After reading that previous locked thread, I think there are a few points we can consider.
Most e-commerce type sites only charge money for products just before shipping right? Now, I understand that all these projects for upgrading our beloved FTO need capital. So maybe there can be a compromise .
How about asking for say a 50% deposit (and this is just an arbitrary figure) of the estimated price of the upgrade and then charging for the remainder once it is READY to ship. This way members don't have too much money tied up waiting for their preciousssss mods and the manufacturer/organiser of the bulk buy knows who is committed to it.
And I agree with having another position in the club whose sole duty should be to maintain the Shop section. Obviously Stephen has too much on his plate and one of the main commandments of business is DELEGATE.
hmmm - this could also be a problem - this would mean we would need a new club president
Stephen owns/runs the FTO Shop - it is a separate entity not part of the club. Therefore it cannot be delegated to someone else..... He also donates Free of Charge all the web hosting and maintenance which means so far we have avoided having to go to user pays such as the UK site.
Future club events (ie multi-state cruises etc) will be handled by Robert (kaveman/ VP) and there is a separate bank account set up purely for club purposes.
The job of club president is not a small one - if anyone is seriously interested I can send the 43 page club constitution to you for a bit of nightime reading which outlines all our positions, duties and responsibilities
As I said in my previous post (refer other thread) ALL committee positions will be up for nomination in the AGM - this includes Club President.
If you read the previous thread you would have seen at least 3 or 4 references to the point that the FTO Shop is not part of the club and it is simply a group buy organised by Steve.
Think about this: if you were organising a group buy on behalf of other people and you had to pay for everything upfront, would you be happy with people not paying up front, or as per your suggestion, paying only 50% upfront?
Your suggestion for only paying 50% upfront is so that members don't have too much money tied up. So what about the person organising the group buy, why should they tie up all their money on behalf of other people?
And what about all the people who have ordered stuff and never paid?
The person organising the group buy is effectively doing a favour for everyone who is participating in it. They should be rewarded for their efforts not penalised by having to wear the risk of paying fully for something and then having the person who the goods were for either cancel the order or not come through with all the cash.
ruchi wrote:And what about all the people who have ordered stuff and never paid?
That's just low. No one's order should be considered finalised until they have at least paid a deposit. If someone wants their order to be taken seriously, they should put their money where their mouth is.
ruchi wrote:Think about this: if you were organising a group buy on behalf of other people and you had to pay for everything upfront, would you be happy with people not paying up front, or as per your suggestion, paying only 50% upfront?
You're right - I wouldn't be happy. But as I said, 50% was just an arbitrary figure. You can make it whatever percentage you want to the extent that you're not risking losing too much money. If you're not happy taking that risk, then fair enough. But as I have seen, any worthwhile modification for the FTO will not have any trouble selling.
But what about the FTO Shop? Items in there have already been fully developed and are not part of any group buys. I do not know how these are being charged for because I've never bought stuff from there, but shouldn't these items be charged on shipment only? If that's what Stephen is doing already, then just ignore this whole paragraph .
I don't know how many times this needs to be said before people understand it, but let me say it one more time...
Consider the FTO Shop as being a group buy organised by Steve.
I cannot make this point any clearer.
It's a group buy, Steve is the organiser, and he does it to help the members of this forum out. He does it out of good will and it has no relation to the club what-so-ever.
You place your orders, you pay your money, Steve then collates all these orders and gets the goods from the suppliers. When they arrive Steve then sends them out.
It's exactly the same as anyone else who is organising a group buy, so I don't understand why people think Steve should be doing anything differently to anyone else that is organising a group buy.
ruchi wrote:I don't know how many times this needs to be said before people understand it, but let me say it one more time...
Consider the FTO Shop as being a group buy organised by Steve.
I cannot make this point any clearer.
Well most of us didn't know untill the last couple of days, so perhaps that should be stated in the FTO shop then, because anyone who just browses through the forum or newbie won't do a search first just to find out it’s got nothing to do with the club/forum. Or maybe someone can change the format when you guys have time, it looks just like any online shopping atm.
DISCLAIMER: The above text is the personal opinion of the author and does not represent the indisputable truth. The author is not responsible for any deaths, injuries or mental illness caused by the above statments.
I didn't know that either . Nothing to that effect is stated in the shop section.
If people knew that their orders will not be shipped from the FTO Shop section until a certain quantity has been satisfied, maybe they won't "whinge and complain" so much.
I think I have to agree, It's very confusing atm. I really like the FTO Shop, and it contains great items. But only recently I found out that it is a "seperate entity".
Maybe instead of having such an easy ordering process, that makes the shop out to be something that it is not. Change maybe be purchasing proccess to something less confusing, something that actually doesn't make people think their orders will be dispatched the next day.
The FTO Shop is a great example of how the actions of individual members can effect the outcome for all members.
Originally Steve used to keep some things in stock and would order some items before people paid for them. But with so many members not paying for things they ordered, it is now only an order-on-demand system that requires people to pay upfront.
The actions of some people on this forum could also risk some other benefits that are in the works, for all members of the club. Why they would do this I have no idea. Maybe they haven't thought through what they are doing, maybe it's just ego.
ruchi wrote:
Originally Steve used to keep some things in stock and would order some items before people paid for them. But with so many members not paying for things they ordered, it is now only an order-on-demand system that requires people to pay upfront.
it only takes a few to spoil it for the rest.
i wanted to get a few things from the FTO shop as well. its just when money is involved, things change. dispite steve doing this as a favor for the club, but as soon as money is involved people start getting edgy. just human nature i suppose.
i know this may be a BIG ask, but i dont suppose we can have a COD system in that the state co ordinators have stock, like maybe one or two (MAX) and people from each state simply contact the respective state co ord and do COD, this way, people can get in contact with someone and it delegates the work from steve. this is just purly a wish , and nothing more than a suggestion and i understand there is no need for the following posts to be flamming me
i would really like this place to grow and become more of a community. but as with all things anonomous people tend to become more selfish as they can get away with more than if they were face to face (very sterotypical comment i know)
Would be handy - but..... who is going to pay for all the stock and all the shipping?
Things like club promo products - this could work for (eg - shirts/ caps etc) - stock however would be held here in Sydney and managed by the treasurer...(unless the State Coords were willing to buy and also hold stock) but not the stuff Steve brings in.....
I know how much money Robert, Steve and I invested in all the deposits for the multi-state cruise.... not everyone has (or is willing) to spend up their own money on a promise that may/may not be fulfilled....
just my 2c
Last edited by Teania on Thu Nov 11, 2004 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
i used to stock a lot more items however too many non-payers (and i'm not talking a couple... probably closer to 100 unpaid orders) were costing me money rather than helping to cover the cost of this website...
Due to these unthoughtful people i reduced the amount of stock i have... this means more people have to wait for their orders as i'm not prepared to stock large quantities...
I've never been able to successfully trend orders to work out demand... its too random...
the manufacturers of late have had a lot of problems sourcing parts which has delayed orders further... i'm still waiting on some inverters so i can complete the last orders of indiglo dials (the last ever by the way)...
the ecommerce engine and the credit card processing company do not really have the ability to do 50% prepayment or anything like that... also i offer a direct deposit facility which is controlled by the buyer (eg they depoist into my account)... it would be too hard to track payments and what not with a 50% upfront payment...
anyway this is all irrelevant now as i'm shutting up the shop (see other thread) ...
all orders that have been placed prior to this announcement will be completed....
Sorry if this is off topic but i just wanted to say thanks to steve for the things i have bought through the "FTO shop" Your effort was very much appreciated
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