"xyzTeam9876" Wow, I could do a much better job in doing a website. Just buy some cloud service, some HTML, really it isn't hard"
/sigh
There is more to e-commerce than just the 7 minutes you need to interact. Ton's of suppliers sent product. Need to get inventoried, put into pick sites, included into the inventory, priced by "points". Track all the teams and how many points they have. Web site. Credit card to pay for shipping. Order sheets. Pick orders. Pack. Ship. Track. Deal with problem orders (wrong order, wrong items, shipping issues). Customer service.
This is all a hard task.
And while AndyMark is making a 2000% markup on free parts (do the math), this isn't their core business. Amazing robot parts for a price that you can't get from a China distributor, Sunday shipping, tech and customer support that understand that you are on a 50 day deadline (that you've blown 45 days of) with two guys Mark and Andy that lay awake at night because they have been where you are now.
Free parts to you, a bonus.
But, I see people out there with their hands up going "Hey FIRST pick me for FIRST Choice. I want to be the site for that next year!". Go for it, I'm your first fan! You are a rock star!
The rest of you need to shut up. Sorry that that sounded harsh. You spent $6000 to be part of FIRST. Suppliers spent thousands in donations of parts. AM is trying their best to glue you together. FIRST isn't a business model, it's a donation model. Mark and Andy are smart guys, and I'm sure they did this with the best intentions (or has Mom says "The Road to Hell is Paved with the Best Intentions" )
It's not part of your $6000 birthright. It's free stuff as a bonus.
FIRST is partially duplicating an engineering lifecycle. Parts shortages, parts price changes, parts (insert verb) are part of the real world.
But, on a more personal level, I'm more disappointed in the mentors that have whined in this thread. Is the pressure that bad that 23 days before kickoff you are in a full meltdown? Really? Can I get a build site address so I can come Presidents Week in February to watch your team?
Mentors, we are leaders. Life is full of adversity. If this is the worst problem that you face in the next 10 weeks, I'll come kiss you on Einstein. Lead, don't teach people to whine. We have too many Lawyers that do that
