<!--quoteo
(post=2546:date=Sep 22 2006, 11:46 PM:name=bobrfish)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bobrfish
@ Sep 22 2006, 11:46 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2546"><{POST_SNAPBACK}
></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Everything for sale today has profits going
directly into Jordan or Loiselle Fund. In fact, Claudia purchases the items in the store now and
she maybe donating the entire sale to one of the endowment funds. Not sure about this part.
Part of the reason for elimination of sales was realization that there are other entities
out there selling items that ACA was selling. Books are available from book sellers. T-shirts are
available from Pam Marsh and others. T-shirts with ACA on the shirt are available at
conventions.
IMO, it would not be a bad thing to go with something like CafePress but it
would be a step backward for ACA to go back into sales business.</div><!--QuoteEEnd
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I'm not certain I can follow the logic here. We're buying inventory, so we
have inventory. Are you saying we don't want inventory that takes up room in some one's
office? That sounds something like a convenience store that sells sodas but doesn't want to
sell candy bars. Oh, we sell pens, but not pencils. When we bring in more income we have more to
use for grants and endowments. I'm sure Richard Branson isn't worried about a few extra
bucks to report if it's all going to the same place. It would seem that adding things people
would buy would be beneficial to the ACA, AND would get our name out there more than it is now.
Now, if you wanted to interject that others were selling the same stuff we sold for less
and that made it so that we couldn't compete, I'd have to think about that. My response
would probably be what I tell stores trying to compete with a Wal-mart down the street. Don't
go head to head. Offer superior products at a reasonable price. Don't print on crappy shirts.
Buy pocket tees and good quality material. Pay an extra buck for a pocket t of better quality and
sell it for $18-25 rather than the $12-15. (If you think you're going to get stuck
with it, discount it to cichlid specialty stores at just above cost. They can use them like uniform
shirts or maybe have the word STAFF printed onto a sleeve. I'm not the only retailer that's
previously purchased 10-15 shirts at a time for employees at a convention.) Sell sweats or hooded
sweat tops with zippers. Almost all of us could printout an iron-on ACA, logo or not, and put in on
a t-shirt, chambray shirt, sweats or jacket. I'm talking professional quality. Do you have any
idea how many people wear ballcaps? We don't have to buy from a retail store or a printer. We
should be able to state the specs and have it done by the manufacturer. We should have had Swatch
make us watches or Frost Cutlery make us pocket knives.
Books- promote the ones worth
reading or print our own. Print how-to guides. Do some best of the BB pubs. We could even sell a CD
with the ACA slides we used to sell on it. (Get Wayne to play his accordion in the background
<grin>) People are so hungry for good info and good photos that they'll buy in a language
they can't read just to get the pictures to look at: e.g. Monsterfishkeepers pubs in Japanese,
Arawana I and II in Chinese.
We could even do videos of aquarium set-ups or breeding
set-ups. Take a tour of a few fishrooms. If it's got something to do with cichlids the ACA
should be part of it or RULING it. We should have been advising speakers at ACA conventions that
their talk would be recorded, published and sold with the profits going into the fund for grants.
If they don't like it, find another speaker. They've got the time to make a
"special" talk just for the ACA. They could even make a small disclaimer saying they
limited the talk for time constraints but they are available for speaking engagements where they
can go into the subject a little more thoroughly. If they're that greedy they can sign
something giving the value of their talk and take it as a tax deduction. This would give them the
oportunity to go big time, on a national basis. If they were to think about it,making their name
more recognized would be a sound business decision. Besides,in a room that size there are plenty of
GOOD speakers, some virtually unknown, that can give a really good talk.
Money
isn't the problem. We've sat on money making ventures for years. There is no risk.
I have to admit, I'm not familiar with CafePress products. I've seen the advertising but
I've never had one of their products in my hand. Considering most stuff on the market today,
I'm probably going to be underwhelmed.