These days playing bingo involves more than just paper and a dauber. Now you have to deal with strips as well as a variety of pull tabs, including all plays, instants and horse races. In an effort to keep it organized, the bingo caddy was created by long-time bingo player Bobbie Fortier. Check out how it all started and where it's going.
[00:00:04] It's not a game, it's a red stick.
[00:00:08] Hello, and welcome to The Broke Bingo Addict.
[00:00:12] This is a podcast that ventures through the wild and crazy world of bingo.
[00:00:16] This is much more than your grandmother's bingo.
[00:00:19] My name's Shari, and welcome to this week's episode, which as always is for entertainment purposes only.
[00:00:27] So hi, everybody, and welcome to this week's episode of The Broke Bingo Addict.
[00:00:32] And for this week, I'm very excited to say that I have as my guest, Bobbie Fortier.
[00:00:37] And I hope I'm saying that right, because I'm probably not.
[00:00:39] She's French, and I'm probably screwing it up.
[00:00:42] But Bobbie, please, welcome to the show, and please say your name correctly if I've said it wrong.
[00:00:47] It's Bobbie Fortier, and that was close.
[00:00:51] That was close.
[00:00:52] Thank you for having me, yes.
[00:00:54] Well, I am so happy to have you on the show.
[00:00:57] Like I said, I think we met a few years ago down in Houston at one of Tanya's events.
[00:01:01] So I've been meaning to talk to you for a long time.
[00:01:04] So I'm just excited that you agreed to be on the show.
[00:01:07] So thank you so much.
[00:01:09] Well, to start out with, I ask this for a lot of people, and I definitely want to ask it for you.
[00:01:14] How did you initially get started playing bingo?
[00:01:17] With that a turn.
[00:01:18] They had a newsletter advertising that they would play bingo every Friday.
[00:01:25] And so I decided to take my three daughters and play bingo.
[00:01:30] And we did.
[00:01:31] And every Friday, it became Girls' Night Out.
[00:01:34] My bingo buddies and I, we met there.
[00:01:37] And we've been playing together for almost 30 years.
[00:01:41] Wow.
[00:01:42] So that's in Texas?
[00:01:43] Yes, ma'am.
[00:01:44] It is.
[00:01:45] Here in Katy, Texas.
[00:01:46] Oh, Katy, Texas.
[00:01:47] Okay.
[00:01:48] So then that makes me automatically jump to the other question, because I've always been tickled about seeing people with your bingo caddies.
[00:01:57] Now, I think the first one I saw was at Cash or somebody.
[00:02:00] But my first question has to be, how did you come up with the idea for your caddies?
[00:02:06] It started out at my—I gave myself a birthday party at a bingo hall.
[00:02:12] Big Bucks bingo, to be exact.
[00:02:14] Mm-hmm.
[00:02:15] And everybody there knows me, and they know I love my pool chaps.
[00:02:19] So in this process of me celebrating my birthday, folks were buying me tabs.
[00:02:26] Mm-hmm.
[00:02:27] And you know, tabs range from $1 to $10.
[00:02:32] And you can win hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars.
[00:02:35] Right.
[00:02:36] And it turns out some of my tabs were in the trash can.
[00:02:40] Some of the tabs were under my bingo papers.
[00:02:44] And that's being played.
[00:02:45] So I missed money.
[00:02:48] Oh.
[00:02:48] And I was like, I cannot believe this.
[00:02:51] And so I said, there's got to be a way to organize my tabs, keep them visible, keep them safe, and off the table.
[00:02:59] And I can still play bingo and tab.
[00:03:02] Mm-hmm.
[00:03:02] And so that's how my—and my idea was literally developed here in my home, in my kitchen, with styrofoam blocks.
[00:03:12] And they just kind of fell like steps.
[00:03:14] And it was like, wow, I think I got it.
[00:03:19] And that's how I took off.
[00:03:21] See, because I'm wondering, for whatever reason, I honestly thought they were made out of wood.
[00:03:24] In fact, I think I said that in one of my podcasts.
[00:03:26] I apologize.
[00:03:27] I thought they were made out of wood.
[00:03:28] So you figured out how to do that with styrofoam.
[00:03:30] No, no, no.
[00:03:31] That was just my prototype for myself.
[00:03:34] Oh.
[00:03:34] The very first ones were made out of wood.
[00:03:39] And then a lot of the customers liked the idea, but the original ones were too heavy.
