Spring Executive Meeting 3/31: Agenda

[Rhed al'Tere]

I apologize for the short notice of this agenda.

Four times a year, the Directors and Officers have meetings to discuss topics from around the site and catch up with what we're all doing. The Spring and Fall meetings tend to be the more detailed, longer meetings that cover larger changes to the community. We share the agenda, ask for any comments, and then post the decisions in a discussion forum afterward.

This meeting's agenda follows. If you have any additions, please email the appropriate Director or Officer.

Amyrlin
Rhed amyrlin@tarvalon.net

Keeper
Lireina keeper@tarvalon.net (please also email amyrlin@tarvalon.net since Lireina is on LoA)

Archivist
Toral archivist@tarvalon.net

Shatayan
Cassie shatayan@tarvalon.net
changes to the GL starting next FY

Membership
Sa'areah membership@tarvalon.net

Mods and Ops
Please email amyrlin@tarvalon.net

Technology
Deoan technology@tarvalon.net

Marketing
Jeffan marketing@tarvalon.net
JordanCon plans
Cafepress alternatives and/or shutting down Cafepress in favor of limited run designs
Blog and guest articles from other WoT fandom hardhitters
Discord (also Mods and Ops)
Simplifying the MM for new members (also Archivist)
Universal community group pages (also Research)

Events
Melisande events@tarvalon.net
20th Anni
Anni follow-up
EuroParty update
Fall Ball update

Outreach
Calen outreach@tarvalon.net
Increasing philanthropy
Annual fundraiser
Scholarship planning

Research & Records
Tallan library@tarvalon.net
Annual Report
Membership Survey

 

[Erin al'Denael]

Looking forward to reading the upcoming events info!

 

[Lyara Tieran]

Me too! Looks like A good meeting.

 

[Katherine Avery]

I just want to voice that I am very on board with a limited run tower merch program. I would like to see different offerings as well like pins, pens, member designed shirts, and other items!

 

[Ariadne Davion]

I'll be honest, I like both limited and the shop. I like the Cafepress mugs but have wanted some fancier graphics idea's for them. I think I sent email months and months ago without a reply for possible product options. *shrugs*

As a heads up, with some advertising, and in general updating stuff in the CafePress it typically pays for our yearly JordanCon ad. Or at least it did in the past. I would prefer even that little bit of income for the tower then not have it at all.

 

[Kyla Sterling]

(My mind is blanking - under Shatayan, what's the GL?)

 

[Qamra Daielin]

General Ledger?

 

[Cassie Dainar]

Yes, GL is General Ledger. Right now we use a manual method for everything. I’m taking classes for an Accounting Degree so I have things in mind to improve.

 

[Alenya Al'Roran]

I'll be honest, I like both limited and the shop. I like the Cafepress mugs but have wanted some fancier graphics idea's for them. I think I sent email months and months ago without a reply for possible product options. *shrugs*

As a heads up, with some advertising, and in general updating stuff in the CafePress it typically pays for our yearly JordanCon ad. Or at least it did in the past. I would prefer even that little bit of income for the tower then not have it at all.

Cafe Press revenue is not what it once was. Last year, we only made about $12, so Jeffan Sedai and I have been considering other options.

 

[Kyla Sterling]

Thank you!

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

I'll be honest, I like both limited and the shop. I like the Cafepress mugs but have wanted some fancier graphics idea's for them. I think I sent email months and months ago without a reply for possible product options. *shrugs*

As a heads up, with some advertising, and in general updating stuff in the CafePress it typically pays for our yearly JordanCon ad. Or at least it did in the past. I would prefer even that little bit of income for the tower then not have it at all.

I agree that there are some things that CafePress has that I'm not a huge fan of getting rid of, mugs included. My issues with CafePress are that it's a pain to manage and it yields very little in revenue. By comparison, 24 members spent $310 on pins/stickers/magnets over Anni weekend, so they're a definite success.

My ideal here would be to find a platform that allows us to have some designs available done on-demand, which don't cost us anything, but also give us a very, very slim profit margin. These would be things that aren't quite reasonable for us to do large runs of, such as anything with the Ajah/Company logo on it, or some more specialty items that aren't easy to do runs of ourselves. At this time, those aren't feasible for us to do, but that may change.

In addition to that, we would do limited-run items of things that we would not make available in the store, such as the lapel pins, magnets, stickers, and t-shirts with the flame logo. However, we need to find a storefront that's more user-friendly than CafePress, and allows us to have slightly higher profit margins without gouging the person buying the product. As an example, 100 1" pins on CafePress costs $89.99 plus shipping. I purchased 100 1.5" pins directly from a vendor for $30 with free shipping. They're taking a huge profit margin and giving us pennies.

The downside to this solution is that it would result in two "stores", so to speak. One would be done through the Tower directly, and the other would go through whatever platform we end up choosing. As for how we would manage the Tower-direct store, it would most likely be done through a forum somewhere where we list what we have on hand as well as a method of ordering it. Once something's nearly out of stock, we can evaluate whether or not we want to do another run, or if we'll retire that item. As things that are more limited tend to sell a bit better, we'll most likely retire most of the items that we have in there.

If anyone has thoughts on this, I definitely encourage discussion here before the admin meeting on Sunday. I'm always, always, always open to ideas (this doesn't mean that we'll do it, but I am always up for incorporating things).

 

[Alora Sionn]

I love what you said so far dude

 

[Ariadne Davion]

Makes sense.
Warn us before it goes away? I have a mug to buy but moving and stuff...

 

[Erin al'Denael]

I've always disliked the quality of CafePress material, i.e. T-shirts, totes. But I like collecting T-shirts for specific things, i.e. events I'm attending. If there's a way to do a limited run of shirts for major events that isn't run through CafePress/equivalent but through an actual vendor, I'd totally buy one.

/my 2 cents
/possibly 1.5 cents, because who cares :P

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

Yeah, I have said it several times, the T-shirts from CafePress sucks. Wash it once, and the print is almost ruined. Three times, and it is barely visible anymore

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

And that is definitely something we would take into consideration when doing limited-run prints of shirts. Quality and comfort can't really be sacrificed for those.

 

[Kelgan al'Moranwin]

I will say, I've been pleased with the quality of their mugs. I've got 3, and they're among my favorite. And after years of running through my dishwasher, the print on all three has not faded that I can tell.

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

Oh yes, the mugs and glasses are great. And the magnets. Pretty much, everything not fabric

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

Understood. I'm also pleased with the quality of the mugs, so that's something we'll consider with a new vendor. I may order a sample of a mug and a sample of some glassware to see how they hold up.

 

[Drake O' Neeus]

Ooh I really like the idea of limited run stuff around events