<!--quoteo(post=1791319:date=Aug 4 2010, 08:52 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Aug 4 2010, 08:52 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791319"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, exactly. Getting plushies made is not so hard, but we don't want to be spending hours at the post office every day to package and send gorge plushies all over the world. Currently the same issue with T-shirts, and any other merchandise.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Just talk to a cooperate marketing company they do this kind of thing for commercial businesses all the time, find suppliers, distribute etc etc...
this is what you guys do, hire out my wife, she'll handle the shipping and packages. Just pay her a an amount per sold. then you guys can focus on the game.
These guys are exceptionally good: <a href="http://www.mascotfactory.com/" target="_blank">http://www.mascotfactory.com/</a>
They're located in Orlando, and they have a minimum order amount of 600. Their per unit price is from $3.50-$6.50 with a $250 initial design fee (making the minimum $$ amount be about $3,250).
According to this: <a href="http://dbcalc.usps.gov/CalculatorSetPage.aspx" target="_blank">http://dbcalc.usps.gov/CalculatorSetPage.aspx</a>, it's going to be about $5/piece for shipping each one of the plushies out.
Given that 16K people pre-ordered, then a starting order of 1000 would seem about right (and convenient) making the total price that UW would have to pay up front would be about $10K. If UW started accepting pre-orders for the gorge plushies to see how much of a demand there could be, then they could estimate the number more precisely.
They could sell each plushy for a 100% markup making the profit (of $10 per plushie) to them a minimum of anywhere from $5-10K, with possibly hundreds of thousands being sold in the future (highly optimistic #)
As a business management major, I'll be more than willing to stick my neck out (since I live in central Florida and their business is in Orlando) and contact the company to see how they would advise UW for possible options for shipping. Worse case scenario is that someone has a PT job sending out gorge plushies ROFL! If the person has a label maker and boxes, it should really only take about 5-10min max per plushy to box and send out. That would mean about 10/hr, or 80 or less in a day. Sounds feasible...lol.
Plushies are an American thing then? Are they the equivalent of a teddy bear then, or some other sort of toy that actual does something, or just a collectable model?
And yes, I have to say this but...I can imagine someone, somewhere, making out with a Gorge plushie.
i'll buy one. or two... or a whole collection cuz lets face it - who doesn't want some beanie baby looking aliens that will definitely be a talking point and might even introduce some of your friends to this game.
yea, one day i'll be grandpa, telling the kiddies about my wonderfull adventures as a gorge, and the kiddies can play with my plushie, fighting over it, pulling out a leg, it's tail missing, and then i fall asleep in my chair while my dog is chewing on my teddy gorge...
<!--quoteo(post=1791319:date=Aug 4 2010, 12:52 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Aug 4 2010, 12:52 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791319"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, exactly. Getting plushies made is not so hard, but we don't want to be spending hours at the post office every day to package and send gorge plushies all over the world. Currently the same issue with T-shirts, and any other merchandise.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> As for T-shirts and that stuff I think you could check out <a href="http://www.cafepress.com" target="_blank">http://www.cafepress.com</a> If I recall correctly they offered personalized stores including payment and shipping aswell.
Another one which comes to my mind is <a href="http://www.splitreason.com" target="_blank">http://www.splitreason.com</a> they basically offer the same, but at least I've seen plushies in some of their stores
I wantz my gorge plushy! ... it could fight my boomer plushy that valve took my money away with ... damm you valve and your boomer! i will buy about 5 i think .. PLUSHY GORGE RUSH!
also .. for the lols you could have a special edition with a code for an ingame plushy gorge skin :P
<!--quoteo(post=1791728:date=Aug 4 2010, 02:04 PM:name=c0ke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (c0ke @ Aug 4 2010, 02:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791728"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->. we're begging for this for years and i dont understand why they have not doen this yet its not hard and would give them a lot of €<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Because it's hard, a lot of work and won't earn them much money.
You'd have to design them and front the money to buy a big batch, say 100 or 200. They wouldn't be very cheap because of the small batch size. Then you'd have to set up the mechanism to take orders and individually got to the post office and mail them to people; the shipping would not be particularly cheap outside the US.
You have to find someone to make them who will handle the shipping, who has factories in at least EU and US and who handles all the nitty-gritty for you. You want a batch size like valve's head crabs or companion cubes or something to make it really work.
You don't need a HUGE batch size. My link says min. order 600 with $250 design fee... It's not that hard. Plus a gorge is pretty freekin easy. Little tail, four legs, and a head? lol. I guess there's a lot of ways to mess up the head and legs...but c'mon. lol.