[00:03:46] Mm-hmm.
[00:03:47] So I had them made out of a PVC plastic.
[00:03:52] And I lost that vendor.
[00:03:55] And then I found out I can go through a 3D printing, which is a lot cheaper and a lot lighter.
[00:04:04] And so that's where I'm at now, with the 3D printing.
[00:04:08] Okay.
[00:04:08] But even still, the first one, so how did you figure out how to make that pattern?
[00:04:12] If you had to do that, did you carve it yourself?
[00:04:14] Or how did you end up finding the person who did the PVC?
[00:04:19] Do you say PVC?
[00:04:20] Yes.
[00:04:21] How did you find those people?
[00:04:24] By the grace of God.
[00:04:25] It was just, I mean, from one design to the next was really and truly by the grace of God.
[00:04:33] Because it was like, oh my gosh, I don't have a manufacturer anymore.
[00:04:38] What am I going to do?
[00:04:39] How am I going to get this done?
[00:04:40] And my neighbor, he knew of a guy who knew a guy.
[00:04:45] And then I sent him the original.
[00:04:50] And he carved it out for me in PVC plastic, a gazillion pieces, and sent it back to me.
[00:04:57] And I was like, I love it.
[00:04:59] I want it.
[00:05:00] How many can you make?
[00:05:02] And then when I lost him, my same neighbor had somebody who did 3D printing out of Mexico.
[00:05:11] And this guy took that PVC design, printed it on the 3D printer from me.
[00:05:19] And it was like, oh my gosh, that's it.
[00:05:24] So I've been working with this guy for now over two years.
[00:05:29] Wow.
[00:05:30] But I was going to say, when did you start doing this?
[00:05:32] How long ago was it that you came up with this idea in the first place?
[00:05:35] As a matter of fact, it's been five years.
[00:05:38] And believe it or not, I just received the documentation that said, I am the official inventor of the pull tab patty.
[00:05:49] Okay.
[00:05:50] I just got my paperwork and my patent number.
[00:05:53] Good.
[00:05:54] Because that was my other question.
[00:05:54] I was going to say, did you have to get a license or some type of formal documentation?
[00:05:58] Because I would think that people are trying to steal your idea or copycat you.
[00:06:03] They did.
[00:06:04] And early on it was.
[00:06:05] And I think I did have one confrontation with a person who was trying to 3D print my caddy after she saw me 3D printing them.
[00:06:16] And I asked her to stop.
[00:06:18] And she gave me this long drawn out, cussing me out and telling me I couldn't tell her what to do.
[00:06:28] And so I have a patent lawyer.
[00:06:30] I talked to him.
[00:06:32] And for some reason, I'm a believer in my God.
[00:06:39] He said, Bobby, don't waste your time on small things.
[00:06:43] I have bigger and better things for you.
[00:06:45] Okay.
[00:06:46] And I told my lawyer, don't worry about it.
[00:06:48] I'm not going to go after her.
[00:06:49] It's not worth it.
[00:06:51] And I just started doing my thing and continue doing my thing.
[00:06:55] And here I am today.
[00:06:56] I just got my official letter.
[00:06:58] That is awesome.
[00:07:00] Congratulations for you.
[00:07:01] That is really fantastic.
[00:07:02] Because I definitely was wondering about that.
[00:07:03] But you are the one.
[00:07:04] I mean, when everybody would say, you know, you got to get this from Bobby.
[00:07:07] You got to get one of these from Bobby, which, by the way, I got to order one from you.
[00:07:10] I will.
[00:07:10] I promise.
[00:07:11] But I want one.
[00:07:13] I want one.
[00:07:13] But I was also wondering, too, how do you initially start out figuring how much it costs to have one of these made?
[00:07:19] And then how much you're going to charge somebody to buy one to make kind of a profit?
[00:07:24] Did you have like kind of a learning curve in the beginning to figure out how to charge people for these?
[00:07:30] Yes.
[00:07:30] As a matter of fact, for the wooden ones, I did not make a profit.
[00:07:36] The learning curve has still been a little steep.
[00:07:39] And I'm still pretty much new at this is my product.
[00:07:43] And it's hard to charge for my time.
[00:07:47] I love what I'm doing.
[00:07:49] So I can give one of my, especially the customers, I can give them extra hours.
[00:07:58] And I don't put that in the cost of the caddy.
