Posts Tagged ‘skating clubs’

Clubs Should Still Have Skate Swaps

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Figure-skates-1MySkatingMall.com is here to help with club fundraising and not to limit it

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify one misunderstanding that has come up several times. Clubs have cited the fact that they have occasional skate swaps which raise money for the club as a reason not to also have fundraising through MySkatingMall.com. The thinking is that if items are listed on the site, then they can’t be sold through the skate swap.

For the record, we highly encourage clubs to continue with any activity that can help them raise the money necessary to support their members. The purpose of MySkatingMall.com is to support the skating community! It is not about us at the expense of others. 

Club members should feel free to bring items already listed on MySkatingMall.com to their club skate swaps.  If they sell, then HALLELUJIA!  The seller and the buyer both benefited.  The seller simply needs to immediately remove the listing for that item from MySkatingMall.com so it won’t be accidently “sold” again:-)

One could say that Clubs and Teams are leaving money on the table if they are not willing to participate in MySkatingMall.com because it could possibly conflict with skate swaps. Skating groups really can have their cake and eat it too by using MySkatingMall.com along with skate swaps.

IceNetwork.com Features MySkatingMall.com!

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

icenetworkpicGreat news! I was just informed that Ice Network published an article about me and MySkatingMall.com. The article talks about how MySkatingMall benefits skaters, skating clubs and skating teams. Take a look at the article by clicking here on IceNetwork MySkatingMall article.

Also, I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your support. Without you, this vision would not have become a reality. 

 Thank you for your time,

Ryan Jahnke
Founder, MySkatingMall.com

Fund Raising Featured at U.S. Figure Skating’s Governing Council

Monday, May 17th, 2010

U.S. Figure Skating Governing CouncilClub delegates hear about MySkatingMall.com

At this year’s Governing Council meeting, U.S. Figure Skating hosted a fund raising seminar to share ideas to help clubs successfully raise funds to support their membership.

MySkatingMall.com Founder Ryan Jahnke was one of four guests who were asked to present their ideas at the seminar. (Since it is downright strange for me to speak of myself in the third person, I’m going to say “I” instead of “Ryan” if there are no objections….hearing none, let’s continue:-)  It was an amazing experience because of all the positive encouragement that came to me after my presentation.  Most club delegates had no idea that MySkatingMall was out there! Those that did know, did not realize how many features we have included to help clubs and teams run a “low maintenance” fund raising campaign.   Check out our last blog post, Club and Team Fund Raising Resources are now available! for more detailed information on what we have included in every club/team account on MySkatingMall.com.  The cliff notes version of what we have is: 1) several emails to send to members announcing your groups fund raising campaign and following up 2) a poster to send to members or post up (did I mention these documents are pre-filled in with your group’s information??? Well,  they are!)  3) the PowerPoint presentation I gave at U.S. Figure Skating’s Governing Council (email me at info@myskatingmall.com if you want a copy of it) and 4) a badge that reads “Join our Fundraising on MySkatingMall.com” to put on your group’s website.  These resources will keep growing. I’m thinking of setting up a suggested schedule of when to send the resources to members to help members join the groups fund raising.  Does that sound like a good idea?

Our goal is to reduce expenses for skating families while providing every resource skating clubs and teams need to raise the money they need to flourish!  MySkatingMall.com is not going to instantly raise hundred of dollars for every club or team. But groups will receive between 2.5% and 87.5% of every item their members sell, depending on the wishes of the person listing the item. Groups also receive 5% of every purchase members make from MySkatingMall.com Partner Stores and 2.5% of every purchase of used items from other site users.  The more your group members use MySkatingMall.com, the more money the group will raise.

Club and Team Fund Raising Resources Are Now Available!!!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Fundraising with MySkatingMall.com!

Fund raising with MySkatingMall.com!

Our mission at MySkatingMall.com is to support the skating community.  That is why MySkatingMall.com was designed so that 5%-90% of every purchase raises money for skating clubs and teams. Sure, that’s old news … Are you ready for something new???

Our Club and Team accounts, which are set up for FREE for any skating group that registers, are now equipped with resources to allow clubs and teams to quickly start a hassle free fund raising campaign!

The first resource is a pre-filled poster with your group’s name for you to display or email out to members. This can alert them about the fund raising campaign. Then we have included a sample email to send out to group members in order to launch the campaign.  Among other things, that email explains the three ways that groups can make money on MySkatingMall.com.  Below is a snipit from the email. It is written as being sent from the skating group to its members:

“1) When you list an item on the site, you have the option to choose how much of the sale price you want forwarded to our club’s PayPal account when the item sells. The top choice is 87.5%. You can choose anywhere between 2.5% and 87.5% but our hope is that you will choose the 87.5% so that we will have more funds to support our members. If just five of our members sell a $50 item and each has chosen 87.5% of the purchase to go to our club, we will have raised $218.75!

