"Ethical" advertising business model?

[pdecaux]

I would value your thoughts ...

I am involved in the development of an e-commerce website which was based on a subscription-type business model: for an annual fee, members would advertise on our site and gain access to all our services. One of the mainstays of our proposition was that we would not allow third-party advertising on the site, and only display adverts/listings created by our members. These appear on the public facing and private pages of the site.

However, for a variety reasons, the subscription model was difficult to operate and we took the painful decision of offering our services for free. Obviously we have to make money somehow and we think third-party advertising is one way of doing so. However, we are keen that any such advertising will not provide competition for the member listings, but achieving this seems almost impossible.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this issue and any suggestions on how to resolve it?

Many thanks

[Phil Rees]

I think in that one declaration you have made is a contridiction in statement.

Money over policy.

Make a decision and stick to it.

[pdecaux]

I don't agree that this is a contradiction. Surely it is how you make the money that determines the validity of the policy? Ethical business can still make money!