[00:08:02] I come up with a base price and I say, okay, I just want it out there.
[00:08:07] I want people to enjoy it.
[00:08:08] But I think I know it's a great product and the jewelry will last.
[00:08:15] But I'm still learning.
[00:08:19] I'm talking to other business owners on how do you fix this price where you can actually get a little profit.
[00:08:29] Right.
[00:08:29] I'm learning.
[00:08:30] I'm still learning.
[00:08:31] Yeah, that seems to be a hard thing to do because at a certain point, not only do you have to make them and try to get a profit off of that, but you ship them, right?
[00:08:39] Because not everybody's in Texas.
[00:08:41] I ship.
[00:08:42] I do.
[00:08:42] Yeah, so you got to worry about that.
[00:08:44] Yeah.
[00:08:45] But on the website, it does add a shipping fee.
[00:08:49] And the post office is always fluctuating for shipping costs.
[00:08:54] So it's like, I don't want to overcharge anybody.
[00:08:57] Right.
[00:08:57] I don't want to take a big hit here.
[00:09:00] So I've tried to keep it at a very minimal where it's not impacting the price or the cost of the caddy.
[00:09:09] Yeah.
[00:09:09] But then you also mentioned the design, too.
[00:09:11] You said a custom design.
[00:09:12] So you have some of the basic, like, you know, is it just one solid color or something?
[00:09:16] Or do people end up giving you, you know, information about how they want it?
[00:09:20] Like, I know you just did somebody.
[00:09:21] I forget who it was who just showed it on TikTok.
[00:09:24] And I think they were a cowboy fan.
[00:09:26] Do you remember who it was?
[00:09:28] I didn't say, I just call her.
[00:09:30] They call her paper.
[00:09:33] Oh, I know who it was.
[00:09:34] Yeah, Carla.
[00:09:35] It was Carla.
[00:09:36] Absolutely.
[00:09:37] Carla got in.
[00:09:37] And you did the cowboy theme stuff.
[00:09:39] And I think there was a tribute on there, too, to her mother and stuff.
[00:09:43] So that was really nice.
[00:09:44] But do they just give you basic information and you design it or do they tell you specifically what they want on it?
[00:09:51] Well, they give me an idea.
[00:09:53] Like for her with the cowboy.
[00:09:55] She said, I want it blinged out.
[00:09:57] Bling it out as much as you can.
[00:10:00] And I want to put my picture on there.
[00:10:02] I want to put my picture on the caddy.
[00:10:03] And then, can you use this one decal that I have with the Cadillac and the Betty Boop Cub Girl?
[00:10:14] Oh, yeah.
[00:10:14] In the cover outfit.
[00:10:16] I said, you know, I mean, as long as I don't step on anyone's toes and I try to talk to folks about the designs that customers provide me to make sure.
[00:10:28] And so, found out I could use it and I went with it.
[00:10:33] And I enjoyed doing the one for her mother.
[00:10:36] Yeah, that was very nice.
[00:10:39] Yes.
[00:10:40] I like that.
[00:10:41] A tribute to her mom.
[00:10:42] Yeah.
[00:10:43] Now, you said you like doing it and, you know, you take as much time as you need to do it to make it as nice as possible.
[00:10:48] But in general, how long does it take for you to make one of these?
[00:10:51] Well, most of them, I have a stockpile of just the white caddies.
[00:10:57] And I have a painter who paints if they want something other than a solid color one.
[00:11:04] I have a painter that I paint to paint them.
[00:11:06] And then back and forth with them on the design, the bingo bones they want, the type of pull tabs they want.
[00:11:14] And I've even allowed customers to change the names that I have on the steps because some folks don't use horses.
[00:11:22] They use downlines.
[00:11:24] Oh, yeah.
[00:11:25] And so, I've changed the names to accommodate some of the customers.
[00:11:32] So, about a week to a week and a half, I can have a custom caddy done.
[00:11:39] That's a lot of work.
[00:11:43] That's a lot of work.
[00:11:44] During that whole time, it's not me working, though.
[00:11:46] It's waiting for the painter.
[00:11:48] Once we've finalized the design and I sent it off to get the decals back, it's about a week.
[00:11:58] But I'm not working on the caddy anymore.
[00:12:02] It's off to the professionals to get it painted, to get the decals.
[00:12:07] And so, I'm off to do my grandson.
[00:12:10] My own, you know, my job.
