Membership Car Stickers/Tractor Stickers?

[Wee59dexta]

Hi, I was just thinking when our Dexta is finished i'd like to show my appreciation of the website and also acknowledge your input by placing a sticker 'advertising' the site on my tractor.

It got me thinking then, would it be a good idea to have an 'official' car window sticker and/or a sticker we could place on cars, trailers or our blue beuty's to spread the word? (like other clubs)

It's something I could look into, however i'm sure they are far more senior and more experienced admins who may be interested in such an idea.

If not then i'd like to ask permission to display the websites name on my tractor. (I have ordered a T Shirt) I hope to be at many shows in Ireland over the next few years!

[Brian]

Love the idea of car stickers etc. but we have to generate an income before we can expand a bit.

That is why we invested time and money in very good quality clothing, to try and generate monies to keep the site advert free. We do have increasing costs keeping the site going and these are funded by the Site Admin Team at the moment.

Unfortunately we have received limited sales for the items we are offering, mainly due, I am sure, to the world economic climate. I know other clubs are finding the same. All profits from our sales go to keep this site running and fund a presence at Shows like the one in Norfolk, in March and Meddo in September.

The ethos of this site is that it shall be free to all Fordson Tractor enthusiasts and any information shall be free to all.

As we have grown to a size that neither Oscar or I ever considered, so have costs, and we have to investigate ways to generate funds to keep the site from costing us both monies we, personally, cannot afford. We do not have sponsors or a large publishing business behind us.

Sorry if this sounds a bit like a sob story, it is not meant to be. We all love this site and will do our best to keep it on the World Wide Web! [ and remain solvent]

[Wee59dexta]

I agree with you Brian and I'm sorry I did not make it clear that any member stickers could be purchased. I thinkit may be something a lot of people would be interested in purchasing, particulary to raise funds for the website.(Maybe we could gauge interest and then place an order?)

It's not a sob story at all, but very interesting to note that the cost of the site is currently being met personally by a dedicated team of admins! I think perhaps this isn't made clear enough to new members like myself.

I'd just like to add that various other 'clubs' do not provide anyway near the level of personal service that this forum does for free! Many clubs are open to members all across the UK and Europe, and in return you may get some Stickers!! (lol) and a quarterly magazine.

It is only a suggestion but it could be an idea to facilitate a means of making a voluntary donation to the forum, via paypal for example. I feel very much indebted to this forum and would miss it considerably if it was gone.

I'm a skint student but I for one would have no problem in drinking one less Pint per year, if it were to help with the maintenance of this forum!


N.B I wasn't aware there was merchandise until I had a good nosey through the forums............. Also there are fordson clothing being sold on ebay at the minute, making money for a private owned business. I think if fordson clothing was being sold on ebay, to a captive audience, people would rather purchase these items knowing they were keeping an invaluable source of fordson information freely available to fordson enthusiasts.

I hope you don't mind me sticking my nose in, but i consider it my job, nae duty as a student to question and stick my nose in where it doesn't belong!

[Bensdexta]

Would it be worth having an ebay shop to sell the FTP wares?

It's not that easy to find our goods by googling - an ebay shop might increase visibility.

[Wee59dexta]

Ebay shop sounds like a crackin idea Ben!! Get the FTP gear on ebay!!

[Brian]

I am glad you did question W59D, if you do not ask you never learn!

I like the idea of stickers for cars and tractors, again The FFAA send me stickers and little handouts every year as they do to all their members, but they charge a membership fee and know all the members names and addresses where as we neither have or hold information apart from a forum name. We gave away free pens with the site details on, a couple of years ago, they were fine when we met people face to face but when I offered them on here, free pen and postage, we got no takers. Most people thought there was a catch and we were looking to sell mailing addresses. This we would never do, we destroy all addresses after labelling up parcels.

I have looked into an E-bay shop and found the cost a little too much. Most want a guaranteed sum and a percentage of turnover.

We went for top quality on the merchandise we bought for sale, we took over a year to chose and approve it. That meant it was not cheap to buy but in our eyes, is something we are proud to sell and the reaction from our customers is very positive, but it is like a snowball really, if all our site membership bought a polo shirt for £10.60 plus £3.50 postage anywhere in the world, the site would have enough money to run for two years and be able to offer more items, so generating more funds, as you say.

None of us want to make money from the site and all monies go into the site. I have just bought flags and display boards for our site stand, these have used up nearly all the sites capital from the merchandise. These will now be available for any other shows we attend in future. I am looking to buy a gazebo before the next Autumn season so that we will have a little protection from the blazing sun at Meddo!

Keep suggestions coming!

We do listen although we are a little slow to respond at times. Remember we all are in full time work and this site is our relaxation and hobby. Work must come first and that is why Oscar and Mike are not often on here now. Kev is on holiday, JC is working hard and I am still designing and manufacturing control systems for potato planters and parsnip toppers among other things.

[Wee59dexta]

[Brian]

I love it! Lets see what the others think and I will pass it to my printer.

[Bensdexta]

How about a blue tractor to the right of the heart?

[Wee59dexta]

Sounds good Ben. I'm just checking prices at the min, but its a weekend.....

[Bensdexta]

How about a blue tractor to the right of the heart?

I'm thinking

I heart (ie love) blue orange tractor symbol (as comes up on your bookmark)
www . fordsontractorpages . nl

I think a blue tractor would mean more to Joe public than wheatsheaf etc.

[Brian]

The wheat sheaf is copyright and the rights are still owned by Ford Motor Company. Blue Force have permission to use it here.

