Hello Fellow ChartWatchers!
Another year has come and gone. It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the start of the decade (heck, it seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the start of the new millennium!)
This year one of the things we focused on here at StockCharts we to increase the value of a StockCharts.com membership. In order to see how we did, consider the following mythical subscriber, Fred.
Fred is an average investor who trades several times a month, owns about 10 stocks/funds, tracks about 200 different charts, and enjoys seeing real-time data. Fred likes to keep up with what technical experts are saying about the market too. He's knowledgable about charting, but doesn't consider himself a T/A expert. "There's always more to learn" is his favorite saying. Fred is watching his budget and doesn't want to overspend for anything so he prefers paying on a month-to-month basis.
Fred joined StockCharts in November of 2008 by subscribing to our ExtraRT+Market Message service. At that time, ExtraRT gave him Real Time data and the ability to store more than Basic's limit of 100 charts. Fred also wanted to read John Murphy and Arthur Hill's commentary. He subscribed on a month-to-month basis for a cost of $45.90 per month.
By the end of 2009, Fred had spent $642.60 for 14 months of our ExtraRT+Market Message service. He was happy with what he got but was looking for ways to lower his cost and increase his value.
Let's see how Fred got his wish in 2010...
In January of this year we introduced our Free Real-time service using data from the BATS exchange. No more 20-minute delay on US stocks for non-ExtraRT subscribers! Because he didn't need super-accurate real-time quotes, Fred immediately downgraded his account to our Extra service and lowered his monthly cost to $35.95.
In April Fred was really happy to see us add the "Inspector" feature that allows him to move his mouse over any chart and see the data values for any bar.
Though initially skeptical when we launched our new Facebook page in July, Fred gradually became a fan and he now enjoys the contests and giveaways we have there as well as the tips, quotes and article notifications.
In September Fred was thrilled to see our new YouTube video area open up. He learned a lot of things he didn't know about his account from the "Getting Started with StockCharts" video and was able to re-organize his ChartStyles to greatly improve how he reviews his saved charts.
In October Fred was happy to see all of the new features that we added to the ChartNotes annotation program. The Elliott Wave notation tool was his favorite, but he was happy to get all the new tools for no additional cost.
In November Fred was amazed to see that our Basic service had gained most of the features that he cared about: real-time data via BATS, up to 500 stored charts, up to 20 stored ChartStyles, and the ability to store annotated charts! Fred immediately downgraded his account to the Basic + Market Message service lowering his monthly cost to $27.49(!).
On December 3rd Fred read on our Facebook page that the Market Message had just been made free for all subscribers. He couldn't believe it. That automatically lowered his monthly cost to $14.95. He was now paying $30.95 LESS than what he was paying at the start of the year. That's about 66% less than before! But wait, there's more...
This week Fred wised up and stopped subscribing on a month-to-month basis. Just yesterday Fred placed a 12-month order during our current Holiday Special. That got him 14-months of service for $154.59 - a cost of just $11.06 per month. That's 75% less than what he paid at the start of the year!
Finally remember that Fred paid $642.60 for 14 months of service prior to the start of 2010. Now, he's paying just $154.59 for essentially the same capabilities. Fred is beyond thrilled to see that his costs have gone down over $488 this year. He can't think of anything else in his life that has had such a big increase in value.
Now, not everyone is in the same situation as Fred. The cost savings this year will vary from member to member depending on the kind of service they need and the payment flexibility that they want. But the bottom line is this:
In 2010, the value of a StockCharts.com membership increased significantly as many more features were added and charting packages were consolidated.
Our goal is to continue to increase the value of a StockCharts subscription in a huge variety of ways. We can't wait to see all the great new features that 2011 will bring.
Happy Holidays to you and yours from everyone on the StockCharts team!
- Chip
