Would you buy charity walks online?

Hi,

Due to the frustration of not getting any walks from the meets last year and being too impatient to send off for walks by post in advance. I'm thinking about setting up a website to enable people to buy charity walks online instantly - buying with paypal and having the walk details emailed direct. I'm going to start with putting my own walks on there, and if it's successful allow other people to put theirs on too.


Answers to a bit of feedback I’ve had already
Q1. If paypal take a % of the money, won’t the charity lose out?
A. The walks will be slightly more expensive to cover paypal, but the buyer will save money on postage, so no-one loses out.

Q2. Won’t people be able to email them to other people, meaning the charity loses out?
A. This can already be done with the aid of a photocopier. Hopefully the convenience of buying walks online, along with instant delivery via email, will make it a less likely occurrence that people would get a walk from a friend.

Q3. What’s wrong with the present system of going to a meet / purchasing them with a SAE?
A. Nothing. But this is about making it easier to purchase walks, instantly, anytime of the year, from a central location.


Any feedback would be appreciated.

Many thanks, Sarah

I would definitely be happy to purchase charity walks online using paypal. Sounds like a great idea for those that can't get to the meet and prefer not to use snail mail.

I have often sent copies of our charity walk to people via email when they got in touch with us and have needed it in a hurry, and have trusted them to send me the money afterwards, and am happy to say that not one person has ever let us down. In fact we have sometimes been sent extra money for the charity because we have helped them out. I think it is a good idea of yours, and a lot of people will be interested, especially as you could perhaps provide a route map and maybe a picture of one of the stamps etc., so that they know what they are buying, but in our walks we usually have a starter stamp, so this would not be practical to do if selling online, unless they pay extra for the stamp to send it on them..I have sometimes successfully sent the starter via email, but find quite a few people have problems accessing it properly.

There is a BIG reason why I don't agree with selling charity walks online
That is because this action will give the Dartmoor Letterbox thief even more anonimity.
The trouble with being online is the anonimity - only a few of you out there have actually met me and even less know me better than that... see my point?

Letterbox walks should be .... how can I put this... more than just charity walks!
I remember the days when there usd to be one day walks - proper organised walks then there is the venture into the wilds for a walk.

Letterboxing seems to be nothing more than a series of charity walks these days... anyway thats my view. However it wont stop me from doing them. And having a name and address is part of the Audit trail

Do letter box thieves actually spend money on the catalogue and buying charity walks, then go trekking on Dartmoor solely to steal/vandalise letterboxes? If that is the case then why would they do it? What has letterboxing done to upset these people so much?

Is it possible that letterboxes are removed through ignorance? Many people who visit the moors probably have never heard of this hobby, I first heard of it when we stumbled across one about 8 years ago when I used to do a bit of climbing on the moors. Although still a newbie, in the two weeks I have been, I have seen a lot of children finding these boxes and then running off to show their parents.

I just don't understand how someone can justify it to themselves to go to all the effort of finding these boxes just to destroy them. I'm having enough trouble trying to find them without malice!

ONCE AGAIN A THREAD HAS GONE OFF PISTE TALKING ABOUT YOU KNOW WHO.

Lets get back to the original subject.

No I will not be using the service do not intend to use pay pal. I would give the extra percentage to the charity

Personally we nearly always manage to get to the meet - for those people who live too far away though or maybe who don't get the updates think that it would be quite a good solution.

I quite like the idea,is their an alternative to paypal,is google checkout free...julian

Julian, personally I avoid using Google check-out like the plague! That company is as close to an evil empire as the world has seen!

They track your web activity, the psy-profile you and now they're collecting and STORING people's financial data!

Remember, this is the same company that co-operates with the Chinese government so censor the Internet in China AND who disclosed the search history of Chinese human rights activists to the Chinese government.

Avoid Google, uninstall their spying toolbar and never use their checkout is what I suggest.

Hi
I've just registered after finding this site. We letterboxed as often as possible from 1989 to 2003. we then moved back to Scotland. we had a week boxing two years ago and are coming down again in April. Being able to buy walks online would be great - we obviously can't make the meet and getting walks sent in time is a problem. I would be more than happy to pay a bit extra for this service. I've always thought that the charity walks are great for everyone - i usually use them as a starting off point for a days boxing - so an excellent day out for us and money to a good cause.

