Subject:
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Re: LDraw CD-ROM Project
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad.dev
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Date:
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Sat, 5 Feb 2000 04:08:28 GMT
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Reply-To:
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lpieniazek@novera.&avoidspam&com
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Viewed:
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1898 times
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Tim Courtney wrote:
>
> In lugnet.cad.dev, Larry Pieniazek writes:
> > Look, my point is just this: before 1800 is shelled out, make sure that
> > you have some reasonable expectation of recovering all or most of it.
> > I'll gladly put up a hundred bucks to make this happen, with no
> > expectation of getting anything other than one CD back, but only if the
> > homework is done. Again, 650 CDs is a large number for a community this
> > size to absorb.
>
> How do you suggest going about determining how many people will buy the CD?
Well, that's a good question. There isn't much of anything that better
determines who will buy it than asking people to pay for it up front,
which is what I was suggesting be done with an X account. That way you
don't have checks to worry about depositing (believe me, this is a major
hassle, I wish I had never started factoring) and if it comes undone you
don't have to hassle with writing and mailing checks back you can just X
the money back to them.
You need to be already somewhat established, though, my informally
adopted daughter, whose SS number is less than 6 months old, and who has
no other bank accounts or credit, got turned down by X.
> BTW - the Jessiman family requested 50 copies already at cost. :)
I'd make an exception in my advocacy (of getting a reasonable markup
from everyone) for the Jessiman family and ONLY for them so they do
indeed get it at cost. But that's your call.
> > As to the price, do NOT set it so that if you sell 600, you break even.
> > Set it so that if you sell 100, or 150, you break even. Way less risk
> > that way. No one is saying that you need to be out to make a profit. Non
> > profit organizations often charge more than cost for a particular thing,
> > in order to build up funds so that they are not stumping for donations
> > in order to get the NEXT project off the ground. That does NOT mean that
> > they are making a profit, per se, it means that they are managing their
> > funds wisely.
>
> Another good idea I didn't think of. Me also being banking/finance
> illiterate, would this go into a savings account? Mutual funds even, so we
> can earn more?
Money that you are husbanding cannot, I feel, go into a mutual fund, as
you cannot in good conscience risk loss. You have a fiduciary
responsibility. But you certainly can go after the highest interest
demand deposit you can find. X pays 1 percent, then shifts to 4 percent
when you get to 1000, and it's a checking account.
> > The PC club I ran for 3 years had a fund of many thousands in the bank
> > which it used to bankroll activities without worrying about where the up
> > front money was going to come from or whether each activity exactly
> > covered its costs.
>
> Solid advice, I hear you here.
>
> > Collecting in advance is a good idea. Make it hassle free for both
> > parties and require that people pay by X, that is the lowest labor way
> > to transfer money at this point.
>
> Are you suggesting collecting before pressing the CDs, then mailing them all
> at once?
No, I'm suggesting collecting before you even pay the CD company for
anything. Then yes, press them all at once, and mail them to the non
.datFest participants. Make sure everyone gives you their shipping
address electronically, get use of a laser printer that can take label
feed, get some free priority mail labels and mailers from the PO, set up
an address format and paste the addys that you were sent into them,
crank up the laser, and have a CD mailing party.
Tell you what, I'll print all the labels for you if you give me a file
with the addresses, formatted the way I specify (TBD, I haven't thought
about the best way to do it yet) with everyone's names in it. My HP 2100
can whip through that job in nothing flat. I'll prio all the labels back
to you at my expense.
> My main idea for a use for this CD would be to include it for .datFest
> registration, so there needs to be enough to have for whoever registers as
> well.
Collect your .datFest registration up front, the way MindFest did and
you're all set on those folks share of the CD production run.
> BTW - does ANYONE have contacts at a college in the Boston area besides MIT
> and Harvard? A college campus would be a great place to have .datFest, and
> help is really needed on this....
Here I can't help you... my alma mater is da Tech, not MIT, and my
masters was at Syracuse.
--
Larry Pieniazek - larryp@novera.com - http://my.voyager.net/lar
http://www.mercator.com. Mercator, the e-business transformation company
fund Lugnet(tm): http://www.ebates.com/ ref: lar, 1/2 $$ to lugnet.
Note: this is a family forum!
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: LDraw CD-ROM Project
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| (...) Are you referring to www.x.com, or is X a type of account at a normal bank? (...) I do think that they should get as many CDs as they like for cost, because of the family connection to James and also because they gave us permission to produce (...) (24 years ago, 5-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.dev)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: LDraw CD-ROM Project
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| (...) How do you suggest going about determining how many people will buy the CD? BTW - the Jessiman family requested 50 copies already at cost. :) (...) Another good idea I didn't think of. Me also being banking/finance illiterate, would this go (...) (24 years ago, 4-Feb-00, to lugnet.cad.dev)
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