<!--quoteo(post=1791823:date=Aug 4 2010, 04:10 PM:name=MasterPTG)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MasterPTG @ Aug 4 2010, 04:10 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791823"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You don't need a HUGE batch size. My link says min. order 600 with $250 design fee... It's not that hard. Plus a gorge is pretty freekin easy. Little tail, four legs, and a head? lol. I guess there's a lot of ways to mess up the head and legs...but c'mon. lol.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Your link also only makes them and sends them to San Fran. Charlie said he wanted them to handle everything, including the shipment to the customer. They aren't looking to hire someone to do all the mailing out on top of that sadly.
<!--quoteo(post=1791823:date=Aug 4 2010, 06:10 PM:name=MasterPTG)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MasterPTG @ Aug 4 2010, 06:10 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791823"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You don't need a HUGE batch size. My link says min. order 600 with $250 design fee... It's not that hard. Plus a gorge is pretty freekin easy. Little tail, four legs, and a head? lol. I guess there's a lot of ways to mess up the head and legs...but c'mon. lol.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's even worse. I don't think you can sell as many as 600 gorges, especially not since they're going to be pretty expensive. If the profit margin is only $5 each and Flayra has to go to the post office and individually mail them to your ass as well as taking the serious risk of loss on the whole operation it's a fantastically bad idea.
BTW, if you really think it's a good idea you can probably work out a deal with UWE that gives them a small royalty for each gorge and do it yourself. To reduce risk you should probably first try to estimate the unit price and shipping costs to at least the EU and North America, then try to find a couple of 'business partners' and attempt to drum up at least 600 people who will promise in advance to buy a gorge for that price.
If you can set up some mechanism to make that promiss even stronger you should try to do that(e.g. some mechanism so that people can pledge the money in advance, but if in the end there isn't enough interest or you otherwise can't deliver the money is safely returned; does paypal offer anything like that?)
<!--quoteo(post=1791848:date=Aug 5 2010, 01:38 AM:name=Soylent_green)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Soylent_green @ Aug 5 2010, 01:38 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791848"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->BTW, if you really think it's a good idea you can probably work out a deal with UWE that gives them a small royalty for each gorge and do it yourself. To reduce risk you should probably first try to estimate the unit price and shipping costs to at least the EU and North America, then try to find a couple of 'business partners' and attempt to drum up at least 600 people who will promise in advance to buy a gorge for that price.
If you can set up some mechanism to make that promiss even stronger you should try to do that(e.g. some mechanism so that people can pledge the money in advance, but if in the end there isn't enough interest or you otherwise can't deliver the money is safely returned; does paypal offer anything like that?)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1792050:date=Aug 5 2010, 09:36 AM:name=Pr0n)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pr0n @ Aug 5 2010, 09:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1792050"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The only thing that is stopping me from just doing this independently is loyalty to UWE.
I have the time. I know how to ship items. I'd be willing to take the initial risk and pay for the first batch myself.
Gorge plush supports unite!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> You should mail Charlie directly, he seems pretty reasonable, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to sign over exclusive rights to produce and sell plush toys for a year or so if you were willing to give them a small slice of the profits and the ability to veto production based on quality or design issues. Especially if you're willing to take on the risk yourself.
<!--quoteo(post=1791248:date=Aug 3 2010, 04:05 PM:name=Pr0n)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pr0n @ Aug 3 2010, 04:05 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1791248"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If you're one of the millions (ok, hundreds or thousands) of NS fans who have always wanted plush gorge PLEASE keep this thread bumped to the top!
So, with all this talk about people wanting a Gorge plush toy, I decided to do some research, still not done though, but decided to post here.
So far Mascot Factory (http://www.mascotfactory.com/) is the most promising, since their minimum order requirement is 600 on the first order, I will be paying for the prototype though.
Which basically means i need to find a company, preferably near them, that will take care of repackaging, addressing and shipping the toys to their destination, so if anyone knows anyone, don't hesitate to post it so i can get in contact with them.
That last part is what i need to calculate the final price per Gorge Plushy, so any help finding such a company is more than welcome.
I am aiming to keep the price as low as possible, so if it will be possible, i wont be adding anything on top of the creation+shipping cost of each plushy, but since the shipping differs a lot from inside USA to internationally, the cost will vary quite a bit. (I am from Denmark, so this will affect me, which is another reason i want to keep it as cheap as possible).
So, to reiterate: <ul><li>I will cover initial cost of the prototype</li><li>We need at least 600 to order the toy for anyone to recieve any</li><li>Cost can first be finalized once we find a company that can handle Repackaging, Labelling, and distribution, as well as allow international shipping</li><li>The price will be kept as low as possible, hopefully i wont need to add anything to the price to cover more than what the production and shipping costs.</li><li>Please send all your Gorge screenshots to plush@graloth.com so I have enough material if this project becomes reality</li></ul>
So, with all this talk about people wanting a Gorge plush toy, I decided to do some research, still not done though, but decided to post here.
