What are the economics of cart witnessing?

slimboyfat

On another thread shepherdless sketched out the past business model of JWs and its demise. Until 1990 they were a straightforward publishing business with the tremendous advantage of free labour in production and free distribution agents. Since then they've been relying on donations for literature to keep the old model going. But in recent years the model has broken down due to the web and demise of print and they are seriously short of cash and alternative business ideas.

So are they making any money from carts is that the point of them? They are so obviously a complete waste of time in terms of getting converts and in terms of JW morale you've really got to wonder what the agenda is.

Key questions:

Who makes the carts? Who pays for them? Who owns them? Where does the money go? How often do they need replaced? Are there side products? Pouches? Bags? Posters? Who pays for these?

Can anyone shed light on the details?

If the point of cart witnessing is to make money then it looks like a pretty pathetic attempt, but maybe it's the best they could come up with.

jookbeard

clearly they cannot be making any money at all, their literature is distributed for free and every time I see a cart I pick up a couple of mags to take home to throw in my recycling bin, I even ordered a silver sword bible a few weeks ago and true to their word they had one for me the following day, I took it and walked back to my car I wasn't going to give them a penny.

konceptual99

I believe the congregation pays for the cart when ordered but I don't know the suggested donation. Can anyone confirm?

besty

I think they must have had a ton of CO feedback in Western countries that knocking doors is a complete waste of time - they can also see for themselves the average hours preaching to create a new publisher is now 6x what it was in the early 1980's. http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php

people that answer the door are not interested in an American jam tomorrow religion that is best known for child abuse scandals and wacky medical ideas. (see todays Google News search for jehovahs witnesses below this post for details)

Given that door to door is broken what else could qualify as low skill busy work?

Not that long ago every commuter in London would pay £0.50 on the way home to read the Evening Standard. So the publisher would have ad revenue, sponsorships, paid for product placements, joint ventures (eg Holidays) AND the reader would pay real money for it. It's now being handed out for free.

The WTS has much of the publishing overhead with none of the commercial benefits, and they are also giving away their material.

Good luck with that. They will have to go 100% digital and pump the flock for direct cash.

*Todays Google Search for JW news:

Jehovah's Witness pervert who got sexual kicks from strangling ...

Mirror.co.uk-16 hours ago

A Jehovah's Witness who got sexual kicks from strangling young girls went unpunished for years after his activities were covered up by the ...

Jehovah's Witness Ian Pheasey strangled children for sexual ...

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Jehovah's Witnesses leaders say they don't protect sexual abusers

Reveal (blog)-21 Dec 2015

In the face of evidence that the Jehovah's Witnesses organization in Australia failed to report more than 1,000 allegations of child sexual abuse, ...

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Jehovah's Witnesses to make $1b from sale of New York ...

Daily Mail-13 Dec 2015

The Jehovah's Witness movement was founded in the 1870s by Charles Taze Russell who moved the Society's headquarters to Brooklyn, New ...

Jehovah's Witnesses could get $1 billion for NYC properties

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How Jehovah's Witness leaders are responding to child abuse scrutiny

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December 24,1942: Reinstatement of Seven Jehovah's Witnesses at ...

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On December 24, 1942, the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practices ordered that seven Jehovah's Witnesses have their jobs ..

Laika

The JW who I spoke to on the cart with katewild on Sunday wanted me to take a bible teach book, and the ones who called on me yesterday wanted me to take one too. They don't seem worried about the cost.

Whatever profit they make on the carts is surely lost on literature.

punkofnice

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/280963/what-watchtowers-r-objective-apathy-trolley-cart

I think there are some interesting comments and links here

DATA-DOG

Conventions are the money makers. Our circuit has $30,000.00 in the convention fund, which is used by the "Branch." So, the "Branch" is like a bank, which uses your money.

The accounts report was read as follows:

1) $30,000.00 in "the bank."

2) Cost of One Day convention = $10,000.00

3) Donations when the report was read = $8,000.00

Then we were told that a deficit of $2,000.00 exists. 😑 WTF?? The "bank" has my money ( donated funds ) in an account, but instead of paying the $10,000.00 from the $30,000.00, the "bank" tells me that I need to give them more money?!?!?! This happens over and over and over.

So the WTBTS is always adding cash to the "banks" account, while they sit on a pile of cash. That cash needed to be replenished, hence the great "cash-grab" of excess funds, which were donated in the first place.

As far as carts go, I bet a "brother" owns the cart business. To get a cart, we ( congregations ) must buy them ourselves. The "bank" doesn't help at all. Then we must spend our own money for gas, clothing, wear and tear on a vehicle, as always. We also must assume all responsibility for cart-witnessing, because as with regular witnessing, the WTBTS does not have your back.

What a freaking scam...

DD

slimboyfat

Maybe people are donating less at assemblies and conventions as more are held in Watchtower owned assembly halls and the quality of the releases has gone down.

eyeuse2badub

There can't be much money in "the carts" business. However, the organization could start making automobiles. The new 'Theomobile' would be virtually accident proof and the tires wouldn't wear out for 40 years. The opportunity to own and drive a vehicle designed and engineered by a select group of men, whose names will remain anonymous so as not to deflect glory from the 'real guy' and assembled by 'volunteer' labor will "no doubt" be enthusiastically received by all rank and file witnesses.

If Tesla could start a new car company with just money as his backing, just think what jw's could accomplish with the backing of 'holy spirit'.

just saying!

eyeuse2badub

kookie

Congregation as a whole pay for the literature as far as I know its not free the b/s pay for it but its given away free, there was a time when it was emphasised to ask for a contribution from the HH, but no one ever really did they felt to embarrassed and any donations given by the HH is to go back to the KH towards the WWW, so it was like double dipping.

the GB rely on JW to pay for the literature to the congregation, and I do know that they have stopped posting special orders a brother will go to bethel to pick up orders I know this because I was told by the MS brother, this is in Australia by the way.

As far as the carts go the congregation pays for it. Also they have in countries now their literature shops with computers to look into JW. org, I guess they are relying on the public for donations. I can see them having hook ups for the meetings and most literature will be down loaded to save money, it would be very expensive to run their pods and with the computer age paper back is going out so they will have to think of some other way to get finances, probably out right tithing wouldn't surprise me and they will have some scripture for it.

What are the economics of cart witnessing?

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