Visiting the site today, I see the Prime Membership add on the side of the page cycle through messages and one catches my eye:

"No Activation Fees"

Imediately I think, "That's fantastic" and click it, only to be imediately presented with a $99 item to add to my cart to join.

Just for the record, guys, that $99 is very much an "Activation Fee".  You need to remove that from your add, as it's misleading and could be considered deceptive and bait and switch.

Thank you.

P.s. if it weren't for the high activation cost, or lack of a monthly payment option, or things being rotated in and out of prime, I'd consider joining...

There is no 'activation" or what's otherwise known as a set up fee so no it's not misleading. Most places that have clubs (not just 3d type sites but onlines stores in general) have a price for the membership as well as an activation or set up fee. So a lot of times it would be 99.00 for the membership price as well as a $29.95 set up/activation fee for example. I can give you some examples of clubs that have a Price to join the membership to get the perks as well as charging a one time activation/set up fee.

The price you pay for the annual membership is so you can get special rates for the prime products (3.50) which all the permanent prime products are uploaded brand new to the prime and not older already active products whereas a non prime member might pay 12.95 or 14.95 for that same item as an example. Prime members also get special coupons that are only valid for Prime Members, there are also prime classics that come into the prime for a period of 30 days so Prime members can get these for a limited time for the 3.50 prime product price . These are already active regular marketplace items that are normally priced (they could be 29.00 normally, 19.95 normally, etc), prime members also get the gallery plus for free, we've done special prime contests that only prime members can participate in with prizes, etc.  Prime products are from TOP VENDORS or special invited vendors so they are all great quality items.

I just wanted to clear up that it is not a misleading statement at all that there is no activation fee. There is NOT an activation/set up fee to join the prime, only the membership price. An activation fee is generally a one time fee most charge to process a new membership, it's not the same as the actual price to join the membership/club.  It's standard for most all club type programs.  As with our gallery plus subscription, file locker subscription there is a one time 5.00 activation/set up fee involved in that and then a monthly payment. Our Prime membership is an annual payment but there is no one time activation/setup fee associated with joining the Prime Club.

Thank you

Stacey

Also please note that the Prime Club Anniversary is in July so we usually have a lot of good deals/savings going on so it might be a good time for you to look at again in July to see if it's worth the savings for the membership price. Just keep an eye out for the entire month of July and you might see a great incentive to join at that time:)

It is a misleading statement, and that fee qualifies as an activation fee.

Clearly it's intentional, and I am not going to argue it here. Not going to get into semantics, interpretations, and legalese...

Though it was an oversight - I now know better.

No I'm sorry but it isn't an "activation/set up" fee,  it's the annual Club/Membership cost.  There is a big difference otherwise the majority of other clubs wouldn't have a one time activation fee AND a membership/club price.  

And yes it is intentional to let our members know that unlike a few other sites in our industry that charge an activation fee as well as the membership price, Renderosity doesn't. We have no activation fee only the annual club cost.

Regards

Stacey

Chiming in as someone who doesn't work here to support what Stacey's saying. 

I'm VERY sensitive to things that are unfair and things that are misleading.  Honestly, this isn't either of those things. 

I'm not sure, theKageRyu, why you are thinking this is an activation fee?  Memberships DO cost money - that's how you get the items at membership prices. 

It's not an issue of semantics, interpretations, or legalese.  An activation fee is something that you pay (not just in some of the memberships for graphics sites but often for things like getting a cell phone or other utilities) as a ONE TIME fee that is in ADDITION to any membership or monthly fees you pay.  For example, you join a gym that has a $25/month membership fee plus a one time activation fee of $50 (typically activation fees cover, I think, administrative costs to set up memberships and such).

With this, you pay the membership fee and you get member benefits for one year.  You want another year?  You buy another membership.  

As Alisa pointed out there is often a 1 time activation fee.  This fee is charged when you first start a membership but as long as you maintain that membership it isn't charged again.  The activation fee is done to cover the cost of processing the membership and is always over & above the membership cost itself - and often hidden in fine print.

DAZ advertises the PC at $7.95 a month, however the actual cost for the first month is $29.95 with their "start up" or activation fee added to it. 

I wanted to also address the comment that things rotate in and out of Prime.  That's not completely true.  Prime items stay in Prime as long as the product is in the store (there is at least 1 vendor that I've noticed pulls hers from the store after awhile) only prime Classics rotate in & then out and they are "bonus" items from a Creator's older catalog that they offer for a special discount to Prime members.

I had already said I wasn't going to argue the point or legalize.

It can be taken in a different context than obviously what was meant - which is what MISLEADING is.

Fact is it is misleading and telling me it's not doesn't change that, so now just stop trying to convince me.

YOU may not consider it misleading and kudos for YOU.

If you want to be argumentative with me about what I consider misleading then do it in PM so I can add you to ignore!

You also appear to have a different interpretation of "trying to help someone understand something" than I do, as you are interpreting what 3dArena, Stacy and I said as "being argumentative with you".    I'm really sad that you've interpreted my attempt at helping you understand things as such a negative thing.

It is always interesting to me when someone states THEIR view and then refuses to even listen to anyone else's input, even more interesting when they are downright unfriendly to those who do so.

One can "interpret" anything in all sorts of ways, if they choose to.   I guess that according to your interpretation, all products have "activation fees", since you put them in your cart and there is a fee charged for them.  Maybe you think that the Prime membership should be free and therefore were upset when you were actually charged for it.  Since you won't clarify why you are interpreting the $99 Purchase Price as an "activation fee", I guess you just want to be correct, and you want to be be ticked off at Renderosity about it, and you want be ticked off at anyone who doesn't see things as you do about this.  That's certainly your right.

Oh, and while I do know people have brought up the issue of having a monthly fee for the membership rather than annual, it wouldn't work for Renderosity, in my opinion.  The main benefit of the club (though we do get some added coupon discounts) is the $3.50 price on Prime items, so people could just buy a month every year (during the membership month since they re-issue the classics during that time) and buy every single Prime item in that one month.

And the fact that it CAN be interpretted in the fashion I said makes my view that it is misleading a FACT.

THAT is why I am becoming unfriendly.

You are just as guilty of the behavior you are accusing me of, and I am sick of hypocracy in forums - which is why I rarely visit them anymore.

But the hell with it, I'll forward the complaint to the FTC now, and let them decide.

Everyone is entitled to their "opinion" but opinions are just that, your view, doesn't make it fact but it is a fact that there is no activation fee on our Club Membership, there is an annual club membership price, no one time activation/set up fee. That is not opinion, it's a fact.

I'm locking this thread since I've answered your original post with the explaination of what an actual activation/set up fee is and cleared up that we do not in fact have an activation/set up fee