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Asexual wristbands


M51

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Okay I know this has been mentioned before.

But in previous searches, I could never find a place that would make custom wristbands in small quantities. The places always required orders of 100's or more.

Well a search tonight came up with this:

http://www.wristbandsnow.com/index.php?g=d...t=1&style=1

They can make a single wristband to your specification.

I used

text: Asexual * S/R/A

color: Victoria Secret (ironic, I know, but it was the closest thing I saw to AVEN purple)

font: Comic Sans

And it came to $7.74 (this includes shipping and tax). Quite affordable.

I didn't actually order it, but I am thinking about it. Is anyone else interested? If enough people think they might buy one, I will, too.

There is a limit to 25 characters, which is why I put S/R/A. Plus I figured that way you don't have to advertise to people not in the know about your gender preference, etc. For me, S/R/A means straight-romantic/affectionate (I started with H for hetero then realized that left nothing for the homo-s out there, lol), because these seemed like the key specifications that would determine my compatibility with another A. Not like I am only looking for romantic relationships...but it seems our specifics kind of come up even amongst friends.

If enough people want to do this we could come up with our own system of letters and acronyms, like singles ads SWFSLTR, anyone?

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Sounds interesting, although i don't think i will ever wear it, i could get one just to have it. Do i have to have this damned credit card? I know, i could just go and check it at the site but i'm rather bored right now, so, i'm just asking. Maybe i'll go tomorrow at the site.

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i blame lance armstrong for this whole wristband trend

anyway the idea sounds ok

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I generally dislike those wristbands, but I'd probably wear an asexual one. Because, c'mon, it's a wristband, but it's an ace wristband. That's cool. :P

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I generally dislike those wristbands, but I'd probably wear an asexual one. Because, c'mon, it's a wristband, but it's an ace wristband. That's cool. :P

Same here. I'll get one if some of you guys do! (Lol, I like to jump on bandwagons :wink: )

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I would wear one if we could get the black-tipped triangle on it, but I doubt we could.

Would be awesome though.

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I would wear one if we could get the black-tipped triangle on it, but I doubt we could.

Would be awesome though.

Yes, we could. You can upload a simple logo.

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Noskcaj.Llahsram

YAY! we're one step closer to becoming a secret organization like Project Mayhem from fight club, only where they practise domestic anti consumerism terrorism and have chemical burns on the back of their hands. We'll have silicon rubber bracelets and practise armchair visibility.

But seriously armbands would rock

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SpirallingSnowy

I love it!!! :D

except they dont sent to aus * pouts* * runs off to find an aus one *

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gray_imagination

I'd buy one. Though I don't know if I want to spell out asexual quite like that, I;d hate having to explain it to evvvvverrrryone. But I'd buy whatever standardised not too pricey or troublesome thing we decided on to identify ourselves.

it'd be nice to at least give us a sense of community offline too, even for those in areas without meetups and stuff.

My hands and wrists are too small to wear those things. They make me feel like a lobster. :lol:

they have youth sizes...maybe they would fit you?

though now I want to get one with a lobster on it...:-D

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Sounds fun but I'm not used to paying any more than a buck for those things.

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What if we do JUST the AVEN logo as seen at the top of each page, with the triangle, AVEN, minus the little letters below?

Does anyone have an objection to the "Victoria's Secret" purple?

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What if we do JUST the AVEN logo as seen at the top of each page, with the triangle, AVEN, minus the little letters below?

Does anyone have an objection to the "Victoria's Secret" purple?

I'd be down with that.

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That sounds fun. Wish I could just buy them in a physical store somewhere.

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I want one!! Lets figure out what letters to use. Could the colors very as long as the symbol and letters stay constant? I like the idea of the Aven triangle and "AVEN" I would be proud to wear one. I dont object to the purple but i have a tad bit of a blue obsession :P

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh, I love blue, too. But the color is going to be the most recognizable part of the bracelet. I mean, the point is for someone to see the bracelet and recognize you as A, right? So if they have to bend over and squint and then go, "Oh, sorry, Livestrong!" that kind of defeats the purpose.

But maybe we could agree on a less flamboyant color, but one that is not used as often so as to still be distinctive?

Maybe just plain black, a la the old asexual black ring idea?

