tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post2096543044060028128..comments2023-05-27T11:14:02.426-04:00Comments on Some Space to Think: A Boring But Essential PieceAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-17872619057392902022010-05-12T17:51:06.209-04:002010-05-12T17:51:06.209-04:00Hey, Rob, I just gushed about the (yet hypothetica...Hey, Rob, I just gushed about the (yet hypothetical) Square over on my blog, too.<br /><br />I had a merchant account for a while. It was infuriating nickle-dimey bullshit. <br /><br />What interests me about this the most is for $5 items, frankly, or, as Fred puts it, "I have a dozen special edition items here to sell." Cuz that's the order of operations where most of us live.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07306499920751969383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-18819371327229787882010-05-12T14:46:14.735-04:002010-05-12T14:46:14.735-04:00@Nathan you're not the first person I've s...@Nathan you're not the first person I've spoken too who has observed that their fraud incidence at conventions is incredibly low. I'm not sure that speaks to the quality of the community or the low payout on stealing games, but either way I'm glad for it. <br /><br />That said, thank you for that breakdown. I think your final paragraph really sums it up - whatever song and dance we want to do on the backend, that friction-free experience for the customer is what we really, really want.<br /><br />-Rob D.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-87402589985981020192010-05-12T14:39:36.186-04:002010-05-12T14:39:36.186-04:00We've been taking credit cards through an incr...We've been taking credit cards through an incredibly jury-rigged, but effective, system at the Design Matters booth for the last two years. <br /><br />1. I did create a merchant credit card processing account. Via the wonders of the internet and an incredibly nice representative, I have a plan that's $8/month to maintain with the usual CC processing fees (I don't remember them off the top of my head, but lower than paypal and what you've posted for Square, etc). These costs get folded into the overall booth buyin, so these costs get amortized (is that the right word?) over the 6-8 partners we have each year.<br /><br />2. I can only process CC by manually entering the info into an internet portal. Obviously, this is a problem if you're doing any more volume in sales than about a conventions worth.<br /><br />3. Customers get an email receipt when their info is processed. We also have a hand-written receipt book at the booth, but I think only 2 people in two years have asked for a receipt at the point of purchase.<br /><br />4. We collect the CC either by manually typing it into a spreadsheet (year 1) or via USB swiper (year 2). We lost about 6 transactions due to typos the first year, so the $50 CC swiper is totally worth it.<br /><br />5. Because the cost for onsite internet is killer at Gen Con, we process the CC's after hours (or after the Con, depending). <br /><br />6. Like the knucklebuster, we're assuming the fraud risk - if the # doesn't process after-hours, we're out the sale. I think this has happened with exactly 1 card in two years. Honestly, I'm fine being out the one sale rather than pay the 500 bucks for an internet connection.<br /><br />7. Ideally, we could use some wireless device to process the cards on site. Maybe this year.<br /><br />Why this whole rig-amoral? Well, for the customer, here's what happens: they hand us a card, we swipe it, they walk out, they get an email receipt a couple of days later. And that's totally worth it for us.Nathan P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13391991369773973379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-83988662790954492832010-05-12T14:33:09.060-04:002010-05-12T14:33:09.060-04:00@jesse Setting aside the flight risk that's ac...@jesse Setting aside the flight risk that's actually an option. By my recollection, it's effectively what the Paizo guys do at conventions, only with a laptop. However, it's definitely a little awkward - even with the easiest interface in the world, everyone hits a speedbump picking up something new. So speed is definitely an issue.<br /><br />Also, when dealing with people's money, making them feel secure goes a long way, and a card swipe is what people expect. If they type in their number, they suddenly think that maybe someone might be shoulder surfing them or logging their keys. The fact that their swipe is not actually any safer is less important than the _perception_ that it's the safe, which is necessary to get them to use it.<br /><br />Lastly, if they punch in the information on the Ipad or computer, you're going to get an even worse interchange rate. Copying card #s are east, but copying a magnet stripe takes work, so the presence of the stripe gets you a better interchange rate, by a percentage point or more.<br /><br />-Rob D.<br /><br />-Rob D.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-44663149316174180682010-05-12T13:55:15.597-04:002010-05-12T13:55:15.597-04:00What if you simply let the customer use the ipad t...What if you simply let the customer use the ipad to purchase through the internet, check to make sure you got the payment, and then hand them the book?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-86393953669621632002010-05-12T11:42:05.332-04:002010-05-12T11:42:05.332-04:00Stupid Chrome beta eating my comment...