So far Mascot Factory (http://www.mascotfactory.com/) is the most promising, since their minimum order requirement is 600 on the first order, I will be paying for the prototype though.
Which basically means i need to find a company, preferably near them, that will take care of repackaging, addressing and shipping the toys to their destination, so if anyone knows anyone, don't hesitate to post it so i can get in contact with them.
That last part is what i need to calculate the final price per Gorge Plushy, so any help finding such a company is more than welcome.
I am aiming to keep the price as low as possible, so if it will be possible, i wont be adding anything on top of the creation+shipping cost of each plushy, but since the shipping differs a lot from inside USA to internationally, the cost will vary quite a bit. (I am from Denmark, so this will affect me, which is another reason i want to keep it as cheap as possible).
So, to reiterate: <ul><li>I will cover initial cost of the prototype</li><li>We need at least 600 to order the toy for anyone to recieve any</li><li>Cost can first be finalized once we find a company that can handle Repackaging, Labelling, and distribution, as well as allow international shipping</li><li>The price will be kept as low as possible, hopefully i wont need to add anything to the price to cover more than what the production and shipping costs.</li><li>Please send all your Gorge screenshots to plush@graloth.com so I have enough material if this project becomes reality</li></ul><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
jumping the gun here are you not? firstly you own none of the rights to the creative content , you yourself did not create the concept , the model or anything to do with it. your using other peoples work to create something to sell, have you even spoken to uw? not only that you've just joined this forum .. why should anyone trust you with and orders? Are you going to share all this information on costs? Imo this should only be done by uw and only if they choose to do so, its their creative work you really have no right to plan anything without their full approval
Comments
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Just talk to a cooperate marketing company they do this kind of thing for commercial businesses all the time, find suppliers, distribute etc etc...
They're located in Orlando, and they have a minimum order amount of 600. Their per unit price is from $3.50-$6.50 with a $250 initial design fee (making the minimum $$ amount be about $3,250).
According to this: <a href="http://dbcalc.usps.gov/CalculatorSetPage.aspx" target="_blank">http://dbcalc.usps.gov/CalculatorSetPage.aspx</a>, it's going to be about $5/piece for shipping each one of the plushies out.
Given that 16K people pre-ordered, then a starting order of 1000 would seem about right (and convenient) making the total price that UW would have to pay up front would be about $10K. If UW started accepting pre-orders for the gorge plushies to see how much of a demand there could be, then they could estimate the number more precisely.
They could sell each plushy for a 100% markup making the profit (of $10 per plushie) to them a minimum of anywhere from $5-10K, with possibly hundreds of thousands being sold in the future (highly optimistic #)
As a business management major, I'll be more than willing to stick my neck out (since I live in central Florida and their business is in Orlando) and contact the company to see how they would advise UW for possible options for shipping. Worse case scenario is that someone has a PT job sending out gorge plushies ROFL! If the person has a label maker and boxes, it should really only take about 5-10min max per plushy to box and send out. That would mean about 10/hr, or 80 or less in a day. Sounds feasible...lol.
And yes, I have to say this but...I can imagine someone, somewhere, making out with a Gorge plushie.
if you build it, they will come.
i'll buy one. or two... or a whole collection cuz lets face it - who doesn't want some beanie baby looking aliens that will definitely be a talking point and might even introduce some of your friends to this game.
and the kiddies can play with my plushie, fighting over it, pulling out a leg, it's tail missing,
and then i fall asleep in my chair while my dog is chewing on my teddy gorge...
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As for T-shirts and that stuff I think you could check out <a href="http://www.cafepress.com" target="_blank">http://www.cafepress.com</a>
If I recall correctly they offered personalized stores including payment and shipping aswell.
Another one which comes to my mind is <a href="http://www.splitreason.com" target="_blank">http://www.splitreason.com</a> they basically offer the same, but at least I've seen plushies in some of their stores
A large gorge for a couch pillow would be hilarious though.
i will buy about 5 i think .. PLUSHY GORGE RUSH!
also .. for the lols you could have a special edition with a code for an ingame plushy gorge skin :P
And no, I wouldn't go about sticking a cigar in its mouth.
its not hard and would give them a lot of €
but not with an attached hat, maybe an optinal, removable or no hat at all. thx
let me guess... your shrink says you need an outlet for your agression ;)
we're begging for this for years and i dont understand why they have not doen this yet
its not hard and would give them a lot of €<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Because it's hard, a lot of work and won't earn them much money.
You'd have to design them and front the money to buy a big batch, say 100 or 200. They wouldn't be very cheap because of the small batch size. Then you'd have to set up the mechanism to take orders and individually got to the post office and mail them to people; the shipping would not be particularly cheap outside the US.
