The following information is brought to you by: оммммммн омммммммн Fremont Arsenal Computer Center № Topeka, Kansas оллн оллн оллн Multi-Gigabyte / Multi-Line / High Speed Modems оллллн олллнолллн CD-ROM Retail Sales & Wholesale Distribution коппнФФФФоппнФФоппнФП Call for information on how to make money for your BBS! РоммнФФФФоммнФФоммнФГФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФФП РФФ(913) 266-0067 1200-14400ФФФ(913) 267-9624 1200-2400ФФй лллллллллл Making Money on your BBS - The SysOptics Way. Ok, before we get any further, lets get the "snake oil" part out of the way. You know, the part where I have to tell you my life's history... My name is Dave Clark, and I'm the sysop of the Fremont Arsenal, a multiline Spitfire BBS based in Topeka, KS. The Arsenal was established in November of 1990, and stayed a single line board for about a year, and then started a program of systematic upgrades. As of the time of this writing, the Arsenal has 14.0 Gigs of Online storage (mostly CD-ROM), and 6 BBS lines, and a FAX line. This is a far cry from where it started, to say the least. Ok, Snake Oil Mode is off again... >grin!< When I decided to start selling computer equipment (limited) and CD-ROM disks off of my board, I found out just how many things get in the way of the average sysop in trying to do this. Headaches such as getting Tax Numbers, keeping records, keeping inventory, and most of all, getting a merchant account, really can make selling things on your BBS a trying proposition. How do you get around it? After dealing with the CD-ROM market on the retail end (as a customer), I ended up getting into the CD-ROM market as a retailer. This brought me into contact with several distributors and manufacturers, whom were dealing with more "traditional" methods of distribution. After talking with them, I decided that I wanted to try to build a "non-traditional" distribution method, through BBS sales. However, I knew just how much of a pain it is to get into business this way. The problems that face a Sysop wanting to sell merchandise on their board: [1] Getting a Tax Number. This usually isn't that hard, but it's the paperwork afterwards that's a pain. You have to report sales taxes collected to the state every so often. [2] Cash Flow. You have two choices.. either put a large chunk of cash into inventory to be able to handle the business as it comes in, or you have to make your customer wait for the merchandise as you special order it. Neither is all that great for the average sysop. [3] Cash Flow, again, as you have to buy other materials, such as shipping material and other supplies, simply to be able to conduct business. [4] Getting a Merchant Account. A Merchant Account, in case you are not familiar with the term, is an account that allows you to accept Visa and Mastercard Charges and turn them into the credit card companies for re-imbursement. Typically, it seems that it's easier to get into the CIA or to get a politician to honor their campaign promises than it is to get one of these accounts. However, being able to take Visa/MC is almost integral to the whole process of BBS sales, and without it, you are crippled in what you can do. Ok, now that we are depressed, how do we get past these problems? ллллллллллллллллллл SysOptics. When I decided to bring other Sysops into this plan, I sat down and figured out the best way to handle it, to keep things moving as easily as possible for everyone involved. The "traditional" method of wholesaling would call for the sysop to get an order in, and then call me up, and I would ship out the product to the sysop, who would then ship it out to the customer. However, this adds an additional level of shipping costs, and of time spent that directly affects the guy paying for all of this, the customer. And, it exposes the sysop to all sorts of headaches... keeping track of sales, keeping track of sales taxes, and having to maintain a merchant account, usually a very expensive proposition. What if we did the following: Have the sysop advertise the products on their boards, and answer any questions regarding it.. the order was then placed via questionaire on their board, and then the answers to that questionaire were forwarded to the Arsenal, where the orders would be processed and shipped directly to the customer, and the Visa/MC charges would be processed, or COD orders collected, and then after the transactions were made, the sysops profit would simply be mailed back to them? Allow the SysOps to take Visa/MC charges on their boards for donations to their systems (if they want to do so) and charge a nominal handling fee for the purpose, refunding the remainder along with the other SysOptics money at the beginning of the month. Think about it.. the sysop has to do nothing more than call up the central hub and drop off the order, and then forget about it.. the order will be processed within 24 hours (stock and conditions permitting), and the sysop gets their check for their profits. Here are the details: лллллллллллллллллллл Sysops Obligations: [1] The Sysop puts up a notice on their board advertising that they have whatever products that they want to advertise for sale. They can do this via display file, via system bulletin, or by putting up a file for download... or perhaps all three! [2] The Sysop then determines what they want to charge the customer for these