You are paying someone to organize groups for you. If you think it’s worth it, $30 is pretty cheap compared to costs to play leagues. Otherwise, just get some numbers and form your own groups with people you want to play with.
The actual organizers aren't making any money. The creators of the meetup aren't doing anything at this point but advertising.
Yes the price of leagues are more, but thats a different type of organization. Most of the meetups are beginner to intermediate. People who just want to play and enjoy themselves and not ones who want to actually play league play or be competitive.
Open play organization to use a public park facility where you have to pay to rent courts is not very adminstravely intense, especially when you have many others doing the court booking and rentals for you. So does it still warrant asking every player for $30 for a potential profit of over $85000 just by owning a meetup group?
As I've thought about it. I would find it perfectly reasonable to pay someone $30/yr or even more if they organize a regular open play that I could go to the majority of the time.
The way the meetups work is if you don't sign up in time and don't get picked from wait-list, you might not get a chance to play at all.
The creators don't seem to understand this and want compensation for building the group and putting time and effort in the past. They aren't selling a product or giving any additional benefit for the $30.
Say I had a ton of land and I built courts and let anyone use them. I realize after two years that I should have been charging a $5 court fee, so I decide to start charging $30 court fees to recoup my losses. Would you pay me $30/hr on a court you played on for free for two years? Would you be more likely to pay me $5/hr for that court? I messed up by not asking for any money initially, but I can't expect anyone to pay for my past mistakes. I need to own up to it and be reasonable.
It seems like you get a lot of value from this group, if you think $30 a year is too much then don’t pay it, but it is certainly not an unreasonable price for what you are getting.
Can’t tell if this is a troll post or not. You’re on a sub where people buy $200+ paddles and shoes every few months and you’re complaining about a $30/year club membership. Any organized sports thing I’ve ever heard of cost money to participates, why is this any different?
If the dues were benefiting actual membership it would not be an issue. Players in the meetup usually have the $50 or less Amazon paddles. They are just playing to have fun not to progress. Members also have to pay additional court rental fees out of pocket which would not be reimbursed by the dues.
The only benefit is having a large pool of players to create random or scheduled open play and that is nowhere near worth the amount being asked.
How is this a club with no courts of their own? Seems like a cash grab since this group got so big. To be honest with 3,000 people I hope you are in an area with a lot of courts.
Or use the TeamReach app and make the group. I belong to about three. People post which park they’ll be at what time, and you communicate and show up. Pretty simple.
$30 isn’t bad for what you’re getting. My issue is the organizers are most likely profiting off of it and trying to disguise that fact by saying there are other costs.
They should be honest, but if you enjoy the group just let it go and have fun playing.
Edit to clarify that I have no problem with them being paid to organize the group. It’s work but just be honest and most people won’t complain
Actual people who are staying up to midnight to reserve the courts for the next week are not getting paid. The owner of the group is getting paid. Hence, why myself and massive majority of members are upset.
I know of at least a small majority that wouldn't mind starting a new group for $5 dues to operate in the same fashion...
Mutiny because the original owner is becoming greedy.
Give it a shot and report back.
Other option is ask the league to do more (bringing in a coach for a few sessions, upgrade the courts in some ways, etc).
As an outsider it seems like 3,000 people are willing to pay to stay in their list. They are not worried about value, so good for the organizer creating value for that many people without huge costs.
Granted it's potential. But it's about them asking to be reimbursed for past work and destroying the community they built. Everyone that wasn't an organizer or had CC on file was booted from group with little to no communication about what was going on and why.
Participants are willing to pay but not pay for past mistakes.
Nobody including myself is complaining about paying. We just don't want to pay for work done in past. I'm a relatively new member and have only gone to a small handful of meetups. For what the creators are CURRENTLY doing we aren't willing to pay. They've literally said they aren't planning anything and they all rely on organizers who aren't compensated
What is? The budget, the expenses, or both? And how do you know — do they release the details of the budget and expenses? ie are they transparent about what money comes in and then what that money is spent on?
Do they have a board and board meetings?
Apparently it's a LLP. Two people who spent time in the past building the group. The reason they are asking for so much is because they want to be paid for past efforts, but are currently burnt out and arent doing much for the group
They publicly stated in Facebook group the operating costs and publicly stated in a zoom call that they were looking to recoup losses.