You have to find someone to make them who will handle the shipping, who has factories in at least EU and US and who handles all the nitty-gritty for you. You want a batch size like valve's head crabs or companion cubes or something to make it really work.
Your link also only makes them and sends them to San Fran. Charlie said he wanted them to handle everything, including the shipment to the customer. They aren't looking to hire someone to do all the mailing out on top of that sadly.
That's even worse. I don't think you can sell as many as 600 gorges, especially not since they're going to be pretty expensive. If the profit margin is only $5 each and Flayra has to go to the post office and individually mail them to your ass as well as taking the serious risk of loss on the whole operation it's a fantastically bad idea.
If you can set up some mechanism to make that promiss even stronger you should try to do that(e.g. some mechanism so that people can pledge the money in advance, but if in the end there isn't enough interest or you otherwise can't deliver the money is safely returned; does paypal offer anything like that?)
Jokes aside, it would take some pretty hefty design work and possibly special materials.
I have the time. I know how to ship items. I'd be willing to take the initial risk and pay for the first batch myself.
Gorge plush supports unite!
If you can set up some mechanism to make that promiss even stronger you should try to do that(e.g. some mechanism so that people can pledge the money in advance, but if in the end there isn't enough interest or you otherwise can't deliver the money is safely returned; does paypal offer anything like that?)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This!
I have the time. I know how to ship items. I'd be willing to take the initial risk and pay for the first batch myself.
Gorge plush supports unite!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You should mail Charlie directly, he seems pretty reasonable, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to sign over exclusive rights to produce and sell plush toys for a year or so if you were willing to give them a small slice of the profits and the ability to veto production based on quality or design issues. Especially if you're willing to take on the risk yourself.
Get a lawyer though.
Edit: <b>WITH HATS!</b><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
/signed
So, with all this talk about people wanting a Gorge plush toy, I decided to do some research, still not done though, but decided to post here.
So far Mascot Factory (http://www.mascotfactory.com/) is the most promising, since their minimum order requirement is 600 on the first order, I will be paying for the prototype though.
Which basically means i need to find a company, preferably near them, that will take care of repackaging, addressing and shipping the toys to their destination, so if anyone knows anyone, don't hesitate to post it so i can get in contact with them.
That last part is what i need to calculate the final price per Gorge Plushy, so any help finding such a company is more than welcome.
I am aiming to keep the price as low as possible, so if it will be possible, i wont be adding anything on top of the creation+shipping cost of each plushy, but since the shipping differs a lot from inside USA to internationally, the cost will vary quite a bit. (I am from Denmark, so this will affect me, which is another reason i want to keep it as cheap as possible).
So, to reiterate:
<ul><li>I will cover initial cost of the prototype</li><li>We need at least 600 to order the toy for anyone to recieve any</li><li>Cost can first be finalized once we find a company that can handle Repackaging, Labelling, and distribution, as well as allow international shipping</li><li>The price will be kept as low as possible, hopefully i wont need to add anything to the price to cover more than what the production and shipping costs.</li><li>Please send all your Gorge screenshots to plush@graloth.com so I have enough material if this project becomes reality</li></ul>
So, with all this talk about people wanting a Gorge plush toy, I decided to do some research, still not done though, but decided to post here.
So far Mascot Factory (http://www.mascotfactory.com/) is the most promising, since their minimum order requirement is 600 on the first order, I will be paying for the prototype though.
Which basically means i need to find a company, preferably near them, that will take care of repackaging, addressing and shipping the toys to their destination, so if anyone knows anyone, don't hesitate to post it so i can get in contact with them.
That last part is what i need to calculate the final price per Gorge Plushy, so any help finding such a company is more than welcome.
I am aiming to keep the price as low as possible, so if it will be possible, i wont be adding anything on top of the creation+shipping cost of each plushy, but since the shipping differs a lot from inside USA to internationally, the cost will vary quite a bit. (I am from Denmark, so this will affect me, which is another reason i want to keep it as cheap as possible).
So, to reiterate:
<ul><li>I will cover initial cost of the prototype</li><li>We need at least 600 to order the toy for anyone to recieve any</li><li>Cost can first be finalized once we find a company that can handle Repackaging, Labelling, and distribution, as well as allow international shipping</li><li>The price will be kept as low as possible, hopefully i wont need to add anything to the price to cover more than what the production and shipping costs.</li><li>Please send all your Gorge screenshots to plush@graloth.com so I have enough material if this project becomes reality</li></ul><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
jumping the gun here are you not?
firstly you own none of the rights to the creative content , you yourself did not create the concept , the model or anything to do with it.
your using other peoples work to create something to sell, have you even spoken to uw?
not only that you've just joined this forum .. why should anyone trust you with and orders?
Are you going to share all this information on costs?
Imo this should only be done by uw and only if they choose to do so, its their creative work you really have no right to plan anything without their full approval