products. It's up to the sysop to determine how much profit they want to make on the deal. [3] The Sysop then puts up a questionaire for taking these orders. Sample questionaires for Spitfire BBS systems will be provided. Anyone else writing a particularly cute questionaire for other BBS systems, please share your expertise with us for others running the same software as you are. [4] When you have an order, simply call up the Arsenal and drop it off in questionaire #5 for DropShip Orders. Please try to forward this order as soon as you can, in order to keep the customer happy and to keep things moving as swiftly as possible. [5] Leave a note to your caller saying that you have placed the order, and they should have their merchandise inside a few days. Typically, I'll ship an order within 24 hours, unless I am out of stock on an item, in which case it may take longer... I'll keep you informed on schedules. [6] A minimal fee to get started is levied (see below). [7] The participating SysOps are expected to maintain a high level of integrety in dealing with their customers. If there is any sort of a problem with the order, between us, we will make it right for them. Please keep everything legal and above board. Don't play any silly games with the customers or their Visa/MC numbers, as that is one of the fastest ways to get in serious trouble with the law. SysOps participating in the SysOptics program must run legitimate, legal boards. I refuse to help support any board that does things detrimental to the BBS community, such as boards that support hacking/phreaking, supporting other illegal activities, or passing copyrighted software intentionally. I also highly encourage any SysOptics Participant to register any Shareware that they use, as this helps to keep the Shareware concept alive and working. The Bulletin Board software itself should be registered at a bare minimum. Please note that operating legal Adult oriented services are NOT covered by this clause. I personally feel that anything of that nature is personal, and it should be a matter between yourself and your callers, and it's none of my business. Adult services, ran properly, do NOT cause any detriment to the BBS community, and will not be a cause for alarm here. [8] The participating SysOps will need to provide me, upon request, visiting "sysop" access to their boards. No, I do NOT wish to have access to any confidential information there, and I will never want access that way. All I need is the ability to look around as any other caller would, and to determine that you are handling the SysOptics Program in a reputable manner. If you have a "visiting sysop" complementary level, this would be sufficient for my purpose. лллллллллллллллллллл Arsenal Obligations: [1] The Arsenal will always endeavor to get the customers orders out in as timely a manner as possible. Usually 24 hours will suffice. [2] If there is going to be a delay, the Arsenal will inform the local sysop as to the problem, and the expected date of resolution. [3] The Arsenal will handle all Visa/MC paperwork, all COD paperwork, and all Sales Taxes. Bear in mind that if your callers are outside of Kansas, they don't have to pay any sales tax! [4] The Arsenal will always do what it can to support the sysops participating in this plan, to make it as good for everyone involved as possible. [5] The Arsenal will provide for download the materials directly involved in the SysOptics Program, with the exception of the prepared FILES.BBS listings especially made for retail distribution. [6] The Arsenal will provide the participants in good standing with generous visiting Sysop priviledges, allowing them to download anything that they want for personal or BBS usage. The Priviledges that one gets under this normally cost in excess of $45.00 a year, so this is a valuable priviledge. лллллллллллллллллллл Termination: Either side may discontinue business with the other without prior notice. You, as the participating SysOp, may elect to not do business with me at any time. I, as the service provider, may terminate any participants standing in the program without notice, and for any reason that I do desire. This is here simply as a way to protect my own business concerns. If someone is out there doing silly things, I will not do business with them any further. Please note that in any case, the entry fees are not refundable. лллллллллллллллллллл The Nuts and Bolts: Joe Caller decides they want to purchase "Sysop In A Box" from you. You are charging $99.00 plus shipping for this priviledge. Joe decides that he wants his disk mailed via US Priority Mail <$5.00>. Joe gives you his VISA number, and you call up the Arsenal on any of the six available lines, or FAX in your request. Then, that night or the next morning, all inbound orders are processed and shipped. Fremont Arsenal bills Joe's VISA account for $104.00 (the price charged plus shipping), and then takes out the wholesale cost <$65.00>, the shipping charge <$5.00>, and 5% for the VISA/MC charge (this is what the bank charges me for the priviledge of using the facilities), and that 5% fee totals out to $5.20 on that order. Now, I simply deduct $75.20 from the $104.00 charge that I've just posted, and the $28.80 left over is the sysop profit. This profit will be mailed back at the beginning of the next month. COD works the same way, but the cashiers check/money