Cover/Venue Fees

Check this out. I run ranbats for SOVA. When I first started, I charged a $2 entry fee. A few weeks later, some of the guys suggested that I should charge a cover/venue fee since we're using my apartment all the time. So I did. The ranbats were still only $2, but $1 went to me for a cover and the other $1 went to a winner take all pot. Every ranbat season, we usually hold 3 to 4 ranbats. At the end of the season, we hold an end of season tourney. The price is like that of a major tourney, $10, but instead of it being winner take all, it's split pot 7020/10 like a regular tourney. I also up the cover as well for this one tourney that happens like once every 2 to 4 months depending on how long it took us to finish our season. No complaints about that in season 1. Well, we're now at the end of season 3, and it's time for our end of season tourney. So I made the announcement, and now, there are a few people complaining. One person in particular and you'll be able to point him out quickly.


Go to this link. It's to page 142 of our current VA thread on SRK.


http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=204160&page=142


Check out posts 3532, 3546, and then go to the next page and check out posts 3570 and 3573. After you read those 4 posts, answer this question. Do you think it is wrong to charge a venue/cover fee just because a tournament is held in an apartment vice another establishment?

 

I don't think there is a right or wrong to this. If you ask for a cover and people pay it, I'd recommend continuing to charge. Let the complainers stay home. Since you are up front about where the money is going, complaining about it seems kind of silly.

I don't think the venue has much relevancy, especially with full disclosure.

 

I agree with there not being right/wrong solution to this. Making money is never retarded imo. Morality of it depends maybe whether you are making money off your friends or other people. I don't know what I would do.

If people are ok with it, keep doing it.

 

It's not for making money. I host week after week. I only charge for the ranbat and end of tourney weeks. Casual weeks, no charge at all. Only one other person here really hosts in large numbers and he's not able to do it on Saturdays. I do it on Saturdays, almost every Saturday at that. No one else has bothered to offer up their places to even try to host. A lot of them aren't even able to do that. I was nice enough to give them a place to come together and game. They have access to my facilities, use my water, drink my drinks, soak in the AC, and use electricity, since we usually run anywhere between 4-6 stations simultaneously. The least they could to is help contribute to the expenses.

One thing I plan on doing with the cover fee for this tourney there is use some of it to buy food and drinks and use the rest to cover everything else.

 

yeah, a cover fee for a house tourney seems ridiculous at first but when you frame it in terms of cost of electricity/labor for cleaning up/free food and drink etc. it makes a lot of sense. If they don't want to shell out A DOLLAR to cover that then they can hold their own ranbats lol.

I mean big tourneys cost $20 venue and even our SF4 ranbats here cost $5 at the door.

 

Hosting is not as easy as some would believe. If people pay, keep taking the money.

 

Blackula, keep doing what you're doing. Really. It's not as if you're doing this once a month or so - dude you do it every friggin' week... expenses add up. On top of that you don't charge for casual play. Come the fuck on man, that's just ungrateful if people don't see the reasoning behind this - fuck em.

Edit: On the topic of people being strapped for cash? Drop the fucking joystick and get your priorities straight. REAL TALK.

 

I say if the bastards don't want to pay fuck em. They don't have to come. Gamers are some ungrateful fucks considering your giving them a social venue, food, and hours of entertainment.

 

$15 dollards.....seriously WTF. thas is NOTHING. are these the same gamers that can afford the SF4 TE stick? if so, ungrateful fucks indeed

 

The $10 tournament entry fee is completely understandable. As for the venue fee, I'd have no problems with paying it, since it is your house. If there are people who don't want to pay $5, then they are either incredibly poor, or incredibly cheap, and if most of them have TEs, I'm guessing it's the latter.

Short story shorter. Keep the fee. There wasn't any problems before, why should there be now?

 

Plague would be a Millionaire by now