Class Politics Laser Class Merchandise

Would you buy Laser merchandise

  • Yes

    Votes: 25 75.8%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 8 24.2%

  • Total voters
    33

sailor327

New Member
I dont know about you guys but who here thinks that the Laser class should come out with things that people can buy that have the laser logo them. I think it would be great to have things like T-Shirts, Stickers, Belts, and maybe things like backpacks and other bags. I think it would be a great way for advertisement for the class and plus it is free advertisement and the best type of advertisement because it is the sailors promoting the class instead of the class trying to promote the class. I personally would put laser stickers on my car, trailer, and everywhere else i could put stickers and i would wear a laser t-shirt all the time and would be willing to pay for these items which along with promoting the class would also generate revenue for the class. To me it almost sounds olike a full proof idea. It just makes me wonder why they haven't done it.
 
I don't know about anyone else, but where i am, loads of people have laser stickers. Most people stick them on the stern or on their car windows. I would buy a laser cap if they were manufatured.
 
sailor327 said:
I dont know about you guys but who here thinks that the Laser class should come out with things that people can buy that have the laser logo them. I think it would be great to have things like T-Shirts, Stickers, Belts, and maybe things like backpacks and other bags. I think it would be a great way for advertisement for the class and plus it is free advertisement and the best type of advertisement because it is the sailors promoting the class instead of the class trying to promote the class. I personally would put laser stickers on my car, trailer, and everywhere else i could put stickers and i would wear a laser t-shirt all the time and would be willing to pay for these items which along with promoting the class would also generate revenue for the class. To me it almost sounds olike a full proof idea. It just makes me wonder why they haven't done it.

We are due for a new bumper sticker this year though I don't know what it will say (and we have plenty of great suggestions still from the thread of nearly two years ago!). In fact, thinking as I type here, we probably ought to try to print up several different bumper stickers this year since, as you say, people tend to paste them on everything...

Clothing is not the income stream you might think it is... partly because you can't really charge enough to make money, partly because there is not as much demand as you might think (especially when people typically get a t-shirt or something when they attend a regatta as part of their entry fee), etc. However, as you say, it does have PR value to do this and so we have been talking about shirts and/or hats and/or something that we think would actually sell.

An aside... last year there were some 20+ Masters sailors who went to Brazil and a couple of them put together a shirt and hat package for "Team USA." The cost was $60 for a high quality shirt with a nice logo and a similarly high quality hat with logo. The sailors who put this together did it as a service and made no money (in fact, they lost money on it). The problem was that they were dealing with small quantities (and, granted, a high quality shirt).

One should note, though, that Vanguard is the owner of the Laser trademark in North America and they have already licensed a supplier of shirts, hats, gear, etc. So, you can already buy Laser logo gear (though I couldn't find the link on the Team Vanguard page), just not through the Class Office.

Tracy
 
You know what though, the problem with the Laser symbol is the damm connection to those geeky science types :eek: - it just doesn't cut it on the dance floor of a nite club. :cool: :cool: :cool:
 
Yeah i know what you mean cause i was just thinkin about it and if you put just the laser logo on a shirt with the word laser above it it would look pretty cool people wouldnt think sailing they would think laser beam so it wouldnt really help unless they knew about sailing and this would apply with everything. And i didnt think about the fact that vanguard has the rights to the logo but it would be cool if they could put the bumper stickers up for sale cause 1 just isn't enough.
 
Tracy is certainly correct about the class selling merchandise and the difficulty of making a buck doing it.
First, the class does not have a ton of capital just siting there ready to be tied up in inventory.
Second, somebody has to design logos, purchase the stuff, store it, take orders, package it, mail it, and account for the transactions.
Third, somebody has to feel like doing the above.

Number three is not a slam at anybody. it is simple fact. Nobody is expecialy convinced that "the class must have merchandise or hell will freeze over."
On the other hand there are a ton of things our paid staff knows they need to do and those tasks already exceed the time for which they are actually paid.

Back wheh I controlled the pocketbook, I thought if I stocked stuff the class members would buy it for themselves or their loved ones. I only stocked stuff I really thought was great. I didn't stock anything if Eric Faust, Lainie Pardey or Ian Lineberger thought it was a sucky product or bad idea.

Nobody was beating a path to the door.

I don't think the class lost any money over the three years but I really had no good defense when asked why I bothered to do the merchandise part of the job.

Unless the folks stuck with doing all the work see a need and want to take on a labor of love, I doubt it will happen again for a while.

To that end, I have posted a poll / survey. if enough of you respond, maybe there might be somebody who would make a purchase and distribute the merchandise.
 
The class don't actually do it. They license it to a 3rd party who then gives the class a "kick-back". Once the designs are done and approved it just sit and wait for the money. Designs are pretty straightforward (as somebody said, logo and the word "Laser". 3rd party does layout, creates samples for approval so all the class has to do is to look at it and say "OK". If they cannot even do that then there is a serious problem in the US Class Association.​


Ian​
 
Deimos said:
The class don't actually do it. They license it to a 3rd party who then gives the class a "kick-back". Once the designs are done and approved it just sit and wait for the money. Designs are pretty straightforward (as somebody said, logo and the word "Laser". 3rd party does layout, creates samples for approval so all the class has to do is to look at it and say "OK". If they cannot even do that then there is a serious problem in the US Class Association.​


Ian​

Hi Ian,
Remember that in North America it is Vanguard that owns the trademark and who already licenses a third party to produce logo apparel/gear (and, of course, then kicks back and collects the little bit of money this stream generates). So, the stuff already exists and in principle you can see it at the link provided by Merrily above (though I can't get it to work either).

Tracy
 
I know i would deffinately buy a laser sweatshirt or a t-shirt and i really havent understood why sailing companies dont sell apparell.
 

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