2) When you buy an item from MySkatingMall.com, 2.5% of the purchase price will automatically be forwarded to our PayPal account.

3) MySkatingMall.com has established partnerships with many skating retailers. When our members go to MySkatingMall.com and then link to these Partner sites, 5% of every purchase will go to our club’s account. The logos and links to participating Partner Stores can be found on the bottom half of the page at http://www.myskatingmall.com. ”

We have two copies of this email available; one written for clubs and another for teams. All it requires is to copy and paste the sample email (that has the club/team name already filled in!) to your own email software to send out. Once that’s done then PRESTO! let the fund raising begin.

A third resource we have available is the ability to send club/team members a pre-written invitation email directly from MySkatingMall.com that asks them to join the group’s fund raising efforts.

We will be adding additional resources as the weeks go on.  Our goal is to make this easy for anyone to manage.  Each skating group can keep track of which members have registered on MySkatingMall.com and have chosen the group as their beneficiary.

If these things sound good to you, check out our Club/Team FAQs and then register your skating group!  It is always FREE to register at MySkatingMall.com.  Chart of how all the financials are handled on MySkatingMall.com are found through our  How it works link at the top of the site’s front page.

Gently Used Marketplace Now Open!!!

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Phase 1 of MySkatingMall.com has just come online!  Our customized marketplace for the purchase and sale of gently used items is now complete. You can access it at http://www.myskatingmall.com/store!

What we really need is for hundreds of people to list their items for sale before our Grand Opening in two weeks.  Remember, there is no cost to list items for the next year.  Right now, our Mall is empty…. just like if a new mall was built in your town and no stores have moved in yet.  We need your help! Please list your items and tells your skating friends about it as well.

In the next two weeks, we will be linking in our Partner Stores and getting their items listed on MySkatingMall.com. We will also be setting up our donation system that will allow funds to be raised for skating clubs and teams.  If you find something on MySkatingMall.com that you want to purchase in the next two weeks, go right ahead. The transaction will work.  Just know that no commission will be taken out by the site so no funds can be transferred to your club or team.

Thank you for all the support and being so patient while MySkatingMall.com is being finished. The ending is in sight! (Or should I say the beginning:-)

U.S. Figure Skating features MySkatingMall.com

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Ryan Jahnke picture

Ryan Jahnke picture

This month’s Club Zone on usfigureskating.org featured an article on MySkatingMall.com. 

Coming Soon: MySkatingMall.com
The seed for MySkatingMall.com was planted when Ryan Jahnke’s father looked into his son’s cluttered closet.”

You can link to the full article on U.S. Figure Skating’s Club Spotlight page.  For the next few weeks the article can also be found if you scroll down on the homepage of usfigureskating.org.

The article was published because MySkatingMall.com will potentially raise thousands of dollars for skating clubs. Many clubs who hear about this site have been very skeptical. Maybe it is the question of ”Is it too good to be true?”  I hope this vote of confidence from U.S. Figure Skating will provide MySkatingMall.com some deserved credibility.

More money for clubs and teams!

Friday, February 12th, 2010

dollarsignMySkatingMall.com has always been committed to 5% of every purchase raising funds for skating clubs and teams. That has been a foundational principle since the inception of MySkatingMall.com.

But what if 5% is not enough? What if the group really needs to raise more money and its members are committed to that goal? What else can we do? Drum roll please………….

With each item that an individual lists on MySkatingMall.com, that person will be able to choose the percentage of the sale that will be given to his or her club/team.  Let me explain: The standard percentage that is received by the group for the purchase or sale of an item listed by one of its members is 2.5%. (2.5% also goes to the club/team of the other person involved in the transaction.) We will have a drop down menu so that 2.5% through 90% can be automatically forwarded to the PayPal account of the seller’s club or team upon the sale of the item.

For example, a Synchro team gets five of its members to each list a $50 skating dress and choose 90% of the proceeds to go to the team.  If all 5 of those dresses sell, the team will have $225 in its PayPal account!

The group can access the proceeds as soon as they want after the sale since the transfers are instantaneous. If an item is returned, any return of funds will be handled under PayPals terms for purchases between a seller and buyer. Since the club/team received the proceeds, it will also be subject to Paypal’s refund process.

Please help us get this great news out to the skating community!!!

Club and Team Registration now available!

