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Thanks for
your interest in running your event through sWaggerz!
It's
transparent that online submission can increase revenue due to last
minute entries. What's less transparent is that sWaggerz
online applications also increase the quality of the entry received.
Each AKC entry is checked for completeness and correctness prior to
submission. No more 19 mo. olds entered in puppy sweepstakes,
or agility combinations of Novice + Open!
Information Needed
We appreciate
getting event information (club logo/graphics, fees, classes, AKC event
numbers, dates, opening and closing times) as early as possible.
This information is used to configure the event for the secretary to
review and approve prior to opening it to exhibitors. This
doesn't have to arrive as a PL or test schedule, but those do have
all the data. Even a copy from last year's event is helpful!
Once you've
decided to run your event through sWaggerz, all you need is a PayPal account, and to add a specific and
unique sWaggerz email address to that account. AT NO TIME is
the PayPal password needed.
Lead
Time
For agility
events, please allow 2-3 weeks lead time before event opening for
setup. For AKC conformation and obedience events, having event
information about 6-8w before closing is ideal. For new
clients, please allow a little extra time for initial setup. We're actively
working to reduce these lead times through automation.
Entry
Confirmation: From the Secretary
sWaggerz applications were designed to transmit a formatted entry
electronically and enable online payment. Confirmation of
entry acceptance is not automated. There are strong parallels
to using an expedited delivery service (like FedEx or fax) for a
paper entry: there's a cost for the transmission of the entry,
but acceptance is not guaranteed. The advantage is sWaggerz is
faster than FedEx, and for an individual dog, often less expensive
than guaranteed overnight delivery!
A letter from
Pamela Manaton of the AKC posted in the AKC Trial Secretaries
group on Yahoo!Groups notes:
"...yes, you may still accept these entries
via electronic submission, after the first 24 hours, as these
would be considered paper entries, since there is no automation
of guaranteed entry.
You can think of this type of electronic entry as being similar
to a faxed entry where you as trial secretary must interact to
"accept" the entry."
Payment
Flows
All entry and convenience fees flow directly to your PayPal account.
This means you already have your entry fees in your account
before the event!
You're
invoiced for sWaggerz charges only after the close of entries,
with payment due 15 days net after invoice. We accept checks,
money orders and cashier's checks.
PayPal
A true desire for these applications is to make online entries
affordable and accessible. As a prior a club treasurer, I know how
tight cash flow can be and want there to be no delay in funds
reaching my clients. PayPal is a good fit with those objectives.
Most other
payment processing alternatives have a minimum fee of $20-$50/month,
plus a similar percentage per payment and in some cases an initial
setup fee. It takes a good bit of scale (65-165+ transactions per
month) before those alternatives cost less than PayPal.
Because each
secretary receives the payment directly into an account they
control, that scale only comes individually, rather than as an
aggregate across all secretaries. In 4+ years of processing
entries, I recall no reports from event secretaries of payment
difficulties.
Convenience Fee Amounts
The
convenience charge is at the discretion of the event secretary.
This can be either a flat fee or based on a percentage of the total
entry fees and can be set event by event. The
application can
vary the percentage-based
convenience fee
by total amount of entry fees, so that exhibitors in multi-day
events can get a volume discount. A competitive
convenience fee covers sWaggerz charges, almost always with some
margin for the event secretary/host. Isn't that a nice
arrangement?
For a
comparison of what other online entry offerings charge exhibitors, a
summary page is at:
http://swaggerz.com/common/compare.htm
Let
sWaggerz Run your Event
At sWaggerz, we welcome helping you provide your exhibitors with similarly
competitive offerings for your own event! For more information
about our existing capabilities with AKC Agility, Conformation and
Obedience as well as USDAA entries, or if you'd like to work with us
to expand these offerings, please write to us at:
ntrz (at)
swaggerz (dot) com |