Mhairi

i would definately agree with having them online.
Whilst many of you are letterboxing nuts, some of us only get the chance to go a few times of the year due to many other commitments. in prior years i have looked at a charity walk, only to realise i am not going to get the walk in time because we have suddenly become able to go.

if someone is going to steal boxes then they can just as easily do so with a posted out one and i dont think an address will stop them.

Yes I think this is a great idea. I had some trouble getting hold of clues for last year as I only had an old catalogue and no updates however having tracked down an email for Sylvia Moore I was able to get a list of walks to then write off for.

This year we intend to get down to Datmoor at Easter however none of the charity walks are available yet (are they?!!) so for me to get an SAE and cheque posted off and receive the reply in time may be a problem!

I would happily pay the extra "transaction charge" for online payments or send a cheque on a next day delivery - the clues then received by email would be great.

So - does anyone have any clue sheets for this year that I can purchase!

Has anyone managed to set up an online salesroom yet? Are the walks from the meet available via email from anyone?

I would definitely buy online as it is a bit difficult getting to the meets from northumberland unless they coincide with a holiday, fairly new to letterboxing and have really enjoyed the charity walks plus they raise much needed money. We currently deciding whether to stay local next week or come down to Devon but probably too late for me to get any charity walks so online would be great and worth the extra pennies

if you contact them and send the money they might email you the clues.

My thoughts? Well being relatively (well very) new to the art of letterboxing, I feel the moor ( ) options there are for newbies to find the information they need to get started on this great hobby the better.

Dont know if this is still ongoing but we would buy online. I think it would generate a lot more money too.

I think that this is an excellent idea. The weather is so changeable now.

Due to the frustration of not getting any walks from the meets last year and being too impatient to send off for walks by post in advance. I'm thinking about setting up a website to enable people to buy charity walks online instantly - buying with paypal and having the walk details emailed direct. I'm going to start with putting my own walks on there, and if it's successful allow other people to put theirs on too.


Answers to a bit of feedback I’ve had already
Q1. If paypal take a % of the money, won’t the charity lose out?
A. The walks will be slightly more expensive to cover paypal, but the buyer will save money on postage, so no-one loses out.

Q2. Won’t people be able to email them to other people, meaning the charity loses out?
A. This can already be done with the aid of a photocopier. Hopefully the convenience of buying walks online, along with instant delivery via email, will make it a less likely occurrence that people would get a walk from a friend.

Q3. What’s wrong with the present system of going to a meet / purchasing them with a SAE?
A. Nothing. But this is about making it easier to purchase walks, instantly, anytime of the year, from a central location.


Any feedback would be appreciated.

Many thanks, Sarah[/quote]

No I do not aggree with buying online.


If I pass on any chairity walks I pay directly to the chairity and the people who I have checked out already pay me, and I write on the copy saying that I have paid for a extra copy of the walk..

Only just noticed this thread. Interesting idea. I would definitely buy electronic copies on-line.

For registered charities PayPal only charges 20p + 1.4%. For larger payments this is not bad at all but for £2.50 it is quite a lot (percentage wise) although the cost is still a lot less then 2 stamps + 2 envelopes + the cost of printing. If you set up a registration on this "buy charity walks" site you could also trust the registered users after vetting them and give them the charities bank details for a direct online transfer.

Whilst I don't mind spending a few quid for charities, I always end up with walks I don't have time for or I suddenly have an afternoon off but no clues to hand.

But the main reason is that I much prefer clues in electronic format so I can c&p them into the relevant housekeeping/GPS programs I use. Typing them out by hand is a pain! This is 2013 after all.

I think it's a great idea, especially for people (like us) who don't live in Devon.

I'm sorry but our treasurer would have a fit!
Still on snailmail but starter stamps do travel better like that

WARNING!!! - shameless plug follows -
A 3 mile easy circular walk from Belstone water works, over Watchet Hill, round Winter, Higher and Belstone Tors. We've tried to make the most of the views whilst hugging the contours, avoiding the worst boggy bits & keeping out of the Range area. 14 boxes + starter. £2.50 to 'RNLI Tavistock Branch' + sae in the post to The Restells, The Coach House, Peter Tavy, Tavistock PL19 9NP 01822 810577
mary@restell.net