I think the letters could be optional, so long as the color and the logo remain the same.

What categories would we want on a bracelet?

* Gender preference (I like the idea of specifying who you like, rather than making it a reflection of you, as in "prefers males" instead of "straight" or "hetero") - we could possibly go with the classic venus/mars symbols here alongside the AVEN logo?

* Romantic/aromantic status

I have a feeling that there will never be much of a consensus here so maybe everyone should just get what they want.

If anyone wants to go ahead and order one here is a simple AVEN logo that I think is acceptable for them to upload:

AVENlogosimpleBW.jpg

Edit: Okay, crazy impulsive purchase. I bought one. Well, two. One in Victoria Secret and one in plain dark purple, so I can see (and post) what it looks like with the logo. I was trying to decide what to put for the text and even more impulsively just put "M51". Because hey, if someone sees AVEN and recognizes it, they will also want to know who I am on AVEN, right?

So $12 and change spent to see what these things look like. I will post photos as soon as they get here.

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I think we should have a unified AVEN wristband, definitely! It showcases our connection to each other and raises awareness for asexuality.

M51's idea for having it just be the AVEN logo with the triangle sounds simple and perfect. :)

As for more complex designs, such as having "A-romantic" or "Bi-romantic" etc... that can get confusing. That may be something individuals could create and purchase for personal use. However, I think a simple, unified wristband that could identify AVEN members and support AVEN would be an excellent idea.

How much would it cost to order 100 purple AVEN wristbands with M51's text idea? One member (or AVEN itself) could purchase the lot then sell them for a reasonable amount through AVEN. I'm sure if you buy 100, you get a bulk rate. Perhaps more like $3 a wristband. Then AVEN could sell them for $5 a wristband, which serves as a fundraiser that really binds us all together!

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Oh, it's even cheaper than I though! AVEN (or a devoted member) could purchase 100 wristbands for about $1.79 per band. Then AVEN could sell them for $3-$4 a band and make a profit, which AVEN can use to fund other projects and do bigger and better things. :)

So here's my math:

Buy 100 wristbands at $1.79 ... We Spend: $179

Sell 100 wristbands at $3 ... We Gain: $300

Total Profit for AVEN: $121

and if we sell them for $4 each ... Profit: $221

And $3 to $4 bucks is something I'd be more than willing to spend for a nice AVEN wristband to spread awareness. AVEN could sell them right off the website. And we could give them as Christmas gifts to our Asexy friends--and even to our sexy friends who want to support us!

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If we get 300 we can get the logo embossed, which as far as I can tell means it will be a different color than the band, making it easier to read. Right now the print is simply engraved into the band with no additional coloring, I think (I'll confirm when I get my two experimental bands).

VeganAVEN, we would also need to factor in postage. I could probably get bulk bubble envelopes or something for somewhat cheaper than singles, but I imagine it will be at least a dollar per for postage.

Except for the ability to get it embossed it might end up being more cost effective to simply publish the design request here and let everybody order their own.

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I think you are being FAR too optimistic about the number of potential sales.

I would be seriously surprised if even 20 of them sold.

I'm basing this on first-hand knowledge about the AVEN visibility store, which, according to Keith, has had ONE sale since last summer. The wide scale interest in visibility seems to vanish as soon as it involves money.

Another point is that AVEN doesn't have $179.00.

DJ is still looking for contributors to help pay for the expense of keeping AVEN online. He has had a FEW contributors, but not enough. Our designated server fees still come out of his pocket, in part, every month.

edit:

M51's idea of letting everyone order their own would be the best way to go about it, IMO.

-GB

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Oh, it's even cheaper than I though! AVEN (or a devoted member) could purchase 100 wristbands for about $1.79 per band. Then AVEN could sell them for $3-$4 a band and make a profit, which AVEN can use to fund other projects and do bigger and better things. :)

So here's my math:

Buy 100 wristbands at $1.79 ... We Spend: $179

Sell 100 wristbands at $3 ... We Gain: $300

Total Profit for AVEN: $121

and if we sell them for $4 each ... Profit: $221

And $3 to $4 bucks is something I'd be more than willing to spend for a nice AVEN wristband to spread awareness. AVEN could sell them right off the website. And we could give them as Christmas gifts to our Asexy friends--and even to our sexy friends who want to support us!

