Comments Please: New MEPIS Store

I think a MEPIS coffee cup would be a nice addition to the store, for a $100 sponsor you could probably send them a t-shirt and or a coffee cup.

regards,
Jimmy

INTEL P-IV/HT 3.0GHz - 2X256 DDR3200 - Debian, Etch Beta-3
KDE 3.5.4 - kernel 2.6.16-2-686-smp - My iMAC runs Debian, Sarge

I'd added this comment under another string, but here's my answer again, on the right spot, I hope...

I wouldn't mind having a 3-D case-sticker like this one of SuSE.

http://i13.ebayimg.com/03/i/03/60/8d/10_1_b.JPG

It's an embossed sticker with a logo under a layer of some kind of transparent silicon.
I bought one for ± $2,50 (USD) and placed it on one case of my PC's...
They're available in different shapes like oval, which I think wouldn't be too bad for Mepis.

So maybe this is what you meant by a suggestion Mr. Woodford?!

B.T.W. Mr. Woodford; fantastic Distro you've all made at Mepis!
And great community!

Ruud Kuin

=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, Mepis 3.4.3 & 6.0, WinXP.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Mepis 6.0.
=====

A sticker sounds like a great idea. Instead, I would opt for a sticker in the shape of a triangle (pyramid).

About the $100 sponsors: maybe you could offer one of the following:
- shipment of extra package CDs
- 10 Simply CDs in deluxe jewelcase (for friends)
- a t-shirt
- a 1 Gb USB key with simply mepis logo, great as an On the Go disk (might be a nice store item as well)

Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question

Dang, what good ideas! I have just put in my order (before all of the recent web changes) and would have jumped on this given that I ordered the CD, and updated my 1-year subscription. I considered buying a t-shirt but held off...

Yes, I would gladly provide "sponsorship". A coffee cup, t-shirt, sticker and/or more cds would all be nice things!

How about, when one buys a $100 sponsorship, give the person a choice of:
1) t-shirt and coffee cup
2) t-shirt and sticker
3) sticker and (some number) CDs.

Jon

I'd like to see a small embroidered patch. You could put it on a shirt, jacket, ballcap or other.

I'd like to see some Linux products (even if Mepis would have to pay a part of revenue to Linux name holders). Hope that's possible... things like Linux or LNX bumper sticker, Linux pens, keychains, etc.

For $100 contributors maybe it would be nice to have their names included on Mepis CD, like "special thanks to: ..." while Mepis installs.

Another idea would be to have some special support for big contributors beside the 12 months download.

Another idea is to give voting power to big contributors for some features: what programs get included, theme, etc.

Hey, I'm full of ideas... you don't have to listen to me...

--
Check out Mepis wiki: www.mepis.org/docs
Community site: www.mepislovers.com/forums

Stickers are good advertising with the MEPIS logo and www.mepis.org. If they are cheap we could stick them on any thing that moves and any thing that don't move.

regards,
Jimmy

INTEL P-IV/HT 3.0GHz - 2X256 DDR3200 - Debian, Etch Beta-3
KDE 3.5.4 - kernel 2.6.16-2-686-smp - My iMAC runs Debian, Sarge

I don't wear T-Shirts so the idea of a nice embrodured logo to put on a piece of clothing would be nice but l for one didn't buy a years subscription for any material gifts. I bought the subscription because l really appreciate all the work that Warren has put into what has become the best OS on the planet and l want that to continue.

l used to experiment with a lot of other distros but l don't even do that much anymore because there just isn't anything out there any better. Warren, you certainly don't owe us anything but rather it will always be us that are indebted to you.

Thanks

Wayne Whalen

Hi everyone;

Couldn't we -as a community- help Warren and the Mepis company/community in this way.

For instance I'm working as a creative designer (I do work with a Mac G5 OSX 10.4.5 with Adobe Creative Suite2 though...), the company I work for has many contacts in the printing and graphics world.

So when I make a pilot for such an embossed/bevelled sticker I mailed about in a earlier this day, I might ask for some help from a (sticker-) printer. And even send some examples to the US "for free", as our company has (a lot of) contacts in postal-services as well...

It's just an idea, but I do feel very connected to this community and want do do something in return.

Maybe others in this community have other contacts/connections, working in a t-shirt environment i.e.

If that's alright with you, or isn't this what you want Warren?
(if you might want to get in touch, just mail/call me)

Ruud Kuin

=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 1024Mb Ram, Mepis 6.0.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 512Mb RAM Mepis 6.0.
=====

Warren,

I like these ideas of various Mepis trappings. I re-up my suport every year. I think that your prices are just fine. But...

