Once again I will be bringing the sponsored metal folding chairs to GenCon. I won't be at the Forge Booth this year, but the chairs will be there.
Be advised however that they are starting to show their age. Those that have become dangerously dilapidated have been disposed of...that leaves about 15 chairs that appear to be functional...although each year seems to leave one or two bent beyond safe useage.
So when arranging your booth, plan accordingly. Someone may need to make arrangements for additional seating.
Ralph
I wasn't around for the original sponsorship. Maybe a second round is in order?
Ron, can you comment on how many seats the booth typically needs?
I believe the original acquisition was 20 chairs. Previous booth arrangements have used 1-2 chair(s) for the cash register station and 3-4 chairs for each table.
Julie
Ah, these are the ones we sponsored a couple of years ago, the ones with the name plates? How sad. I'll have to look and see whether mine is still in operation...
How has the usability been, have the booth crew been happy with the quality? If the breakage is normal for the price point, then getting a new run of the same type of chair wouldn't be an entirely foolish idea.
I know that the last time chairs were bought, they were printed with the names of the sponsors. Maybe we could initiate a new chair drive, but use the names of games (or game companies) instead. I'm pretty sure Bully Pulpit Games would be willing to sponsor a few chairs, in any case.
And Ralph, thanks for being responsible for the chairs every year. That is a really awesome thing you do.
Paul Czege masterminded the chairs venture, so I'll bug him to step in and advise - especially since the time factor is a little tight this time.
Best, Ron
I know when Paul orchestrated the initial chair drive he specifically wanted real people names rather than company names to emphasize the human nature of the hobby.
If time is tight, i think the nature of the sponsorship is secondary. What matters Right Now is: What chairs do we get? At what price? And from where?
The chairs are steel, not padded at all, made in China. The original price was $10.99 per chair, if I recall. I drove around to three Meijer stores to find twenty.
Paul
Quote from: Paul Czege on June 17, 2008, 02:39:05 PM
The chairs are steel, not padded at all, made in China. The original price was $10.99 per chair, if I recall. I drove around to three Meijer stores to find twenty.
Hm. No Meijers in the DC area, at least that I'm aware of. At $10.99 per chair, and a deficit of, let's say, 6 chairs, I'm willing to say I can cover the $70 necessary to buy replacements if no one else surfaces willing to share the cost. But I'm pretty sure someone will.
All we need now is a purchase-and-transport volunteer.
Quote from: iago on June 18, 2008, 06:30:10 AMAll we need now is a purchase-and-transport volunteer.
Yeah, that's a more pressing issue. BPG will help share the cost, Fred, but we can't help acquire or transport them.
That's a minor expense in the scheme of things. Probably best to have somebody pay for the chairs and then collect communal bequests at the convention. Or beforehand, for that matter - I wouldn't mind buying another chair, myself.
On the chair issue, did we find a potential buyer? How many replacements do we need? I can certainly help with the cost, but I won't be able to transport the entire lot. Perhaps we can divvy up the purchase/transport between multiple people?
Cost isn't a problem. There's tons of people, as witness this thread, who are willing to kick in to the cost, or bear it entirely, myself included.
The problem is someone with time and ability needs to step and and volunteer to pick up the chairs and get them to Gencon.
If worrying about cost is stopping any pontential volunteers, I'll be real clear: the chairs will be paid for.
Now, can someone buy the chairs and get them to the con?
James
There are three Meijers here on the north side of Indy, so I should be able to pick them up and bring them Wednesday in my station wagon (assuming my car's not too full of books). Do we care if the chairs match the ones we already have? Just because they come from the same store won't necessarily mean they're the same. Can someone send me a photo?
You can get some idea of the chairs from the pictures in this flickr thread:
http://flickr.com/photos/shuckle/233189911/
Quote from: Steve Segedy on June 21, 2008, 07:53:28 PM
You can get some idea of the chairs from the pictures in this flickr thread:
http://flickr.com/photos/shuckle/233189911/
Great photo. (I don't believe I've ever seen it. And my wife is working the cash machine in the background.)
It looks like there are some rental chairs in the mix. The ones to try and match for replacement are the beige/grey steel ones.
Paul
Meijer has those grayish-brown steel chairs, like in the photo, but they are now $14 each. Those are the least expensive chairs they have. I'll go ahead and pick six of them up the next time I'm over there.
Quote from: SirValence on June 21, 2008, 11:16:15 PM
Meijer has those grayish-brown steel chairs, like in the photo, but they are now $14 each. Those are the least expensive chairs they have. I'll go ahead and pick six of them up the next time I'm over there.
You're a hero.