Thanks Seeess

[Weinie]

for the great badge and for letting me shoot that 1895 Nagant revolver with supressor. That was a real treat. Now I have to get one :-)

[seeess]

The badge worked out a lot better than I expected. I sold all but 1 which is basically perfect (no one went without one that wanted one).

The whole project was thousands of hours starting sometime around sept-oct 2014. It was the riskiest longterm investment that netted me somewhere around negative $100, and I'd do it all over again knowing how well everything turned out.

I'll have a few more updates on lessons learned and common repairs (like if you break off your mic), on the main thread to post in the next few days. I met an editor from hackaday who said he is interested in the unofficial defcon badges, and was thinking about doing a story, we'll see.

Weinie I'm always impressed with how much you bring out, I'm thinking of avoiding the checked bags and using that money to shoot your (and other's) toys next year.

[Weinie]

No problem. Glad to share :-)

Speaking of that, anyone remember a short heavyset woman with a young son. She had him shoot 200 rounds of .308 through my 1919A4, and I have yet to see anything resembling a donation for the ammo. A 30 round mag of 9mm is one thing, but good .308 is not cheap. Oh well, I guess she thought it was free.

[Gigs]

Some of them just don't realize they just blew through $100+ of your money. Make it extra clear up front and don't assume people know what ammo costs.

Thanks again seeess. Your badge is my favorite defcon electronic badge in the 5 years or so I've been going. It may not have 8 cores or do VGA but it's clean, accessible, and wide open for tinkering. If you are interested in doing it again, let me know and we can probably do another sponsor deal.

[seeess]

Some of them just don't realize they just blew through $100+ of your money. Make it extra clear up front and don't assume people know what ammo costs.

It seems like people will always try and take advantage. I had a few people wanting discounts on the badges even though I sold them at cost and posted the entire cost sheet online (along with an offer to share all invoices with deviant for proof).

The worst was a few goons actually trying to pull weight, and were pretty shocked when I refused. They tried to press the issue since it was for "very high level people", which I responded "then they can pay $50 / badge".
I guess they're not used to rejection during the con. But their authority was not recognized in fort seeess

That said, goons that were overly nice to me in the past like cstone got a free badge (paid out of my pocket). But the ones that thought they were entitled paid the same as everyone else.

[TheCotMan]

The worst was a few goons actually trying to pull weight, and were pretty shocked when I refused. They tried to press the issue since it was for "very high level people", which I responded "then they can pay $50 / badge".
I guess they're not used to rejection during the con. But their authority was not recognized in fort seeess

I'm sorry this happened to you. :-/

Did these Goons understand your reply on these being built at-cost, and did not include your own effort in them?

After you explained it to them, did they understand you better?

I have hopes the people you write about were not actually goons, but non-goons attempting social engineering to get free stuff, maybe volunteers in other departments.

If they really were goons, that is pretty bad. I hope that experience did not taint the rest of your DEF CON.

That said, goons that were overly nice to me in the past like cstone got a free badge (paid out of my pocket). But the ones that thought they were entitled paid the same as everyone else.

I saw several people wearing this badge on Thursday. Well done. :-)


Sorry I did not make it out to the shoot this year. Maybe in 2 years things will work out for another DC Shoot visit.

[seeess]

I'm sorry this happened to you. :-/

Did these Goons understand your reply on these being built at-cost, and did not include your own effort in them?

After you explained it to them, did they understand you better?

I have hopes the people you write about were not actually goons, but non-goons attempting social engineering to get free stuff, maybe volunteers in other departments.

If they really were goons, that is pretty bad. I hope that experience did not taint the rest of your DEF CON.

I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it than it was, but it was the only instance where someone didn't take a "no I'm selling them at cost" for an answer. And I probably could've done a better job of explaining the situation.
They could've been non-goons, he claimed to be buying them for others, and wasn't wearing a red shirt / goon badge.
And it didn't ruin my experience, here's some better stories:

One guy on wednesday drove directly from the airport to the shoot just to pick up a badge (realize how out of the way that drive would be). He said he skipped picking up his AR15 because he was worried I was going to sell out of badges.

On friday, the first talk I was just walking up an aisle to find a seat and someone got out of their seat to ask me about the badge.
"where did you get that?"
me: I made them
(not believing me) "really?"
me: Yep I'm selling them for $25
(really not believing me) "like out of your bag?"
me: Yep, would you like one?
"sure I'll take 2"

In other talks I'd have 4-8 people find me to buy badges, once this caused a goon to come over and make sure I'm not selling drugs out of my bag I guess. Once he got there I was pulling out AA's and he seemed confused
"What are you selling AA's out of your bag?"
me: Yep with the defcon shoot badges
"oh ok" (and walked away without issue)

Thanks to everyone that introduced others to this badge / talked others into buying one. Otherwise I probably would've been stuck with 40+ badges.

[dead]

I was just happy to get one at all since my goon duties didn't allow time for me to get out to the shoot again this year. I was happier still when I found out you had enough extra for me to pick up a few for my friends! =) Not sure why any red badges, or any one really, would assume a discount... blargh. ... anyway thanks +1 from me! =)

[Gigs]

It seems like people will always try and take advantage. I had a few people wanting discounts on the badges even though I sold them at cost and posted the entire cost sheet online (along with an offer to share all invoices with deviant for proof).

Some people will try anything to get a "deal", and it's not just geeks who think they can social engineer. I get crap like this all the time at gun shows, where I sell a lot of relatively low margin reloading stuff. Just something you have to deal with if you are going to buy/sell stuff face to face I guess.

[Weinie]

Glad you sold out. Next time charge cost +20% Of course, "cost" didn't include your time, which is why I paid you $30 for the badge :-)

I wore the badge while at DC flashing "dEFcon shoot", and got asked a few times about it. I pointed them to this forum as I had no other info to give them.

[seeess]

I wore the badge while at DC flashing "dEFcon shoot", and got asked a few times about it.

That's actually part of the reason why I wanted to do a badge for the shoot. A few years ago at closing they were showing pictures from defcon, and when they showed guns from the shoot I heard a few "wait where was that?". I know I missed the shoot at my first defcon because I didn't do enough research ahead of time.

Hopefully we have a bigger crowd next year due to better awareness.

[Deviant Ollam]

i'll also just want to say how terrific these badges were. i'd love to see them used as the basis for next year's version if it happens again, etc etc.

seriously, one and all, come out to the Shoot and stay for the campout next year. i don't want you to count your eggs before they're in the pudding, but i plan on actually having air beds for as many people as we can who want to camp. we'll guerrilla the rest... borrow a pillow and spare blanket from the closet in your hotel room, i'll cover food and such... imagine a campout looking up at the stars as we swap stories about guns and hacking, etc etc.