I like the idea. $12/year is reasonable. Username changed to actual name could be risky, for the points above. I like the limiting who can post for sale ads to premium members only. It still comes down to buyer beware; a shooting forum I post on has a requirement that you post a legal disclaimer in the OP, absolving all members, and the forum itself, from any illegal or shady activities, placing the onus entirely upon the seller & sellee only. I think we have high quality members here, and I dont forsee any huge issues, but I think its a good idea to have the disclaimer in there.
Another premium membership caveat on another forum I have seen are group buys & group discounts. For a measly $12/yr for membership, participating in a groupbuy or a group discount could potentially save you that on your firs purchase.
As I have stated before, we have some pretty sharp tools in this shed. If this is something that ETS decides to do, and Martin is looking for input, I suggest we all give them the most accurate information we can, and it will help them decide where to go.
I just have 2 final points: I think the $1/month (payable once a year) is a good membership fee. It will encourage more people to join than a higher fee would. I think that the 200 post limit may be too much-some folks here mainly surf & dont post much. Maybe 100 posts/ 6 months would be a better idea. Again, I belong to a few other forums, and I cannot post FS items on them because I dont have enough posts-and, I wont, because I am there mainly for fact gathering. Its a loss, to be sure, but there are ways around it for me. One, my brother, is a well respected member-so I post FS items through him.