Leagues looking for owners....

[Ken]

Ken,

First off thank you for the questions.

Sure, but unfortunately you did not address all of them. I'll number them this time to make sure we get specific.

We use Onroto so I have to pay the fees to OnRoto.

I use onroto, $99 per league. That's 5% of the $1900 league. We need to figure out where the other 50% goes.

I give discounts for early payments when the season is over, discounts for multi teams owned, Discount for Owners that refer another owner to MHS, Loyal Customers, when there are teams for sale I lower the price.

Question #1) I've asked twice previously, but what is the real price? If $190 is the inflated price, what's the real price that I'm going to pay as a new owner who pays on time for 1 team?
Question #2) Once you answer question #1 I need to ask again, if there is a discounted price, then why even bother advertising the $190 price? I don't think it's appropriate to overcharge new owners just for being new, nor do I think it's appropriate to overcharge owners just because they only have 1 team. So what's the reasoning for charging more than the *discounted* price that you hopefully provide for question 1?

I do not charge for anything else during the season ( trades / Free agents / etc.. ). Also I allow off season trading. Its your team until you want to give it up in a sense. I pay out prize money right after the season is done. Owners had winnings the following week after the season ended. Some guys have had the same team for years and keep restocking the team. I process all trades. Both owners email the trade to me to confirm and it is reviewed and processed. I email the league with the trade. Its a added service that is provided that most owners like to have. I put alot of my time into this and yes it is a business for me. I am very fair and I am always there for the owners. Only a email / text or phone call away. You really have to experience it to understand all that is involved. As I stated earlier it is not everyones cup of tea.
Another thing is I have a website with all the owners emails / Rules / Phone numbers / rosters etc.. I try to provide as much as possible.

I guess I'm still missing it. I provide all those things to my leagues.
I don't charge for anything (including any vig off the top). No charge for trades. No charge for FAAB. I handle offseason trading. I pay out immediately after the season. Onroto emails immediately when trades are processed. I answer all questions. I respond to texts and emails and facebook messages and calls 365 days a year if needed. I put a ton of time into it. Not because its a money making business but because I love it, it's a passion, making sure everyone gets to enjoy it the same way I do. All the emails/rules/rosters/numbers are on the league site.

So question #3 - what are you providing that those of us who commish on our own for free do not provide? I still haven't see anything?

Regarding putting an Ad for my team here yes I look for the best owners. I owe it to the owners of MHS to find the best owners and I am always trying to improve things. I always welcome feedback from owners. I have had some great feedback and actually did do some of the changes that the owners asked for. I use to play fantasy for many many years and I try to think like the owners of my leagues.

OK, so think like an owner right here - when you put $ towards a fantasy league don't you want the prize money to be equivalent to the entry fees? A small fee for the onroto service ($99) comes off the top, and I'll even be willing to allow you a "reasonable" commish fee (even though I do it for free), but (basically the same as question #3) why should an owner go with your service rather than a standard league that all of us on this site participate in that doesn't have a large fee?

As far as pulling the wool over your eyes I am sorry but that is by no way the case. We have been around since 1990 and do baseball / basketball / football. Some owners have been with MHS for 20+ years.

You said you question the MHS owner who pays my fees. They are owners who are serious and don't like the BS leagues. They know what they get and they enjoying playing here. Its like a big family at MHS.

Not trying to be mean but I have to wonder if they realize what they are giving up by going with your service vs the alternatives out there. You haven't listed anything above that I don't provide for free. Even the same hosting site.

Thank you for allowing me the time to answer some questions. If you have an other questions please feel free to ask. I am open to it.

Thank you.
Edward

Thanks for the prompt reply, I do appreciate that.

[mhsports]

Ken,

I forgot to mention MHS has a new owner discount as well.

Anyway, The answers to these questions will never be the right answer for you and that is fine. Everyone is different. Maybe I should offer you a job at MHS? Let me know if you would like to talk about that.

MHS has been around a long time so we must be doing something right. Everyone has a choice out there.

Thank you for your time and questions.

[Ken]

Let me know if you would like to talk about that.

Email sent

[mjl]

I absolutely agree with the board consensus for the most part.

Question #2) Once you answer question #1 I need to ask again, if there is a discounted price, then why even bother advertising the $190 price? I don't think it's appropriate to overcharge new owners just for being new, nor do I think it's appropriate to overcharge owners just because they only have 1 team. So what's the reasoning for charging more than the *discounted* price that you hopefully provide for question 1?

Having discounts for returning owners or owners of multiple teams is fine. Many sites do something similar. But it's presented as discounts off the team price, and the payout is calculated off the non-discounted rate, and the site can eat the discounts if they want to offer them. Pricing the teams as if everyone qualifies for discounts and calculating the payouts based on that is kind of messed up.

I guess I'm still missing it. I provide all those things to my leagues.
I don't charge for anything (including any vig off the top). No charge for trades. No charge for FAAB. I handle offseason trading. I pay out immediately after the season. Onroto emails immediately when trades are processed. I answer all questions. I respond to texts and emails and facebook messages and calls 365 days a year if needed. I put a ton of time into it. Not because its a money making business but because I love it, it's a passion, making sure everyone gets to enjoy it the same way I do. All the emails/rules/rosters/numbers are on the league site.

So question #3 - what are you providing that those of us who commish on our own for free do not provide? I still haven't see anything?

To be fair, these are all things you do for leagues you're actually in, and it sounds like you do a lot more than some commissioners I've played with. Also, in some way this is like saying "At home I cut all the vegetables, I make the sauce, I cook the meat, I serve the food, why is this restaurant charging me to do it?" I'm not saying that the amount he charges is reasonable but having someone whose job it is to answer questions about the league constitution or whatever does have some nonzero value.

And there's some value in having a player community. I ended up in my first league through a college friend of mine, most of the rest have come from RJ or similar sites. If you didn't know about those (or the NFBC) (and you somehow knew about this guy, which is kind of a hole in the theory but run with me here) and you wanted to be in a league for a nontrivial amount of money, you might be willing to pay to use a service with some history.

I agree with the consensus that the price-to-benefit ratio seems way off but I don't think the price should be zero either.