The RetroBook Project: Phase I

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by Lemur

Some really nagging questions:
1) Steelbooks don't have runs of 1000. MOQ 4000 would most likely be stickerbooks. And if you want numbered, stickerbook is the only way
2) Official artwork will need license from the game companies
3) If you're including the game inside you'll need a production run for the old games
4) The cert would be printed by you
5) The sealing also done by you
6) Registered charity just means you donate after costs. It's not surprising that some charities donate only $0.10 for every dollar collected after paying all their costs which usually include inflated staff salaries for the founders

Not meaning to be a wet blanket but based on what I've read, these are the big question marks.

Some of these are questions and some of these are just random comments, so let me get to them.

1) What determines a 'Stickerbook'? Because from my meetings with Steelbook, I can't imagine anything called a 'Stickerbook' would have the ability to use different finishes etc. Let me know though.

2) No official artwork will be used, though we are currently attempting to get licensing or permission from companies. The project is meant to have personality and be artistic - the one artist I have currently interested is actually a known local street artist.

3) I'm not including the games inside. This is a steelbook project and I can't try getting a thousand copies of the games.

4) And? I spent three years working at a printing company. I have access to high quality paper to make certificates. Why is this bad? They are not going to be made on my LaserJet. Please explain.

5) Not necessarily. And again, not sure why this matters. Please explain.

6) I never said registered charity. I said that we wish to use a bunch of the funds to establish a charity. This is also irrelevant.

4, 5, and 6, are irrelevant questions because you haven't established an actual question. If you have actual questions, I am more than happy to answer them as I have with other members. But this is moreso you just scribbling some thoughts down. Please understand I am not attempting to be rude in saying this - just that you have not formed actual questions and have mostly told me things you either believe to be fact or just comments.

[Lemur]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

Some of these are questions and some of these are just random comments, so let me get to them.

1) What determines a 'Stickerbook'? Because from my meetings with Steelbook, I can't imagine anything called a 'Stickerbook' would have the ability to use different finishes etc. Let me know though.

2) No official artwork will be used, though we are currently attempting to get licensing or permission from companies. The project is meant to have personality and be artistic - the one artist I have currently interested is actually a known local street artist.

3) I'm not including the games inside. This is a steelbook project and I can't try getting a thousand copies of the games.

4) And? I spent three years working at a printing company. I have access to high quality paper to make certificates. Why is this bad? They are not going to be made on my LaserJet. Please explain.

5) Not necessarily. And again, not sure why this matters. Please explain.

6) I never said registered charity. I said that we wish to use a bunch of the funds to establish a charity. This is also irrelevant.

4, 5, and 6, are irrelevant questions because you haven't established an actual question. If you have actual questions, I am more than happy to answer them as I have with other members. But this is moreso you just scribbling some thoughts down. Please understand I am not attempting to be rude in saying this - just that you have not formed actual questions and have mostly told me things you either believe to be fact or just comments.

1) Stickerbook are officially named Steelbook labels. These are usually used for lower MOQ. So with the quantities you're talking about, I'm not sure how you're going to get real steelbooks.

2) Even if not official artwork, if you're gonna sell something with for example Mario Bros emblazoned on it, I'd think you're gonna need some license. And if it's not officially endorsed product, there's no collector value in it at all.

3) This is cleared up

4 & 5) Again with a cert, sure the printing can be done professionally. But I think for collectors like us, we want to be sure that these are officially endorsed by the game companies and strictly controlled. I could get a printing company to print me 1000 high quality numbered certs and stick them on anything I want. There is absolutely no value to that. Same with the sealed thing. I could just do a seal myself honestly. The main thing is without any official control/licenses, the numbering/sealing means nothing.

6) As you mentioned you wanna do this as non-profit company, all I'm highlighting is that in most such cases, all this means is that for the charity/non-profit company they will donate to whatever cause they want after deducting costs. And these costs usually include inflated salaries for the founders. Not meaning you will do this, but this is the reality of these so called charities/non-profit companies.

My original questions weren't necessarily directed at you but more of what collectors like us would be considering. Honestly, this sounds more like a business plan for you with this forum as your market research and also your main market if it happens :p

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by Lemur

1) Stickerbook are officially named Steelbook labels. These are usually used for lower MOQ. So with the quantities you're talking about, I'm not sure how you're going to get real steelbooks.

