Become a Patreon supporter and help to unlock free ads on RFS!

Since 2015, RFS has been helping recorder players around the world find new homes for instruments they no longer need, and helping other players discover new ones. With over 380 instruments sold so far (and counting), it’s proving to be a helpful and much-needed resource for recorder players.

In those years, I’ve seen the service and its audience grow (and, even more incredibly, grow entirely by word of mouth) to the point where I believe a different, crowdfunded rewards system would now make more sense and be more convenient for everyone. See the stats below:

The site gets over 9,000 monthly views a month, which suggests that the pay-per-ad model is no longer the best option. By creating a Patreon account, I want to reverse this model. How? Instead of asking a few sellers to pay for their ads, I think it makes more sense to ask the broad RFS’s audience to become supporters so that those who can make a small, regular contribution can do the following:

1. When we reach a monthly fee of €100, I will stop charging sellers for ads on RFS. This way, instead of having a few sellers paying for a few ads, a small contribution from the RFS community of visitors would allow for free ads on RFS.
2. Free ads mean more recorders for sale!

That mid-priced recorder you were reluctant to sell? With free ads, it would be a no-brainer: up on RFS! That rare recorder model in an odd pitch that you were sure no one would be interested in buying? With free ads, why not give it a try? That large consort consisting of 10 recorders that used to cost €100 to post? With free ads, it’s on its way to a new owner in a matter of days! These are just a few examples to show why I think it makes more sense now to ask the wide RFS audience to become supporters so that those who can make a small, regular contribution to help unlock free ads on RFS.

There are already four [updated: 19] generous patrons of RFS: many thanks! So, at the time of writing, we’re only about 28€/month away from unlocking free ads on RFS! But we still need a few more to reach the 100€/month goal. Some basic math will come in handy here. See what it takes to unlock free ads on RFS:

Tier no.	Patrons × pledge	1st goal	Result
1 (€3)	34 × 3	102	By joining only the lower Patreon tier (€3), only 34 out of the thousands of monthly visitors would need to become patrons
2 (€5)	20 × 5	100	By joining only the second-lower Patreon tier (€5), only 20 out of the thousands of monthly visitors would need to become patrons
3 (€10)	10 × 10	100	By joining only the third-lower Patreon tier (€10), only 10 out of the thousands of monthly visitors would need to become patrons
4 (€25)	4 × 25	100	By joining only the fourth-lower Patreon tier (€25), only 4 out of the thousands of monthly visitors would need to become patrons
5 (€50)	2 × 50	100	By joining only the higher Patreon tier (€50), only 2 out of the thousands of monthly visitors would need to become patrons

You get the idea.

I’m sure it would be a win-win-win situation:

• For sellers: Having to pay a fee (even a small, reasonable one) when you need cash the most –the moment you decide to sell an instrument— is not the ideal situation. With free ads, this is not longer and obstacle!
• For buyers: Free ads will make posting an advertisement on RFS a no-brainer, which means the number of recorders advertised on RFS is likely to increase significantly, so… more recorders for sale!
• For myself: Being able to count on even a small, but a regular fee will be a great help to me —especially now, just a few months after I quit my teaching job— and will allow me to plan better ahead

Instead of asking a few sellers to pay for their ads, I believe it makes more sense to ask the broad RFS’s audience to become supporters so that those who can make a small, regular contribution

That’s where Patreon comes in.

Become a Patron!

Why I’m starting a Patreon

I have never charged a sales commission. Instead, I’ve asked recorder sellers for a small, reasonable fee in exchange for posting their ads on recordersforsale.com. Although my primary motivation for providing this service is not a financial one, the truth is that these ads, like all good things, take time to produce. A lot of time — between processing and formatting your text data, marking up the HTML, entering the metadata, adding tags and categories, resizing, renaming and retouching sellers’ photos, etc., each ad takes between 20–30 minutes to produce and publish.
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​But I don’t just post the ads on RFS. I also post them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (pssst!… and I’m even thinking about starting a YouTube channel [please, subscribe!], as interested buyers are increasingly demanding audio clips). Unfortunately, finding time is extremely difficult. This is time that I have to squeeze into my busy schedule, trying to survive and build my career as a musician. Since I’m a professional player and teacher, my time resources are limited. And now that I’m currently doing a PhD, more than ever — I can’t just do it for free.

So, basically, I need your help to not only keep RFS alive but to make it grow and improve.

The goals

If we would manage to unlock free ads on RFS, I would still have to find the right balance: imagine I charge too little, but I get an avalanche of free ads to post. Whether I charge or not, my time resources are still limited, and this can never become my full-time job, especially if it does not allow me to keep the lights on by itself!

So my plan is:

• When I reach €100 per month, I will stop charging sellers for ads. I will then commit to posting ten free ads per month! Remember, free ads = more recorders to sell!
• If I reach €200 per month, I will commit to posting up to 20 free ads per month. Again, free ads = more recorders to sell! And so on, although I don’t bet that high.

Become a Patreon supporter to unlock free ads on RFS!

Will you help us get free ads on RFS by becoming a Patreon supporter today? Free ads = more recorders for sale!

Check out the discounts and other exclusive offers for patrons

→ Please visit the new RFS Patreon page for the full story:

Visit RFS’s Patreon page

Thank you for your generosity and good will. Together, we can keep recorders moving in the right direction! 😀

I look forward to seeing RFS grow and improve with your help.

Thanks!—VP.

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For those interested, here are some more details from the Patreon About section:

What if…?

I become a Patreon supporter, but we don’t reach a minimum of 100 € per month. In the meantime, will you continue to charge sellers per ad?

I think it will take a while to get to the point where we can switch to free ads, so please be patient (in the meantime, RFS will continue to work on a pay-per-ad basis). But fear not. I have a great, exclusive offer for Patreon supporters who pledge $5 a month or more: you get to know about the next recorder for sale before anyone else! That way, if a new instrument comes out that you are particularly interested in, you will have more chances to get your hands on it!

I’m a new seller, and I have just sent you a request to post my ad. How long will it take to get online?

Once I’ve got the required information and photos, I will try to get it online as quickly as possible. As I promised to patrons in the Patreon page, new ads will either first appear only there, or as well here but only accessible for patrons during the first two days. Besides, it may be the case that I will need to give priority to ads from sellers that also are Patreon supporters. Finally, it has happened before that an ad arrives while I’m traveling or rehearsing for a concert. Or maybe I am in the middle of any other kind of project. In such a case, please be patient if it takes a bit longer than usual.

As soon as I have the necessary information and photos, I’ll try to get it online as soon as possible. As I promised patrons on the Patreon page, new ads will either appear there first, or also here, but only accessible to patrons for the first two days. Also, I may have to give priority to ads from sellers who are also Patreon backers. Finally, it has happened that an ad arrives while I’m traveling, recording, or rehearsing for a concert. Or I might be in the middle of some other kind of project. In that case, please be patient if it takes a little longer than usual.

WIP

Since this idea is still a work in progress and I’m new to this Patreon thing, please expect to see changes and adjustments soon. They will allow me to keep the process as consistent and fair as possible for everyone.

Thank you!

This is a one-man project, but thanks to Patreon and your support, it can be so much more!