Forum Sales, Site Supporter Tags and how to fund MK....

[monkian]

Can we have a bit more clarity on the poll questions please?
It's not clear if they just apply to the Forum or Forum & FB.

[58 delray]

i think the idea of wristbands for the D&D and hog roast is a good one, no wrist band = no freebies, simples. make sure its known well in advance along with the dates for example so that no one can say they didnt know.
as far as sales on FB are concerned it should be SST holders only.
as far as volunteers are concerned now MK is getting bigger, i'm happy to help in any way i can when i'm there 

[griff]

Can we have a bit more clarity on the poll questions please?
It's not clear if they just apply to the Forum or Forum & FB.

Just talking about the forum here, however if you want to talk about FB as well that's fine

[dancetothedrummersbeat]

This is more about SST/MK. If someone comes along that isn't a site supporter (peoples wives/parters/kids) for example), then maybe they can get a wristband on the day or in the dog & duck by making a cash donation to the rad pot, so whilst they're not 'officially' site supporters, they are making a witnessed donation/contribution

[mrs_stidds]

i think the idea of wristbands for the D&D and hog roast is a good one, no wrist band = no freebies, simples. make sure its known well in advance along with the dates for example so that no one can say they didnt know.

I think wristbands is the way to go.  People cannot be charged on the gate (against council rules) but they could be charged £10 to buy a wristband on the gate - may not have a SST but will then be paying the same amount into the pot ready for next year.

[griff]

*A volunteered % of sales sold on the FB Group to go to the Rad Pot
*Crowdfunding
*Rad Forum Shop or T's designed in collaboration with Dave at B73's with % of sales to the Rad Pot.
*Rebrand MK to put Radbmx UK first in people's minds & explore new branded products.
*Fundraiser rides.
*General fundraising events: BBQ's, Swap-Meets, Car-Boots etc.

I'm sure there's more...

SSTs are kind of like an old school crowdfunding anyway - it's a badge to show that you're supporting the forum regardless of whether you use the sales section or not
T-Shirts etc in the merchandise section already do contain a small donation to the Rad pot
The % from sales is a nice idea, but imposing rules & costs might reduce interest and would require policing - of course if people want to do that voluntarily no-one would stop them!

Im all for the wristband idea , quick google search

Printed silicone wristbands   http://adband.com/collections/wristbands/products/silicone-wristbands



QTY 500 £0.32ea
QTY 1000 £0.26ea

Vinyl ones are about half the price of silicone



 

They also make for a good keepsake from the weekend if that type of thing floats your boat .

I like the idea of a wristband - raises some admin challenges which would need to be considered

Paying for them - if you're going to give one to all tag holders then someone is going to need to get hold of everyone's postal address to send them out, OR hang about at MK waiting to hand them out to people. another idea might be to simply sell wristbands on Saturday to anyone that wants one - but this is only really going to help MK17, not MK16 as everything will need to have been paid for already by then. I think that idea might work though as it's simple (& simple usually works!)

We already do t-shirts, mugs, stickers, calendars etc and will no doubt continue that, but the money raised from those things is peanuts compared with the money you get from SSTs

[griff]

another thing on those wristbands..
although I don't think there were many 'freeloaders' last year - if there is anyone scrotey enough to do something like that then in theory there's nothing to stop them getting drinks for their mates without a band, or (if it's one of those snazzy silicone bands) passing it around so they can take it in turns at the bar...
But you would have to be a tight cnut to do something like that 

[58 delray]

i think the idea of wristbands for the D&D and hog roast is a good one, no wrist band = no freebies, simples. make sure its known well in advance along with the dates for example so that no one can say they didnt know.

I think wristbands is the way to go.  People cannot be charged on the gate (against council rules) but they could be charged £10 to buy a wristband on the gate - may not have a SST but will then be paying the same amount into the pot ready for next year.

they would have to then be registered as a site supporter Jo otherwise it could be seen by the Council as charging entry or even worse charging for the drinks which would cause licensing problems.

[oldschoolace]

How about some sort of welcome pack to go with the wristband or lanyard. I'm sure the sst purchases could include the addition of a postal address when you sign up. Maybe a Rad sticker, keyring and a car window sticker? Just stuff that can be bought for pence but make a nice little welcome gift and reinforce the community spirit

[mrs_stidds]

another thing on those wristbands..
although I don't think there were many 'freeloaders' last year - if there is anyone scrotey enough to do something like that then in theory there's nothing to stop them getting drinks for their mates without a band, or (if it's one of those snazzy silicone bands) passing it around so they can take it in turns at the bar...
But you would have to be a tight cnut to do something like that 

With regard to the D&D, you could make it that an empty tin needs to be returned before they can get another one and still only if they have a wristband on - would mean all the rubbish ends up in one place as well rather than thrown all over the place (which then needs the big clear-up the next morning).

As for distributing the bands, rather than charge everyone the postage for them (and obviously the hassle of mailing) - set up another table same as the S&S registration - all you would need is a printed list of site supporters (in alphabetical username order) - go down the list, tick them off and give them a band (or cheaper still a hand stamp). If SSTs were willing to pay the postage for the bands then maybe a 50p collection charge could be applied instead - every little helps.

[mrs_stidds]

i think the idea of wristbands for the D&D and hog roast is a good one, no wrist band = no freebies, simples. make sure its known well in advance along with the dates for example so that no one can say they didnt know.

I think wristbands is the way to go.  People cannot be charged on the gate (against council rules) but they could be charged £10 to buy a wristband on the gate - may not have a SST but will then be paying the same amount into the pot ready for next year.

they would have to then be registered as a site supporter Jo otherwise it could be seen by the Council as charging entry or even worse charging for the drinks which would cause licensing problems.

could it not be seen as just 'buying a souvenier band' for that weekend, rather than an actual 'fee for entry'?  This would be a one-off fee for that weekend only and if they want to be a SST after that then they need to join the normal way, online?!?!?

Just food for thought

[58 delray]

i think the idea of wristbands for the D&D and hog roast is a good one, no wrist band = no freebies, simples. make sure its known well in advance along with the dates for example so that no one can say they didnt know.

I think wristbands is the way to go.  People cannot be charged on the gate (against council rules) but they could be charged £10 to buy a wristband on the gate - may not have a SST but will then be paying the same amount into the pot ready for next year.

they would have to then be registered as a site supporter Jo otherwise it could be seen by the Council as charging entry or even worse charging for the drinks which would cause licensing problems.

could it not be seen as just 'buying a souvenier band' for that weekend, rather than an actual 'fee for entry'?  This would be a one-off fee for that weekend only and if they want to be a SST after that then they need to join the normal way, online?!?!?

Just food for thought

the Council and Licensing authorities would not see it that way Jo 

[Retrodan72]

"scrotey" - it's a great word. 

[dilybum]

Arm band great idea!!

Also at MK.. somewhere to buy an SST... then have youre band, enter into a draw and your donation to the event all in one

raises dosh, and hopefully some site traffic..

[factory pilot]

On a selfish note I'd keep Rad sales to SST only but if the survival of the site depended on more traffic ( which comes through sales) then I'd go with letting the SST go. ( reluctantly )

I think funds could be raised in other ways but I'd keep the SST. ( I'd voluntarily pay it even if it wasn't mandatory )
Sticker packs for new members seemed a popular idea on a recent thread?

I'd personally like to see a cool 'Sons of Anarchy' style RadBMX logo that could be put on tees, sweats and jackets and SST could have their Rad Names printed at the bottom of the logo.
It would give us a more solid and easily recognisable identity.
It would also be good for newbies to identify themselves and others on the rides.
Just an idea ... I understand it wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea.

I totally agree with the car sticker/wristband for the helipad/dog and duck.
At the same time I can see the logistics of making/distribution/policing of such things.

For me the freeloaders at present are nothing more than a minor annoyance.
I guess the problem starts to get out of hand when the numbers of loyal SST diminish and the size of the heathen hoardes overruns the event.

