TEST Squadron Desk Mat!

[50fluffykittens]

If there's any smooth ones I want one!

 

[dethos]

Bump to let everyone know that I have just placed an order for 20 (!!) of the silky smooth mats! I've gotten messages from about 5 people wanting information on those. I'm currently finishing up at work, but I'll be in touch when I'm free at home this evening.

For everyone else that hasn't already asked about them, now's your chance to get in on some of this action. Post here or PM me with any questions you may have!

Still want one ....let me know

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

EDIT: I'm a big lug and forgot to include the dimensions down here.

900mm x 320mm x 3mm(thick) --- 36" x 12" x 3mm(thick)

.


So let's talk turkey:

The minimum order is 10 units. I have not asked if orders have to be in multiples of 10 (I wouldn't think so, but I'll have to check).

The price is $30 per pad ($300 for a minimum order). I do not know if there are further discounts for larger orders, but it's hard to say if we would order enough to qualify.

There is no shipping cost into the US (for bulk custom orders), BUT (and this is the biggest hang up I think we'll encounter here) it's hard to determine shipping from me to individual members. I'm not looking to make any money on this, but sadly I don't have the funds to cover the cost of repackaging and shipping them all out. I will weigh mine the next time I go to the office (in the original box) so we can have a starting point for individual shipping. One option would be to have people send the money for just the pad initially (so only the $30 per) and then once they are in and ready to be delivered, everyone pays their shipping costs.

Obviously international shipping from the US will be expensive, but I know that we have a good number of trustworthy individuals in the EU that we could possibly work with for distributing the individual pads there.

For mailing, I would purchase shipping tubes (likely from Amazon) as they are affordable (1-2 dollars per tube depending on the type) and a very safe way to mail rolled objects (I've used them extensively and never had a problem anyway).

It would be cool to have some TEST branded labeling for the boxes. I work for a magazine so I have access to top notch laser printers (We don't have oversized printers, but we have people that do. I haven't got the faintest idea what the costs would be on that front).

I am planning on placing an order myself soon(tm) to have on hand for when someone wants to buy one (and maybe do a giveaway), but until I have the cash to do that, I would like to see if enough people want to pitch in now and get an order placed in time for Christmas (hint hint wink wink). Or at least enough to make it feasible to place an order.

Let me know what you think of the pad. Do you think it's good branding for TEST? Would a video of the pad be better than all the pictures? Should I burn it and apologize? DO YOU WANT ONE!? (I mean, of course you do! What a silly question.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To give some additional info on the ROUGH mats.

(You can pretty much ignore the photo comments)

http://imgur.com/a/ref8R

While the fabric is noticeably different, it is just as good looking as the SMOOTH mats. The fabric is intentionally designed to prevent objects from sliding around on it. If you want a mat for your keyboard and HOTAS then it would be perfect for that, but I would *not* recommend using the rough mats for your mouse. You can do what you want with it obviously, but all sales are final :p

Speaking of sales, if you want a rough mat, I'm thinking that $20 including shipping is how I want to handle them. Shipping will on average run ~$7 and the money made from these will go towards getting more of the smooth mats (shipping to US members anyway, if you're international we'll work something out). I'm not looking to make money from fellow TEST members, but I feel that this is a good opportunity to allow me some additional freedom to continue being able to provide cool stuff for everyone that wants it!

Man, I want one but I live in the UK and most of my desk is covered by my TV which will mostly be used a second monitor. Besides that I'll have a monitor to the left of the TV, a 60% keyboard in front of the monitor and I already have a Steel Series QCK medium mouse mat to the right of where I'll be putting a keyboard.

All of that will pretty much cover my entire desk haha.

 

[EpilepticCricket]

Quick update/bump.

The new order of mats has been received (along with new boxes to ship them in) so we are ready to get orders processed! I'll post a pic or two when I get home. Having 20 of these things is pretty insane. I'll try and get my girlfriend to dress up as some sort of TEST mat monster, but I can't promise she'll be on board with it.

 

[50fluffykittens]

Quick update/bump.

The new order of mats has been received (along with new boxes to ship them in) so we are ready to get orders processed! I'll post a pic or two when I get home. Having 20 of these things is pretty insane. I'll try and get my girlfriend to dress up as some sort of TEST mat monster, but I can't promise she'll be on board with it.

Do it when she's sleeping.

 

[Knax]

Any of these left?

 

[Hero9012]

how much?

 

[EpilepticCricket]

Any of these left?

Yup, still have about 15 or so in stock and waiting to be claimed.

how much?

I'm asking for actual cost as I'm not looking to turn a profit from my org mats. The mat is 30 bucks, and then you'll pay actual shipping to wherever you want it to go. it's usually less than 10 bucks if it's within the US (I'm in Lexington KY) via USPS (shipping options/carrier is up to you if you prefer a different company).

