Chapter 387: Painting a Rosy Picture
Chapter 387: Painting a Rosy Picture
On a weekend morning, as Albert was about to sit down for breakfast at the Gryffindor table, he was intercepted by Truman and his entourage. The Hufflepuff prefect was dissatisfied with the progress of the Wizarding Cards' distribution and hoped that Albert could come up with a reasonable solution.
The replication process for the Wizarding Cards was exceedingly slow and consumed a significant amount of time and energy, falling far short of meeting the demands of the other club members. Quite a number of them had already approached him to air their grievances about this issue.
"I won't engage in large-scale manufacturing until the Wizarding Cards are truly ready, nor do I have the equipment and energy to do so," Albert said calmly. "If you feel that the process is too slow, I suggest you find others to help with the replication. Offer them a small fee; for example, you could pay them a set amount of Knuts per card, and a few Sickles for a complete set. Upperclassmen with spare time should be willing to lend a hand for some extra pocket money."
Truman considered this suggestion carefully and found it feasible.
After Truman left, Fred, who was frowning as he ate his sausage, complained, "This isn't fair to us. We've helped with so many Wizarding Cards, and it's not unreasonable to ask for some compensation for our efforts."
"You're working for yourselves, not for others," Albert replied, looking at Fred, who was speaking indistinctly with a sausage in his mouth. "Have you ever seen a boss pay himself a salary?"
The trio furrowed their brows in thought. While they felt there was some truth to Albert's words, something still seemed amiss.
"If you start charging money now, before the Wizarding Cards are properly established, aren't you just scamming others and setting yourself up for failure?" Albert lowered his voice so that only they could hear him. "Once your reputation is ruined, the club will fall apart soon after."
"But..."
"We will definitely sell card packs, decks, and premium cards for profit in the future. Before that, we need to perfect our Wizarding Cards and make them more official, rather than focusing on a small sum of money."
"That's not a small sum," George mumbled.
The Wizarding Card Club had a sizable membership, and if they charged for the cards, they could easily make a small bagful of Galleons.
For the financially strapped Weasley brothers, this was indeed a substantial amount.
However, after receiving a stern glance from Albert, they fell silent.
"The Wizarding Cards will bring us a continuous stream of Galleons in the future, rather than a one-time windfall that leaves a mess in its wake. You should be looking at the long game. The Wizarding Cards will be our first job after graduating from school, and before that, it's best that we thoroughly refine the rules and cards, as well as build a substantial player base."
"I think Albert's right," said Lee Jordan, though he didn't really understand what Albert was talking about. However, he figured that if Albert was willing to invest in the Wizarding Cards after graduation, he surely wouldn't let them take a loss. He had never seen Albert make a bad business deal, let alone lose money on one.
Since he didn't understand, Lee decided to just follow Albert's lead, and he trusted that Albert would bring them along for the ride.
Fred and George stared speechlessly at Lee Jordan but didn't say anything further.
They did want to make money.
What could they do? They were going stir-crazy from being broke all the time.
"Even if those students who help with the replication have complaints later on, they won't target us because we're just providing the templates for free," Albert said mysteriously. "Moreover, there's a saying... the most expensive things in life are free. I know you don't understand now, but trust me, you will in the future."
The trio looked at Albert with bewildered expressions, only half understanding what he meant, but they nodded anyway.
Albert glanced at Ron, who had just sat down next to them, clearly intending to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What were you guys talking about?" Ron asked.
"The future development plan for the Wizarding Card Club," Albert replied without hiding anything. He pulled out a notebook from his Chameleonic Charm bag, which outlined the future blueprint for the Wizarding Cards.
The trio huddled together to browse through the notebook, and their faces soon reflected their astonishment as they realized the extent of Albert's plans for the cards.
The current state of the Wizarding Cards could only be considered a starting point. Albert's goal was to have a substantial base of loyal fans by the time they graduated from Hogwarts, with the cards fully completed.
Once they graduated, they could take the first steps toward that goal.
"Let's give the Wizarding Cards a full-scale promotion, then sell random card packs and make this game popular in the British magical world."
"Once the Wizarding Cards gain fame in the magical world, the next step is to own a pub, similar to the board game store that failed in my previous life. We'll also maintain a series of activities, and Albert's target is the Broken Drum pub. Our revenue will come from selling Wizarding Cards and selling ad space."
"The final step is to establish similar franchise stores or open branches, but this is also the most difficult step, and it's still a long way off."
It turned out that Albert had already planned out the development of the Wizarding Cards. Although the trio found it a bit unbelievable, they also felt that Albert would succeed. He was currently working on building initial popularity, and there was no doubt that Albert was doing a great job, as evidenced by the large number of students who had joined the Wizarding Card Club.
Whether he succeeded or not, the trio admired Albert's approach.
Lee Jordan didn't have as far-reaching plans for the Wizarding Cards as Albert. His goal was simply to make them popular among the students of Hogwarts.
Fred and George's joke shop also primarily targeted Hogwarts students. However, Albert's vision for the Wizarding Cards extended to the entire British magical community and even globally.
While there was a risk of over-promising, people needed to have dreams. If one didn't even have aspirations, they were no different from a salted fish.
Of course, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan didn't know that Albert's wish wasn't as grand as they thought. He just wanted to find some friends to help him start a company and make money, achieving a so-called "win-win" situation.
With money, he could live a worry-free life and do whatever he wanted.
However, this seemingly grand blueprint did indeed shock the trio.
"So, what do you think our joke shop's plan should be from now on?" Fred and George looked at each other and finally decided to seek Albert's opinion.
"You can divide your shop into sections and eventually focus on magical items," Albert suggested after some thought. "The joke shop will indeed make you a lot of money, but you need to remember that most students are not that wealthy."
The trio remained silent, waiting to hear more.
"The real money-maker is not those joke props but this." Albert waved his protective bracelet. "Dark magic defense is where the real profit lies."
"After you open your shop, I'll help you get some interesting items to expand your product range. Just selling joke props won't get you far," Albert reminded them with a smile.
"Interesting items? What interesting items?" Fred asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Albert took out two metal cards from his Chameleonic Lizard Skin Bag and handed them to Fred and George. "These are communication cards."
"What are these?" Fred asked, puzzled.
"Communication cards," Albert replied.
"Communication cards?" the trio repeated.
"You write on one card, and the message will appear on the other," Albert explained, noticing their confused looks. "These will sell for ten Galleons each."
"Ten Galleons?"
The trio stared at the metal cards, mouths agape, unable to comprehend why they were so expensive.
"Do you know who your target customers are for this item?" Albert asked with a smile.
"Who?" Fred and George asked in unison.
"Couples," Albert answered.
This time, Lee Jordan's mind worked quickly. "With these cards, they won't need to write letters to each other. They can just communicate directly through the communication cards, right?"
"I don't think they'll buy them," Fred said suddenly. Ten Galleons was indeed a steep price.
"They'll try to imitate you and make their own," Albert predicted.
"They won't be able to," Albert shook his head. "It involves advanced use of the Transfiguration Charm."
Perhaps some students proficient in the Transfiguration Charm could create something similar, but for the communication to work, both parties would need to know the charm. Moreover, even if they both knew the charm, it was uncertain if they could perfectly transcribe the messages.
"For every pair sold, you can take twenty percent of the profit," Albert offered with a smile. "There should be quite a few couples in school, so how many Galleons you make depends on your sales skills."
"That's ruthless."
"But... we like it." (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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