Watchlords

From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Some really big news for WatchGeeks!
To: twalkgvis1aka cali kid
Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 4:59 PM

The owners here at Watchgeeks are pleased to announce that we can now OFFICIALLY call Invicta our sole forum sponsor!

This is a deal that has been in the works for many months, and as of right now, everything is completed. It has been a long process, going back many months but now that it is official, it's time to celebrate!

No doubt, you have some questions. The only questions that will be answered are listed here:

Will this affect any part of how the forum looks or operates?

NO. As this has actually been in effect for a while, it is easy to see that NOTHING changes as a result of Invicta's involvement. No discussion of other brands is off-limits, no issues related to Invicta or its products are off-limits, and the moderation of the forum is exactly as it always has been. Ownership and control of the forum is still maintained by Jim, Bruce, and Michael.

Why do you need a sponsor? I thought WG would be â sponsor-free?

At first, this was absolutely our goal. When we had 300, 800, 2,000 members; it was easy. But we grew at an astronomical rate (we are averaging 1,000+ new members EVERY month), and our free software and free server could no longer keep up. As all 3 owners have other obligations to take care of, spending several thousands of dollars was not something we wanted to do. So a decision had to be made¦ do we continue with the poor performance of the old software and server that kept timing out, and going offline? Do we shut the forum down entirely because we cannot keep up? Or do we find a way to fund the expenses?

Some forums have paid exclusive membership where members can donate and get special privileges in return. Some forums do yearly raffles. Some forums open up a forum stores and sell merchandise. We do not want to solicit our membership for ANY monies. As many of you know, we do not generate any income whatsoever from WG, including the fact that we still do not offer any WG Merchandise even though you have requested it. WG is not a business, and does not generate any income whatsoever. We are here simply to be a free community for watch lovers to talk and express themselves freely without constraint. This agreement with Invicta allows us to guarantee that WG is here FOR GOOD and no issues can arise that would cause us to take the site down. We do not want to feel restricted by the number of our membership, we want to be able to handle 11,000 (as we currently do) as well as 100,000 members in the future without any server or software issues. Invicta gives us that opportunity. While other forums come and go, WG shall remain.

WG has always been, and will continue to remain a non-profit website. ALL monies to operate the forum are paid by Invicta directly to the forum resources, not to the owners themselves.

There will be no changes to the look or operation of WG. There will not be giant Invicta banners or anything like that. Some forums look like a subway wall with all of that graffiti, we will not have that here. Everything remains the same as it ever was.

So what does Invicta bring to the table? Why is this a GOOD thing?

Invicta as we all know donates serious prizes for our monthly contests, and other random contests. This will continue, and will even GROW in the future. Now at the beginning I mentioned that this is something to celebrate, well it’s time to do just that!!!

As a special celebratory gesture, Invicta and the owners of Watchgeeks would like to offer a very special contest. The prize is a CUSTOM, ONE-OFF special edition Reserve Collection Ocean Reef quartz chronograph in BLUE SANDSTONE with a case back that will state: Special Edition made exclusively for a with the winner's name engraved on it. Invicta has never done anything like this before. Production of this watch will come to a HALT as they stop to create this custom engraved case back just for your watch. No one else in the world will own anything like this.

Here's how to win: I will post up a new thread in a few days in the General Invicta Forum titled Custom Reserve Collection Ocean Reef Contest Entries. On that thread you will post your best Invicta story. It could be about how your watch made your dying grand-pappy smile, or how your Invicta saved your life, or how giving the gift of Invicta saved your marriage¦ whatever, you get the idea. If you have no amazing story, then tell (in story form) why YOU love Invicta.

Winner (one winner) will be selected by Eyal himself. The watch will be produced later this year, and will most likely not be ready for delivery until early 2010. The winner will be the first to own this watch!

So join us in the celebration!