order must make it back to the Arsenal before I can clear any money on it back to the sysop. This is only fair, I'm sure you can agree. If you have orders where they want to pay you in cash prior to the sale, or at delivery, or they want to send you a check, simply order a disk to be mailed to you directly as if you were ordering it for yourself. All the normal conditions apply there.. you can use your own Visa/MC account, or do it COD. I have a very small minimum sales level to keep active in the program.. make a sale (either to yourself or to one of your callers) at least once every six months. That shouldn't be too hard to do, as you could simply buy a disk for yourself at the SysOptics price once every six months... I am instituting a small startup fee for this, a minimal $20.00 one time fee. This is simply to get you started, and to insure that only people that are really interested get the slots in this program. I don't want a bunch of people getting in simply to get more download priviledges on the Arsenal... BTW, I do allow SysOptics people to download five megabytes per day off the board, where normal sysops may only get one megabyte per day. Another added bonus, eh? Since you don't have to buy any stock, there is nothing risked by participating in this plan. If you have any questions or comments about what is going on here, or simply want to sign up, simply talk to me on FA, or call me voice. The numbers are listed below..... ллллллллллллллл Exact Charges A One Time Entry Fee of $20.00 is required. When processing an order, the sysop is responsible for paying for the merchandise at the currently listed SysOptics price, and paying for the shipping charges to the customer. If the transaction involves Visa/Mastercard usage, then the Sysop will be responsible for the bank fees, typically 5% (five percent) of the total charged to the customer. Caller Donations processed for the Sysop using the Arsenal's Visa/MC account are subject to a $5.00 (Five Dollar) fee for the Arsenal's Services and time, and a 5% (five percent) charge as levied by the bank for the services. Example: Sysop Sells a "PC-Pix Volume 3" for $80.00 plus UPS Ground shipping of $8.00, for a total of $88.00 charged to the customer. After the charge processes normally, the sysop pays the following: SysOptics Price of PC-Pix 3 $35.00 Shipping 8.00 Bank Fee (5% of $88.00) 4.40 ------- Total $47.40 Returned to Sysop $40.60 Example: Sysop accepts a Visa/MC transaction for a donation on their board. The Donation amount is $35.00 to be charged to the caller's account. Amount of Charge $35.00 Arsenal Processing Fee -5.00 Bank Fee (5% of $35.00) -1.75 ------- SysOp Receives: $28.25 ллллллллллллллл Quick Synopsis: What you get for your entry fee: [1] Ability to sell SysOptics Materials on your board to earn cash for your BBS [2] The ability to have your callers contribute to your board with their Visa or Mastercard Accounts, and have that money processed without your having to obtain your own Visa/Mastercard Account. [3] You will be able to purchase SysOptics Material at the SysOptics price, allowing you to get your own personally used material at a considerable discount over retail. [4] You will have increased downloading priviledges on the Arsenal. [5] SysOptics Particpants will have my voice line number to call if they have any questions or need any help. ллллллллллллллл Contact Information Arsenal Computer Services P. O. Box 5723 Topeka, KS 66605-0723 (913) 266-0067 USR Dual Standard (913) 266-8139 USR V.32bis (913) 266-7595 Boca M1440i V.32bis (913) 266-0155 2400 (913) 267-5238 2400 (913) 267-9624 2400 Messages & Orders Only (913) 266-7594 FAX ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SysOptics Application Form: ***Note: This form can be FAXED in with your Visa/MC information to process your fees, or you may do this online in the Order/Questionaire section of the Arsenal. If you wish to send in your registration fee via check, please mail in this form with the check. What is your legal name:_______________________________________________ What is your Logon Name on the Arsenal:________________________________ Current Mailing Address:_______________________________________________ Your Daytime Phone Number:_____________________________________________ Your Evening Phone Number:_____________________________________________ Your Place of Employment:______________________________________________ What BBS Software do you run?__________________________________________ What is your BBS Registration Number?__________________________________ What is your Logon Name on your BBS?___________________________________ What are your BBS Numbers and Modem Types?_____________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Where did you first hear of SysOptics?_________________________________ What "Business Name" do you wish to use?_______________________________ Please write any further comments that you wish to make below: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Credit Card Ordering Information: Your Name as it Shows on the Card:_____________________________________ Is this Visa or Mastercard?____________________________________________ What is your Account Number?___________________________________________ What is your Date of Expiration?_______________________________________ Thank you for your time, and your interest in SysOptics!