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| Author |
Message |
janc
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The Grex Shop
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Mar 12 15:14 UTC 1997 |
It has been proposed that we establish a slightly more formal "Grex Shop" to
sell Grex Periphenalia (T-shirts, Mugs, Mousepads, etc). There would be a
web-page catalog, and it would be possible to mail order things. Profits,
of course, would go to support Grex.
Rob Argy has been developing designs and working out how to get them produced.
He's brought a couple sample mugs and mousepads produced by tsty's company
to board meetings. They've been well received (that is, he's sold pretty much
all of them at the board meetings to staff, board, and visitors).
I've taken pictures of a few of them and put them on a demo web-page
fragment (http://www.izzy.net/~janc/grexshop/grexshop.html). It needs
more work, including:
- pictures should be maybe a bit smaller.
- general improvement of wording of descriptions.
- prices.
- ordering information.
- more stuff.
Since we don't take credit cards, it won't be possible (at least for now)
to order directly through the web.
We also need to figure out how we are going to handle inventory and shipping.
We might also want to consider giving a small "gift certificate" to new
members.
Ideas and suggestions?
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| 58 responses total. |
babozita
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response 1 of 58:
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Mar 12 15:44 UTC 1997 |
paraphernalia
i think
make sure to look up the word and spell it right before adverting, it look
sbad
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janc
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response 2 of 58:
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Mar 12 15:49 UTC 1997 |
It doesn't appear in the page. I suppose I should start using gate's :spell
command on my responses.
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robh
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response 3 of 58:
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Mar 12 16:55 UTC 1997 |
"spell" agrees with babozita.
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rcurl
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response 4 of 58:
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Mar 12 18:02 UTC 1997 |
...couldn't find 'adverting' and 'sbad', though....
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orinoco
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response 5 of 58:
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Mar 12 21:28 UTC 1997 |
Is there a grex poster? I haven't heard about one, if there is. I know we
have T-shirts, so we could use a similar design...
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dang
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response 6 of 58:
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Mar 12 23:24 UTC 1997 |
I have one of the mouse pads, currently the unique black one, and I like it
a lot. I think this is a really good idea.
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nestene
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response 7 of 58:
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Mar 13 08:43 UTC 1997 |
I don't see any need to hand out gift certificates to members. If I decide
I want something that says "grex", I'll just pay for it.
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tsty
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response 8 of 58:
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Mar 13 09:02 UTC 1997 |
photorewards, (tsty's company) is prouducing (intended) whatever
ajax wants. email ajax for details.
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valerie
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response 9 of 58:
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Mar 13 17:23 UTC 1997 |
This response has been erased.
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srw
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response 10 of 58:
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Mar 14 08:14 UTC 1997 |
I think the Grex shop is a good idea.
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adbarr
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response 11 of 58:
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Mar 16 18:16 UTC 1997 |
Great idea! Valerie, try calling the Dept. of Revenue? I am not sure if
you (Grex) qualify for the exemption or not. I will see what I can find and
email you. Rane, do you know? Dpc?
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rcurl
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response 12 of 58:
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Mar 16 18:30 UTC 1997 |
You have to collect, and pay to the State, sales tax on everything you
sell. You obtain a "resale" license, so you do not pay sales tax on
purchasing items for resale. There are no other 'exemptions' on sales
taxes, except for qualified charitable non-profits (501(c)3), who can get
a permit exempting them from paying sales tax on purchases for their own
operations (not for resale).
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mcpoz
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response 13 of 58:
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Mar 17 01:14 UTC 1997 |
You can establish a DBA at the Washtenaw County Clerk's office for a $10.00
filing fee. They take a little while to search to see if you can have the
name you are claiming. Then you need to get an EIN (Employer Identification
Number) from the IRS. (Application for EIN - Form #SS-4).
I don't believe there is a charge for the EIN.
