The Soapbox Archives:
I just finished off my second yard sale where I had six friends bring their unwanteds to unload on bargain hunters (one of whom is a widow and needed the money). We know what kinds of prices need to be displayed in order to attract bargain hunters so we mark things up accordingly. Apparently these prices aren't low enough for some people.
I personally caught one person stealing from us because she kept asking prices on things and I happened to look into her bag to find some of my own items. I asked her whom she paid for those items and she pointed to one of my friends who denied having received payment. I forced her to pay my normal asking price for them but I could have forced her to pay the *retail* price by threatening to call the police.
We think that we were diverted once when one customer indicated to one of my friends that she saw someone put something into her bag. While we investigated we think that accuser used the distraction to put away some of her own items.
The one that really annoyed me was the guy who was "buying books for children in the Ukraine". He stacked up a pile of books and offered $18 for them and asked me if I would accept it. I counted up the books (50 cents per paperback and $1 per hardcover, more than a fair price) and counted up $27 worth of books. I offered it to him for $25. He kept insisting that he was buying for Ukrainian children and demanded that I accept $18 for the books. At that point, I held firm because some of those books belonged to other people and I couldn't accept that offer on their behalf. Finally the guy left in a huff with the books still in the pile on the lawn. I figured he was lying because children in the Ukraine aren't going to be interested in Scott Adam's Dilbert comic books. It just doesn't feel right to accept less than 50 cents for a mint condition book for which I paid over $10.
Later on, some other customer came up and related some stories about some professional shoppers at other yard sales who try to scoop up loads of bargains to sell for direct profit. He made specific reference to a "Russian" guy. I guess we met that one.
I felt that we were offering pretty decent prices for good stuff and I was unwilling to let people walk away feeling like they managed to swindle us. At the end, some of the other people left the worse of their remaining stock on the curb for the vultures; I pretty much packed up my stuff to donate to other friends' yard sales or to put on CraigsList and even for the Salvation Army. I didn't feel like just leaving them out for the people who were too cheap to fork over even a quarter for good stuff.
Unfortunately, I didn't get this email until Thursday, October 9 and the deadline is Sunday, October 12. There were only a few entries in the Boston/New England area so they're trying to encourage more people to enter (though with fewer entries, your chances of winning are higher). This really isn't enough time to do a decent job of preparing a clip to upload, at least not for the majority of us.
Oh wait. They want you to demonstrate some of the moves you saw on the show. Yeah, it's a little late to be telling people to watch the show.
I should note that I don't watch that show. I don't watch *any* of the current dance shows. To be honest, it bores me to watch someone else dance. That's a big reason why I don't attend many of the local dance weekends that primarily feature a lot of dance competitions. It's pretty frustrating when they play really good music and I'm not allowed to step on the dance floor.
In any case, it's really poor planning that these TV promoters send their contest information in to me so late. This website receives 25,000 unique visitors every month from all over New England and the country and they probably could have reached a lot dancers who also don't watch the show. Of course, this situation also applies to any and all local dance teachers and promoters who want paying customers.
Bottom line: Get your information to me *early*.
PS: Correction: I can watch Jonathan & Sylvia dance all night.
Hmm...forgot I had something written already for this week and I was all set to add this note in here.
This is a note directed specifically to all dance teachers.
As we all know, there are a fair number of dancing venues throughout the week and throughout the month. Many dance teachers and dance schools take advantage of that and drop off their class flyers at these dance venues. These teachers make use of the opportunity to capture some of the potential dance students who patronize the local dance venues.
What appears to be forgotten these days is that by putting their flyers out at the local dance venues, they (the teachers) are agreeing to promote the dance venue to their students; it's not a uni-directional relationship. If a dance teacher wants to use the dance venue to gain paying customers, it's only reasonable for the dance venue to expect some flow of goodwill from the dance teacher.
Case in point: someone told me about a dance class they were taking and the instructor told the students that if they wanted to go dancing, they should go...to a particular dance venue. No mention of any other dance venue, particularly those venues that might compete with the teachers' favorite venue. Suppose that dance venue doesn't fit the needs of the student? The teacher would be taking a chance of discouraging the student from finding the right venue for them and they might give up on dancing. Each dance venue has its own style and character and the students should get a chance to choose the one that suits their needs.
If you run dance classes and you don't want to support a specific dance venue, at least do the honorable thing and let that dance venue know ahead of time so they'll at least have the choice of not putting out your class flyers.
On the other hand, if you want to grow the community and give your students a choice in choosing a dance venue that fits their needs, then it's probably appropriate to inform your students of all the available options.
This is a note directed specifically to all dance teachers.
As we all know, there are a fair number of dancing venues throughout the week and throughout the month. Many dance teachers and dance schools take advantage of that and drop off their class flyers at these dance venues. These teachers make use of the opportunity to capture some of the potential dance students who patronize the local dance venues.
What appears to be forgotten these days is that by putting their flyers out at the local dance venues, they (the teachers) are agreeing to promote the dance venue to their students; it's not a uni-directional relationship. If a dance teacher wants to use the dance venue to gain paying customers, it's only reasonable for the dance venue to expect some flow of goodwill from the dance teacher.
Case in point: someone told me about a dance class they were taking and the instructor told the students that if they wanted to go dancing, they should go...to a particular dance venue. No mention of any other dance venue, particularly those venues that might compete with the teachers' favorite venue. Suppose that dance venue doesn't fit the needs of the student? The teacher would be taking a chance of discouraging the student from finding the right venue for them and they might give up on dancing. Each dance venue has its own style and character and the students should get a chance to choose the one that suits their needs.
If you run dance classes and you don't want to support a specific dance venue, at least do the honorable thing and let that dance venue know ahead of time so they'll at least have the choice of not putting out your class flyers.
On the other hand, if you want to grow the community and give your students a choice in choosing a dance venue that fits their needs, then it's probably appropriate to inform your students of all the available options.