I don't know if Mike realized it, but he has just opened a can of worms.

Since you can now buy a computer with the SPCR logo (the Antec P180), I am also curious about what other people think about purchasing SPCR logo merchandise.

If you don't know about the options available for someone to create logo merchandise, check out cafepress.com (http://www.cafepress.com). Just so you know - I bought a few things there, and that is the limit of my knowledge about the site.

I'm for T-shirts, but against Cafe Press.

Do a search for 'Cafe' in this FAQ page of one of my favorite comics, and you'll understand why.

Sheesh, you could have just quoted it instead of making me read three pages of FAQs before finding it. Doesnt seem like a significant issue anyway...

"Q: Why don't you just use Cafe Press?
A: It's a quality issue, mainly. I know very few people who've been happy with what they've bought from Cafe Press. Also, I don't like their minimum price requirements (you must charge at east $15.99 for a shirt, and if you want to see any revenue off your hard work, you have to charge more because all of that sixteen bucks goes to Cafe Press)."

Sorry, I thought CTRL+F made it easy to search for a word like 'Cafe'

Anyways, the issues raised are:
1) Poor quality
2) High expense

Those seem significant to me.

I think a better question is: would you buy it?

Since very few people pay for using this website, I think Mike C is entitled to have some way to fund it. I don't understand where the "can of worms" even comes into play. If you don't want any logo merchandize, don't buy it.

I don't like the idea of reviewing AND selling stuff together.

SPCR does sell many of the samples that they review. But I guess you talking about SPCR logo items. In that case, there is obviously full disclosure since the logo is on the item.

The SPCR Logo P180 was apparently conceived, in part, as a way to compensate Mike C for his time and expertise in offering suggestions on how to improve the product. This kind of collaboration is very beneficial to SPCR members since it brings to market products and features that might not otherwise be available to us. So long there is full disclosure about the relationship between reviewer and vendor (as there is in this situation), there should not be any concern.

Also, SPCR members are free to publish their own reviews of various products in the forums.

I am not recommending Cafe Press here - I just offered it as a link for people who wanted to know the options available from an online shop.

BTW - I have bought several items from Cafe Press (include a tee-shirt and a bag), and I thought the price and quality were fine. Of course, I have only owned the items for a few months, so I will have to see how they hold up over time.

Up until now, I believe Mike has supported this site through contributions. If I remember from the P180 story, some of the purchase price for the SPCR logo case comes to this site. That means Mike just went into a whole new business - he just "sold" his logo to a mechant.

I have no qualms about Mike doing this - I think it is a great idea in this case (pun intended ). But I am sure that there are people in this forum who are not comfortable with this development.

Whilst the chances of me walking down a street wearing a T-Shirt with 'Silent PC Review' are slim to none (Not gonna be a big hit with the ladies ).

I think their may be potential to market basic peripherals for our PC's. Who's gonna object to an SPCR mouse-mat for instance. A lot of companies print these and it's not something that's ever going to create controversy as they won't be reviewed.

I think if mainstream products are going to get branded then a safe option would be the typical accessories that you need for a quiet PC. SPCR branded yate loons would go down well I'm sure, or front panel fan controllers, etc.

But more major components begin to raise questions about objectivity.

Just my thoughts,

Dane.

Mike did not "sell" his logo to a merchant. Mike was involved in developing the P180, and it has features that came into being as a direct result of his work on SPCR. The SPCR branded P180 exists in recognition of Mike's (and, by extension, SPCR's) involvement in its design. This is not a case of SPCR "sponsoring" a favoured product. This is a product that came into being as a partnership between SPCR and Antec. Because Antec is in the business of actually selling the thing, it makes sense that the P180 is primarily Antec branded, not SPCR branded, but that doesn't mean this it's not an SPCR case.

Mike "sold" his consulting services to Antec, something he has been doing in the industry for as at least as long as SPCR has been around. He did not "sell" the SPCR logo.

As has been already pointed out twice now in this thread, Mike C did not take an off-the-shelf product and brand it with the SPCR logo. He helped design the Antec P180, and the small amount of profit he gets for the black SPCR version for the rest of this year (after which Antec reserves the right to sell their own black P180) is compensation for his efforts on the design of the case.

I don't know why people think there will be "SPCR branded yate loons" unless Mike C (or SPCR) is involved in the design of the fan.

Of course, an SPCR tee shirt or mouse pad is a totally different thing, since SPCR will probably not be reviewing such products.

perhaps a SPCR stamp of approval could be used... for example, SPCR could buy a bulk pack of fans, test them individually, and sell them in different categories:

Under [email protected]
Under [email protected]
Under [email protected]

And SPCR doesn't have to limit it to fans... power supplies, hard drives, heatsink/fan combos, etc. The sky is the limit.

This idea would work well because customers would be willing to pay a higher price in exchange for peace of mind, as bad samples and false ratings would be weeded out. Also, customers would buy products and know exactly what they are getting.

More of a rental. Pimpin' ain't easy (we really need one of those pimp smileys)

re: mousepad: Dude, the SPCR mouspad will piss off a LOT of people if it doesn't decrease mouse noise. Kidding. I think.

One problem with the argument - if Antec was paying Mike a flat fee or a percentage of every P180, I would agree with you. But in this case Mike only gets a percentage of the SPCR branded P180s. While I agree that this arrangement came about because of Mike's involvement - the fact is that as things currently stand Mike is getting money from Antec because his logo is on the case.

I don't consider this a bad thing - in fact I wouldn't have started this poll if I didn't support the idea of the SPCR logo being on merchandise. My question is how do other people feel about Mike's logo being on stuff you can buy?

I don't think that is necessarily true. Remember that the cases are unique in another way (for the time being) in that they are black. And only two retailers carry them (one in US and one in CA). I suspect that the deal between Mike and the two retailers could have been done without the logo.

Sure, if they want to sell out....

Just a few points:

1) The SPCR P180 exists because Antec, the retailers and I all agreed that SPCR is a respected name many people may want on the P180 case, given SPCR's (my) involvement in its design. This is indeed proving to be the case, based on preorders at EndPCNoise and FrontierPC.

2) The retailers involved may make a buck or two more selling the SPCR P180 than the Antec version, but this is offset by higher costs and effort involved in bringing it to market.

3) Buying a SPCR P180 is a way for people to support SPCR, much like a direct donation to SPCR. Many people donate directly; many more people do not. Buying a SPCR P180 lets you give a bit of support to SPCR without actually dropping your money directly into the hat on the sidewalk , and get the bonus of a cool marque on your PC.

4) It's vaguely possible that the SPCR logo appears on various vaguely relevant merchandise. This has not been looked into seriously; no time!

5) It is more possible that the SPCR logo appears on a very select range of products specifically for the silent pc market. These will only be best of class type products or highly specialized items simply not sold or available elsewhere due to perceived lack of demand. BEcause of SPCR's highly targeted global audience, we may be able to deliver such items without as much risk. Think of it as a service for a small highly specialized global market. This too, has not been seriously considered. It's most likely that they will be added piecemeal as we stumble into them -- or get involved in designing them as with the P180.