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

tab-skating-clubsRegistration is now available at http://www.myskatingmall.com/clubs for all skating clubs, synchro teams, and theatre on ice teams who want to raise funds through MySkatingMall.com. Any group from around the world is eligible as long as they can be verified. It does not cost even one cent for groups to register! All groups will need to register before they can receive the 5% funding from the purchases of their members. More details of how this site will work are available at MySkatingMall.com.

Partner Stores

25 skating businesses have already decided to become Partner Stores on MySkatingMall.com! Think about them like the different stores you can walk into while strolling through your local mall. More will surely be added before our launch in March. To see the up-to-date list of Partner Stores, visit the “Supporters of MySkatingMall.com” Fan Page on Facebook.

With all these stores in addition to the thousands of used items that will soon be available for purchase, MySkatingMall.com will truly have everything a skater needs. It is our sincerest hope that MySkatingMall.com will aid “grassroots” clubs and teams to get the resources they need to support their skaters.

FAQ’s

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

questionmark

This is the first of several blog posts of Frequently Asked Questions. These questions refer to individual usage of MySkatingMall:

Will items be listed in an auction or will I be able to set the selling price?

When MySkatingMall goes live in March, all prices will be set by the seller and there will be no auctions. That way sellers can receive what they want for each item listed. Buyers and sellers will be able to communicate via the site so that they can negotiate an agreeable purchase price. We will have the ability to do auctions if users would like that at a later date.

Will you have to pay in order to use the site?

There will be no cost to purchase items from the site besides the purchase price (including shipping). When you sell an item, there will be a 10% commission which is less than eBay. For the first year, there will be no listing fee at all. Starting in March 2011, there will be a $1 per item per year listing fee. An important feature is that listings will not expire until they are sold or the seller removes them from MySkatingMall. That way you never have to deal with mulitiple listing fees in one year like other popular listing/auction sites.

What is the difference between an individual web store and a partner store?

Individual stores are meant for skaters, clubs, or teams who are primarily listing gently used items.  They will also be allowed to list new items if they so choose.  For the first year, there will be no listing fee for items. Starting March 2011, there will be a $1 per item annual listing fee.

Partner stores are intended for commercial skating businesses. Most will be selling primarily new items. Businesses that already have a website will be able to link it to MySkatingMall without any upfront fees.  Those businesses without websites will be able to create one on MySkatingMall just like individuals can.  A $10 per month hosting fee will be paid by partner stores who are creating their stores directly on MySkatingMall (and not linking to it through their own websites.) The advantage of partner stores is that they will be more visible on the site and there is no per item listing fee.

If I have multiple copies of the same item to sell, am I charged the $1 listing fee for each one?

Until March 2011, there will be no listing fee for any item being sold on MySkatingMall.com. Individuals and partner stores will be able to list items that have multiple copies to sell. For individuals, only $1 will be charged up front for the listing. Once the first copy of the item gets sold, then another dollar will be charged, et cetera, until all your copies are sold. This way you are not out the $1 for each item if they do not sell. This seems like the fairest way to do it.

How does my skating club/ team receive the 5% funding?

Clubs and teams will be able to register with MySkatingMall.com before we go live in March. The skating group will need to set up a Paypal account so that the transfers can be automatic. The plan is that every three months, payments will be made to the skating groups.

Please leave a comment to this blog with your questions and we’ll get them answered!

ANSWERED: Should teams be allowed to receive the 5%

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

 

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the discussion regarding the limits of the 5% funding. The question presented was, “Should syncro and theatre on ice teams be able to receive the 5% funding like a skating club?”  The final answer is…..drumroll please…….YES!

As long as the team is registered through a national governing body (like USFS and Skate Canada) we will be allowing them to raise funds through Myskatingmall.com.  The team will have to register (which is not available yet) just like skating clubs.

The 5% funding will go to whatever club or team is listed in a users profile at the time of the transaction. Users can change the beneficiary whenever they like. In other words, some transactions can benefit their team and others can benefit their club.

Through the discussion of this topic, another fundraising idea for teams and clubs was discovered.  The following description applies to clubs too, but I’m going to describe it from a team’s perspective: A team could register as a user on Myskatingmall and list items under its account.  If team members want to donate items to the team, then the team could receive the sale amount just like and individual would.  The team can pass its username and password around to its members who can then list items under the team’s account.

Myskatingmall.com is here to support the skating community. I feel that this decision is really going to help the most amount of people.  Please spread the word to all the syncro and theater teams that you know!

Ryan Jahnke

Founder, Myskatingmall.com

2003 World Team Member