As we discussed in our Market Analysis, Race Roster has raised prices quite a bit.
Race Roster does not publish pricing (unlike RunSignup), but we went in and set up an event and tried different event pricing to try to understand their most recent default pricing.
| Race Roster | RunSignup | RunSignup > 5,000 Reg | |
| Per participant | $1.99 | – | – |
| Per Transaction | – | $1.00 | $.80 |
| Per Transaction | 6.99% | 6% Donations 4% | 4.8% |
This results in price differences that add up when multiplied by hundreds or thousands of registrations:
| Race Roster | RunSignup | Difference | |
| 1 X $10 | $2.69 | $1.60 | $1.09 |
| 2 X $10 | $5.38 | $2.20 | $3.18 |
| 1 X 50 | $5.49 | $4.00 | $1.49 |
| 2 X 50 | $10.98 | $7.00 | $3.98 |
| 1 X 100 | $8.98 | $7.00 | $1.98 |
| 2 X 100 | $17.99 | $13.00 | $4.99 |
In addition they reportedly charge $0.85 + 6% for donations (we charge a flat 4%). They also charge $1.95 for transfers (we do not charge for transfers).
No Revenue Share in Insurance
We recently saw Race Roster sent a mass email to customers and prospects about using Race Insurance. Unlike RunSignup, they are not offering a revenue share of 20% on the sales of insurance. We have customers that are making some good money on this, but it looks like Race Roster is keeping it for themselves. Here is a snip from the email they sent, all good benefits, but it seems that Race Roster is benefiting financially and not races:
Njuko Pricing
The other registration provider Asics owns is Njuko. There is some question on whether Asics will continue investing in both. A more immediate question is the wide divergence in pricing between the two Asics registration providers.
Njuko charges just $0.35 per registration plus your own credit card fees. They also charge other fees for addons , for example their checkin app.
“Custom” Pricing
On the Race Roster website, they offer “Custom” Pricing:
Probably the best way to get discounts from their list price is to say that you are looking at RunSignup. Or ask them about using Njuko instead.
Asics
Of course the big question is how is Asics thinking about this business now? The pricing is certainly not designed for growth. And we have noticed their sales aggressiveness decreasing quite a bit over the past 6 months. Perhaps they are putting more investment into Njuko. Perhaps Race Roster is not driving enough shoes sales. Perhaps there is a need to drive more profitability (although RunSignup is profitable at our substantially lower price). Asics reportedly paid nearly $30 Million for Race Roster and there is a need to earn a return on that investment.
It will be interesting to watch this unfold. And if you need a price to ask Race Roster for, maybe send them this page – RunSignup.com/Pricing.