Would it be against the rules if I...

[hakmanplayer]

How much for a Tele spot??


BBC??

 

[-Tj-]

You mean like a TV advert? Probably a lot, more than would be worth it for the team. Besides, with the trouble they're having getting Pandoras built and delivered right now, selling more before they're even in Batch 2 will probably hurt more than help.

 

[scorpio]

reading this is a little disheartening.


OP have worked their butts off to create this device and nurture this community. The value in OP is also not just the device, it is all the free software and the open nature. They have been very giving and have made these things with their heart and soul - and some people - sorry if it is you reading this - expect them to just give that brand value handed over so you can make money quite easily? The only way OP would ever consider something like this is if they received 99% of the net profits made by the merchandise - because making the merchandise is the easy bit. Creating the panda and the supporting community is the hardest work imaginable and that intangible value can not just be given away to a merchandiser.


Having said that, all the contributors who have made software for the panda and have survived off donations are also what makes the panda great - without the devs the panda wouldn't be much.....so while merchandising sounds great it is a tricky agreement to work out. Do the profits go into a trust to support devs based on number of downloads or ratings for their software? With some money left aside to subsidise the OP team? Their is an entire community that needs to be nurtured in the spirit of open source. This is really a can of worms. I suggest you support the devs with donations and anything you can offer, and support the OP team by spreading the word and making dev donations if you can. If you can't, that's cool just spread the word.


Merchandise is a tricky thing and I would leave it to OP to manage, and rely on them to use the funds in a diligent and honest manner to support the community and themselves! They have so far been more than anyone could have hoped for, and therefore I trust them and no one else to deal with the community "trust fund".


peace out.

 

[wardred]

Exactly, that's why I want to work out a deal with them.

Jourdy,


You might start with a simple e-mail to Craig / OpenPandora asking if they'd be open to the idea of you putting together a proposal. An actual business plan like proposal, rather than a forum thread. They're the ones with the... well, not purse strings, call it control strings.


From there you'd handle it professionally. Get a mock up at the least - and the details of how you're going to do the merch. CafePress and the like have a much higher per unit cost then the print 1'000s of Ts companies, but a much lower startup cost / minimum order. An important consideration since the group to purchase the Ts is less than 10k. (Don't know how many iControlPads purchasers there are.) Working directly with Craig / OpenPandora directly is really the only way I see to go forward. You'll want to consider what specifically you intend to merchandise first, what their cut is, what your cut is, what the cut of the T-shirt manufacturers is, how many of the things you're going to produce, WHO's going to produce them, etc. You'll want to do a bit of research before the initial e-mail so if he asks questions you can answer them.


A few went the forum route, but it went nowhere. This may go nowhere. As soon as the Openpandora team has a moment to breathe they may very well want to produce their own merch, they may not want merch at all, etc., etc.


Cheers. I wouldn't mind seeing some OpenPandora / iControlPad merch, but as somebody else said, it's tricky. What percentage of the ~4k people who ordered a Pandora would purchase a T-shirt. If it's 50% - maybe optimistic, especially since some may one one design and others a different - then that's only 2k shirts. What're the costs involved in doing this, how much profit can they see from the shirts? (And you can't bump the price of the Ts up TOO much, it makes the people willing to purchase group smaller.) If you can't get the profit up above 5k for THEM, I'd be surprised if the idea gains any traction as the bother of working out the details...

 

[vadsamoht]

<snip>

+1

A few went the forum route, but it went nowhere.

Well, actually when I tried to set up a merchandise option (in one of the thread I llinked earlier), I went further than that, Emailing and PM'ing both Craig and ED with a clear view of having all profits sent to them, and it still fell flat.

 

[Nintendo]

 

[-Tj-]

Weren't those already posted in another thread? :mellow:

 

[vadsamoht]

Weren't those already posted in another thread? :mellow:

Yes, as proposals for shirt designs. No idea why he's posting them here.

 

[Jourdy288]

<snip>

+1

A few went the forum route, but it went nowhere.

Well, actually when I tried to set up a merchandise option (in one of the thread I linked earlier), I went further than that, Emailing and PM'ing both Craig and ED with a clear view of having all profits sent to them, and it still fell flat.

That's kind of what I'm afraid of..


Thank you Wardred, your advice is excellent. You know what? I'll give it a shot (contacting the team). What's the worst that could happen?

 

[vadsamoht]

That's kind of what I'm afraid of..


Thank you Wardred, your advice is excellent. You know what? I'll give it a shot (contacting the team). What's the worst that could happen?

Nuclear Armageddon.


Seriously? Nothing. Go for it!