The Fivers-on-Commission Thread

[Chancellor Valium]

What about pens?

[Nate the Great]

I don't know about pens. The thing with writing instruments is that other people usually don't see them unless the owner points them out.

"Hey, guys, look at my neato pen! ... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Keychains, bumper stickers, and watches are obvious enough so that you don't have to shout from the rooftops how cool they are.

Besides, we wouldn't want a cheap pen and anything substantial would be a LOT of postage.

[Zeke]

I can't believe I've taken so long to step in here. I noticed the problem when it started, so why the hell didn't I post? I have got to get into the habit of answering threads, emails, and such right away....

Folks, brainstorming about merchandise is fine and dandy, but I wasn't offering merchandise. It's not something I can do right off the bat. I've explained why I'm not going to use CafePress, so T-shirts and such -- which I do intend to make, especially since there's clearly interest -- will have to wait until I have the time to get things set up. The reason I started this Fivers on Commission thread is that it's something I can do right away.

So after Easter I'll decide on the prices and roll out FoC. (I can't do it till then; this week I'm proctoring and marking two exams, and Easter's right after that.) I'll start seriously looking into merchandise possibilities, and maybe over the summer we can get that going, but right now FoC is my best option for making money from 5M.net.

(Since we now have two threads, let's use the poll thread for merchandise discussion, and this one for its original purpose.)

Originally Posted by Infinite Improbability

This topic needs a jumpstart, at least until Zeke starts making some money. Maybe we can pay him to not have week-long April Fool's Jokes anymore :roll: :lol:

Hey. Week-long April Fool's jokes are a tradition here, and if there's one thing I know -- and there isn't -- it's that you don't mess with traditions. Just be glad it wasn't another Zuke takeover. I don't think he'd have stopped at six weeks this time.

[Nate the Great]

To paraphrase a very-old cliche: "traditions are meant to be broken." Did the prior week-long jokes involve overwriting the entire site so that readers were unable to view it unless they were paying CLOSE attention? I'm sure I don't know.

My experience with T-shirts, especially custom ones, is that (at least for me) you can't wear them unless it's a VERY casual day, and that (again, at least for me) people tend to be scared of wearing them often because the paint crumbles off bit by bit as you wash and wear it. Watches and keychains can be used almost anywhere.

Consider it the difference between "public" and "private" personas. T-shirts are part of our "public" persona, which could lead to odd looks from people who don't understand. Watches and such are part of our "private" persona. We can show them off and share the joke with our friends, but they don't make us look weird.

This thread could possibly be used to brainstorm alternatives to Cafe Press. If one of us has the ability to produce 5M.net merchandise and then sell them to you for the cost of production, allowing you all of the profits to maintain the site, maybe the option should be considered. I know that I'd do it for free just to have the knowledge that I'm supporting a great site and that my merchandise is being used by someone thousands of miles away. That'd be cool!

[PointyHairedJedi]

Did you ever investigate into that book thingy, Zeke?