Re: Bulletin Damage

[Debra Strauss <debrastrauss@outlook.com>]

I will second the motion. 

Debbie Strauss
debrastrauss@outlook.com
Sent from my iPad

On Jun 5, 2013, at 10:37 AM, "Terry Aitken" <terry@flowerfantasy.net> wrote:

> We receive about one damaged bulletin per year. Ripped cover - usually the
> back.
> This is strange because we get mail order catalogs almost daily with no
> damage.
> The main difference seems to be the heavier stock paper used on the AIS
> Bulletin cover. This is counter intuitive?????
> My problem, as editor, was to find competitive bidders for the shrink wrap.
> Sounds like Kelly has somebody that is reasonable.
> With shrink wrap, it could be that we could use lighter cover stock which
> would affect paper cost plus less shipping weight.
> So the question is- is it worth 10 cent per bulletin to get an intact copy?
> I make a motion to go for shrink wrap.
> Terry Aitken,
> Tired turkey
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org [mailto:owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org]
> On Behalf Of Harold Griffie
> Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 7:54 AM
> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
> Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Bulletin Damage
> 
> I am in agreement with Kelly. I have received damaged copies in the past and
> never complained to anyone  in AIS. I have not recently received a damaged
> copy, but I know how frustrating it can be. We owe our members a quality
> product and I don't see any improvement in the Postal Service handling of
> the Bulletin. I think we have to go to a shrink-wrapped product. I don't
> like spending extra money, but it is necessary in this case.
> 
> Hal Griffie
> ________________________________
> From: John Jones <jijones@usjoneses.com>
> To:
> aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
> Sent: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 12:44 AM
> Subject: Re:
> [AISdiscuss] Bulletin Damage
> 
> 
> For a cost that appears to be less that $2000
> per year, we should go back to polybagging the bulletin ( for non-foreign
> members)
> 
> Thanks
> 
> John
> __________________ 
> John and Joanne Jones
> Registrar-Recorders, American Iris Society
> aisregistrar@irises.org
> 
> John
> Jones, Chairman, Electronic Services Committee
> aiselectronicsvcs@irises.org
> 35572 Linda Drive
> Fremont, CA 94536
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Jun 3, 2013, at 7:34 PM, Kelly D.
> Norris wrote:
> 
>> I agree entirely with what Anner writes below.  The solutions
> offered,
>> however well-intended, don't scale with the process of producing
> ~3,500
>> copies of a magazine on a digital, short-run press.  Rest assured
> that at
>> least from the several members I've heard from (and I've heard ears
> full),
>> they've contacted the USPS, attempted to come at some local solution
> without
>> avail.  Bless the postal system, but it isn't perfect or entirely
> known for
>> excellent customer service.
>> 
>> Which brings me to a refrain in
> support of what Anner writes below (and a
>> belief I've long held)....the
> issue of delivering a quality, quarterly
>> magazine is integral to our
> membership pitch.  Without an intact, readable
>> product which most members
> view as their primary investment in AIS, we don't
>> have much of a chance at
> cultivating loyalty and rapport with the many
>> thousands of people that most
> of us will never meet.  
>> 
>> As for the request for data, here it is
> (unchanged since the last time I
>> quoted it prior to the fall 2012 board
> meeting):
>> 
>> Polybagging (domestic only, since internationals are already in
> envelopes):
>> $470.10/issue (~$0.15/copy or 6% of total cost/issue)
> Envelopes:  $713.04/issue (~$0.23/copy)
>> 
>> Note that polybagging is cheaper
> than envelopes and offers the obvious
>> benefit of getting to see the cover in
> the mail instead of having it
>> disguised in brown wrapping.  Bear in mind
> this key point--our recent
>> conversion to digital proofing (after working
> very carefully with the press
>> representative over the years to finesse color
> accuracy) offers a potential
>> source of savings.  EPSON proofing has been a
> ~$480 expense per issue, a
>> holdover tradition from our previous vendor where
> essentially every page (in
>> 4-part press forms) is checked by the editor's
> own eyes.  This was something
>> Terry took very seriously and something I felt
> similarly about.  I opted to
>> maintain that ala carte service as part of our
> contract with Sundance from
>> the beginning to ensure a color-accurate product
> for our membership.  Recent
>> advances in Sundance's proofing services and my
> access to fully calibrated
>> monitors have allowed us to transition to full
> digital proofing with the
>> April/May issue (we beta-tested it in
> January/February).  
>> 
>> I rue the day I ever offered as an option the
> removal of the polybag when we
>> transitioned to Sundance Press.  I had no
> idea it would have such a blinding
>> effect on delivering a truly satisfying
> customer experience for members we
>> already can't seem to keep in good
> supply.
>> 
>> --kdn
>> 
>> Horticulturally,
>> 
>> Kelly D. Norris
>> Horticulture
> Manager, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
>> (www.dmbotanicalgarden.com)
> Unabashedly passionate plantsman (www.kellydnorris.com)
>> 
>> -----Original
> Message-----
>> From: owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
> [mailto:owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org]
>> On Behalf Of John Jones
>> Sent:
> Monday, June 03, 2013 8:40 PM
>> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
>> Subject:
> [AISdiscuss] Bulletin Damage
>> 
>> Anner Whitehead sends:
>> 
>> Greetings.
> In response to Mr. Killingsworth's request for information concerning those
> members who received battered copies of Irises, please know that I used to
> be one.
>> 
>> I received copies damaged to a greater or lesser degree from the
> time the
>> wrap was removed -- without exception-- until I abandoned the print
> journal
>> altogether, and renewed only as an AIS electronic member. I would
> probably
>> have held two memberships had this not been so egregious a problem,
> but,
>> while patient supportive of the traditional printed word, I have my
> limits.
>> 
>> Know, too, that this household subscribes to several magazines,
> some of
>> similar dimensions to Irises, and with slick covers, and none
> consistently
>> arrives battered.
>> 
>> It seems to me that if the Sections can
> somehow manage to send their
>> journals with adequate protection, then so can
> the AIS.
>> 
>> In fact, I think that if you continue to solicit monetary dues
> on the
>> promise that the member shall receive this organ, you have a duty to
> make a
>> reasonable effort to get it to the membership in "merchantable"
> condition.  
>> 
>> I think some of the ideas proposed here for addressing the
> problem are
>> farcically over-elaborated and unlikely to effect amelioration
> of the
>> situation in our lifetimes.
>> 
>> Incidentally, I'm enjoying my
> electronic membership. Read a fine article
>> about CedricSir  Morris the other
> day over breakfast. I'd wanted to read it
>> for years. That Cedric, he was a
> real humdinger! Thanks for the Bulletin
>> files!
>> 
>> Cordially,
>> 
>> Anner M.
> Whitehead
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