Announcing 2 High Academic College Bus Tours

Apparently it is customary to offer discounts during the holidays.  

 

This weekend all Bus Tours will be $150 off.

 

http://www.playinschool.com/cybermonday.html

What about the people who read the "first come first served" thing and signed up earlier for the full price. They must feel bummed right about now.

 

Any possibility you will offer this discount to people who have already signed up?

Green Light - That is something I'll deal with directly with people that have already signed up.  Thanks.  If you are interested in signing up your son or daughter for 1 of the trips this weekend you will benefit from my generosity.  

 

Rich

 

Great. Thanks for considering concessions for those who have already signed up!

So basically if the people signed up don't know about the discount (and thus don't know to ask) then they miss out?  

Rich - Those are great trips.  You've been busy!

 

It's a great concept, good luck.

 

 

Couple of points here.  I have always and will always take care of my clients.  It is sad that a couple of people that I have never worked with feel the need to get on here and question that.  Perhaps there is a little Thanksgiving hangover going around. I'm wondering if you also felt the need to question the other million small businesses around the country that are running sales on items this weekend that were not on sale last week?  

 

BaseballMomandCEP - Thank you for your positive words.  A ton of work has gone into these trips.  

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

What? I thanked you for considering concessions for people who already signed up. Don't know why that should make you sad.

 

In a "first-come-first-served" deal, don't have to be Einstein to understand that price advantages given to second comers might rankle the first-comers. Maybe that's why PG, Headfirst and others don't do that (Stanford Camp is a lottery so a little different, but still uniform pricing)

 

Anyway........guess you missed it the first time.....thank you for considering concessions for people who already signed up prior to your current promotion

 

When we buy an airplane ticket or rent a hotel room or procure any other perishable opportunity, there is always a chance someone else who buys earlier or later or with a coupon or membership will pay more or less than whatever deal we get at the time we buy it.  

 

Why is this a problem?

Swampboy - Thank you for explaining to them how a sale works.

 

Green Light - Thanks for your Thank You.  Forgive my frustration.  I'm not used to having people react like this when I'm trying to save them money.

 

 

Rich

Swampboy, I suppose there are exceptions, but the rule is that first comers get cheaper air tix and hotel rooms than late comers. Wouldn't you agree? The incentives in the airline and hotels industry are heavily skewed toward early comers.

 

If you are talking about sales on sheets or pillow cases, I follow you. But then again, for commodities like that, supply can usually expand to fit demand....maybe with a little wait.

 

Pis is able to set his own incentives for his business. He has already said he would give consideration to those who purchased before the promotion. I think that is very good. But my point remains, in a first-come first served deal, the first comers should get the advantage...just like the people who deposit prior to March 15 for the Pis College Tours get a reduction in price compared to those who deposit later.

 

By the way, Pis said a few posts back that he has never worked with me. Was that a typo, or just an offhand remark, or did you mean it? If you meant it, how did you get the identity behind my screen name here?

 

Green Light - 

It was simply an assumption that I have not worked with you.  I did not hack the system to get your identity.  I assumed that any former client of mine would simply pick of the phone and call me rather than call me out publicly on a website.  I suppose I could be wrong.

 

I had no idea that a simple sale would be such topic of discussion.

 

Keep the dialog going though.  Hopefully more people will stumble upon this page and be able to take advantage of the savings!

 

Should I go to the YMCA to see if they will refund me a ton of money?  I'm a member but they are advertising some serious discounts this weekend!

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Maybe you assumed wrong.

 

About the YMCA, sure you should contact them if they sold you a first-come first-served deal for a limited service/product to be delivered months later, and then gave a concession to a second comer.

 

Silly YMCA is just negating the incentive they intended for early buyers. Wouldn't be surprising to me if some people saw this and decided to delay current purchases there.....to see if there would be a better deal, say for Presidents' Day.

 

That's what I would do, especially if the service/product being bought will not be delivered/cannot be used until next summer

Again, this is all pretty irrelevant because I am taking care of the people that have registered prior to this weekend.  This weekend is all about new people getting an opportunity to save some money.

 

Green Light, why don't you either call me directly if you are a former client to discuss how I run my business or introduce yourself here on this site?  I've never been a fan of people hiding behind screen names.  

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

I don't post here to get fans. Don't know if others do.

 

The vast majority of posters here do not reveal their identity....for good and obvious reasons I believe.....especially if they have minor children. So I guess you are not a fan of most of the Board.

 

Besides, what does it mean to you if my name is Joe Smith? Or if I make a seven-figure salary? (I don't) Or if I got a graduate engineering degree at Stanford? (I don't). That's all credentialism.

 

If you solicit for your business on a public message board, I think you should expect the possibility that there would be civil, public discussion of your business.

 

If my words make sense, consider them. If my words are BS, ignore them or refute them. My name and credentials don't mean anything.

