Some questions have come up regarding how the TCLUG Store is set up. 
This message is intended to inform the group on how things are set up.

The TCLUG store is set up through cafepress.com.  What this does is
allows us to design our merchandise but not actually have it made or
outlay any money until an item is ordered.  CafePress then manufactures
the item, bills who bought it, and ships it out.  There is a minimum
price that cafepress requires on each item.  This is known as the base
price and is what they want to cover their materials cost and profit. 
The store owner is free to charge more for the items, in which case the
extra profit goes into an account until a threshold is reached, then a
check is sent at the end of the month to the store owner (reported to
the IRS as income, of course).

The free stores at cafepress allow for one design of each item type.  In
other words, you can have one white t-shirt, one grey t-shirt, one oval
sticker, one retangular sticker, one hat, etc.  In order to have more
than one design in a product type, the store must be "upgraded" to a
premium store (read, pay them money for the extras).  Premium stores
also have an expanded product line available with certain seasonal and
special items.  Youalso have much more control over the layout and
design of the site itself and get priority listing in their directory.

Now to the meat of the TCLUG store.  The owner is me, Andy Moore.  I
felt the premium store was worth the initial outlay of money to get the
ability to have more than one design.  As a result I have a small
upcharge on the merchandise there; $0.51-$1.01 per item.  The extra
penny is just 'cause I like round dollars and their base prices are all
$*.99.

Money made goes right back to pay for the premium site which cost $60
for the year.  Once the cost of the premium site is covered I can do a
couple of things.  I can reduce the cost of the items to their base
price for the remainder of the year, allowing items to be bought "at
cost". I could pocket all that extra cash for my greedy little
capitalistic self (I've already had my hand slapped on this one 8-) ). I
can use the extra made to purchase equipment for installfests (switches
anyone?) or for getting things like business cards, letterhead, etc.  Or
I can just dump it in the TCLUG fund for when people don't pay enough at
beer meetings. lol  Let me know what ya'll feel would be best or if you
have any other ideas.

I would like this thing to belong to the LUG and not be mine alone.  And
as such, I'm open to new artwork, ideas, designs, etc.

And just so you know, here's the current sales figures.

					Prospective
Product			Qty		Commission

Rect Stckr		3		1.53
Wht T-shirt		2		1.01
Ovl Stckr		2		1.02
Bmpr Stckr		2		1.02
Lrg Mug			1		1.01
Ash Gry T-shirt		1		1.01
Golf Shirt		1		1.01

Totals			12		$7.61

If anybody has any more questions, fire... er, shoot... I mean, Ask!

-- 
The Wandering Dru <dru at druswanderings.net>
http://druswanderings.net <-- Things 'n' Such


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