Store/Decals/etc.

I know there is a lot of interest in getting the store up and going again, and I would love to do that as well. Right now, the Board members have taken on all the administrative tasks of the club and in addition to that, we have a fair bit more on our plate that needs to be addressed before we can get back to looking at the store. What we can do though is collect the names of an interested group of people that would like to volunteer their time and talents toward planning, opening and operating a store, and give the group guidance. If you have an interest, PM or email me and we will get a list started and an initial meeting set. 

I would ask that we set a deadline for volunteering (at least for the initial group) of September 20th, that way we could make some announcements in the next newsletter and magazine.

Some of the things to think about are:
- Initially we could only offer a limited. number of items
- Someone would need to be willing to work with people wanting decals to look through the club's documentation and find the correct part numbers and place orders with our suppplier
- Someone or a group would need to take on shipping, depending on what is offered
- The group would need to learn some of the software we use to process orders (not terribly difficult)
- We would also need to decide policies on returns along with other things and have a system and people in place to handle requests, returns, etc.
- Make sure that what we do is in compliance with our Caterpillar TML agreement

There's more, but this is the gist, and we can get into the details in some organizational meetings.

I would love to see this happen, just shoot me a note and we will get the ball rolling.

Kurt
 

the decals could be simplified a bit by grouping them by serial number/year range. and make up a cheat sheet table.
say i want a set for my d46u its a 1954 model machine. so the staff member would look at the table and know you need decals 4,5,7 and 8.
another person wants decals for a d6b the tables says decals 3,7,9,4.

this would help make it easier.
then a staff member goes a picks them from the parts bins and packs them for postage.

TK - We have a cheat sheet, and your suggestion is a good one. What we need is the "staff". Anyone that has an interest in serving the club in this way is welcome, just shoot em a note and we can get it organized and put into motion.

sadly i cant do much as i'm on the other side of the world.

for some items a pre-order system can work where say a minimum order is 100 units (pulling a hypothetical number) you would sell that 100 and then order them from the supplier. people would just have to learn to be patient. (it wasnt that long ago next day delivery didnt exist)

and put a max time on it say 3 months to get the order quantity if the target isnt reached in that time the orders are cancelled and monies paid refunded. by pre ordering the items are already paid for and there not hanging around taking up valuable space and costing storage. yes you wont get the same buying power but you save on storage costs.

Those are good ideas, and I understand the distance equation! There are many ways to skin the CAT, we just need some people power.