2) Even if not official artwork, if you're gonna sell something with for example Mario Bros emblazoned on it, I'd think you're gonna need some license. And if it's not officially endorsed product, there's no collector value in it at all.

3) This is cleared up

4 & 5) Again with a cert, sure the printing can be done professionally. But I think for collectors like us, we want to be sure that these are officially endorsed by the game companies and strictly controlled. I could get a printing company to print me 1000 high quality numbered certs and stick them on anything I want. There is absolutely no value to that. Same with the sealed thing. I could just do a seal myself honestly. The main thing is without any official control/licenses, the numbering/sealing means nothing.

6) As you mentioned you wanna do this as non-profit company, all I'm highlighting is that in most such cases, all this means is that for the charity/non-profit company they will donate to whatever cause they want after deducting costs. And these costs usually include inflated salaries for the founders. Not meaning you will do this, but this is the reality of these so called charities/non-profit companies.

My original questions weren't necessarily directed at you but more of what collectors like us would be considering.

Alright, thanks for the quick reply.

1) These are not Steelbook Labels. The MOQ for regular Steelbooks is 4000. Steelbook Label's MOQ is 2000. These are actual steelbooks with finishes and all. The reason I'll be able to do 1000 can't be disclosed.

2) Yeah, I understand. We're trying our best to get licenses. If we can't, we can't. I figure a lot of the collectors who want these are because they'll be unique and artistic. Some people like to support small business projects. Locally, in my city, I've had huge support for the project.

4/5) Whether or not they'll be officially endorsed depends on each policy. Some have flat-out policies of not allowing anything no matter what it is. Either way I'll be meeting with a copyright lawyer as stated previously. The numbering might mean nothing to you, but it also means that it's not BS and I am not lying about the production values.

6) No, I never said I would do this as a non-profit company. This is the only point you seem misinformed on. I simply stated I would like to use funds from the project to establish a charity. The charity would have nothing to do with gaming in the first place, and it is not a "fund" that donates to companies of their choice. It is simply that we wish to use funds from the project to save up to establish a local charity that has a purpose, not a charity to support other charities.

[Lemur]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

Also we decided today that we are going to do the project for charity basically. We are going to pay the artists and everyone involved for their time, and the rest will be used to establish a local charity that we've wanted to do for years, and hopefully use it to help fund the charity.

Sounds like what I said earlier, charity after costs

Originally Posted by Kelekin

That's a fair question and has been asked by others elsewhere. Basically, it's hard to get meetings with big companies. I'm just the little guy. But effectively, we're not mass-producing these and they are made for collectors like you. We may be using the likenesses of characters, but that makes us no different from a fan artist at a convention. That being said I will be meeting with an IP lawyer. But this is the main reason for not allowing people to buy 50 of them to sell at their store. That's not what we're about. This is an expensive project, and we're doing it for the fun of it.

Sorry but I don't think you're doing it for the fun of it.

This sounds like you have a business idea and we're your market research and also your main market. If you pull off pre-sales we're also your funding, reducing your risk considerably.

Problem I see is we have no idea who you are and how reliable your company is. You could just as well make 4000 copies to meet the steelbook MOQ, print 4 sets of 1-1000 certs and seal them. Then sell them in different markets. Chances are most collectors won't open theirs and nobody would know better.

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by Lemur

Sounds like what I said earlier, charity after costs


Sorry but I don't think you're doing it for the fun of it.

This sounds like you have a business idea and we're your market research and also your main market. If you pull off pre-sales we're also your funding, reducing your risk considerably.

Problem I see is we have no idea who you are and how reliable your company is. You could just as well make 4000 copies to meet the steelbook MOQ, print 4 sets of 1-1000 certs and seal them. Then sell them in different markets. Chances are most collectors won't open theirs and nobody would know better.

Fair enough - charity is always after costs. That's pretty standard practice. And on a project like this, costs are high. There's a reason most people aren't able to just call up Steelbook and make what they want. Plus artists, plus shipping, plus hiring people to put together up to 1000 (x4, 4000) steelbooks for packaging to be shipped.

As far as printing goes - since I will be releasing four titles at once, the costs on that would be exorbitant to do 4000 (x4, 16000). If I had that kind of money, I would already have established charities and businesses and do whatever I want. I wouldn't be someone who, under this username, spends his time getting rid of spare Pokemon Cards on ebay and trading games.