So, it’s January 7 and Cafe Press still does not have their calendar stock, so we still can’t order the Pets of Balloon Juice calendars. Maybe the calendar stock will arrive tomorrow, or maybe it will arrive in a month, or worse.
Before anyone asks about another vendor instead of Cafe Press, Cafe Press is the ONLY company that allows the proceeds to go directly to the pet charity. Otherwise, we have to pay taxes on the sales.
This has implications for as people who wanted the calendars, and it has implications for Athenspets who will be the recipients of calendar proceeds.
So… we have options if we’re willing to be flexible!
We can wait patiently for the calendar stock.
We can wait impatiently for the calendar stock.
We could “sell” electronic versions of the calendar images (the 13 pages) for $10 – what we “make” from each calendar.
We could sell an electronic version of the special January page we made for $5 (a collection of wonderful pics of Lily, Rosie, Steve and Thurston)
We could potentially make notecards from the higher resolution calendar pics. I can’t be sure, but as far as I can tell, all the cards in a single box have to have the same photo.
We could potentially make notecards from the higher resolution “favorites” pics from a week or so ago.
Or one of you might have a fabulous idea that we haven’t considered.
Thoughts?
Leader Jeffries vs. ‘Squeaker’ McCarthy
Percysowner
I’d like to know more about an electronic version of the calendar. I haven’t used a paper calendar in years but if this could somehow integrate or sync with my Google calendar I would go for it. Even as a stand alone, I would consider it because it won’t be one more physical thing that I don’t use and it would be pretty.
cliosfanboy
I am willing to wait.
WaterGirl
@Percysowner: It wouldn’t be a functional calendar. It would be a 13 static files that would have the the calendar images for each month, and the image of the cover.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Willing to wait.
Ruckus
Patience is a virtue.
I was told that a lot when I was a little kid.
Once I understood what the words virtue and patience meant I knew mom was screwing with me.
However as I got older I found out that it was reasonably likely that mom was right. It’s just that virtue seems not to be all that much of a human desire.
Now, all that said, because I’m being wordy today, I’ll wait.
CaseyL
I get the calendar for the photos, and to support the charity: I don’t actually use it (like nearly everyone else, I rely on e-calendars).
So I say wait. In my case, patiently : )
CatRadio
I like the idea of both!
silvery
Willing to wait, patiently
CatRadio
To be clear, paper calendar and electronic calendar.
Alison Rose
I’m willing to wait, especially since my cat is on December :P
zhena gogolia
I’m happy to wait.
Butch
I’m willing to wait, whether patiently or not. I didn’t even know that e-calendars existed and wouldn’t use one.
Jean
I am fine with waiting
jackmac
Willing to wait.
WaterGirl
Who knew BJ peeps would lean so heavily to patience! :-)
Another Scott
@Percysowner: Along these lines…
We get a zillion paper calendars in the mail every year from various charities. We have very little wall space. :-/
In addition or instead (or while waiting), how about if we do something like “sponsor” a daily/hourly Pet of the Day picture on the sidebar with pictures submitted for the calendars? My J gets a paper “dog a day” desk calendar every year. A different doggo/gato on the sidebar of every post would be a similar nice change of pace and there could be a link at the bottom to remind us to donate to AspenPets.
Dunno how easy this would be to implement, I’m sure it’s just a SMOP. ;-)
Just a thought.
Thanks for all you do.
Cheers,
Scott.
cain
@Another Scott:
I like it – how about an ‘In Memoriam” for the pets that crossed the rainbow bridge in the past year?
Alison Rose
@WaterGirl: Only when it comes to pets :)
WaterGirl
@Alison Rose: Patience for pets, not politics. :-)
Leslie
So long as it won’t hurt Athenspets (e.g., something time-sensitive they’d hoped or planned to do with the funds), waiting seems like the best option. If there is something time-sensitive, then I would vote for digital sales now, followed by the physical calendars whenever the stock arrives.
narya
I’m willing to wait AND I have a suggestion! Is it possible to create postcards? Because then I can easily find postcards the next time Postcards to Voters comes around. (I have been an absolute slug and have not participated.)
Dangerman
Jackals are known for their patience. For example, I just watched patiently as the House called roll 15 times, watched every one, and I didn’t drop a single F bomb (and, if you believe THAT, are you interested in any bridges I have for sale?).
