QUOTE (Andrewzor @ Feb 25 2010, 03:18 PM)
QUOTE (Patryn @ Feb 25 2010, 09:10 AM)
takes ages to get in! xD
that's the only benefit i can think of aside from the people who come later than 2pm...
would it be feasible to have registration start earlier and then doors opening at 10am?
Lans I went to a while ago had a pre-pay option, but I'm sure they've already thought this through.
Just saw the post above me^
Alot of people don't have access to paypal and debit cards such as <18 lanners. Still a good idea.
at fragfest we have 90% of people paying online (~100 attending), of which only 4 or so dont show up - but as you would expect there is no refunds for no shows [1]. we also charge $10 more for payment at the door and we do transfer payments to future events if you contact us prior to the event.
40% of our attendance is under 18. paypal allows direct debit payments in addition to credit card, and we also allow arbitrary group payments. so people just register, then anyone with a paypal account can select 1 or more registered people and pay for them. group payments also reduce the transaction fee.
we have alienated a few people, but have improved from a 20% no show to generally having more people turn up than register. so i would propose that with 700 people registered, if you alienate 10% of people the resultant 630 registrations still the venue, but you will have substantially reduced the risk and will be preparing people for a larger event where admins cant afford to fork out cash to cover deposits etc.
regular cash flow allows us to use the lans money to pay for things rather than risking our own personal incomes. this helps keep the LAN sustainable. the uber LAN's in europe and england all sell tickets and sell out weeks and months before hand.
changing from at the door to online payments is a slow culture shift, but people are used to paying for events when they register. at the end of the day, people dont lose out if they register and dont bother showing up - but lan admins do and other people miss out. but if people pay, they DO lose out if they dont show up.
were looking into having people print tickets with barcodes for express entry, but with the resultant minimal cash handing we already have (and ushering paid people to the front of the queue) we can process about 80 people in 20 minutes with just 2 people ticking off names.
just my 2c.
[1] no refunds if you buy a movie ticket, or a concert ticket and dont show up.
Respawn v16
Zardoz Respawn v16 Feb 22 2010, 10:39 AM
Feb 22 2010, 10:39 AM