[Bensdexta]

The wheat sheaf is copyright and the rights are still owned by Ford Motor Company. Blue Force have permission to use it here.

How about the blue/orange tractor on the website bookmark - you did that didn't you Brian?

That's what we want on the sticker - iconic Fordson!

[The Swanndri Guy]

I've often thought that a "Fordson Tractor Pages" cap and/or beanie would be a good idea. ( naturally in Fordson blue.)Brian, the gazebo that you want, is that so you can keep out of the sun because of the heat or so you don't get sunburnt? ( Over here in NZ, even on an overcast day you can get sunburnt and make you as red as a beetroot!) A for Kev being on holiday, I would have thought living on Norfork Island would have been a permanent holiday! TSG.

[Brian]

The tractor and the name fordsontractorpages and Fordson Tractor Pages belong to Oscar, he is the person to ask. Send him a PM as he may be working and not picking up this thread.

I would be careful TSG, he is over with you!

[The Swanndri Guy]

Brian ,the suggestion of a cap/beanie with "The Fordson Tractors Pages" is only an "idea", that would be upto Oscar and/or moderators to decide if it goes any further. Since I'm folliclely challenged,I'm always wearing a hat, normally a beanie to keep my head warm or a cap to keep the sunlight out of my eyes and to stop the top of my head from getting sunburnt The intensity of the New Zealand sunlight is not to be underestimated! and a sunburnt head is worse than a bad hangover.... TSG.

[Brian]

TSG,

The hat is already in the pipeline but I have to fund it. It was one of the first items I looked at but put second on my list as everybody else does them. I have a limited budget so have to wait until I get some monies back before we can get more items. I also have to buy a quantity of items to make them reasonably priced.

We can also do bone china mugs, key rings and badges.

Hats might become an essential here in Norfolk too! We are now officially in a two year drought!!!! After two years of minimal rain fall a hose pipe and irrigation ban is coming into force shortly. When you are follicularly challenged like me, with a reddish complexion, if you do not wear a hat, all the traffic stops because they think you are a stop light!

[Mervyn Spencer]

Any chance of a blue polo T shirt Brian?

[Brian]

Eventually yes Mervyn but we need to sell what we have first.

[Mervyn Spencer]

Thanks Brian.

[Wee59dexta]

I think we should try and sell some items on ebay as a private listing to gauge the interest. This wouldnt incur any shop fees.

Also I think it would be a very good idea to provide a means of voluntary donating to this forum via paypal ect. We could have a button/link which would enable a patron to donate if they wished.

[Ambidextarous]

Until we get something sorted,how about setting up an "Appeal Fund ",you know the sort of thing that gets organised whenever there's a disaster somewhere.Get a P.O. box going and we can all send in donations to get a pot started.How about a whip round at the monthly NVTEC club meetings and the like once in a while? If you sell anything tractor ( or non tractor) related,send a cut of the profits ( i've just taken a Stadri cab off my latest aquisition and want to get shut,should be a nice little earner for the FTP's).Asthey say at Tesco, Every little helps.( i think it's Tesco ).
Btw, i like Wee59's logo,nice and simple and eyecatching. You see the heart at a distance and just have to have a closer look at what it is they love.

[Brian]

Many thanks for all your suggestions. There are legal problems with some of them though.

We cannot charge a membership for this site. Unlike the tractor clubs and magazines we have no control over the posts on any of the forums.

Any advice given is free and comes with no guaranty and it can come from people with experience or non at all. If we accept fees, membership or donations, Oscar and I become liable for any damage, accident or anything that may occur from following that advice. So by keeping this site free of charges we are also protecting our homes and livelyhoods. We live in a very litigious world and would have great difficulty in fighting any claim. When we originally looked at the way the site was expanding we checked the legal implications thoroughly and decided not to go down that route.

However we would like to improve the site and increase the manual server capacity along with an increase in security. The manual server has been down for some time due to persons unknown who have destroyed the information on there.

But all this costs money, hence the idea to sell items and put the monies raised into the site. As we have said many times before, and it is stated on the Home Page, we do not want to make a profit for ourselves. But we do want to improve the site and its services.

We also want to get to as many shows as possible. Ann and I have made many friends from our travels and attendances at shows like Meddo and the site has brought together many others who also meet up. There is also the chance to take pictures and show them to the rest of the world.

This was the idea behind the sale of shirts etc. There are no legal implications in the site selling shirts. The quality is very high and this is not me talking, it is the feedback we get from all who have bought them. I can see no difference between making a donation/membership fee to the site and buying a polo shirt/sweat shirt/shirt/T-shirt. At least you get a good quality item back and every time you wear it you help advertise the site.

If you think we have got it wrong let me know. I have already taken on board W69D's suggestion and others. Mervyn's T-Shirt is already on order, hats may take a bit longer as there is a problem with the embroidery.

[Mervyn Spencer]

Gee thats great news thanks Brian, please let me know when they arrive and we will fix up payment.

[Ambidextarous]

What if Oscar gave permission for us to use " The Fordson Tractor Pages " name? All we then do is buy a blue fleece/sweatshirt and get a local embroidery firm who do one off's/small runs to stick it on the back.Although they will all be different in our own designs, they will all have the same message on 'em.Likewise, if you take your tractor to a show, have an information sheet on it that clearly shows the FTP logo and maybe a description of the site.If you're agreeable Wee59, could i pinch your " I Love www.fordsontractorpages.nl" idea to get some printed to stick on my van? I could also give some to the folks at the NVTEC club for their vehicles.All cheep advertising.