Once you get the EIN, you then fill out a Registration for Michigan taxes,
(Mich Dept.of Treas. SUW, C-3400, rev 3-95) This costs $1.00
Then you are in business. (It would be recommended to have a corporate
account at a bank, Visa merchant's account. If you want info on the
merchants account, I can recommend a sales person who would be helpful).
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valerie
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response 14 of 58:
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Mar 17 03:43 UTC 1997 |
This response has been erased.
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tsty
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response 15 of 58:
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Mar 17 09:54 UTC 1997 |
well,, i tried to initiate, thrice now, a visa/mc conduit for grex.
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valerie
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response 16 of 58:
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Mar 17 18:22 UTC 1997 |
This response has been erased.
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mcpoz
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response 17 of 58:
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Mar 18 02:04 UTC 1997 |
The agreeement you sign for a merchant's account specifically outlaw the use
of second party sales.
I would highly recommend calling Linda Van Spronsen at MH Associates, Inc.
for a Visa Merchant's account. I contacted 5 different agencies and she
worked the hardest for me. Others did not want to waste their time with
a start-up business. The banks would refer you to an agency.
Linda's number is 616-383-4262, fax 616-381-2782.
She works with: MH Associates, Inc.
2716 Parkwyn
Kalamazoo, Mich. 49008.
You will be surprised how hard she will work for you.
For the application you will need:
a) Photos of the storefront and inside business area
(Obviously there is some lattitude here for home businesses, etc)
b) Some sort of spec sheet, sales brochure, or other devise which
shows what you are selling
c) A blank, voided business account check
d) A check for $95.00 for application fee
e) We sent our business plan which also showed details of our warranty
I do not recall if that was mandatory, but a quality statement of
some sort was required. (quality policy)
f) You will need at a minimum a Verifone Trans 380 card transaction
machine. Be careful, don't buy an old one locally, because it
won't be satisfactory if it is an earlier model. All card
transactions must now be on a machine with enough software to
conduct address verification. When I bought my Verifone Tranz 380
it was $450 with tax and 50% was required up front and the balance
was due on delivery.
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scg
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response 18 of 58:
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Mar 18 04:19 UTC 1997 |
$450 sounds a bit much for what we're talking about doint here.
Anyway, Valerie's initial comment that touched off the talk about credit cards
was mentioning that we should get a sales tax license if we're selling stuff.
We should do that. Does anybody here know what we need to do to get that?
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cmcgee
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response 19 of 58:
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Mar 18 04:31 UTC 1997 |
All you need to do is go to Lansing to the (I think) State Treasurer's office,
fill out a form and you are on your way. You don't even have to be
incorporated. (I got a sales tax license a number of years ago as a
sole-proprietor).
You do have to send in a tax report each year, and promptly remit all sales
taxes that you collect.
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rcurl
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response 20 of 58:
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Mar 18 07:17 UTC 1997 |
I also had a sales tax license as an individual, some years back - and I did
it all by mail.
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gracel
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response 21 of 58:
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Mar 18 16:38 UTC 1997 |
Write to
Michigan Department of Treasury
Sales, Use and Withholding Taxes Division
Lansing, MI 48922
The license itself costs $1 per year. If your annual sales, use & withholding
taxes are less than $750 per year, you only have to file a return once a year.
And as long as you send your forms in on time, you get to keep some of the
money yourself (they call it a discount)
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mdw
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response 22 of 58:
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Mar 18 21:57 UTC 1997 |
Actually, that's $572 up front, plus any ongoing fees. It sounds like a
great deal, if we were actually expecting to clear $10k/yr in credit
card transactions (ie, if were 4-8 times larger than we are.)
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tsty
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response 23 of 58:
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Mar 18 23:43 UTC 1997 |
This response has been erased.
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mary
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response 24 of 58:
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Mar 19 03:04 UTC 1997 |
I have no desire whatsoever for Grex's money to in any
way be co-mingled with tsty's business. None. Zippo.
Not that your offer isn't generous and meant to be
helpful, TS.
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