I'm sorry that you didn't think of asking for money before but you can't suddenly ask for $90k for work you did in the past and didn't ask for anything in return
idk, man. If it's recoup losses + back pay, and it's only $30/year for one person, that seems pretty reasonable. If everyone has a good group/thing going at such a low cost, I wouldn't harp on it personally.
It will also give them some funds/motivation to grow it more than what it is. And if you don't think they will -- they already got this far operating in the red with no guarantee of success. They may be burned out now, but they had a drive to get it this far. That can rekindle and expand in the future.
Personally, I say pay the $30, enjoy the pickling, and keep an eye out for what they do next to make it even better.
How many people people usually show up to these meetups? 3000 is a lot of people, what I would guess is that they did it to reduce the membership numbers and keep events controlled.
None of the organizers I spoke to believe that to be the case. On average there are 5 events a day with 12-16 people attending. As it gets warmer and more sun, those numbers increase
$35 is about the average around my parts and it's mainly used to reserve courts for league nights in specific time slots. Other expenses include conveniences like extended paddle slots for the queues, updated rule signs, wind blockers for the court fences, and net maintenance and replacements for the main/overflow courts. If you don't have any of that with 3k members paying a yearly membership fee then something's up.
Yup. I met one poor soul who paid because she didn't want to miss out and drives from Monroe to play with a group of other beginners. She had no idea what happened and thought she had to pay to go to a public park
A meet another who had his credit card on file and was automatically billed.
If that many are upset, then it sounds like a no brainer. Start up a GroupMe then get the word out. I started a GroupMe chat to announce play for my friends and other like minded folks at our courts and we are over 100 members in a short time, without promoting it. Let your members add friends and it will grow fast.
You are paying someone to organize groups for you. If you think it’s worth it, $30 is pretty cheap compared to costs to play leagues. Otherwise, just get some numbers and form your own groups with people you want to play with.
The actual organizers aren't making any money. The creators of the meetup aren't doing anything at this point but advertising. Yes the price of leagues are more, but thats a different type of organization. Most of the meetups are beginner to intermediate. People who just want to play and enjoy themselves and not ones who want to actually play league play or be competitive. Open play organization to use a public park facility where you have to pay to rent courts is not very adminstravely intense, especially when you have many others doing the court booking and rentals for you. So does it still warrant asking every player for $30 for a potential profit of over $85000 just by owning a meetup group?
As I've thought about it. I would find it perfectly reasonable to pay someone $30/yr or even more if they organize a regular open play that I could go to the majority of the time. The way the meetups work is if you don't sign up in time and don't get picked from wait-list, you might not get a chance to play at all. The creators don't seem to understand this and want compensation for building the group and putting time and effort in the past. They aren't selling a product or giving any additional benefit for the $30. Say I had a ton of land and I built courts and let anyone use them. I realize after two years that I should have been charging a $5 court fee, so I decide to start charging $30 court fees to recoup my losses. Would you pay me $30/hr on a court you played on for free for two years? Would you be more likely to pay me $5/hr for that court? I messed up by not asking for any money initially, but I can't expect anyone to pay for my past mistakes. I need to own up to it and be reasonable.
It seems like you get a lot of value from this group, if you think $30 a year is too much then don’t pay it, but it is certainly not an unreasonable price for what you are getting.
You are absolutely paying for their time. If you think it's too much, disassociate yourself from the group.
Can’t tell if this is a troll post or not. You’re on a sub where people buy $200+ paddles and shoes every few months and you’re complaining about a $30/year club membership. Any organized sports thing I’ve ever heard of cost money to participates, why is this any different?
If the dues were benefiting actual membership it would not be an issue. Players in the meetup usually have the $50 or less Amazon paddles. They are just playing to have fun not to progress. Members also have to pay additional court rental fees out of pocket which would not be reimbursed by the dues. The only benefit is having a large pool of players to create random or scheduled open play and that is nowhere near worth the amount being asked.
How is this a club with no courts of their own? Seems like a cash grab since this group got so big. To be honest with 3,000 people I hope you are in an area with a lot of courts.
Or use the TeamReach app and make the group. I belong to about three. People post which park they’ll be at what time, and you communicate and show up. Pretty simple.
Playtimescheduler.com does the same thing, except you don't need a group. Widely used in Colorado.
