College Crafters License: The Positives and Negatives
In this article we will discuss the positives and negatives of holding a Crafters License for college logos.
First, what is a college crafters license?
A Crafters license is a license granted by a college or university to an individual that produces college branded items in small quantities. In other words, a crafters license is a when a college or university grants an individual permission to produce and sell branded items in small quantity. An example would be an individual that handmakes candles that have the University of Alabama logo affixed to them, not only is the individual handmaking the candles, the individual is selling them as well, usually at local fairs or other small venues.
A College Crafters License is the opposite of what is known as a Standard License. A Standard License is what the medium to large producers must hold in order to create and sell collegiate licensed products. This license is much more costly to secure, from the application fees, annual fees, and insurance requirements. In addition this license requires more paperwork, including quarterly sales reports and supply chain reports.
The Positives of holding a College Crafters License
In comparison to the Standard License, there are four main positives when it comes to holding a Crafters License:
Ease of securing the license
The Crafters License is somewhat easy to secure. There is an application process, but the process is much more straightforward compared to the Standard License application. To secure a Crafters License for college logos, you will need to submit a sample of your product to the licensing agency and you will have to share details on how you plan to produce the item as the agency will want to ensure you are hand producing the item. Lastly, you will need to share with the licensing agency where you plan to sell the item to ensure that you are not planning to wholesale the item as this would violate the terms and conditions of the Crafters License.
Lower Cost
Simply put, the cost and fees associated with the College Crafters License are much lower when compared to the costs of the Standard License.
Ease of getting started
While there still is an application process when it comes to securing a College Crafters License, the application is much easier compared to the Stanard License. The Stansard LIcense goes into much more detail about the producers overall business and business plans. And added difficulty is that schools are much more selective about who is granted a Standard License as the proposed product must be a good strategic fit. With the College Crafters License, expect a much easier and quicker application process. And as long as you pass the application process you are likely to be accepted into the school’s Carfters License program and your business will be up an running.
Ease of operation
When a have a Crafters License for college logos it is somewhat easy to operate the license when comparing it to the Standard License. With the College Crafters License you must report your sales to the licensing agency on an annual basis, while with the Standard License you must share a detailed sales report each business quarter (4 times per year).
The Negatives of holding a College Crafters License
The one negative to talk about when it comes to the College Crafters License is the low volume sales requirement. When you hold a College Crafters License to school will require you to stay under a certain amount sales per year, this limit is either measure in revenue of sales units. Often times schools will require you to stay under $2,500 in sales per year, or under 500 units sold per year. Obviously this is a big negative as this limits your big your business can get.
With the above being said, it is often simply the passion for the school driving the College Crafter, not necessarily making big money, so when looked at it that way, limiting the size of the business might not even qualify as being a negative.
Final Thoughts on the College Crafters License
While the College Crafter License does limit the size of your business, it does allow for a possioniate fan to produce branded items and engage with other fans in a meaningful way. In addition, the College Crafters License allows a starting point for those that are business minded, allowing them to test the waters on a small scale before stepping up to the more expensive and difficult to secure Standard LIcense.