 

EDIT: Back on topic. I think you did a good thing by taking note of my original point and saying you would do right by the customers who signed up for your tours prior to this weekend

Green Light, 

 

That's not the rule at all.  It can work either way or both ways.  When you can't increase the quantity of what you're selling (e.g., seats on a plane, rooms in a hotel) you have to choose a sales strategy that suits your cost structure and your evolving understanding of demand for your product.  Sometimes the last customer pays a lot more than the first one, sometimes a lot less.  

 

 If you buy an airplane ticket a year in advance, you'll pay full price or close to it because the airline knows you really want to go and your dates are not flexible.  If you buy four to six weeks out, you have a better chance of finding a discounted fare.  But if you wait until one or two weeks out, those discounts are often gone.  

 

BTW, although I disagree with you on the pricing question, I do agree with you on the appropriateness of screen names.  Rich has made the point before that he would prefer we not use aliases here; I respectfully disagree with him on that.

 

 

 

FWIW airline fare sales is always tuesdays.
I don't believe in hiding behind aliases either.

Nice job Rich, I agree how important it is to see and get the feel of a place.
My son played for a coach who took them to play at many fields.  Went on tours and met the coaches.  It helped to eliminate possibilities.

As a businessman its ok to run your business as you see fit.  Right or wrong you shouldn't have to defend how you do it.
Good luck.

Interesting views, as always, Swampboy. I will mull that over and see if I can articulate what I think (think) the distinction is.

 

Separate point...not addressed to you in particular. Pis posted up his promotion for buyers this weekend. I shared a thought about how this might be perceived by previous purchasers. Pis said he would take the point into account and give consideration to previous purchasers.

 

I think this is great!

 

Back to the point of the thread, this  is an awesome selection of colleges, on both tours. I am a bit  of a "veteran" of college bus tours (not a very exciting claim to fame, I know, but it is a part of my profession) AND I can say, this trip is well worth the time and $ invested, to get your boys onto such a variety of campuses and seeing more than the baseball diamonds.  To organize a college tour of even 1/3 of those colleges, is a huge undertaking for any family.  To have it a 'turn key' trip, with baseball contacts along the way, is a home run IMHO.

 

The boys will gain a completely different perspective than they would otherwise, and it will open their eyes to  some of the 'lesser known' (in terms of baseball programs) colleges that have absolutely fabulous educational opportunities.

 

Rich and I spoke a while back about this plan (at least in terms of the New England tour, but I also know those mid Atlantic colleges as well) and I think it is a great program. I am really impressed that all the colleges were so responsive to him. 

 

Your sons will learn so much.

 

Happy Thanksgiving/ Hanukkah to all.

 

 

BaseballMomAndCEP - 

 

Thanks for the kind words.  All 5 trips (VA, NC, both High Academic & VA Softball) have been a little like herding cats to put together.   The end product should be a really seamless experience for the kids that come.

 

The part that has hammered home that this is important is how quickly coaches jump on board!  That tells me they value kids seeing their schools, not just their baseball field.

 

Thanks to those that have taken advantage of this weekends "Black Friday to Cyber Monday Special".  

 

Anybody that is on the fence, you still have 1 day to save $150.  Feel free to call me to discuss any questions you may have. 

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

High School season is finally here.

Summer is right around the corner.

 

I've updated my website with what should be the final itineraries for all 4 College Bus Tours. I had a couple of big schools jump in for the New England tour!  

 

If you are considering sending your son, feel free to email or call with questions.  I only need a small deposit to reserve your sons spot. 

 

Updated itineraries can be found here… http://www.playinschool.com/bus_tour.html

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

Hope everybody is having a great spring.

 

Space is available on all 4 College Bus Tours...

PIS this a great service IMHO.  I think you are onto something new that provides a meaningful service to recruits, parents, coaches, etc....  We're looking forward to it.

 

Got it circled on the calendar.  We signed up a couple months ago after looking through the number of colleges, colleges, time commitment and the format.  I want my son to experience a variety of colleges in a short period of time to compare, contrast and decide which he is most interested in. While I don't expect him to love every college, I do expect him to walk away with a clearer idea of what he likes and doesn't like about each college.   In addition, I want him to hear from each coach directly about their programs...this is a very personalized approach that appeal to me alot.  College is a huge financial decision, and I look at this as a small investment in the grand scheme of things.

Fenway - 

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence & more importantly thanks for putting your son on the bus this coming summer!

 

After getting to know FenwaySon a little bit lately it will be really interesting keeping an eye on him as we see all the different schools.  Will he stick to his guns and have his current thoughts/opinions reinforced?  Or will he has his eyes opened by other opportunities that he previously had little to know information on?  

 

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

 

 

Tomorrow we begin our VA Softball College Bus Tour.

 

If you want to follow our journey you can do so via my twitter account, www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool  You do not have to be on Twitter or tweet to view.

 

Reason for me posting here is so you can get a feel for what our baseball tours later this summer will feel like.

 

There is still a little space on the VA tour.  More space available on the NC tour.  

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour