SMS Messages FAQ
Why are your SMS credits so expensive to purchase?
Sending bulk SMS messages is a very different beast to sending them on your handset. It's still quite expensive to send SMS messages via an external service.
We sell SMS credits to clubs at cost price (currently 6.6c per recipient), and don't see the sale of SMS credits as a revenue source for Majestri. Previously, we tried a dirt-cheap SMS solution, but the messages went via such far-flung locations as the Ukraine, Namibia and Greenland. On occasion, messages took hours to reach the handset of the recipient, and on other occasions didn't turn up at all.
We predict that the SMS provider market will get extremely competitive in the near future and drive prices down. We are always on the lookout for a new service provider and will automatically pass on any cost savings to our clubs.
If I don't want to purchase credits, is there a way I can use my own phone to send a message?
Yes, there is.
If you compose an SMS message via the system in the normal way, we detect whether you are using a device with a SIM card in it. If you are, we give you on-screen option to drop the message down to your handset as a "multi-recipient" message (ie. a To number for each recipient defined in Majestri).
If you are sending to a large number of people, you may encounter limitations imposed by your device (eg. maximum number of recipients). This is something we have no control over.
Why is the option to send via handset on some screens and not others?
This comes down to the fundamental difference between using your own handset (and plan) and our credit-based service.
There is a limitation on how many recipients you can include in a Group SMS, which is what you are sending when you use your handset to send a message composed in Majestri. That upper limit is dependent on your device and carrier, but it probably won't be more than 30 recipients. It makes no sense to allow this functionality on an event-based messaging screen, as you'll more than likely easily blow that limit.
It's why there's a cost to the mass-messaging service Majestri provides, as there is no real upper-end to the numbers you can reach. It is an industrial-strength service that comes with a high degree of deliverability guarantees (it could still be cheaper than it is, we believe).
For more information on understanding the differences between the two types of SMS sending, please read this useful article.
Is there any way as a club we can buy a pool of credits and allocate them to officials?
At the moment, there isn't, but it's a heavily-requested feature, so chances are that we'll end up building something.
Currently, the person sending the message must have purchased the credits themselves, and their user account maintains a balance of credits based on messages sent. What a lot of clubs are after is the ability to be able to allocate credits to their officials, giving them the ability to top up their account on their behalf when it gets a bit low.
We can definitely see the benefit of such a model, however we do have some slight apprehension about introducing a new roadblock. If an official runs low on credits, they then become reliant on a club administrator jumping into the system and allocating more credits. Still, you don't know if you don't try it, so you can expect this to become an entry on our product roadmap.
When I send an SMS, who will the sender be on the recipient's phone?
That depends. If your mobile number is recorded against your Majestri user record, you will get a dropdown list that allows you to send as either your club name (a short version thereof - max 11 characters), or your own mobile number.
A good rule of thumb is to send as your mobile number if you want a reply, or the club name if it's one-way.