Where Does ATS Get All The Money?

Originally posted by Star Eagle
I think that ATS should sell products in the ATS store like,
T-shirts, hats, coffee mug, drinking glasses etc..

I'd be interested in buying something like that.

You know, that is actually a great idea! Collectibles and such being sold on ATS would definitely bring in a lot of cash. The cost of production for these items would not exeed the profit, therefore all benefit from items sold could be used to better the site! Good post, StarEagle!



Mr. M

I also like this idea.

A shirt with the ATS.com logo would kick arse. And when people wear ATS merchandise in public it would be like free advertising for ATS.

Originally posted by Star Eagle
I think that ATS should sell products in the ATS store like,
T-shirts, hats, coffee mug, drinking glasses etc..

I'd be interested in buying something like that.

This is something we've talked about before, and something that's still being researched.
I deal with this on a much smaller basis (see link in sig), and I can tell you that it's a metric ton of work for a relatively small profit margin.
We don't want products that are of terrible quality ... that's the most important thing. Many companies that handle production & shipping of logo products skimp on quality to save money.

If we go top-quality on product and source the warehousing/shipping elsewhere .... well, you have no idea how expensive that is. It results in basically a zero profit.

If we try to warehouse & ship ourselves ... who the heck is gonna take on that responsibility? I don't think SkepticOverlord has the time or space for such a project. (imagine a garage full of coffee mugs & t-shirts, nowhere to park your car, collecting orders, boxing & labelling product, not to mention daily trips to the post office/FedEx to ship the stuff!)

I'd love an ATS t-shirt, personally. Hell, I promised SO I'd wrestle in it if we could ever find a way to get them going! There just doesn't seem to be a way to get production & shipping done at a reasonable cost that would allow ATS to make money; we'd be more at risk of losing money.

But if you know of someplace we haven't found yet, someplace that can handle everything and still allow ATS to turn a profit, speak up!!!

-B.

The trick would be to sell an advertising space to an online company who produce,store,and ship T-shirts anyway.That way ATS gets it's cut(thus helping the board) without the financial,storage,and shipping responsibility and the company gets a guarenteed product demand and the opportunity to show the rest of it's wares.

I believe this is something that is definitely possible. If you need some money to assist ATS in getting the contracts and/or sponsors, initiate a temporary donations program, whereas members may donate through Paypal or send money orders. Once a sufficient amount of $ is obtained, that should get the ball rolling.

I personally would DEFINITELY wear an ATS shirt or baseball cap around town. I think that would be awesome.

There is one thing that would have to happen, though.
Only members should be authorized to purchase gear. Kind of like a "members only" club, you know?



Mr. M

u could get member only gear but it could be duplicated. is ats a patent/copy protected? I could make my own ats shirt otherwise

bumper stickers , hats, shirts, wouldnt be so bad, but i already get enough guff from peeps who know i visit this site

This site could help out a great deal. There is no back stock, whatever gets ordered gets made. No upfront payment is needed to start your own company. CafePress gets a cut of whatever you sell, and you get a sizeable portion of the income. I have been thinking of starting a "store" on here for some time now.

I think it would be a cool contest to create a t-shirt or design that would be sold to support ATS. What do you think Simon? SkepticOverlord? Mods? Community? It would be a group decision.

www.cafepress.com...

EDIT: Man, there is already another store there using ATS. It's the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary !! Drama geeks !!
EDIT 2: They aren't Drama geeks as I thought...they are Witches !!!
www.sisterhoodofavalon.org...

[Edited on 4-1-2004 by darklanser]

I did a trace route on www.abovetopsecret.com... the Node Name is listed and maintained by the government.

IP Address
213.206.128
213.206.129
213.206.130

Node Name
Gov-bb21-lan-14
Gov-bb22-lan-15
Gov-bb23-lan-16

Location
Langley, Virginia

MS
60

Network Used
whois.nic.mil (for military network information)

It was difficult to get the IP Address, It was spoofed and looped over 9 times. Anyway Langley, Virginia is where the CIA headquarters is. I�m more than concerned.


april fools!

Originally posted by kinglizard
I did a trace route on www.abovetopsecret.com... the Node Name is listed and maintained by the government.

IP Address
213.206.128
213.206.129
213.206.130

Node Name
Gov-bb21-lan-14
Gov-bb22-lan-15
Gov-bb23-lan-16

Location
Langley, Virginia

MS
60

Network Used
whois.nic.mil (for military network information)

It was difficult to get the IP Address, It was spoofed and looped over 9 times. Anyway Langley, Virginia is where the CIA headquarters is. I�m more than concerned.


april fools!

