3 ms·

Do you happen to know approximately how much higher the dues would have to have been to be for it to work?

by mandelbrotwurst 6y ago

Animats 6y ago
Well, Human Made in SF has most of the old TechShop machines, and they charge $250 a month, plus they got subsidies under some job training program. TechShop was at $100, then $125, then, as "TheShop.build" (which, we find out in the bankruptcy litigation, was more closely associated with the original operation than previously believed) at $150. This is the SF bay area, though, and the real estate and labor costs dominated. The equipment wasn't really a big fraction of the cost. There are smaller nonprofit shops and hacker spaces, but they tend to have fewer and smaller machines and not enough working room. The surviving spaces are more into the college prep education business - it's where you send your kid to get their STEM ticket punched for college. Lots of kids working through the same canned projects. Some at the construction paper and scissors level, like advanced kindergarten. The fundamental problem with the gym model (pay by the month, come as often as you want) is that people who sign up for shop spaces show up too much. Some are there every day for most of the day, doing work. Gyms rely on only a small fraction of members showing up at any one time. At one point, TechShop had ten laser cutters cutting out Etsy stuff from opening til closing, and the laser cutters were booked weeks ahead. Then Etsy allowed outsourcing manufacturing, that stopped, and the Etsy crowd dropped their memberships.
- mandelbrotwurst 6y ago
  Thanks, ah, that's an interesting insight re: usage patterns vs normal gyms, it makes a lot of sense to me that you might not have as many people holding the membership sort of aspirationally wrt attendance the same way you do at a fitness gym.

3 ms·

Do you happen to know approximately how much higher the dues would have to have been to be for it to work?

by mandelbrotwurst 6y ago

Do you happen to know approximately how much higher the dues would have to have been to be for it to work?

Animats 6y ago
Well, Human Made in SF has most of the old TechShop machines, and they charge $250 a month, plus they got subsidies under some job training program. TechShop was at $100, then $125, then, as "TheShop.build" (which, we find out in the bankruptcy litigation, was more closely associated with the original operation than previously believed) at $150. This is the SF bay area, though, and the real estate and labor costs dominated. The equipment wasn't really a big fraction of the cost. There are smaller nonprofit shops and hacker spaces, but they tend to have fewer and smaller machines and not enough working room. The surviving spaces are more into the college prep education business - it's where you send your kid to get their STEM ticket punched for college. Lots of kids working through the same canned projects. Some at the construction paper and scissors level, like advanced kindergarten. The fundamental problem with the gym model (pay by the month, come as often as you want) is that people who sign up for shop spaces show up too much. Some are there every day for most of the day, doing work. Gyms rely on only a small fraction of members showing up at any one time. At one point, TechShop had ten laser cutters cutting out Etsy stuff from opening til closing, and the laser cutters were booked weeks ahead. Then Etsy allowed outsourcing manufacturing, that stopped, and the Etsy crowd dropped their memberships.
- mandelbrotwurst 6y ago
  Thanks, ah, that's an interesting insight re: usage patterns vs normal gyms, it makes a lot of sense to me that you might not have as many people holding the membership sort of aspirationally wrt attendance the same way you do at a fitness gym.