Acer

It actually is that simple. We're a small team and most of us are working on TB part time. It needs more as there's just so much to do. It takes forever to do stuff. With more support some of us can actually work full time and make you happy. But anyway.

The truth is that it truly is a chicken and the egg thing. We tried to explain this in our call for support. Yes, we're aware of the quality improvements needed for the premium modules. We're aware of the marketplace and the benefit for all of more modules and themes. And the list goes on. And no, we don't want to be a closed system. Being free is in our DNA. TB has helped many and we want it to continue helping many more, for free essentially. That's why we had the call for support. With support we can fix all these things and more. But alas... We have people here that would rather pay for a closed system than signup for a membership. And users who've been using TB for years, and are still sitting on the fence, deciding if they should support. And others that have great ideas, which bytw, is on our list to implement. But are they willing to actually support TB to make this happen? Well, we're still trying to convince everyone who sees the value in TB to do this. Unfortunately we keep going around in circles. Maybe I should be more clearer: Support us and you'll get what you want. It really is that simple. We want to make TB better. So help us do this. But make it count. And you will see amazing things happen.

Thanks for your post DRMasterChef. During some retrospection I realised something interesting. If you're willing to pay monthly for TB, why are we not seeing a membership tag with your profile? And on the profiles of others that will pay, including some of the long term users of TB? Is it some strange social thing? Where if it's free people won't pay to support it, but if we charge, then people will pay, especially if it's not free anymore? I'm very aware that I don't know if you've made a donation or paid for support. So please, I mean no disrespect. I'm simply curious and would like to get to the bottom of this. Also, TB started of free, which has benefited many, especially those with next to zero budgets. So going paid, could be a difficult decision for us. Not to mention that fact that TB is OpenSource - so it's complicated and not so easy to do. However, I still find the psychology behind all this very interesting. That someone would rather pay for access than signup for a monthly membership when the thing is free. In marketing, there's a study with two identical wines. If the one is more expensive than the other, then people go for that one rather. Either way, very interesting... I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Also regarding your other points, it's a time, money and limited resource problem (regarding outdated info etc). But as far as I know, the demo is up to date. I'll have a look

Hi there Thank you for your post, and welcome to ThirtyBees. We literally have thousands of stores running, so you're not alone. TB remains one of the best and top eCommerce platforms out there. It's stable, it's fast and it's awesome. It's the best PS that PS could've been - and better! So it may still be a good choice for you. About your comment about TB going the same route as PrestaShop. The reason PS went down this slow and painful dead-end is due to corporate greed and dark-side behavior; where they would literally take what was free before and lock it behind a paywall; not to mention not giving a sh*t about their client base and what was good for PS and going symphony route. Which hurt them badly. Many of these reasons are why TB exists in the first place. And it's for that reason that we are unlikely to go down that specific path and "fail like PS did". However; our very nature (being good, doing it for the community, hoping for the best) may be our undoing. And we may fail anyway. As simply closing our eyes, crossing our fingers, and hoping that people who love the software will signup for memberships or make a donation - to make TB better, get more developers, make more themes, do more marketing to pull in more customers etc. Wishful thinking on our part? Maybe you're right. Maybe we should start charging entry. Maybe people would stop being indifferent then. And if people feel strongly about what I just said, even if it made them upset, then well, they know what to do:

Well, the current model where the software is provided for free (ThirtyBees), is also not so great for ThirtyBees. Will be interesting to see if there is a silver bullet technique for free software that is supported by the community. Imo, it would help if everyone that is a long term user of ThirtyBees sees the merit of what we've done and donate or signup as a member - if only for the purpose of supporting development, server cost and keeping the lights on. If everyone does it, we can do more themes, modules, bug fixes and get more than one developer - and still keep the software free without losing the plot and going PS and even Magento routes. Which we all know how that landed up...

To everyone who hasn't become a member or made a donation yet:

Hi @papagino I have spoken to the team. Although it's not like a major 'game changer' module, we are willing to consider developing this for TB. We and others feel that it could cover a useful use-case and be useful for some shops in some scenarios. As you've probably seen from this - we are a small team, with limited resources. Our available resources go into running TB and making improvements where we can. We've also been working hard on new modules and marketing in order to bring in new users to help TB grow. Our capacity to do additional features for free is currently unfortunately limited. If you'd like us to create this, please consider either signing up for a Gold or Platinum Membership. Alternatively, you can purchase about 4 hours worth of development time, which should cover it. Then, if you want to be nice, you can donate it to TB for the community 😛 Either way, it's up to you. Let us know either way. Cheers

@datakick

Hi @papagino This is actually a pretty good idea and a realistic scenario. @Smile @datakick

Hi @wakabayashi If you're still looking for somebody that is strong and reliable, you can DM me. I know a very good module developer. He's not a Core developer though, but is very good nonetheless.

We'd like to get to this point, so it's not hypothetical. But right now it feels a bit far away. It would help if more of the community members jump in and support TB, so we can actually achieve this and make TB even better. Perhaps they can be encouraged a bit on that post by members who support and believe in this project?

Petr is around and working on TB stuff (some stuff may not be visible in GitHub). He is about to go on leave soon for 3 weeks. I'm curious though (perhaps I'm in a cheeky mood), if the Trusted Members here have seen this post? If we constantly worry about TB being dead, maybe we should try to do something? Like help if we haven't already? And if we have helped already (which is sincerely appreciated and awesome), maybe we can make a post there and encourage others to do the same? And maybe just maybe we can get another Petr or two or three + some new features, bug fixes, and other cool stuff while we're at it?