[00:12:14] I'm going to clean the house.
[00:12:15] Okay.
[00:12:17] So, it's not sucking up too much of your time.
[00:12:19] It's just, like you said, because of the logistics of things drying and whatnot, that takes time.
[00:12:23] Yes.
[00:12:24] It's not you constantly working on it.
[00:12:26] Because I was going to say, that'd be a lot.
[00:12:30] No, I'm not constantly working on it.
[00:12:32] Once it's painted, I'm waiting for the decals.
[00:12:34] I put those decals on.
[00:12:37] And based on the draft design I sent, and then I seal it.
[00:12:41] It takes me two days to seal it.
[00:12:44] I like to make sure that dries.
[00:12:46] So, it takes two days to seal it.
[00:12:48] Nice.
[00:12:49] So, have you ever thought about buying the 3D machine yourself?
[00:12:52] I don't know how expensive they are.
[00:12:53] I know, like, Cheryl, who does some of those bingo top daubers, dauber tops.
[00:12:59] She has a 3D machine.
[00:13:01] Have you ever thought of, like, cutting your cost by having your own 3D machine?
[00:13:05] Or are they particularly expensive?
[00:13:08] They're very expensive.
[00:13:09] And depending on the type you get, it can run you into the $6,000.
[00:13:16] Yowza.
[00:13:16] And then buying all of the supplies, the filament, to actually do it.
[00:13:23] Right now, it is very cost-effective for me to get them printed for me.
[00:13:29] And it sounds like you said you have a stockpile.
[00:13:31] So, I didn't think about that.
[00:13:32] It's not like you have to wait for somebody to order, and then you get it.
[00:13:35] You just get a bulk, and then you have them on stock, and so you don't have to worry about that.
[00:13:39] Right.
[00:13:39] Yeah.
[00:13:40] And he gives them to me at a discounted rate, so I'd rather just have all of these guys sitting here.
[00:13:46] And he actually prints the solid color ones, or the basic ones, the bingo colors, the red, the blue, the green, the yellow.
[00:13:54] Oh.
[00:13:55] Those are the basic colors, and I have a standard design for those, and those are already boxed and ready to ship.
[00:14:01] So, I kind of thought I have a little system.
[00:14:05] Okay.
[00:14:05] That sounds really good.
[00:14:06] But I was also wondering about the advertising, because first, I mean, obviously, if you're basically right there in Texas, and people are seeing you, so you've got basic general word of mouth.
[00:14:16] And certainly, that's how I found out about you, is seeing other people with them.
[00:14:20] But do you have any kind of other advertising things like you do to put the word out there?
[00:14:27] Most of my products now are on Amazon.
[00:14:31] Mm-hmm.
[00:14:31] And with TikTok, I try to do advertising through TikTok.
[00:14:37] And Cass and Tanya, they are wonderful.
[00:14:44] They've been with me since the beginning.
[00:14:46] And as a matter of fact, Cass and Tanya are going to kind of prototype.
[00:14:52] I have a prototype that's coming out.
[00:14:54] Mm-hmm.
[00:14:55] That will, I call it version two.
[00:14:58] And it's going to hold the larger, larger pull tabs on the strips.
[00:15:02] Wow.
[00:15:02] So, that's coming out.
[00:15:05] And I want Cass and Tanya to give me their opinion first.
[00:15:10] But I'm expecting to have that out by the light Friday.
[00:15:14] Oh, that's cool.
[00:15:15] So, we're getting like a scoop.
[00:15:17] Yes, you are.
[00:15:19] Well, and I have to say, two of the best people out there.
[00:15:22] I absolutely adore Cass and Tanya.
[00:15:24] I'm going to see her this weekend.
[00:15:25] We're doing her birthday celebration.
[00:15:26] So, I'll see her and everything.
[00:15:29] But, yeah, she's just there.
[00:15:31] Really, just absolutely amazingly supportive of everybody, I think, in the bingo community.
[00:15:36] So, that's really, really nice.
[00:15:38] So, yeah, I think that's great.
[00:15:40] And I was tickled pink because I was on Amazon the other day and doing something.
[00:15:44] And I saw your caddies pop up.
[00:15:47] I was, oh, my God!
[00:15:48] She's on Amazon.
[00:15:49] That's awesome.
[00:15:52] And another scoop is I have, and I've been working with some designers here.
[00:15:58] These guys are just great.