Please replace the New Store line with some sort of immediate explanations for the three "Downloads" Maybe with a line that says this:

Support Mepis and Get Free, Easy Downloads

Please save one of those coffee cups for when I donate again next year!

Warren Light

A jewel case insert, and a cd label, for sale. They would of course be for each version and type of Mepis. Mepis 6, Mepis 3.4.3, Mepis 3.3.1-1, MepisLite6, Mepis 64 (future versions). I also like the Mepis computer sticker idea a previous poster suggested.

Mepis, have you broken any windows today?

First off, I must say that the inegration of the new store through use of the e-com modules for Drupal was a great idea. This will definitely help with centralized management. The look is clean and clear with great eye appeal and a smooth transition from reading posts to buying product from the store.

As far as those who offer support of $100 or more, I recommend that they be recognized in multiple ways such as a page that lists them in some way (I know there may be privacy issues and that permission would be required) and offer them mulitple combinations of goods from the store with no more than two items (based on cost of course). I also recommend that the Mepis team start recognizing those users who help out here on the forums by creating a "Hall of Fame" of some sort based on how much users help. There are several users of the site that help out tremendously. It may also be a good idea to promote these users to moderators.

I must admit that with being so tied up with school I have not been able to help as much as I like, and I am glad to see so many others offer there precious time to help. These people should be recognized for their tremendous effort. Let me be the first to thank all of those that have offered so much time and effort in helping the users of Mepis and this site. Without all of you Mepis would not be what it is today. I think it would be a good idea to send these users something as simple as a certificate of appreciation signed by Warren. It may take a little time, but it is time that is well spent to thank those who went the extra mile.

Now, let us talk about prices. I understand that the purpose of pricing the one month download so high is to try to give the impression of an increased value in choosing the six month or one year download subscription, but I think that by lowering the price you may get more users to try Mepis downloads. At this point increasing the volume of users is most important. At least run some type of special where if someone pays that price, they get another month free. The current price of of 17.95 equates to a little of over $215 yearly. Doing the "bogo free" may help increase volume. At least give it a try.

I also suggest coming up with bundle pack idea, again trying to promote volume. Create bundle packs that can create an impression of increased value, and can lead to increased volume. An example would be get a one month download and T-shirt for $30. Another idea would be to offer an official signed Mepis User Certificate to those people who support Mepis by buying a download. Create a bundle for the downloads where they can purchace the certficate for $10 more. The key to increasing volume is merchandising your products in various ways. I know that may seem like an initial investment of more work, but it may pay off in the end.

I have many more ideas, but time is not on my side at this point. I am off to write a white paper for my software project management course about the advantages of an agile developmnt method. Again, thank you to all who have helped out, and keep the ideas and support coming.

Joe Pearce

The student is not above the teacher
The servant is not above the master
The student shares the teacher's fate
The servant shares the master's

http://www.joepearce.com

Yes, I know that you can join for a period of time and burn your own CDs.

But, why not add a package that includes an update to the latest and greatest version later (or current version including all patches) with CDs shipped directiy from you?

Some users want to have a packaged CD available versus burning their own, and don't want to go through updating a lot of packages once they install a new distro. Think of the user out in the country without a high speed internet connection.

The ability to get newer CDs automatically (or at least one or two version changes with updates), would solve that issue and give some users more motivation to contribute.

Jim C.

JimCockfield, your idea of a package the includes at least one upgrade sounds similar to the idea used on organizations like BSD Mall, where one can purchase "subscriptions" for releases of the various *BSD OSes. Instead of just purchasing FreeBSD (current edition). You purchase a subscription to same. It costs more because you are purchasing the current edition, and you are in the queue to automatically be sent the next edition when it comes out. Your credit card is automatically charged the fee. With the subscription model, I believe you have to agree to at least one-year's-worth of updates. You can cancel out after that.

Jon

I would personally love to see a new design on the Mepis t-shirt. I think the current one is kind of boring. I realize that the pyramid is the Mepis logo, but it could still be drawn in a more aesthetically pleasing way.

You may want to fix the first link on this page:
http://www.mepis.org/node/1462 as it still points to the old store.
Unless of course the old store site is going to be replaced with the new store site.

