Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

LOL...OK, I don't know why I want to stir things up but I've been thinking about maybe standardizing a few things for Cat Jam. It seems like we're getting bigger and there are way more things to keep track of, and I want to put a system in place to help out with this. Well...one of those areas is with money. And we all know that's a touchy subject; quite frankly I hate to bring this up at all, much less talk about it in the first place, but I think this idea would help. Just hear me out first. :)

Most of the car shows that I attend have some sort of entry fee. It is a standard that covers a lot of background expenses. A few newbies to CJ06 kept asking me, "How much is the entry fee?" And then I have to explain about the $7/person food/pavilion thing, plus a donation if they want, etc. In other words...it's kind of a pain.

I've been thinking about making a standard fee across the board for everyone that attends CJ. If you think about it, right now I sort of double-dip into your pockets: once for the pavilion/food rental, and once more for donations. Most people just pay the first fee with the second and call it a day, and that makes life peachier for me. But some don't, and then I have to spend some time chasing them down and whatnot. By standardizing the fee this would be eliminated. Plus, you could pay beforehand via Paypal.

Now I did the online Paypal registration/pay thing for CJ06 and it worked beautifully. But outright donations were lower than expected. Which is fine, don't get me wrong; cash at the show for a donation is always welcome. However, I need initial capital for most show items and that usually comes out of my pocket (after the show I reimburse myself).

So...if we were to agree on a standard charge for everyone...say $15/adult...that would cover food, pavilion rental and have a little left over for a donation. This would allow us to better project expenses and also simplify the math significantly. Also, I'd like to keep kids as free, like we do now. They don't really eat or drink much LOL. And it keeps politics out of their lives...let the adults worry about the money.

Another advantage is that you could pre-register, pay the "entry fee" up front, order and pay for your T-shirt up front, and then only have to worry about gas, other meals and lodging when you get here. Those that did the pre-register thing for CJ06 will probably agree that it worked out a lot better that way.

Or, there's another possibility. We could make the standard fee $30 to cover food, pavilion and donation, and I'll throw one T-shirt in (but only for pre-registered people). This adds even more value to the registration fee. It will also help us get the T-shirts better organized for pre-paid attendees.

My only issue is that $30 could be a barrier for some people to attend. Coupled with fuel costs and the hotel room, it could make or break a vacation for some. A $15 or $20 fee would definitely be more attractive in that respect. Then again, an extra $10-15 gets a T-shirt that adds more value to the overall package.

What do you think? Any objections or concerns?
What fee would you think is fair?

(Keep in mind that this is NOT in place yet. I'm just putting out a feeler for opinions.)

I agree with you 99% Boss!!!! The 1% I would say $20 adult's for food pavilion and extra cost's for what need's to be done. Maybe for some of the people that come out with the family like the 2 adult's and young adult $50 together. That's the way we do it with our family reunion. Personnally if you can't tell I have no problem with doing it the way you mentioned. Whatever you decide I'm with ya 100% boss!!!

I'm all for this Eric.  I like the idea of $15.  Two reasons, one I agree on the cash barrier and second, how many shirts do you sell to registerd Cat Jam attendee's?  I know I like the idea, but I've never purchased one, yet..

I'm game. Just let me know the prices.

thats fine with me as well.the 15$ mark i think would work real good and is a great idea.im all for it.

Ok, here's my two cents...for what it's worth.

I would suggest $20 per person, and maybe $35 per couple.
As suggested, this could cover the pavilion, food, donation and a t-shirt ( I can't remember what the t's sell for there) for pre-registered only.  I mean you can't go out to eat and buy a t-shirt for much less than those prices at any restaurant, and lets face it, we get plenty of really good food and all of it you can eat!

That way, people have to just concern themselves with gas and hotel, and whatever meals they do on their own.

Also, do we have an age on the 'free kids' thing?  I mean, personally, since I have 5 kids and all but 1 are over 12 yrs old, I think that it's kind of taking advantage for them to all be free (not that I'd complain LOL) But, I was thinking age 12 should be the age cut off for kids being free, as most who are over 12 will eat more like adults anyway.  Just a thought.


One suggestion I would add, if possible, is for people to be able to pre-pay for chinese auction tickets if they want to. Then they can pick up their tickets at the show, and we can still sell them at the show. That gives us a good idea of how much stuff to get too.

what is the chinese auction?

I'm good with any system you come up with Eric. Especially if it makes it easier on you!

Let us know.

We're raffling off 4thqtr. He's pretty good for reaching the low parts when you clean the car.

Heyoh! I keed, I keed! ;)

Chinese auction is when you buy as many tickets as you like, and place them in buckets before only the prizes you want to win. It's pretty simple really...although I'm finding out that this concept is totally foreign to some people living in other parts of the country.

having bought the t-shirts for 06, and not attended, i don't see why you can't just make the attendance fee $25 per person and just include shirts for everyone who registers... then sell shirts seperately for whatever for the kids....  i think a kid should be under 16 since that's the driving age..... anyway, that's my :2c: , it wasn't the registration fee that prevented my attendance last year... it was gas and getting out of work..... $25 bucks didn't keep me from being there, it was the $200 in gas and the $150 for the hotel

LMAO Eric!! That is too freakin funny!

just thinking maybe a choice on a package.15$ for those who dont want shirts and another package for those that do want a shirt.i say this because if the fee gets up there to hi we dont realy want to scare off any new people that may want to attend since the old so called fee was only 7$.not that im a cheapskate but at the same time it would be a good idea to keep it an inviting event as well and not scaring them off by money.its something to keep in mind i think.what ever it ends up being im still there.

