Andymark Product Voucher

[rlance]

Can the $450 product voucher (drive train opt out) from Andymark be used for any item that Andymark sells, or is this voucher only good for the FIRST Choice items? If it is only good for a limited selection of FIRST Choice items, is it worth it to take the voucher instead of the drive base?

[Chris is me]

It can be used to buy anything for sale on AM's website. Unless a particular FIRST Choice item is available for regular sale on AM's website, you can't use the voucher to get FIRST Choice stuff - that's a completely separate system.

The drive base generally has a touch more than $450 worth of stuff in it, so if you think you'll use it I'd keep it, but if you know you're going with a custom drive base, use the credit for parts.

[RaMoore]

The voucher can only be used to purchase products that AndyMark sells and is unrelated to how your team can get items from FIRST Choice.

FIRST Choice is managed by AndyMark, but it's part of your Kit of Parts you get with your FRC registration. Each team will be issues points and each team can make a wish list of items. This year's FIRST Choice system hasn't be release (afaik) but you can review last year's process and get a good idea.

If you're team isn't completely sure they are ready to design a custom drivebase, it's probably best to not opt-out.

[Monochron]

I still can't believe that AM missed the opportunity to call these vouchers "Andy Marks" (like the German Deutsche Mark).

[rlance]

Thanks for the responses and clarification on the First CHOICE process.

We aren't quite ready to try the custom drive train for this upcoming season, so I think we better stick with getting the AndyMark one in the kit.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

It can be used to buy anything for sale on AM's website. Unless a particular FIRST Choice item is available for regular sale on AM's website, you can't use the voucher to get FIRST Choice stuff - that's a completely separate system.

Confirmed.

The drive base generally has a touch more than $450 worth of stuff in it, so if you think you'll use it I'd keep it, but if you know you're going with a custom drive base, use the credit for parts.

Can't confirm for 2017 (at least until Kickoff), but was true in recent years.

Source: AndyMark employee

[snoman]

Quote from FRC blog
"To help you make your decision, we can give you some general information about the 2017 drive base kit.

- It’s similar to the AM14U3 from 2016, but will not include the bumper mounting kit."