Carter
Administrator
"What does it cost to run the club?"
This question was recently asked to me and I thought I would share with all of you thecosts of not just the online forum, but also the other things you wouldn't think about.
There are many expenses to consider before that question can be answered. Many people think that the cost of running a club or forum is inexpensive and the only cost is server fees and the domain name. This is not 100% true. What many people don't consider is the up front costs of purchasing other items. These costs add up to thousands of dollars.
I can give you a general breakdown of the cost to run the forum and the cost of everything else. All of this is only an approximation.
• Domain and hosting. Our primary domain costs $15 per year. We also have multiple domains that we had purchased like the STM domain and the MSC domain. These are also $15 per year each. Hosting costs $12.95/mo with a year paid in advance.
• Merchandise. T shirts and hoodies alone came to $1,200. New this year we had lanyards made up. We ordered 100 lanyards these at a cost of $250.
• Annual meet. Trying to feed around 75 or so members and with this years projected number to increase is a large bill. The food and drink bill last year came to around $200. Raffle prizes vary greatly and we rely partially on vendors to provide us with free or discounted prizes. At our annual meet last year between food and prizes we barely broke even from selling raffle tickets. Total prize value for the 2012 annual meet was $1,000.
• Miscellaneous. I put a flat shipping rate of $5 on shipping sweatshirts and t shirts. If anyone is familiar with the postal service you would know that this wouldn't cover half of the cost to ship a t shirt and sweatshirt. Packaging can cost as much as $30 for 100 units.
• Referral cards. I am pretty sure I paid under $100 for 1,000 of them. To get them out I purchase envelopes in bulk and buy a few rolls of stamps at a time adding up to around $125.
• Decals. Now that I have purchased on my own dime a vinyl cutter, it lowers the cost per decal I would have to pay if I had someone else do it. I can also make custom decals that supplement the clubs income.
• Paying for all of this. The majority of these fee and bills come out of my own pocket.
Some things people might say to me are: "What about the ads?" or "What about paid memberships?"
The answer to that is yes they do help, but no they don't cover the cost of all of this. Many of you are at the top of the membership chain with a platinum membership. This costs $20 per year and you don't see any ads on the site. The $20 you paid is less than the amount we would receive if you were to see ads throughout the year. Why offer it then? Because its money up front that we don't have to wait for. The lower membership levels still see ads but not as many, and they also help with providing cash up front.
And finally income tax. Believe it or not I am now paying tax on all the income that I take in from this site. You pay the club $20 via PayPal for your premium membership. PayPal takes a percentage of that, and the IRS takes yet another percentage of that.
Below is a general chart of Expenses vs Income. The club is currently operating at a loss
This question was recently asked to me and I thought I would share with all of you thecosts of not just the online forum, but also the other things you wouldn't think about.
There are many expenses to consider before that question can be answered. Many people think that the cost of running a club or forum is inexpensive and the only cost is server fees and the domain name. This is not 100% true. What many people don't consider is the up front costs of purchasing other items. These costs add up to thousands of dollars.
I can give you a general breakdown of the cost to run the forum and the cost of everything else. All of this is only an approximation.
• Domain and hosting. Our primary domain costs $15 per year. We also have multiple domains that we had purchased like the STM domain and the MSC domain. These are also $15 per year each. Hosting costs $12.95/mo with a year paid in advance.
• Merchandise. T shirts and hoodies alone came to $1,200. New this year we had lanyards made up. We ordered 100 lanyards these at a cost of $250.
• Annual meet. Trying to feed around 75 or so members and with this years projected number to increase is a large bill. The food and drink bill last year came to around $200. Raffle prizes vary greatly and we rely partially on vendors to provide us with free or discounted prizes. At our annual meet last year between food and prizes we barely broke even from selling raffle tickets. Total prize value for the 2012 annual meet was $1,000.
• Miscellaneous. I put a flat shipping rate of $5 on shipping sweatshirts and t shirts. If anyone is familiar with the postal service you would know that this wouldn't cover half of the cost to ship a t shirt and sweatshirt. Packaging can cost as much as $30 for 100 units.
• Referral cards. I am pretty sure I paid under $100 for 1,000 of them. To get them out I purchase envelopes in bulk and buy a few rolls of stamps at a time adding up to around $125.
• Decals. Now that I have purchased on my own dime a vinyl cutter, it lowers the cost per decal I would have to pay if I had someone else do it. I can also make custom decals that supplement the clubs income.
• Paying for all of this. The majority of these fee and bills come out of my own pocket.
Some things people might say to me are: "What about the ads?" or "What about paid memberships?"
The answer to that is yes they do help, but no they don't cover the cost of all of this. Many of you are at the top of the membership chain with a platinum membership. This costs $20 per year and you don't see any ads on the site. The $20 you paid is less than the amount we would receive if you were to see ads throughout the year. Why offer it then? Because its money up front that we don't have to wait for. The lower membership levels still see ads but not as many, and they also help with providing cash up front.
And finally income tax. Believe it or not I am now paying tax on all the income that I take in from this site. You pay the club $20 via PayPal for your premium membership. PayPal takes a percentage of that, and the IRS takes yet another percentage of that.
Below is a general chart of Expenses vs Income. The club is currently operating at a loss
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