Well, I think it's awesome that you're so proactive! *tips hat* I heard somewhere that AVEN has some money...but I believe that in order to use "official" AVEN money, the Project Team would have to vote on it. So if you really wanted to do this, you could take the idea over to their forum. Or, try to solicit one or more "devoted members" :wink:.

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I really don't think 100 people, let alone 300, would buy them. The only reason I would want to order in bulk would be to get the embossed ones, which pushes our mandatory order number to 300. Yikes.

300 embossed bracelets would cost $492.

250 bubble envelopes would be $37 (that's the smallest bulk rate I could find)

Postage if we sell 100 of these would be about $75.

Nevermind the trouble to the AVEN volunteer who has to collect the money somehow, go to the post office, etc.

=$504 / 100 sold = $5 per bracelet just to break even.

/ 50 sold = $9-10 per bracelet just to break even.

Add in that people want different colors and text and such, and it just looks like it is not really feasible.

I bought two for less than $13. I got the colors I wanted and I got to put my AVEN username on it. And nobody else from AVEN had to work to get it to me....

Now if I had thought of this about two weeks ago, I would have been happy to order a wristband for each person coming to the NC meetup today, with their usernames on it. I would have given them to you all as a gift. But I didn't think of it. :(

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300 embossed bracelets would cost $492.

250 bubble envelopes would be $37 (that's the smallest bulk rate I could find)

Postage if we sell 100 of these would be about $75.

Nevermind the trouble to the AVEN volunteer who has to collect the money somehow, go to the post office, etc.

=$504 / 100 sold = $5 per bracelet just to break even.

/ 50 sold = $9-10 per bracelet just to break even.

The embossed bracelets, which are very nice I'm sure, are indeed too expensive for a mass project. That's why I suggested the simplest of bracelets. I've worked for non-profits for many years and put on many fundraising events. The idea behind the wristband project would be to get 100 identical bracelets, and make them the 'official' AVEN wristband. Now, for other people who want their own personalized wristband as well, more power to them! But our 100 would be the 'official' wristband that ties us all together and helps spread a unified message about asexuality.

And 100 wasn't that expensive, as long as we don't get the embossed.

As for shipping, I was just thinking a regular envelope will hold it just fine. So we're talking pennies for the envelope. Shipping could get a bit expensive though, so we could theoretically include shipping in the price. Like "$3.00 per wristband, plus shipping." I doubt shipping would be more than a dollar.

But...you say that you don't think 100 people would buy them? You've been here a lot longer than I have, so I trust your judgment on that. How many active members do we have?

I do not mind being such a volunteer for AVEN if the need arose. I assume, however, that someone who's been here longer would prefer the responsibility.

Oh, and thank you for the "thought-gift" of giving each of us a wristband today. I understand it's not possible, but it's very thoughtful anyways. :)

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I think you are being FAR too optimistic about the number of potential sales.

I would be seriously surprised if even 20 of them sold.

I'm basing this on first-hand knowledge about the AVEN visibility store, which, according to Keith, has had ONE sale since last summer. The wide scale interest in visibility seems to vanish as soon as it involves money.

Hmm... I didn't realize that AVENites weren't big in the buying department. I may try a poll, to see these numbers for myself. It's hard for me to imagine, since I'm the kind of person who buys every cute thing I see!

But I get the message. No matter how good the deal and no matter what kind of money we could raise, it's all worthless if nobody buys a wristband. :(

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Hey VeganAVEN I definitely don't want to discourage you!

I say go ahead with a poll and if you want to take charge of this and give it a shot on your own (and on your own dime), go ahead. Just be prepared if you end up swallowing some/a lot of the cost. Who knows, though, you could be wildly successful!

If you would like AVEN to help pay...not sure if people would be willing to take the risk that too few people buy them. We do not have a huge coffer that can afford even mild financial risks. You could try, though. I would say post the poll to prove interest and then post in the Project Team Forum, if you want to try to get AVEN funds.

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That's a very good idea. I've got the poll set up, and right now it looks as if most people would NOT want to buy one. Oh well. ^_^* We'll see if things look up after a few days.

I wouldn't mind fronting the costs myself. But only if it looks like it'll be popular. :)

In any case, *I* will also get a wristband. ;)

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