The Trouble With Download Cards

[billroper]

Let me preface this by saying that I believe that no dishonesty was involved in any of this.

A number of the folks whose albums we sell have asked us about selling their download cards. Generally, we decline, partly because we're not really set up to sell download cards and partly because we've had this nagging intuition that told us that people were going to assume that these were giveaway business cards or promotional items of some kind and would pick them up and take them with them without paying for them. It's easier to disabuse someone of that notion when things aren't particularly busy at your table -- "not particularly busy" are not words I would generally use to describe OVFF.

Debs & Errol had asked if we'd carry their merchandise for them at the con, which we were happy to do once we'd worked out the finances to everyone's satisfaction. :) They had three items: a CD (which we bought a chunk of after the con so that we can carry them regularly), a book of their webcomics (which aren't really the sort of thing we usually carry, so the remaining copies went home with them), and the dreaded download cards where we said "Sure, let's give it a shot."

For the last year, we've been running all of our transactions through Square. Recently, Square has been working to improve their inventory handling and one of the things that I just noticed that you could get was a report of the items that were sold. It will also keep track of your inventory in hand which is a nice feature as well, although I will probably still want to inventory as we pack up, because a physical inventory is always trump in these situations.

Anyway, when Debs came by to check out after the con, we counted the stack of download cards. It had started at 20, it was now 10, and I paid her for 10.

Checking our Square report, I see that we sold eight.

Oops.

I'm pretty firmly convinced that the two missing cards did not go to someone who intended to take an item for sale off the table without paying for it. I think they assumed that they were free promotional items of some kind, despite the hastily crafted note we'd put next to them indicating that they were download cards. And spot-checking the rest of the inventory tells me that people aren't just walking off with things, which is exactly what I'd expected, because folks are basically honest. And this was an honest mistake, in my opinion.

But we can't sell an item where we're losing two copies for every eight copies that we actually sell.

So Gretchen and I are kicking around ideas for how we could handle download cards without people making this mistake and also without making selling them a major pain in the butt. So far, we've got no magic bullets.

Maybe you've got some ideas...

Comments

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

What physical size are Download Cards? Maybe if they were displayed in a cheap jewel case? Then once you've collected the funds you can retrieve and re-use the jewel case?

[billroper]

Download cards are usually the size of a business card or credit card. (Ookla's download cards are the size of a CD cover, because Rand has cleverly observed that makes them a little easier for vendors like us to deal with.)

The jewel case idea has some merit, although it adds a bit of complexity for transport and reloading...

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Maybe if you only had a finite number of empty jewel cases along, to be apportioned among the download cards folks place on consignment with you? Set out a short stack [3 to 5?] of each download card type, and refill the emptied jewel cases as these are bought?

[madfilkentist]

I like the idea of packaging for-sale download cards, one way or another, so they look less like freebies. Jewel cases are fragile and annoying to deal with, but Ookla's idea of a download card that looks like a CD cover seems to have merit.

[huskiebear.livejournal.com]

My suggestion to Tom was to make a CD sized laminated printout (or possibly an empty CD case) for display that has the price, track list and some kind of album art, along with info about how download codes work and instructions on how to get one - i.e., ask for it.

[billroper]

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea, especially for Tom's setup. (Of course, I expect nothing less from you. :) )

[lonotter.livejournal.com]

I may have a small jewelry case with a clear lid I could pass on to you, so you could display them, but they're not easy to pick up in error.

Although I think that something very like this is what I'd do - a laminated sign the size of a CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray case, or letter-sized, with the artwork, track listing, price, etc., then give the customer the actual card upon purchase.

I tried putting knitting patterns for sale in a binder, it was sub-optimal - people didn't realize there were more than the one it was open to. These hanging magazine pockets are better: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10020391&N=&Ntt=Magazine

I also have one of these I could probably pass on for a reduced price: http://www.specialtystoreservices.com/productdetails.aspx?productid=337&group=&img=2501.jpg
It was the next step for patterns after the binder. Better, but replaced by the magazine pockets as I added gridwall. I love my gridwall.

[weirdquark]

Sassafrass has sold download cards before, but we don't usually have as much merchandise as you do, so they're easier to keep track of.

Possibly a solution is to keep a sample card that just advertises the download card as a display on the table? That way people would have to ask for them if they wanted one.

