I run a small classified ad website that has been getting decent traffic. Tonight I was checking the flags and thought, would people be willing to pay to post an ad if I guaranteed it wouldn't be removed. That's exactly what PatriotBarter.com is offering. If you buy a feature or extension I guarantee it won't be flagged or deleted as long as it does not violate our terms of service or include porn, adult links or prostitution. Tell me what you think of the idea.
It seems like that if you want to grow you site, then if an ad doesn't "violate our terms of service or include porn, adult links or prostitution", then it should not be at risk of being deleted anyway.
There are several reasons ads get removed or flagged for removal. Most removed ads are because they originate out of country, which will be removed unless it is a paid ad.
If you have not mentioned it in your guidelines or terms of use, then the right thing is not to remove those ads. Plus, many of out of the country postings are scam and they make sure not to share their real identity with their visa card or paypal accounts.
Our terms of service allows for ads that originates overseas only if they are a paid ad. Free ads must originate from a US based IP address.
The idea doesn't make sense to me. If an ad does not violate your terms, I don't understand why it would get flagged. I think a better way of doing it is to offer more features/options to anyone doing a paid listing. Sort of like eBay does with their listing upgrades. Edit: The whole "pay for your ad not to get flagged" presentation makes it sound like you'll let any sort of illegal ad in as long as the poster is paying. Your actual idea sounds fine, but I would present it differently.
Thanks for the feedback, yes I do need to re-word the whole thing. I am working on additional features for paid ads. I never intended to imply that valid ads would not be protected from reporting abuse.