What exactly are you suggesting?

Mr. M

Originally posted by kinglizard I did a trace route on www.abovetopsecret.com... the Node Name is listed and maintained by the government. IP Address 213.206.128 213.206.129 213.206.130 Node Name Gov-bb21-lan-14 Gov-bb22-lan-15 Gov-bb23-lan-16 Location Langley, Virginia MS 60 Network Used whois.nic.mil (for military network information) It was difficult to get the IP Address, It was spoofed and looped over 9 times. Anyway Langley, Virginia is where the CIA headquarters is. I�m more than concerned.

I would strongly suggest you review our terms and conditions. www.abovetopsecret.com... Especially this part: 1.) You will not post any material that is knowingly false, misleading, or inaccurate Your "IP Trace" is woefully false and misleading.

Mine??? Who are you referring to?

Mr. M

Originally posted by StarChild Mine??? Who are you referring to?

Originally posted by kinglizard

I'm confused. What is this "IP Trace" thing all about? Can you elaborate please, Skeptic?

Mr. M

My trace to abovetopsecret.com

==================================================== === VisualRoute report on Apr 2, 2004 8:21:02 AM === ==================================================== Report for www.abovetopsecret.com [66.98.176.42] Analysis: 'www.abovetopsecret.com' [ns1.denyignorance.com] was found in 16 hops (TTL=44). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Hop | %Loss | IP Address | Node Name | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | 4 | | 144.232.7.25 | sl-bb24-nyc-15-0.sprintlink.net | | 5 | | 144.232.13.174 | sl-bb27-nyc-10-0.sprintlink.net | | 6 | | 144.232.13.56 | sl-gw39-nyc-0-0.sprintlink.net | | 7 | | 144.232.171.34 | sl-abovenet-20-0-0.sprintlink.net | | 8 | | 64.125.28.237 | so-3-0-0.cr1.lga1.us.above.net | | 9 | | 64.125.28.61 | so-1-0-0.cr1.iad1.us.above.net | | 10 | | 64.125.28.125 | so-1-0-0.cr1.dca2.us.above.net | | 11 | | 64.125.29.41 | pos1-0.pr1.atl4.us.above.net | | 12 | | 64.125.30.233 | pos12-0.er1.atl4.us.above.net | | 13 | | 64.125.29.62 | so-3-1-0.mpr2.iah1.us.above.net | | 14 | | 216.200.251.61 | 216.200.251.61.ev1.net | | 15 | | 207.218.245.45 | ivhou-207-218-245-45.ev1.net | | 16 | | 66.98.176.42 | www.abovetopsecret.com | ----------------------------------------------------------------------

An IP Trace is a method using simple tools (in your command line window, type traceroute www.abovetopsecret.com) to find the path taken to any given web address. It reveals the different communications networks, and hops within networks, taken to locate a specific server. Some joker on this thread is attempting to create drama by implying that there is government involvement in the hosting of ATS. Which is a giant flaming load of insulting crap.

Kinglizard is doing this? Damn dude, that is wrong. Why implicate government involvement in ATS? And on a thread that is geared towards FUNDRAISING!?!?! That's messed up, Kinglizard.


Mr. M

posted on 1-4-2004
I think it was his april fools trick

Originally posted by Kano posted on 1-4-2004 I think it was his april fools trick

Hey... we're the only ones allowed to do such tricks around here!

Oh, Sorry guys. It was an April 1st joke. I have no idea how to do a trace route. I forgot that i posted this on this thread. I posted the same thing on another thread, when , SkepticOverlord retracted or confessed to his jokes I did the same. I simply forgot about this post. I'm sorry for any confusion.

You can check out the thread that I remembered to retract my statement from. ABOVETOPSECRET.COM CIA

So........*clears throat*........back to fund raising. Any more ideas?

I have one...

How about a clothing line?

Get a contact in Fruit of the Loom (for the shirts), or someone like that. We can have a contest for the designs! Everyone submit their design, and the top 10 designs will be produced. Winners will receive free shirts (ADMIN?). Once the designs have been put in place. Anyone that wants to buy a shirt can send the money through Paypal, money order, etc. to ATS. The price per shirt should be approximately $20 (plus S & H), but "if" people want to send "more" for "donation purposes", then that's what will happen. I personally would send you $100 for a shirt, easy.

So what do you guys think. T-Shirt Design contest on ATS? ? ?


Mr. M