[00:15:59] I've come up with a, it's called a phone and charger mount that attaches to the back of the caddy.
[00:16:07] Ooh!
[00:16:07] And allows you to put your phone, for the influencers, for those who are keeping up with their latest series or sagas or movies or music or whatever.
[00:16:18] Mm-hmm.
[00:16:19] The phone is attached to this phone mount.
[00:16:22] And it's attached to your caddy.
[00:16:25] So, I'm helping you get rid of some of your perfume that you're bringing to the bingo hall to mount your caddy on, to bring an extra charger.
[00:16:35] These things attach to my phone and charger mount.
[00:16:40] Oh, that is awesome.
[00:16:41] I can't wait to see that.
[00:16:43] That sounds really good.
[00:16:45] So, you said that's going to be out?
[00:16:46] How long is that going to be before that comes out?
[00:16:48] That same time, Brain.
[00:16:50] Really?
[00:16:51] I think, yes.
[00:16:52] I just want to get an opinion from Cash and Tanya.
[00:16:55] I respect them because they've been with me since the beginning.
[00:17:00] And Tanya and Book Cash, you know, oh, I love this design, but it's a little heavy.
[00:17:05] Oh!
[00:17:06] And Cash had over, I think he had maybe four of my caddies, all one.
[00:17:11] Yeah.
[00:17:12] And we literally carried them to every bingo session he was at.
[00:17:17] And I saw them spread out.
[00:17:19] I was like, oh, my gosh, that boy's a ton.
[00:17:23] But he's with me.
[00:17:25] Well, you can't get any better advertising than that.
[00:17:27] That's for doggone sure.
[00:17:29] That is the truth.
[00:17:30] That is the God's truth.
[00:17:32] Well, I am so happy for you and so tickled.
[00:17:34] Like I said, I'm ordering mine, absolutely doing that because I want one.
[00:17:38] I've wanted one for a long time, but I'm a horrific procrastinator.
[00:17:40] But it's over.
[00:17:41] We're doing it and everything.
[00:17:43] So, but this was really, really incredibly interesting to learn.
[00:17:46] And I appreciate you coming on and giving us some of this information.
[00:17:50] But before I go, I have to ask the question.
[00:17:52] Is there anything that I've neglected to ask or anything that you want to let the people who are listening know?
[00:17:57] Well, I just want to say thank you guys to everybody who supported me.
[00:18:06] And I've appreciated that.
[00:18:09] And like I said, Tanya and I am Kat.
[00:18:12] They've been with me since the beginning.
[00:18:14] And they've stuck with me when everything was at its lowest.
[00:18:19] They were still there.
[00:18:21] And just a little bit.
[00:18:22] I'm up the next step.
[00:18:24] And then the next step.
[00:18:25] And they've always been there.
[00:18:27] And family and friends.
[00:18:30] And I do custom pull-tail caddies.
[00:18:34] Oh, absolutely.
[00:18:34] Absolutely.
[00:18:35] You're the best.
[00:18:36] So, I can't wait to get mine.
[00:18:37] So, anyway.
[00:18:38] Well, thank you.
[00:18:39] Again, really appreciated having you on the show and getting some more of the details about how this all started and how it's been going.
[00:18:46] And, yeah.
[00:18:47] I just want to thank you so much for coming on the show.
[00:18:49] And I look forward to seeing you when I come back to Texas.
[00:18:52] Thank you.
[00:18:53] Just look me up.
[00:18:55] Hey, if you want to just talk again, let me know.
[00:18:58] This has been nice.
[00:18:59] I was actually really scared.
[00:19:02] Ah, no.
[00:19:03] We can do this anytime.
[00:19:04] Hopefully, people are comfortable and enjoy chatting.
[00:19:07] So, it's definitely been nice having you on the podcast.
[00:19:10] And I hope, like I said, that you have incredible success with the new ones that are coming out.
[00:19:16] Thank you so much.
[00:19:18] All right.
[00:19:18] So, that's it for this week's episode of The Broke Bingo Addict.
[00:19:22] I hope you enjoyed listening to Bobbi as much as I enjoyed talking to her.
[00:19:27] And I hope that you'll come back to listen to the next episode of The Broke Bingo Addict.
[00:19:32] In the meantime, thanks so much for listening.
[00:19:35] Bye.
[00:19:35] It's not a game.
[00:19:36] It's a real step.