I’ve never understood why forum admins opt to lease vBulletin instead of paying $160 for an owned vBulletin license. Is the only reason to do so is simply because they want to save the $85 and get into the best forum software the net has to offer for as cheap as possible?
If that’s the case, lets look at why I highly recommend you go for the gusto and purchase a full vBulletin license instead of going the leasing route.
Obviously you are leasing this software so just like that car you may be leasing at $300 a month, at the end of the lease period you’re left with nothing. Leasing is pretty stupid in my opinion because you have to spend money on something and in the case of vBulletin after one year you have to pay for another year (bringing your total up to over $160 anyway) or then opt for an owned license and lose out on that first year you payed for the leased license.
I would also not recommend leasing vBulletin because of the fact that you can’t transfer the license to a new owner. So if you build up your forum and grow tired of the topic, don’t have enough time on your hands or just want to cash out you won’t be able to transfer the license to the new owner. This will of course affect the selling price of that forum you’re trying to sell on digital point.
I’m glad I purchased my vBulletin licenses instead of starting out by leasing because I’ve been running one of my forums for about two and a half years now. I’d hate to have spent $255 only to have 6 months left on my thid lease. Remember, it takes money to make money so if you aren’t willing to pony up the $160 for a vBulletin license what will you be able to do to promote and market your forum for it’s most crucial launch time period?
If you’re looking for steps on how to start a forum check out my series that covers it.
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