---------------------------
ASUS A8V Deluxe
512 MB RAM
ATI Radeon 9200 AGP (ATI sucks don't buy their products)
80 Gig Maxtor Drive (the 60 Gig Maxtor died)

I think this talk about changing the Design and Logo needs to stop! MEPIS has been around for close to 4 years now and most of that time it has been a top 10 distro, the MEPIS Logo is what people are used to seeing and that should not be changed. If you don't like the way it looks, download it, install it and learn how to change it, go to MEPISLovers.com look at some of the screenshots and ask how they did it, they want to tell and they want to help you. Now if you think a t-shirt with a different color or pocket or sweatshirt or jacket should be added then that's a different story. I'm not pointing a finger at any one person so please don't take my post personal.

regards,
Jimmy

INTEL P-IV/HT 3.0GHz - 2X256 DDR3200 - SimplyMEPIS 6.0-1
KDE 3.5.4 - kernel 2.6.15-26-686-SMP - My iMAC runs Debian, Sarge

Thanks!

I'm thinking about ALL of your suggestions. At this time, I'm considering the following merchandise:

Sportshirt for $100 (Platinum) Sponsor. It would be a regular sportshirt, like we have worn at tradeshows, but with "Platinum Sponsor" text added under te logo on the left breast. FYI, it would cost me about $15 to have it produced and shipped, so it would be only for $100 sponsors.

Coffee cups. Maybe a special one for a $100 sponsor.

Stickers, some white and some blue, in two or three sizes, on sheets.

Notepads--I'm not sure about sizes.

Lanyards--might come in handy if there's a USB version of MEPIS.

"Lanyards--might come in handy if there's a USB version of MEPIS." Warren

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a Lanyard?

Some nice suggestions here.

anticapitalista

Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanyard

had to look it up as well....

Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question

Thanks Warren for taking these things into consideration.

I just received my order for a couple of regular CDs and I look forward to sending you some more money for a Platinum Sponsorship. You deserve it!

I can always use another shirt and coffee cup that I can wear proudly (the shirt, not the coffee).

Jon

Great idea these Lanyards with a USB-stick, you could make it 1Gb versions for Onthego use or indeed a USB-version of Mepis, and I'm happy to see the stickers (my own little input) are considered...

Oh and, you might even consider something simple as a keychain?
Like this one: http://www.acu.edu/centennial/merchandise/keychain.html

Ruud
=====
Compaq N1050v, Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 1024Mb Ram, Mepis 6.0.
Shuttle SN41G2, AMD Athlon XP 3000+, 512Mb RAM Mepis 6.0.
Linuxcounter user reg # 417292
=====

I think Warren only wants to offer the lanyards, not the sticks. Though I must say I would think a stick is a good idea (I suggested it

Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question

Dear Warren:
As a new almost entirely Mepis user I have to say thanks for your efforts. I got a freebie Mepis CD from Robolino Miller's book on Linux over a year ago. I was so impressed with how easily it installed on an old clone box that I whipped out my wallet and sent you a $20 bill as a thanks. More recently I bought a year's support and CD set to have installed on my new office clone box server to start the official switchover to Linux from now on. I have done the math and to upgrade to Vista on several office and home machines in my humble low fee modest psychiatric practice will break the bank and I know that in five years Microsoft will sundown the support on XP and leave anyone who refuses to go along with the upgrade shakedown, in the dust. So it is over to Linux I go!

Anyway for goodies, I like coffee cups, teeshirts, stickers and pens. And sell them not just attach them to levels of subscription support renewals.

Frank B. Miller MD
Hendersonville NC south of Asheville

I've been trying to ignore this for several days. But it's gnawing at me. So as a kind of professional linguist I just have to ask: How is it that two of the savviest people on this Forum blanked at mention of a lanyard and had to go to Wikipedia?

This is driving me crazy, since anyone who went to YMCA camp or Scouts or swim lessons or suffered high school P.E. knew about lanyards and probably made them out of those long strings of plastic or leather (circa mid-sixties).

Was it a West Coast, California thang? or generational? Or what?

At any rate, it's good to see thumb drives bring back an old piece of Americana.

--Malanrich

Not everyone lives in the US of A.

anticapitalista

Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.

For example, anticapitalista is a brit who lives now in Greece... how should he know about those lanyards?

--
Check out Mepis wiki: www.mepis.org/docs
Community site: www.mepislovers.com/forums

And me is just a dutchie who impersonates a brit living in spain, so I hope I stand forgiven

Newbie or not Newbie, there's always a question

Quote anticapitalista:

"Not everyone lives in the US of A."

Fortunately true.

The Wikipedia article revealed how small my own experience of lanyards actually was.

--Malanrich