Pretty much all the vital information is in the first 3 posts of the thread. Feel free to ask any questions here. I've already shipped a batch of 12 to members in the US, Canada, and the jolly old UK and I haven't heard a single complaint (I trust that if someone isn't happy they'd let me know).

 

[Knax]

Awesome, Ill pick up a smooth one on wednesday.

 

[Knax]

Awesome, Ill pick up a smooth one on wednesday.

so i completely forgot about this until i saw a picture of one lol. if possible ill get one now, except i just got the anvil mouse pad so it would be cool if i could get a rough one.

 

[EpilepticCricket]

so i completely forgot about this until i saw a picture of one lol. if possible ill get one now, except i just got the anvil mouse pad so it would be cool if i could get a rough one.

Cool beans! We'll PM details.

 

[JeffCraig]

PM me the details for 1 smooth & 1 rough.

I'm also interested in future designs. The yellow/black Aurora background is cool, but doesn't really fit with all my accessories style, and it's a pretty 'busy' design.

 

[EpilepticCricket]

PM me the details for 1 smooth & 1 rough.

I'm also interested in future designs. The yellow/black Aurora background is cool, but doesn't really fit with all my accessories style, and it's a pretty 'busy' design.

I'm crazy super busy today (moving into a new house), but I will PM you as soon as I have time. All of the most pertinent info is in the first 3 posts (price, availability, etc), but if you have any questions about that go ahead and PM me.

As far as other designs, this is something that I have been considering, but due to cost reasons it will probably wait until the game gets closer to launch and our overall org activity increases.

The reason for is this is that the mats are not cheap if we don't order in bulk. A single mat was about $80 (shipped) over a year ago. It's a minimum of 10 to get them at the cost I've listed ($300 discounts the plate cost), but I have to invest $500 in order to discount the shipping (which is usually $180+). This is what I have done with the current design. I'm more than ok with making a bigger initial investment, but if we're talking about offering multiple designs, then the cost will have to go up. Managing multiple offerings and the related stock considerations is not something I'm able to comfortably do right now (maybe in a few raises it will be though).

Excellent point though and if you have any design ideas I would love to hear them and work on drafting it up. If there's enough interest in a different design then I'm all for getting it realized!

 

[JeffCraig]

The financial considerations are understandable, and obviously you'd want to sell most of your current stock before ordering another batch.

I would like to see a design that mimics the official CIG mousepads. The Origin Jumpworks version is probably the best example:

http://imgur.com/ibjDLdO

Idea 1:

For the graphic on the right side, use a similar concept to the '300 Auroras will blot out the sun' art for the background

http://welcome.testsquadron.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/b46HSsf-940x460.jpg

Then have 3-5 ships with TEST paint jobs be the focal point.

The TEST Organization page used to have a background similar to this idea:

http://imgur.com/HbCzGBG

Idea 2:

My second idea is to use the more stylized Aurora to make a nice design on the right side of the pad.

I put this together in paint, so don't judge me:

http://imgur.com/bxmKA91

 

[Knax]

so i just got this in, props to @EpilepticCricket for being fast and reliable

DAMNIT THIS THING IS HUGE!

 

[hardroc77]

Hey check out the twins. One of each flavor!

Now to find someone to make a curtain for a web cam background. Wallpaper maybe??

 

[hardroc77]

The financial considerations are understandable, and obviously you'd want to sell most of your current stock before ordering another batch.

I would like to see a design that mimics the official CIG mousepads. The Origin Jumpworks version is probably the best example:

http://imgur.com/ibjDLdO

Idea 1:

For the graphic on the right side, use a similar concept to the '300 Auroras will blot out the sun' art for the background

http://welcome.testsquadron.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/b46HSsf-940x460.jpg

Then have 3-5 ships with TEST paint jobs be the focal point.

The TEST Organization page used to have a background similar to this idea:

http://imgur.com/HbCzGBG

Idea 2:

My second idea is to use the more stylized Aurora to make a nice design on the right side of the pad.

I put this together in paint, so don't judge me:

http://imgur.com/bxmKA91

I favor idea #1 a perfect way to immortalize our Glorious Leader

 

[EpilepticCricket]

*GASP*

Hey check out the twins. One of each flavor!View attachment 2048
Now to find someone to make a curtain for a web cam background. Wallpaper maybe??

MULTI-MAT GAMING!!

 

[EpilepticCricket]

Bumpers!

Been a while since I've bumped this for visibility. I'm settled into the new house and can easily take care of any requests.

 

[Blind Owl]

@CrudeSasquatch and I use and abuse the living shit out of these mats. They are awesome. I highly recommend them to anyone and everyone.