Simtropolis, NAM, CAM etc products to purchase?

[SorryImLate 19]

Do we have a store to purchased branded product? Such as t-shirts mousepads coffee cup type stuff? This goes for our mod branding as well. Thanks

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

This is quite a cool idea. I remember hearing about how our Webmaster Dirk trialled a "Simtropolis Store" for a while. The idea being how there were a few items which people could donate to support with monthly site upkeep, and then receive a small physical gift as you say (I think keyrings were another thing).

I'm not too sure if this ever happened or not, but discussing this idea with Dirk a year or two ago, he said the main problem was since suppliers needed a bulk item order in advance. Whether that was a mousepad or a coffee cup, it meant there was a need to place a large quantity of units without knowing if there was demand for said items. As such there would've been the initial cost of the order, and then no knowing whether they'd sell. Now while ST will remain a non-profit entity, from a business perspective this is very risky and untenable. Then with the logistical side of things too it'd be a big challenge, since it'd need items packaged and delivered on a regular basis.

At present, I can confirm we only have the STEX Collections which are offered as a donations incentive in either a digital download or DVD form. In terms of any merchandise being offered for the NAM or CAM (or any custom content), this would depend on permission being obtained from each author. One possibility in future is for custom BATs to be offered with a sign featuring text of the donor's choice. This would be specified for what the text should say, and then the BAT is provided as a gift.

In terms of the idea for physical branded products to purchase...

If there is sufficient demand for it and is viable, certainly offering items might be something which could potentially be looked at again in future. Maybe there's a supplier which could do this realistically. Perhaps similarly to what @Raymond7cn made here incorporating the ST logo would be most excellent indeed.

(Note: No worries where you posted it in the Off-Topic section, but I've moved your topic here into the ST Related forum since it's about matters of the site.)

[SorryImLate 19]

Thanks for the great answer once again @Cyclone Boom. And that makes total sense once you said it. If we were a large enough community that donations could be regular and of enough money would be cool, but I see why its not. 

 

However if I may just ask all whom generously donate their time for ST to simply consider something real simple, what if we had just one shirt with a logo. Then we could do simple size spread which could help with the volume and shirts I figure anyone would wear. For the record it is quite important for me to "sport" such hobbies and/or community's just because it's not only supportive but also unique in a certain aspect. Regardless it is just one more responsibility and work to deal with for a nonprofitable item. Anyways I'm in for something like that but this was all more out of curiosity than anything. thanks for all who do all that is ST.

[carlosmarcelo 982]

6 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Then with the logistical side of things too it'd be a big challenge, since it'd need items packaged and delivered on a regular basis.

I don't know how long ago you talked about it, but nowadays there are sites where, in exchange for a commission, they do all this logistics and sales. 

In the example of the link below, the site called "Lolja" (there should be equivalents in the USA, but I don't know it) produces prints and images with famous people and the site itself is in charge of offering the desired product with the desired design without the need to make 200 shirts with the risk of not selling and throwing money away: they produce under direct customer demand.

I also know that there are websites that offer shirts in addition to other products. Perhaps this format will help the site maintenance a little. 

https://lolja.com.br/

[Propfam 2,295]

How about if we make a merch brand? I give an example from Atta Halilintar, the most subscribed YouTuber in Indonesia. I'm not endorsed, though. Yes, we aren't as popular as him, but we can do it from smaller scale. Then, we expand our brand. Eventually, we get some revenue doing so, possibly replacing donation (or in better words, donations are made from merch).

Thanks.