In 2021 we had a huge Spring Cleaning, as we had to clear out one of our warehouses in Japan. Instead of throwing away unsold inventory, we decided to find free homes for some of our Go Boards in a huge Easter Giveaway. You can read our blog post about it here. In 2022 we decided to continue the tradition, and you can read the update here.
All told, we've given away $5750 worth of equipment!
Boats and planes carried these boards around the world to their recipients, making the Go world just a bit richer. We didn't mind taking a loss on the gear itself, but we're seeking help from the community with the enormous shipping costs (we also ask players receiving the largest boards to contribute a portion of the airmail fees).
We hope to continue the tradition, so long as it doesn't cost us more to save the boards than to dispose of them. If you'd like to be a part of buying a stranger a free Goban, simply add this item to your cart and complete Checkout.
Edit: We received almost $700 in donations in our first year. At this rate we'll break even sometime in 2023, so we will continue the tradition of an Spring Giveaway every year - please sign up to our newsletter for updates.
You can use the Drop-Down Menu to select the amount you'd like to donate. We'll credit your purchase towards the shipping cost already paid for players that purchased the Free Goban item (currently out of stock, sorry). Updates will be made each time we get closer to our goal.
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The Financials:
2021 Free Gobans awarded: 18 ($5000 in gear)
2022 Free Gobans awarded: 3 ($750 in gear, so far)
Shipping Costs:
5 Table Boards: $254 (~$50 each)
11 Small Gobans: $862 (~$80 each)
5 Large Gobans: $1548 (~$310 each)
Total Costs = $2664
Donations:
1st Year Pay-It-Forward donations made: $680
2nd Year Pay-It-Forward donations made: $60
1st Year 'Large Goban' 5 recipients paid $750 of their own Shipping fees
2nd Year 'Waitlist' 1 recipient paid $60 of their own Shipping fees
Total Received: $1550
Remaining to goal = $1094
We're thrilled that there is so much demand for Gobans, and eager to see if there will be enough matching donations to cover our shipping expenses.
Thank you to James, Evan, Paul, Tom, Nicholas, Timothy, Joseph, Eric, Solomon, Max, David, Douglas, Thomas, and Jason for your support!
This info last updated: June 23, 2022
