement.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me privately, or post them publicly for the benefit of those who seem to question my motives for posting the FYI heads-up in the first place.

Thank you.