OT question for any out there that know cars better than I do (which is every single one of you). Had an engine code go off yesterday that said critical when I checked it so I went to the nearest name shop (I’m on road). Along with fixing the problem (and fairly fast and pretty reasonable price), they offered me the fuel injection cleaning for the low, low price of $179. Well, that didn’t seem like a low price to me, so I declined, so I went to Walmart (closest big box place with an auto service) who quoted me $50 with an oil change part of the deal. Ok, it has to be apples and oranges, Walmart has good prices but not THAT good. Anyone want to guesstimate/ballpark what that service should cost and if I should wait for an oil change (which I did about 2 weeks ago)? Nothing special about my car; Ford Escape (as it works, barely, for 6’ 7”).
eclare
Willing to wait. If we don’t, how would this “sell” of images work, tax wise? Would BJ give the images to AthensPets so that for a donation people could receive the images? Want to make sure we do things right (CPA and tax geek).
HinTN
I actually hang a calendar on the wall in the kitchen and write on it. That said, I’m willing to wait.
However, this note cards thing… Would Cafe Press print notecards with assorted photos (not just one) abs would those proceeds go to AthensPets? I would be very in for that!
eclare
@Dangerman: Get that fixed NOW!!!!
My cousin had a Ford Escape where the check engine light went on. Next thing he knew his car was on fire on the side of the road in MS. He looked online, there is some defect in Ford Escape engines that make them susceptible to engine fires. I saw his photos. Get it fixed!!!
ETA this happened last fall. Srsly Google Ford Escape engine fire.
HinTN
@Dangerman: Cleaning injectors is good if that’s what’s needed. $175 isn’t out of line for a dealership quote. Another (not WalMart) shop might be 40 – 70% of that. Get the code read, it’s still there.
SiubhanDuinne
Personally, I’m willing to wait. For the past few years, I’ve ordered it as a gift for friends. The first year, I included pix of their five cats as a surprise. This year, they supplied the photos themselves and are aware of the Café Press paper supply problem, so at least there’s no surprise to be ruined. I’ve forwarded them the link to this post so they can see what’s up. Guess I’ll simply tuck an I.O.U. for the 2023 calendar in their belated Christmas bag.
Thank you, Water Girl, for keeping us all in the loop.
Yutsano
OT: in the waiting area. Shot #4 in the arm!
WaterGirl
@Leslie: We have a decent balance in the Athenspets startup fund, so we are okay for now. But we had let them know to expect about $3k for calendar sales so I hope the calendars come through.
WaterGirl
@narya: Yes, we can do postcards through Cafe Press.
That’s a terrific idea to use BJ pet postcards for postcards to voters. “P.S. that’s my dog Butch on the postcard” :-)
MomSense
What about backgrounds and lock screens for laptops, desktops, and smartphones?
it would be fun to have a new calendar each month for our devices.
WaterGirl
@eclare: For “selling the images” we would handle it in the same way we did for “buying” ukraine blocks.
You guys donate directly through the Athenspets thermometer to “buy” something.
WaterGirl
@HinTN: Yes, proceeds for everything I proposed above would go to Athenspets.
eclare
@WaterGirl: Cool.
WaterGirl
@HinTN: I tried to look at Cafe Press earlier, and I think it’s the same photo design for all the cards, which was disappointing. But beth handles the creation side on Cafe Press, so she would know the answer more confidently than I do.
But she’s on vacation. :-)
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: You are most welcome!
I am personally far more patient and much less cranky when I know what’s going on, and I suspect I am not alone in that, so I wanted to give everyone an update. :-)
WaterGirl
@MomSense: We experimented with that last year, and it turned out to be kind of frustrating because we didn’t have a lot of high resolution photos, which you need for that to look good.
We did get a good number of high resolution images for the “favorite dogs & cats” series. Let me see if Albatrossity might be willing to give that a try again this year, if we have enough high res images, which I think we might.
Anonymous at Work
I’d wait. Don’t know about y’all but not buying the calendar out of necessity.
persistentillusion
@narya: What a great idea! I would definitely use them for PTV.
eachother
How about a year that starts when the paper comes? Could eventually generate a mid-year celebration and day off?
I’m in no hurry. My calendar girl has demonstrated no agitation.
Would enjoy more pet picture articles. I like the BJ pet calendar (Ken Burns style in and out) photo rotation idea. H/T Scott. Like the rotating tag. Give the side bar a little motion. Maybe a $10 – buy a spot for charity to be included or some such.
skerry
@WaterGirl: Speaking of Ukraine blocks, would Quiltingfool be willing to do another round? I wasn’t able to get one last time but would like one.
something fabulous
I’m fine with patiently/impatiently waiting. There’ve been many years I used to wait til February or so and get calendars once they are marked down! It’ll be nice to have, whenever they arrive.
