Vendors

[David]

I wanted to present some thoughts about vendors. I've already mentioned this to J/L, so I'll just paste that note below:

 

Something else to throw in the hopper. If we've talked about this, forgive me. I have a vague idea that we did, but can't remember the specifics.

 

My advice on supporting vendors for the UnRally is this:

 

/We don't do it unless we get the money up front. That'll prevent us from chasing it later, which Jake is having to do now. I'm sure he'll get it, but it's harder to get later than earlier.

 

/No free giveaways, and definitely no mentions from the mike, unless they are a paid vendor. There are too many hurt feelings. Montana Hoon, for instance, got a lot of publicity without paying a dime. That doesn't bother me personally, but it sure does bother a vendor who PAID to get the same thing.

 

/No vendors setting up displays, obviously advertising, etc. There was a guy at ES who was selling cruise controls. He didn't ask permission and certainly didn't pay anything. I took it upon myself to call him and tell him "that wasn't acceptable. It was not a commercial event. He was welcome to come on his RT, but not to work the crowd trying to sell." I figured I'd be the bad guy for you.

 

The honest truth? I wonder if we ought to dump the whole vendor idea entirely. If everybody pays, we'll have about $500 of support. That's not much, and it might be simpler to just have a collection basket for breakfast (which is what it pays for). But that's up to you.

 

After thinking about this more, I'm even more in favor of not having ANY vendors. That's what we do on the site, so I'm not sure why we feel the need to invite vendors into our main event.

 

So that might be a good discussion to have here among us. Whatever we decide, you'll need to make a clear announcement about it so they aren't surprised.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

What is the purpose of having vendors at a rally?

 

Answering that question might help decide a course of action.

 

Is it to make the rally more interesting (?) to attendees?

 

Is it to offset the cost of the rally for attendees, and/or to generate revenue for DB operation?

 

My personal feeling is that vendors change it from an Unrally to a rally, and further complicate the logistics of the whole thing, as you pointed out (e.g. paid announcements juxtaposed with unintentional free advertisement ).

 

If it's a cash flow issue, you know you'll never run out of people willing to pay to keep the board running; likewise, I'm sure people won't mind paying what's necessary to make an Unrally happen.

 

If it's about making the rally more interesting, I'd rather see the focus remain on people and riding. With the # in attendance and the amount of socializing/networking going on, I think there's enough cool stuff to see on other people's bikes without having vendors in attendance.

[Jake]

Agreed.

 

Where it gets tricky is with those insidious vendors. We'll call 'em the Dick Dastardlys, or Dicks for short if you will. You know 'em, the ones that don't tell you that they're coming and just happen to bring a boatload of their stuff to the UnRally to prey on unsuspecting members with money to burn. Hell, the SO is not looking anyway, so whats $500 for a little cruise control thingy here and there? Damned guy almost took over the Tech Daze.

 

OK, OK, I'm being rough on them, cuz they're good peeps. But to keep it on the straight and narrow, you'll have to ensure the BigMaks and the Arizona Als and the Steve Asvitts are with the program. No solicitation/no drips/no sales.

 

Mitch is right, if asked, the members will kick in to cover the costs. Personally, I'd suggest a $5 registration fee from everyone to cover b-fast, coffee, etc, and that also buys freedom and clean air. Lunch and dinners should be extra.

 

Damn, how'd I get roped into this? Where's Jaime and Les, can't you guys pull some weight and get me kicked outta here?

[Voodoo]

My personal feeling is that vendors change it from an Unrally to a rally, and further complicate the logistics of the whole thing, as you pointed out

 

Agree comletely.

 

Personally, I'd suggest a $5 registration fee from everyone to cover b-fast, coffee, etc, and that also buys freedom and clean air.

 

Also agree, but don't call it a registration fee anywhere. Call it a donation.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

...you'll have to ensure the BigMaks and the Arizona Als and the Steve Asvitts are with the program. No solicitation/no drips/no sales.

