Quote:
Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi
I could definitely go for EricH's idea. If a team wants that second trophy then they should have to pay for at least the shipping.
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If this was an option I don't think a single team would not request a second trophy. So now you are making teams that are successful have to pay extra because they are successful.
I don't care either way about pins vs metals. My question echos some others wondering how much they spend on these metals anyway? Over the past year or so there seems to be an effort to cut costs, but without knowing how much of an impact or savings these items are giving it seems silly to get all worked up over it.
For example How much do the metals cost to make (probably not the $12 they charge for extra ones)? How much would a custom made pin cost? A new pin would have to be redesigned every year, what does that cost? what tooling is associated with it. And most importantly what is the total being saved?
I honestly think that there are bigger items which FIRST can cut/change which will have a bigger impact on the bottom line. For example is it necessary to have a ~$50k fireworks display at the wrap party (estimate from what I know about fireworks) Why do we need the curtains in the pits in Atlanta when tape on the floor would be just fine, how much does it cost in rentals and manual labor to set them up?
Ultimately for me it comes down to this; saving money is good but unless you are going to pass along the savings to the teams, don't cheapen the student experience. The largest chunk of FIRST's operating budget is from team registration (14.4million) so in my mind customer satisfaction should be their highest priority, I didn't hear people complaining about getting a free metals but I am sure I will if they go away.