Anyway, e...Stupid Chrome beta eating my comment...<br /><br />Anyway, even if you own the booth, hiring help could be seen as "sanity tax", even if you <i>could</i> handle it all on your own, you often wouldn't want to. It's crazy for 3-4 day cons, especially when you're one of one or two booths total (Israeli scene is small).<br />That's how I got started at cons, just helping people.<br /><br />Now, I sometimes help a friend of mine who runs a booth and sit at his booth while he takes lunch/smoke breaks. Sanity is good.<br /><br />And yeah, more sales due to ye olde credit card ironing thingy, though it's annoying to use and there's an ATM 2-3 minutes of walk away...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-84433920484242972142010-05-12T11:29:13.351-04:002010-05-12T11:29:13.351-04:00@fred I also think Square is probably perfect (may...@fred I also think Square is probably perfect (maybe even more perfect) for our artists friends who set themselves up at cons.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-66288465581437023552010-05-12T11:24:44.388-04:002010-05-12T11:24:44.388-04:00Yeah. Importantly, I'm most interested in Squa...Yeah. Importantly, I'm most interested in Square from a "I'm here and I have a dozen copies to sell" scenario.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08362641974657304051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-28120552822961094552010-05-12T11:20:39.122-04:002010-05-12T11:20:39.122-04:00@fred Oh, absolutely. I used DFRPG solely because ...@fred Oh, absolutely. I used DFRPG solely because it's at the top of my head.<br /><br />Though it also illustrates something. I admit I will be surprised if we don't run through all 300 copies we bring, but we're very lucky in that regard. For someone with a smaller game, that 300 may seem much less reliable, at which point Square seems like a smart, conservative bet. If you go past the threshold, well, that's a good problem to have.<br /><br />Though this also raises to me a curious specter of one shots as sales tools. This is exactly the sort of setup that would allow a GM to run a game and, at the end, have it available for purchase *right there at the table*. <br /><br />Totally alien sales tactic in our universe, but I think back to your clipboard-box full of DRYH, and it doesn't seem entirely crazy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-69766352896074882532010-05-12T11:15:54.924-04:002010-05-12T11:15:54.924-04:00@justin Intuit's non-printing swiper looks pre...@justin Intuit's non-printing swiper looks pretty small, so I don't think that's much of a barrier. I worry more about paying a month to month fee if your sales are erratic.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-16707511148266454912010-05-12T11:14:26.066-04:002010-05-12T11:14:26.066-04:00@Rob -- Yeah. Sanity tax. On that note, having Her...@Rob -- Yeah. Sanity tax. On that note, having Hero run our commerce/attendance side also let me charge forward with publication plans instead of trying to juggle a lot of Origins prep together with the run-up on DF. I mean, ultimately this might add up to thousands of dollars that could've been ours but won't be ... but I might also have been a broken man by this point. :)Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08362641974657304051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-84860706516869398292010-05-12T11:12:18.137-04:002010-05-12T11:12:18.137-04:00@fred I like to view that as "Paying for our ...@fred I like to view that as "Paying for our own sanity"Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-41546441332702595822010-05-12T11:08:29.177-04:002010-05-12T11:08:29.177-04:00The portability of Square (whose swiper fits in yo...The portability of Square (whose swiper fits in your pocket like a pack of gum) cannot be underestimated. You could be sitting at Alcatraz Brewing Company and make a sale to someone at the next table. I think that's more problematic with Intuit.Justin D. Jacobsonhttp://www.johnraingame.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-881091316522217932010-05-12T11:05:07.668-04:002010-05-12T11:05:07.668-04:00Tangent, but spawned by the use of EHP as an examp...Tangent, but spawned by the use of EHP as an example:<br /><br />300 copies is a LOT to bring to a convention. 500, moreso. We're looking at 300 copies at Origins.<br /><br />We're also having Hero run the register for us -- while that means we're "leaving a lot of money on the table" (i.e., in Hero's pocket), it also gets us a number of benefits in terms of ease of attendance. I don't expect us to make a big pile of money (or really any money) for attending Origins, but in a number of cases attendance just ain't about that. It's about exposure.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08362641974657304051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-76345878579255959922010-05-12T10:50:28.660-04:002010-05-12T10:50:28.660-04:00I actually feel the same way about the receipt. I ...I actually feel the same way about the receipt. I genuinely feel email is a superior way to handle such things. But I don't think everyone's quite in that space yet. I doubt it's a dealbreaker, but it's something to keep in mind. (One problem I foresee, for example, is that people might view it as farming email addresses for future spam - worth reassuring people about that explicitly).<br /><br />-Rob D.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-23766128925799398782010-05-12T10:38:02.370-04:002010-05-12T10:38:02.370-04:00If I were at a convention, I'd prefer getting ...If I were at a convention, I'd prefer getting my receipt via email. I end up with so many things to carry around at the big cons that not having to keep track of a piece of paper is a big selling point.<br /><br />I always use the email option for my receipts from the Apple store and I think most people are used to getting confirmations by email due to internet shopping.Vaklamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14839979414750032302noreply@blogger.com