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NBTVA Membership.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:22 pm
by Steve Anderson
For those who haven't received a membership subscription reminder from Jeremy by e-mail here's a gentle poke in the ribs...

Membership dues are now £9 for the UK and £15 for overseas. I'm not sure for those in the EU which catagory applies to you, I'll ask Jeremy and report back.

You can pay on-line via PayPal at the NBTVA's website www.nbtv.org under 'membership' heading at the top of the page. Using this adds 50 pence to the fees.

I might point out that these fees are for the NBTVA and the newsletter, this forum does not receive any funding from these monies. Being a member of one does not mean you are a member of the other, they are totally separate entities. There are no fees for members of this forum, this may change in the future.

Steve A.

Re: NBTVA Membership.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:14 pm
by Andrew Davie
Steve Anderson wrote: There are no fees for members of this forum, this may change in the future.

Steve A.


No. It won't change.
Cheers
A

Re: NBTVA Membership.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 1:42 am
by Dave Moll
Steve Anderson wrote:You can pay on-line via PayPal at the NBTVA's website www.nbtv.org under 'membership' heading at the top of the page. Using this adds 50 pence to the fees.

But, of course, saves the cost of postage etc. Even second class postage in the UK is 50p nowadays.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 12:31 pm
by Steve Anderson
Chasps, the £15 fees are for anyone outside the UK, which includes the EU. I received an explanation from Jeremy thus...

Happy New Year!

The £15 fee applies to anyone outside the UK - this increase was made with great reluctance. It was unfortunately necessary because of the postage costs we face. We have tried to outline the situation, including the position on e-distribution (on which we're monitoring developments all the time and will revisit I've no doubt). Some people have wondered if the A4 colour newsletter is too costly. In fact we have a very good deal on this, which also pays for enveloping etc, and the total is still much less than the cost of overseas post. Another factor is Club Sales - one of our fellow groups also runs a Sales operation, but their pattern of sales is much more about retail distribution of standard electronic components, unlike ours, in which specially-commissioned items now predominate. So we no longer have significant profit with which to keep down subs. We all remember the recurring gloomy prophesies that 'standard components are going to get harder for the amateur to obtain' but they don't seem to have materialised in our case. Which is really a good thing....


Steve A.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:23 pm
by gary
...Another factor is Club Sales - one of our fellow groups also runs a Sales operation, but their pattern of sales is much more about retail distribution of standard electronic components, unlike ours, in which specially-commissioned items now predominate. So we no longer have significant profit with which to keep down subs. We all remember the recurring gloomy prophesies that 'standard components are going to get harder for the amateur to obtain' but they don't seem to have materialised in our case. Which is really a good thing....

I must be having a seniors moment (officially 1 year early) but I have read and reread that last bit and have to 'fess up I just can't decipher it. It seems to be trying to explain the reason why club sales profits are down but I can't quite make the connection. Can anyone enlighten me?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:36 pm
by AncientBrit
@Gary.
Yes, a little opaque. Perhaps the expectation was by now the source of standard components would have dried up and the Club would have been the only source, thereby generating revenue?

@Andrew.
Once again thanks for hosting this forum out of your own pocket.

Kind regards,

Graham

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:45 pm
by gary
Thanks Graham, I had sort of thought along those lines to but had discarded it as it obviously would not be sustainable over any sort of medium to long term period - unless the club has bought up the entire worlds stock of "standard" components which could explain the subscription price hike - I jest of course ;-)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:33 pm
by Steve Anderson
Well, as an 'Overseas' member I'm quite happy with the fees. I've just looked back at Vol,22 No.2. which details the rates for 1997, some 16 years ago. UK member annual fees were at £4, overseas members (via surface mail, i.e ship and /or road - now not an option) £5, and overseas (via airmail) £7.

When you factor in the much improved appearance, quality and dreaded monetary inflation, I really don't think anyone can grumble.

I think what Jeremy was trying to say was that they used to make a modest margin on Club Sales but less so these days.

Steve A.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:41 pm
by gary
Steve Anderson wrote:Well, as an 'Overseas' member I'm quite happy with the fees. I've just looked back at Vol,22 No.2. which details the rates for 1997, some 16 years ago. UK member annual fees were at £4, overseas members (via surface mail, i.e ship and /or road - now not an option) £5, and overseas (via airmail) £7.

When you factor in the much improved appearance, quality and dreaded monetary inflation, I really don't think anyone can grumble.