Another option might be to have the price of the download card prominently displayed on the card itself to make it more obvious it isn't a free promotional thing, though that still runs the risk of cards walking off if people think that they're supposed to take the card and pay at the website when they go to download them.

[sraun]

Some kind of latching transparent box? I wouldn't think it would have to be locking, just latching - maybe a deadbolt?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Sign that says "we have download cards available for sale--just ask!"? And the cards live under the table or in a box behind the table and are handed across in exchange for money?

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

This was my idea - you could have one central sign that says "We have download cards for that we'd love to sell you"

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

I don't have any ideas to offer - beyond agreeing that there are some good ideas upthread.

However, I can appreciate your pain given the number of people who have thought that the books (and CDs) that we often have out at fan tables as examples of the GoHs work (an idea that comes from Allison Lonsdale, but does seem to have merit) were for sale.

On the other hand, it is amazing how many people ask if they can take the ribbons sitting on the table - usually in front of the flyer rack if I've set up the table, thus in a location that it would be hard to keep someone from taking one.

Of course the most amusing thing that has happened in the last year was that multiple people asked Kate Evans if she was Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. I've joked that if people mixed me up with Spider Robinson they had even less clue about what he looks like.

(That didn't stop a couple of people asking if I was John Picacio at Comic-Fest last weekend; even though we were outside the dealers room and far from artists alley - Dealers room was in the same place as the previous weekend, but took all 3 parts of the ballroom, and artists alley was on the top of the tower where open filking was most of the previous weekend, and fan tables were in the narrow hallway outside the ballroom.)

[sibylle]

put them in one of those binders that people sell/trade/collect trading cards in?

[sibylle]

it would be one folder, as many sheets as you need, with nine pouches per sheet - and you would actually need to remove them from the individual pouches to sell them, so it would be hard to walk off with them by accident - and they would all be in one place, thus easy to pack and unpack and keep track of.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

If you had lots of space, I would recommend making an 8.5x11 size sign showing the card art and explaining in larger type what it was about. You could put it in a free-standing picture holder. Given how crowded your table is, I think putting the display into a CD jewel case would be much better. (At a minimum, the display could just be one of the cards behind plastic, but far better would be for it to actually be a large print label and some text that the browsing customer can read.) The only drawback to using a CD jewel case is that customers will pick it up thinking it's a CD by that artist and then be disappointed to discover that it's a download card.

In any case, have the actual cards behind the table and give them to the customer when they pay. Although the fraction of people who would take one without paying on purpose is small, the fraction who would fail to notice any sign or display, and just assume that pieces of cardboard in a pile were free for the taking is larger.

[archangelbeth]

we've had this nagging intuition that told us that people were going to assume that these were giveaway business cards or promotional items of some kind and would pick them up and take them with them without paying for them.

I DID THIS A FEW YEARS AGO.

I realized my mistake late that night, thank goodness, and paid for the card the next day. But they looked like business cards, and I was curious and wanted to go check the website and then... oops. (And I need to see if it still works. If I can find the card. Darnit.)

I'd say that a download card would need to look a LOT more like a coupon -- like, half the card should say $10 in the biggest font possible -- to be less likely to be mistaken for "oh, hey, cool card just like that card for the website of the jewelry table right beside."

Or maybe download cards should be Under The Counter? As others have said -- have something that says you sell download-credit cards, but don't have them just out, looking like the business cards at all the other tables. (The "put in clear plastic binders" idea up there has merit -- they'd look more like collectable trading cards, say, and you could put a little $10 sticker on the outside of each binder-pocket as well.)

But. You are spot-on that people very probably don't mean to walk off with an actual money-object. (I felt really bad about doing so! It was entirely "wait... wait what??" when I noticed the small "$10" on the card corner.)

[catalana.livejournal.com]

Well, I checked our receipt, and you didn't charge us for our download card, which was on the stack of CDs; it must have been Sunday-con brain. So you'll need to fix the "is it free" problem but you also have to remember to charge for them! (I suspect this would be easier also if they were cd sized.)

It should be $6 and tax, I believe - If you can confirm that was the base price I'll work out the tax and send you a check. This one is easily fixed,

[billroper]

Ah, yes. This was a big *duh* on my part -- I think we agreed that you were getting the card, but because it didn't wind up on the stack of CDs at the moment I was entering them, I didn't ring it up in the general confusion. And this uncovers another failure mode. :)

Thanks!