I'd prefer doing the $15 deal with no shirt, honestly...I have enough t-shirts already that I don't wear (have about 5 year's worth of T-shirts from World Ford Challenge sitting in my drawer, and I NEVER wear the things)

I vote for having 2 options. One for $30 where a shirt is included, and one for $15 without a shirt. My wife will be joining me again this year and she is not really interested in a shirt.

:iagree:

Awesome! What are ticket prices? $1 million for each? or is that too low? :dunce: 

About the fees, I say pick whichever plan makes your life easier during CJ so you can enjoy the fruits of your own hard work. It would really suck if you put even more on your plate in terms of micromanaging (not in terms of hot dogs and hamburgers :grinno: ).

I have a couple of questions. Does your supplier for the T-shirts have price breakpoints? What numbers Ts' are you talking about purchasing? My thought is from past events you probbably know how many shirts will sell give or take a few. It can make a good argument to sell a higher priced ticket.

Just thought I would bring it up.

$15 sounds good, im going to try to make it this year for my first time:D

$15 is fair to me

Too low??? Hell Andrew...I thought it was rather expensive myself....unless I get a percentage that is. ;) (After all, I am the one selling the tickets. :D )

OK y'all, everyone that's posted, I REALLY appreciate the input. It's made decision-making so much easier.

We're going to do a two-tier system.
TIER 1 - Single person registration fee, pavilion fee, food fee rolled into one. $15
TIER 2 - All of Tier 1, plus one T-shirt. $25

Kids 12 - 18: $10 each
Kids under 12: FREE

T-shirts will remain $15/each, or 3/$40.

AAAAANNNDDDDD....how about this...

SPECIAL #1 - Registration fee, pavilion fee, food fee for one couple, plus 1 T-shirt - $35 (save $10 vs. separate purchase)
SPECIAL #2 - Registration fee, pavilion fee, food fee for one couple, 2 T-shirts - $45 (save $15 vs. separate purchase)

I think this should satisfy everyone that attends the show. Remember, unlike other shows, there is NO COST to register a car. You can bring as many cars as you like. We just charge per person, unless you're under 12, then it's free.

Thoughts? I need to get this finalized ASAP so I can start taking registrations online again.

Sounds good to me. Where do I sign up?

Eric, I agree with you 100% and I don't see why that would be unreasonable at all.


Fila.. Please read below..

Sounds fair to all. Count Sam & Her boyfreind & Myself in for the weekend

I think that works. Seems fair to all.

That works for me as well.

That is fair. Have no qualms with it.

Works for me!

works for me as well.

sounds good to me....

All sounds good to me, and I agree it's a good idea.
 
I have one problem though. I cannot get a Paypal account right now. (long story) Alternate payment methods?

*sigh* There's one in every crowd... ;)

Just kidding, it's no problem at all. Check would be fine, either at the event or via mail beforehand. We accommodate everyone.

The pre-registration thing serves two purposes: the partints get their fees out of the way before the trip, and it also provides needed initial capital for things like the T-shirt order and the food. Otherwise I'd have to shell out from my own pocket then reimburse myself after the show. Which I've done several times in the past...but it makes for a tight month for me. This way I don't have to worry about that. However, people DO NOT have to pre-pay. I do need them to pre-register so we get a better idea of the total number of attendees, but the money can still be exchanged at the show itself. So far I haven't had one person skip out; everyone is honest about paying, and that says a lot about our group.

Sounds good.

PM me an address and I'll get it sent on Friday.
 
I wonder what the post office will charge to send 2500 pennies.

Eric, when will pre-regging be opening?

I'm working on the online pre-registration pages now...very complex but in the end they'll save a lot of time and hassle. Within the next week they'll be live. I'll post here when that happens.

Registration is now open for business:
http://www.coolcats.net/catjam/register.html

If you have any problems please let me know. It's been tested and seems to be working fine. Likewise, if I find an error I'll let you know.

Thanks everyone!

When I Filled Out The Form It Said That My Email Was Not A Valid Value For Email And It Wouldnt Let Me Continue

Hmmm...well, as long as it's xxx@xxx.com or whatever you have, it should go through okay. Make sure you use a period, not a comma ;) I had to put a checking system on the form because I absolutely need valid e-mail addresses for communication about the show.

ERIC I JUST TRIED AGAIN MY EMAIL IS B_AND_R_RECOVERY@YAHOO.COM IT DOESNT ALLOW IT  AND IT'S THE ONLY ONE I HAVE. WHAT SHOULD I DO BRO

Hmmm....the validator must not like the underlines. Just fill it out and make the address bandrrecovery@yahoo.com and I'll manually add your real e-mail address to the database.

COOL THANKS BRO:cougarsmily: CAT JAM HERE I COME

Got the registration, thanks!

Hey Eric just to let you know I will be bringing ya $45 when I see ya down there. Carlisle this weekend has me real tight on cash.

No problem, understood...I'm in the same boat LOL. See you this weekend. :)

Eric. I saw in the paper on sunday that Quaker City WILL be open. Estimates guesses is that it shuold be open June 1st. Do you wana work that into plans at all? Figured I'd share

yeah I'll see ya there i can't wait im hoping I get this trailer tomorrow so I won't have to worry about the drive there and back.

Mike, I just saw something about new owners for Quaker City on the news ticker this morning. I don't want to jump the gun...will have to invesigate further. At any rate, the plans we have for CJ07 are set in stone right now. I don't think we'd have track time this year.

Aight E man. I was moving papers around and happed to see it. PS If I see you again before CJ, I'll give ya the entry fee then;)

bring you 45$ at the door? then go from there?

Count Me and Tory in for the Registration fee, pavilion fee, food fee for one couple, 2 T-shirts - $45

Ill hand the money to ya or leave it in the vert's glovebox ;)

How much is it for 1

Here is a previous post with the prices.:D

then go here  :)

http://www.coolcats.net/catjam/index.html