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Hi everyone....<BR>
<BR>
I'd like to ask, how many of you have taken the poll on the NSRCA website.... <BR>
I'd also like to take a moment to tell you a little about it. Don't read anything<BR>
into what you are hearing on the list. Nothing is being done to the kfactor at<BR>
this time. There is no plan to change the publication to an online media... The<BR>
fact is, we have all the costs of publication and postage for the kfactor. We are<BR>
just trying to find out what the NSRCA members want. It's that simple... <BR>
Until we know what the masses want, we have no idea what is possible in the <BR>
future concerning publishing requirements. The biggest cost of printing the kfactor,<BR>
is setup and starting the initial printing. I don't have the actual figures to give you,<BR>
but I'll give you an example that shows you how the costs work....<BR>
Say you have a printing job to be done... the cost is based on setup and an initial<BR>
printing of 100 copies... that's the smallest order the printing agency will do. The<BR>
cost of that printing will cost $200. Now if you want to expand that printing to 500<BR>
copies, the printing agency will go ahead and run off 400 more copies for an additional<BR>
$100. And as you expand the order, it gets cheaper and cheaper per copy. We have<BR>
been on one of the pricing plateaus, and that is why we have excess copies. The <BR>
excess copies are free because of the fixed pricing by numbers. That's just the way<BR>
it is... We are trying to see if, according to the poll, we can get numbers of members<BR>
that fit one of these pricing plateaus, and how much, if any, savings can be found by<BR>
letting a percentage of members go electronic. That's pretty much it in a nut shell...<BR>
That's why it's important that you take the poll, so we can start figuring out where we<BR>
stand. If you haven't heard, publishing is taking a beating in this country. Magazines are<BR>
dieing in droves. Mostly due to advertising, or lack thereof.... We are trying to see is,<BR>
if making an online version of the kfactor will help or hinder advertising revenue. There<BR>
are a few different routes that can be taken as for charging for advertising in the <BR>
electronic kfactor, such as the "by hit" method in which the advertiser is charged a minor<BR>
fee every time a reader links to the advertisers site from the electronic kfactor. <BR>
Nothing has been decided as of yet... we need to see where we stand after the poll is<BR>
tallied and costs are figured several different ways. The intent was to have both, the<BR>
printed copy, and an online copy. I can tell you this... the way the economy is going,<BR>
it will get harder and harder to keep things as they are, without raising membership fees,<BR>
unless we get a good handle on this. We do not have enough advertising funds to pay<BR>
for the kfactor as it is.... and trust me, our ad manager is doing as much as possible to <BR>
get as many advertisers as he can! That has to be the most thankless job on the planet!<BR>
The rest of the funds used to pay for printing and postage comes from membership dues.<BR>
Then we have costs for the NATS, Championship awards, TAXES!... yes, we pay taxes...<BR>
We are working on getting to a tax exempt status, but it's taking some time. All the ducks<BR>
have to be in a row!<BR>
Ok, so now you get the idea of what's going on behind the scenes! When Derek gets all<BR>
the figures, he will spell out all of our costs, what we can and can't do, etc.... Stay <BR>
posted!<BR>
<BR>
Also, if you haven't heard, we will have a booth at the NW Model Expo in Monroe, Wa. on<BR>
the weekend of February 6, 7, and 8... Stop by and say Hi!!!!<BR>
<BR>
Thanks <BR>
<BR>
Rex<BR>
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