Sure Lurkalot
I think the idea of using the pet pics for postcards to voters is an excellent one! Maybe some good captions will come to mind to go with some of the more animated ones.
KRK
I can wait.
I do enjoy and use the physical calendar — to track my cat’s insulin shots — but I ordered both of the 2022 calendars, so I can just use the 2nd as a 2023 stand-in until Cafe Press gets itself sorted.
Thanks for the update!
bbleh
Well duh, we make and sell NFTs of the images for $12 million each, and then who cares about taxes?
I’ll wait.
HinTN
@Yutsano: You’re running late, boy. Got #5 last Fall, but I am a geezer.
HinTN
@WaterGirl:
Welp, there it is. Please put in your infinitely high stack of shit to keep track of. 😎
WaterGirl
@skerry: I have received 3 emails so far with people asking for a block, and Quiltingfool has said yes to all of them.
So go ahead and pick our your block(s) and send me an email message.’
CaseyL
I love the idea of pet postcards for GOTV!
Preferably as a “half-page image” on the front (address) side – opposite the address area? So we can legibly write our political message on the back?
Or as a faded-to-translucent on the writing side, but then the image might be too indistinct.
middlelee
Willing to wait for calendar and I would buy postcards in addition to calendar.
Would be nice to have 100 or more postcards sitting around waiting for the next election push.
WaterGirl
@CaseyL:
I have no idea if that is an option or not. Will let you know.
persistentillusion
@something fabulous: We go to the mall once a year: in January, when the pop-up calendar store marks everything 40% off.
MichiganderGail
I definitely still want a hard copy 2023 calendar and am willing to wait.
Quiltingfool
@skerry: I haven’t talked to WaterGirl, but we can do another round of Ukraine blocks. I’m swamped with several quilt projects right now, but I’m thinking that I can clear up stuff in a month or two (say middle of February or so).
Having said that, I’m going to the orthopedic doctor Wednesday to see about scheduling a knee replacement surgery so that may change things a bit.
I wouldn’t mind getting an idea about blocks folks are interested in, though. Sometimes I need a break from a big project and I find appliqué to be very relaxing!
NotMax
Instead of January to December, could it be made, say, February ’23 to January ’24? Wouldn’t need to reconfigure every month, just the one subtracted in favor of the one added.
Leslie
I love the idea of having a bunch of postcards ready for voter outreach, especially with pet pics on them.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: I don’t think we have that kind of control with Cafe Press. I did wonder if they might have a 16-month calendar, but because of the calendar stock issue we can’t even see any information about calendars. So we will just have to wait until they have the stock back in to see what options we have, if any.
cvannatta
I am patient about calendars and willing to wait.
@WaterGirl: Re: custom postcard packs (e.g., a 50-pack with 50 different B-J pet images), I know someone who is doing something like this for her business. If there’s enough interest, I’d be willing to ask her about costs, minimum orders, paper-shortage issues, lead times, etc. and report back. Ping me if you want me to reach out.
HinTN
@cvannatta: I would like to have folded cards with individual pet pix on the front and blank interior for writing. Appropriately sized plain envelopes would be a real plus.
Postcards would be nice but since I’m allowed to dream…
WaterGirl
@cvannatta: That sounds wonderful.
The only problem is that we need to not be the middleman for the money, otherwise we have to pay taxes. The reason to use Cafe Press is so we are not in the middle.
Having said that, we are talking about completely re-doing the Balloon Juice store, so something like that might be good.
It’s worth checking in with the person you know, that can’t hurt at all.
To be Frank
NFT’s? I hear they are like trading cards
pat
I’ve been dealing with calendar issues at Walgreens. Suggest that the year begin with the month that we get it and go on from there. In other words, March to Feb. rather than Jan. to Dec, for example.
Have not read any comments yet, just wanted to get this is.
pat
I do not want cards!!!!
I do not send cards! My calendar hangs in the mudroom over the litter box and I record the number of pees and poops each day. Very important info for an elderly cat.
Narya
Excited to see others also want postcards! Would love to order with my calendar if that’s at all possible! Woo!!
glc
Preference: Nothing electronic for me. So: cards or waiting.
On the other hand I’ll go with whatever you wind up having to do, and if that turns out to be electronic only, so be it.
Singin’ the supply chain blues …
Odie Hugh Manatee
I view it as a donation to charity so I have no problem waiting for it (other than the charity probably sure would like the money!).
kalakal
I’m fine. with waiting
justinb
I’ll wait
GBinChicago
I don’t mind waiting — I just view it as a donation to a charity, so it happens when it happens.