Something needs to be done now to preserve our fantastic event.

It's always better to be proactive than wait and wait until it's too late.

Whatever decisions are finally made I'm very happy to continue supporting Rad in any way I can.

The very best of intentions and thoughts,
Ant

[griff]

I understand it wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea.

I like wearing my radbmx tees when out and about, kept them from previous MKs and also hada few from the merch section
If I'm honest, I don't fancy standing in a field full of people all wearing the exact same clothes with names on the back - reminds me of a bunch of foreign exchange students or bellends on a stag do
But.... with all the years Rad has been going (& the many designs we've had and will have in the future) there's quite a bit of scope for people to take their pick and wear what they want, while still supporting their favourite forum
If there's enough interest I might do a rerun of the Dog & Duck ones - they went down pretty well and raised a bit for the pot, but it's kind of nice that they were a limited run...

There are many talented Radsters out there - if we can get some decent designs there's always scope to add to the merch section too

[factory pilot]

Good point well made Griff and some good ideas too..
 It would have to be done right or not at all... I wouldn't want anything Naff either but Hells  Angels biker clubs don't look like foreign exchange students ... The idea was to have a sense of belonging to 'our' club.
Twas just a suggestion anyways.... I'm not usually one for being a 'joiner' either.
Ant

[dp and chopper dude]

If the wristband idea was a goer, one way of getting them out is the old school Blue Peter method of sending a stamped self addressed envelope to whoever gets the lovely job of sending them out. They could be put in the return envelope and put in a post box. Once sent out a thread can be updated as notification.
Or it could be done via paypal but that would mean someone having to get envelopes, stamps, writing the names down then posting them out. More hassle.   

[58 delray]

i'm not sure restricting the Heli pad to just SST holders is such a good idea, there is already a view among some that there is a "Elitist" element among the members of RAD or that we are cliquey and i think that would just reinforce it 
 the D&D and Hog roast freebies however is a different matter

[CustardLips]

Yeah sack the t-shirts. 

[factory pilot]

i'm not sure restricting the Heli pad to just SST holders is such a good idea, there is already a view among some that there is a "Elitist" element among the members of RAD or that we are cliquey and i think that would just reinforce it 
 the D&D and Hog roast freebies however is a different matter

 In some ways Rad needs to be opening its doors to new members .... Any whiff of elitism or cliques sends many potential new people away.
I guess "we"( Rad )  need to try to get the balance right ....

[griff]

i'm not sure restricting the Heli pad to just SST holders is such a good idea,

  I missed that suggestion.. but agree 100%

All the digs about cliques and elitism I see are usually just the result of rumours certain people like to band around. Of course there are people on here that are mates in real life (& in some cases have been for years) but that's just down to having met a bunch of times, keeping in touch etc.
I met plenty of 'first timers' last year @ MK that clearly had a great time despite what they'd been told

[Jono]

Arm band great idea!!

Also at MK.. somewhere to buy an SST... then have youre band, enter into a draw and your donation to the event all in one

raises dosh, and hopefully some site traffic..

Good shout , get em to join at MK only cheeky fookers would say no then walk to the bar  have an SST table

[monkian]

Wristband or Hand Stamp is definitely a good idea. Hand stamp might avoid wristbands being shared around and avoid the postage issue but implementing it over the weekend might be tricky.

[Andy1970]

I think wristbands for booze at the Dog and Duck and the hog roast is the way to go. There would still be an incentive to pay for a SST other than sales. I would pay for a SST regardless as £10 for the enjoyment I get from MK is a bargain IMHO. I was late to FB only been on it 18 months but it is a lot easier for loading photos than on here,so I would be more likley to sell on the Rad FB page than the forum TBH. More needs to be made of the permanent side of the forum.Ive heard a few times people suggesting a real vs fake,80s vs re-pop section.I think this is a great idea to be able to come on the forum and check a part you have seen for sale elsewhere is legit.Someone mentioned on FB about using real names on here so you know who is who.I think this is a great idea aswell.Im Andrew Sanford on FB.