bradsta Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 I pay $75 per month and have just been told I have to pay $115 at the end of each year to remain a member. Our uniforms are not a part of these costs. We can goto as many classes as we wish to attend. Classes are available 5 nights per week. The membership of $115 every year concerns me a little. Does this sound right? I mean, you pay $75 per month as it is + belt testing fees of $45 every 3 months or so. I figured that $75 WAS the membership fee. Amounts are in Aussie Dollars. Bradsta.
Rotten Head Fok Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 Firstly, Welcome to Karate Forums ! I just contacted the school I'll be joining in a few weeks, The rates are $100 a month or I can choose a 1 year contract. Uniforms are not included and I forgot to ask about any testing fees. I did ask about the contract; if I don't meet requirments will I be allowed to continue being a student ? I was told "no" it is just and option in payment. What is the $115 at the end of the year for ? Find out. You must be stable and balanced in your foot work, if you have to use your martial knowledge in combat, your intent should be to win. If you do strike, you must release great power! The martial arts are easy to learn, but difficult to correct.
Squawman Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 Yeah, you need to find out what the $115 is for. It sounds like a load of you-know-what if they just come out and tell you you have to pay it. If they didn't tell you up front and you didn't sign anything AND they can't give a good reason why, then you should just walk. We are getting to the point of having to tell students that we are raising their monthly rates by $5 or $10 dollars because of inflation which I think is totaly different than saying "give me $115 bucks extra a year if you want to stay."
Luckykboxer Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 i will bet that the 115 dollars is an association fee. for example my studio has a monthly rate, it also has a yearly association fee.... ours is only 35 dollars... and i believe the renewal is less. it is basically a way to get more money, there is simply to better way to put it. now if your school is not a main headquarters like mine, then it may make sense. for example its an association or a branch of your instructors teacher. he has to pay his instructor a percentage of his students fees as whatever homage you come up with. anyway you cut it, its a way for the school owner to get more money and not have it appear as a increase in the monthly rates. Also most people who start martial arts quit before a year is up. So this fee can also be a way of getting more money fromt he peopel who are not going to be around.
TangSooGuy Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 (edited) Seems kind of bogus to me. Monthly fees and testing fee are pretty common, and in some cases even association membership fees, but an extra 115 per year seems a bit high. If I were the instructor I would just roll that into monthly tuition, but as was said, it's a business practice to get up front money out of people and not have to raise monthly tuition. My association only charges $15 American from white belt to black belt (which I actually don't charge my students- comes out of monthly fees), and after that $15 a year to renew black belt membership, or you can purchase several years or a lifetime membership where you don't have to ever worry about renewing it again. If it is 115 per year (and I don't know how Australian translates to US) right from the start, it seems a bit much to me.... Edited July 21, 2004 by TangSooGuy
WapCaplet Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 The Association I train with also has an annual fee in addition to monthly fees. However, our association has over 25 dojos in the city and the monthly fees go directly to each dojo's instructor. The annual fees go to the head of the association. Also, our monthly fees are only $50 CDN (which is like 50 cents US, haha) and the annual fee is $45. The "dojos" are actually rented space in school gyms, church halls, community centers, etc and the dojo instructor has to pay the rental costs with his/her student's monthly fees. I guess the point I'm making is that I understand where all my money is going and why they need it. My instructor needs my monthly fees to pay for rental costs and for his own time. The head of the association needs everyone's annual fees because his full-time job is to run the association and without him we wouldn't have our clubs. Find out where all your money is going and then determine if it is a fair cost. I should also point out that our $50 monthly fee allows us to train unlimited at ANY of the 25 dojos in the city. I could go twice a night, seven days a week to a different dojo everytime and all I have to pay is $50/month to my main instructor and the $45 annual fee. I think that's pretty good. Wap "Fighting fighting. Same Same""But you know karate!""Someone always know more..."
CloudDragon Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 I agree that the $115 is pretty steep for an annual fee. Association fees are usually annual and get you a wallet card and a number for tournaments and tracking at headquarters, some associations will include discounts on merchandise or a newsletter or magazine, free workouts at affiliate schools and sometimes a small amount of insurance. The $115 sounds pretty steep even with all of the stuff listed above, I get it all for $25 US. I would talk to your instructor about what this money does for you and if you feel comfortable, go for it, but I would hope it gets you alot of stuff for that price A Black Belt is just a white belt that don't know when to quit!
aefibird Posted July 21, 2004 Posted July 21, 2004 Welcome to Karate Forums! That extra $115 a year on top of what you pay seems like an owful lot of mony to me. I'm suspicious about the fact that they just 'sprung' the charge on you lately, rather than telling you when you joined. It seems like a way of getting money out of you with no good reason, especially as you are paying a lot for monthly classes and belt testing fees too. Try and find out what the yearly charge is for and exactly how it will be spent. If it seems to benefit you and the other students then it may be worth it, especially if the quality of instruction is good. If you can't get a specific and detailed answer about where and to whom your hard-earned $$ are going then it may be a good idea for you to try and find another club. "Was it really worth it? Only time and death may ever tell..." The Beautiful South - The Rose of My CologneSheffield Steelers!
whitedragond Posted July 23, 2004 Posted July 23, 2004 The "associations" that we are a member of is 1 yearly fee for the whole school to be a member of, which is paid by the owner. Any other associations that we personally qualify for is optional only if you want to join them. Any fees, like you are talking about, should be included in the monthly dues. We also charge for belt testing, which covers the costs of the belts, test, certificates, etc.
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