Re: location options - please vote

[Kathie Brosemer <kathie@cleannorth.org>]

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter.  I've talked with TransPro, as I always do 
for this event, about the contingency if we have more than one truckload. 
They are good for a second truck if we need it, as always.  It's also a 
backhaul, would have gone empty, and they get a charitable receipt for it. 
(we do the cheque swap, they bill us, we pay them, they send a donation, we 
give a receipt).  They are very friendly to deal with, clown around with 
us, keep insisting whenever I thank them that _we_ are the ones doing the 
good deed.  So in this case I think that part of the project is sustainable.

The extra work of loading the second truck has been pointed out by Don, and 
we need to make sure we're ready for that contingency, too.  When I verify 
the Bingo Hall on Friday, I will check in about the ability to leave some 
of the material for three days if necessary, while we schedule the 
volunteer crew to load the second truck.  Should the need arise.  The last 
two events we were able to shoehorn everything onto the truck, thanks to 
you and Jack and careful loading.  If we're careful about institutional 
scrap etc this may continue, but contingencies are in place and being 
planned in case we collect more.

About the entry fee - I think if someone isn't willing to drop a loonie in 
the bin for the privilege of being there, they shouldn't be pestering us. 
We have a huge job to do and don't need that extra hassle.  People pay $5 
to go to the Home Show, and that's for the same purposes - it helps defray 
the costs of putting on the show, and people unwilling to pay the entry fee 
are unlikely to be serious shoppers.    We've always refunded the loonie if 
someone gripes that we didn't have anything decent to sell.  We could offer 
a $ off coupon for our own sale, to go along.  I like that idea.  We do a 
draw for gift certificates for Computer Magic.  None of the other shops has 
ever been interested in playing along, although we've invited them all.

I think we're doing okay so far.  My big question here was, "is it 
reasonable to load the pallets right in the back of the truck, if we plan 
ahead for the extra workload involved?"  If you think Yes, I'll keep 
planning for June 20,21 at the Bingo Hall.  If you think No, we'll be 
cancelling the spring BOYD.  I'm hearing that the mall situation is not 
workable, and I have no more time to work on another location.  But I'd 
have no regrets about cancelling, so if the Bingo is also not feasible, 
please say so, soon.

thanks again.

k

--On Tuesday, May 13, 2003 7:51 PM -0400 Peter McLarty <petmcla@soonet.ca> 
wrote:

> The Bingo Hall sounds like the better of the two options...as long as we
> have lots of strong young bodies to lift everything onto the truck.
> I have always had difficultty charging the general public just to enter. I
> would prefer to charge people for the privilege of us disposing of their
> garbage...especially the monitors.
> How about $2/monitor...and we could put their name in a "hat" for a draw
> (say we get some gift certificates from some of the Computer
> dealers....like $25 off a purchase over $100...or a credit towards a
> purchase from our own sale...thus encouraging RE-USE!)
> By charging people to enter, we are discouraging some of the
> browser/impulse buyers.
>
> How are we going to deal with Corporations, school boards and
> institutions??? We should be charging $5-10 for any system that is not
> re-useable eg. anything less than a pentium.
> What about those few people who have already pirated the good parts off
> used systems and bring us all of their junk???
>
> We cannot continue to rely on charity for the shipping costs. The
> community is looking to us to handle their garbage and we have to find a
> long term solution that is self-sustaining financially. What happens if
> we end up with more than a truckload???? We still have 22 pallets of
> books looking for charity to be delivered to a recycler!!!!
>
> Peter