 

The mention of Arizona Al makes me think of a complication. What about vendors conducting prearranged business at the rally, and maybe attracting word-of-mouth business while there? e.g. on the discussion board, "Hey Al, can you make me a set of ear plugs?"---"Sure, find me at Torrey, we'll get you fitted while we're there." Then at the rally, "hey, I'm going over to find Al to get fitted for ear plugs."---"Cool, I think I'll come with you and get a set for myself."

 

So no fee-based mic time for vendors, no signs to be put up, but how do we deal with casual business like Arizona Al? Is there any significant difference between that and the cruise-control vendor at ES?

[Jake]

I don't believe the members really mind the vendors as much as the planners do. Nothing like getting everyone together, then have someone else working the crowd.

 

If you simply ask our known member/vendors to keep the lid on their wares while everyone is gathered together, I'm sure they won't mind. As soon as they hang a banner during beer time, take 'em out back and introduce them to Guido the Horrific.

[David]

I agree with Jake's distinction. What Al does is fine. No advertising, no banners, no free giveaways, no mentions from the mike.

 

As far as handling those who are already in a bad habit (Steve Asvitt comes to mind), we just need to post a prominent thread on our "vendor policy" in the main public forum, once that's up there.

[PhillyFlash]

Al is a friend of mine, and I hope I'm not being biased. (Wanted to get that out front right from the start.)

 

I don't like the idea of formal vendors, but I'm less opposed to "low impact" vendors. Al did his work inside, or just outside, of his room, kept it low-keyed, and let word-of-mouth generate business for him. The cruise-control guy, however, put up a sign to attract business, even though it was just in front of his room, which I saw as more impact and more advertising.

 

I'd prefer that we didn't start taking fees from vendors, as I think they will then believe that they have more rights. But if we have a few people staying very low key, it might not be too bad. I definately would not want to see vendors in booths.

 

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

What Al does is fine. No advertising, no banners, no free giveaways, no mentions from the mike.

 

I agree (heck, I bought a set of EPs from him at Torrey...), and that's why I brought it up and tried to ID a distinction that we could work with. Sounds like we got it: vendors need to be low key, no banner/advertising, and so on. By not accepting fees, we reserve a lot more moral authority to ask them to curtail their salesmanship.

 

 

[KMG_365]

Hey, guys! Sorry we're late! I just finished up with the last of our new UnRally-III vendors on the phone and just saw this thread, so I thought I'd catch you all up on what's going on.

 

So far we've got:

 

Fernando, Cycle Gadgets, HoonHardware, ArizonaAl, CeeBailey's, GadgetGuy, RTCruiseControl, H.A.R.D., Aerostitch, Mag's Bags, Rocky AND Rick Mayer, and I'm still waiting for a phone call from BMWMotorRadNA about adequate tent space along Vendor Row! (they can be SO demanding!)

 

So . . . what were you talking about??

[Jake]

[PhillyFlash]

Looks like an Un-Unrally.

[PhillyFlash]

I think Jaime scared us all speechless with his Vendor comments. uhhh, he was joking.....right?

[KMG_365]

Yes, Howard I was kidding!

 

I thought the BMW tent was a dead give away! Sorry if my attempt at humor went astray.

 

It looks like due to the feedback here and the problems with fairness et al, we're going to try to do this without any vendor involvement this year. It appears that the consensus is that folks wouldn't mind chipping in a few extra $ for the things the vendors covered previously. Especially if we get a large turn-out, we can use the economies of scale in our favor and spread out the additional burden amongst the members so that it is still a fairly inexpensive gathering. The National rally (and Paonia) will be expensive enough for those attending more than just ours.

 

Any other input on the vendor issue? Do we want to take ANY donations from vendors that are willing to give--even if we offer no booths, banners, give-aways or mike time?

 

I agree that we just need to post and make clear (by individual mail, if necessary) what the vendor policy for this UnRally is and then ask them to abide by it.