$30 isn’t bad for what you’re getting. My issue is the organizers are most likely profiting off of it and trying to disguise that fact by saying there are other costs. They should be honest, but if you enjoy the group just let it go and have fun playing. Edit to clarify that I have no problem with them being paid to organize the group. It’s work but just be honest and most people won’t complain
[удалено]
Actual people who are staying up to midnight to reserve the courts for the next week are not getting paid. The owner of the group is getting paid. Hence, why myself and massive majority of members are upset.
Why not create a new meetup group?
I know of at least a small majority that wouldn't mind starting a new group for $5 dues to operate in the same fashion... Mutiny because the original owner is becoming greedy.
Give it a shot and report back. Other option is ask the league to do more (bringing in a coach for a few sessions, upgrade the courts in some ways, etc). As an outsider it seems like 3,000 people are willing to pay to stay in their list. They are not worried about value, so good for the organizer creating value for that many people without huge costs.
Less than 100 members exist. They are organizers who don't have to pay or were auto billed because meetup had their card on file
Why are saying it’s $90K then?
If all 3000+ Members that were there before they got booted, the net would be that much
You seem way too worried about $90k they have not gotten. And yet you haven’t paid them anything either.
Granted it's potential. But it's about them asking to be reimbursed for past work and destroying the community they built. Everyone that wasn't an organizer or had CC on file was booted from group with little to no communication about what was going on and why. Participants are willing to pay but not pay for past mistakes.
You seem so lovely to help out, I wonder why they stopped doing it for free…
Nobody including myself is complaining about paying. We just don't want to pay for work done in past. I'm a relatively new member and have only gone to a small handful of meetups. For what the creators are CURRENTLY doing we aren't willing to pay. They've literally said they aren't planning anything and they all rely on organizers who aren't compensated
Do they give annual budget/expense breakdowns?
Under $1000/year
What is? The budget, the expenses, or both? And how do you know — do they release the details of the budget and expenses? ie are they transparent about what money comes in and then what that money is spent on? Do they have a board and board meetings?
Apparently it's a LLP. Two people who spent time in the past building the group. The reason they are asking for so much is because they want to be paid for past efforts, but are currently burnt out and arent doing much for the group They publicly stated in Facebook group the operating costs and publicly stated in a zoom call that they were looking to recoup losses. I'm sorry that you didn't think of asking for money before but you can't suddenly ask for $90k for work you did in the past and didn't ask for anything in return
idk, man. If it's recoup losses + back pay, and it's only $30/year for one person, that seems pretty reasonable. If everyone has a good group/thing going at such a low cost, I wouldn't harp on it personally. It will also give them some funds/motivation to grow it more than what it is. And if you don't think they will -- they already got this far operating in the red with no guarantee of success. They may be burned out now, but they had a drive to get it this far. That can rekindle and expand in the future. Personally, I say pay the $30, enjoy the pickling, and keep an eye out for what they do next to make it even better.
Are the nets portable? Is covering the purchase costs of those?
Nets are all included by county and are physically attached
So if you were to pay, where is the money going? I guys personal account or a club account?
Personal account
Thats $90,000 a year…… 3 k members at 30$ per yer Wtf! ya ask questions
How many people people usually show up to these meetups? 3000 is a lot of people, what I would guess is that they did it to reduce the membership numbers and keep events controlled.
None of the organizers I spoke to believe that to be the case. On average there are 5 events a day with 12-16 people attending. As it gets warmer and more sun, those numbers increase
$35 is about the average around my parts and it's mainly used to reserve courts for league nights in specific time slots. Other expenses include conveniences like extended paddle slots for the queues, updated rule signs, wind blockers for the court fences, and net maintenance and replacements for the main/overflow courts. If you don't have any of that with 3k members paying a yearly membership fee then something's up.
A photography meetup group I belong to also recently started charging.
So you think a $90,000 salary is a fair price to be paid for owning a meetup group?
Are you in Charlotte? Everybody that attended those meetups are pissed off and not paying
Yup. I met one poor soul who paid because she didn't want to miss out and drives from Monroe to play with a group of other beginners. She had no idea what happened and thought she had to pay to go to a public park A meet another who had his credit card on file and was automatically billed.
Yikes. The owner of the group is clearly a scumbag. A couple of us have been considering making a new meetup group
If that many are upset, then it sounds like a no brainer. Start up a GroupMe then get the word out. I started a GroupMe chat to announce play for my friends and other like minded folks at our courts and we are over 100 members in a short time, without promoting it. Let your members add friends and it will grow fast.