I think what Jeremy was trying to say was that they used to make a modest margin on Club Sales but less so these days.

Steve A.


Just to make it clear I wasn't in any way complaining about the price hike if that was what you were thinking.

Steve Anderson wrote:I think what Jeremy was trying to say was that they used to make a modest margin on Club Sales but less so these days.
Steve A.


Oh I am sure that is so, I was just under the impression he was trying to explain why that may be so.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:14 pm
by Steve Anderson
gary wrote:Just to make it clear I wasn't in any way complaining about the price hike if that was what you were thinking.

I didn't think anyone was, but I thought I'd jump in with my tuppence-worth before anyone else did!

Steve Anderson wrote:I think what Jeremy was trying to say was that they used to make a modest margin on Club Sales but less so these days.

gary wrote:Oh I am sure that is so, I was just under the impression he was trying to explain why that may be so.

Well, in a round-about way he has, he may have penned that late at night, most e-mails from Jeremy are sent around midnight UK time.

Steve A.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 10:32 pm
by Dave Moll
Steve Anderson (on behalf of Jeremy Jago) wrote: Some people have wondered if the A4 colour newsletter is too costly. In fact we have a very good deal on this, which also pays for enveloping etc, and the total is still much less than the cost of overseas post.

I hope that we continue with the colour newsletter, as the colour images greatly add to the enjoyment.

I feel that the new prices are still good value - it's just that we have got used to paying a ridiculously small sum, which has remained unchanged for as long as I've been a member (since the days of monochrome photocopied-and-stapled typed newsletters).

PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:41 pm
by Steve Anderson
Until recently it cost the NBTVA more in postage for four issues than my subs. I did mention this some while (years) back when the subs were something like £7.50. It cost £2.20 to send each issue to me. They were losing out.

Or you could view it as the UK members were subsidising the fact I live overseas, which isn't fair.

Short of the 'deal' struck with the printers vanishing by them going out of business I can't see the newsletter reverting back to the B&W photocopied version.

As I have mentioned several times before I would prefer to receive each issue as a .pdf (or similar). This allows me to receive the newsletter wherever I may be in the world as long as I have an Internet connection. Plus it saves on all the hassle of printing/postage etc..and the associated costs.

Others may feel different, but I would be quite happy paying the same amount as for the printed version. CQTV is cheaper with cyber-membership (as they call it), but a reduction in subs is not what I'm looking for. If I want a printed version, I'll do it myself.

I was a member in the mid-80s for a couple of years prior to moving to Asia. The newsletter format was A5, i.e A4 folded in half.

Steve A.

A later thought....the A5 format may well have been for CQTV rather than the NBTVA newsletter...it was close on 30 years ago....

PostPosted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:09 pm
by Viewmaster
Steve Anderson wrote:As I have mentioned several times before I would prefer to receive each issue as a .pdf (or similar). This allows me to receive the newsletter wherever I may be in the world as long as I have an Internet connection. Plus it saves on all the hassle of printing/postage etc..and the associated costs.


The old fashioned practice of sitting in a comfortable chair with a coffee and browsing and turning over the pages back and forth of a book/ NBTVA newsletter is worth paying extra for, and I for one, would happily do that, with no fear of spilling the coffee over a keyboard.


Fortunately, we don't have to pay extra yet for all old
fashioned practices :shock: :lol:

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 3:22 am
by DrZarkov
I prefer paper, too. The reason, why there is no PDF-Version of the newsletter had been discussed several times at the club-meeting. The reasons are a) you can copy it very easy and spread it over the internet and b) most people (about 90 %) prefered paper.

The A5 format is very uncommon here on the continent, I doubt that it will be cheaper with modern printing facilities. The post asks for the weight, not the format. (As long as it is standard B4 or B5 of course.) For an NBTV-newsletter I would prefer a 3:2 or 7:3 format :lol:

PostPosted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:40 pm
by Dave Moll
DrZarkov wrote:The post asks for the weight, not the format.

Actually, in the UK it is cheaper to send A5 than A4 since Royal Mail introduced a three-tier system of:
standard letter - up to 240mm x 165mm x 5mm
large letter - up to 353mm x 250mm x 25mm
packet - anything exceeding any one or more of the above dimensions.

This is, of course, for mail within the UK. I'm not sure (and I'm too lazy to check!) what the rules are for elsewhere.