That kind of help is what we need as well. Especially with things like YT, expanding developer resources for maintenance and new features and supporting the day-to-day running of TB, etc. If you have some ideas how you can help, you're welcome to DM me. Thank you 👍

We've noticed on this thread, that there are some interest in people wanting to find out how they can help ThirtyBees. Over and above the below, we are currently working on some ideas on how to get the community more involved and to help even more. In the meantime, if you want to lend a helping hand, please see below: How to help ThirtyBees: Leave a Review on TrustPilot: If ThirtyBees has helped your business, we’d love for you to share your experience. Positive reviews on TrustPilot not only help us reach more people but also build trust within the community. Support Us with a Donation or become a Supporter: Your contributions will directly help us bring more developers on board, enhance the platform, and support our growing user base. Every little bit counts, and it all goes back into making ThirtyBees even better. Spread the Word: Tell your friends, colleagues, and fellow entrepreneurs about ThirtyBees. Your endorsement is the most powerful tool we have to grow our community. Continue to Engage with Us and other Users in the Forum: Share your ideas and feedback, continue to help others like you always have. ThirtyBees thrives on the input and energy of our community. We love and appreciate that you are here! You are what makes ThirtyBees great!

Thank you for your opinion. As always, there's some truth in both opinions. There are a lot of things happening behind the scenes at ThirtyBees that's been in play for months now as we've been (slowly but steadily) working on re-invigorating the project and attempting to encourage more support. Stuff like outreach to developers, and campaigns for visibility and more. Things that are not immediately visible, but things that are definitely happening. Willingness there is and a lot of it too. Thank you for the support and for using ThirtyBees 🏆👍

In our opinion, ThirtyBees is getting stronger, albeit very slowly. We've had more users coming on board, new sites being created, and new modules added and our recent campaigns have had some success in getting reviews etc. which are certainly better than some recent reviews for some other platforms that we're not going to mention here, even with version 8 or whatnot. The problem is that it's kinda the classic "chicken and egg" scenario - we need more support and more users in order to grow and to attract more module developers etc, which will hopefully grow the userbase even more. More support will also enable us to employ more developers and develop more features. The main problem is funding - and support. With it we we can reach the stars. The alternative is a slow battle, and it takes guts, passion, a dash of insanity and lots of time with limited resources to get there. But we're not dead or in a coma or 'life support' yet. On the contrary, our pulse is getting stronger and for it to get even stronger, we need more of the community to stand by ThirtyBees and lend us their support - so we can literally do more and make ThirtyBees thrive and be there for the community. Chicken and egg. The community needs ThirtyBees and ThirtyBees needs the community. When this works, everybody wins.

Hi @312erik123 We've added your site. Nicely done, thank you 👍 https://thirtybees.com/powered-by-thirty-bees/shops-using-thirty-bees/

Hi everyone We've updated the Shops using ThirtyBees page + home page banner as requested. https://thirtybees.com/powered-by-thirty-bees/shops-using-thirty-bees/ If your site isn't on there or if there's an issue, please let me know and we'll sort it out asap. Thanks to @the.rampage.rado and everyone else concerned for creating the list and everyone who submitted their sites! I must say, seeing these sites, I was super impressed - some are even giving Shopify and Prest*sh*p a run for their money - especially in terms of designs. Obviously our sites are on ThirtyBees, so they're just better anyways 😉 Well done to all, and keep up the good work and please remember, if you haven't already, to please support ThirtyBees and become a member 😉 Your support helps us keep ThirtyBees alive and help it grow and thrive! https://forum.thirtybees.com/support-thirty-bees/

@datakick

@the.rampage.rado Whenever you're ready 👍

Please dm me what you need. And we can take it from there. Design stuff, UI/UX is more my speciality.

Perhaps we can help you? What do you need? @30knees @datakick @Smile

You can start so long, as we are ready to update @the.rampage.rado Thank you 👍

Thanks to everyone who have listed their sites. Some nice gems here 💎 Nice work everyone 👌 I assume that you've been keeping track @the.rampage.rado ?

Thanks to everyone who continues to support ThirtyBees, with signing up for new memberships, doing reviews, making donations and spreading the word - from all of us at ThirtyBees, a BIG Thank You!! Your support helps TB survive and thrive, and is noticed and appreciated! To those who want to help - now is the time - your support makes a BIG impact! Thank you! How You Can Help: Leave a Review on TrustPilot: If ThirtyBees has helped your business, we’d love for you to share your experience. Positive reviews on TrustPilot not only help us reach more people but also build trust within the community. Support Us with a Donation or become a Supporter: Your contributions will directly help us bring more developers on board, enhance the platform, and support our growing user base. Every little bit counts, and it all goes back into making ThirtyBees even better. Spread the Word: Tell your friends, colleagues, and fellow entrepreneurs about ThirtyBees. Your endorsement is the most powerful tool we have to grow our community. Continue to Engage with Us and other Users in the Forum: Share your ideas and feedback, continue to help others like you always have. ThirtyBees thrives on the input and energy of our community. We love and appreciate that you are here! You are what makes ThirtyBees great!