Re: MCM - Digest V1 #80

[krandall@world.std.com]

At 03:47 PM 2/12/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi All,
>On Fri, 12 Feb 1999 04:12:11 -0800 owner-aga-mcm-digest@thekrib.com (MCM
>- Digest) writes:
>>>
>>>Let's see--- $5.00 times 300 equals $1,500.00.  That sounds like a
>>>significant chunk of the AGA budget.  What would be the chances of 
>>getting it back?  Could we sell very many of them at $9.95?  Just what
>is 
>>this aquarium magazine about?  Is there much about aquarium plants in
>it?
>>>Unless this aquarium magazine is really dynamite, I don't think we 
>>would recoup very much of the cost.
>
>       These are Paul's thoughts but they sum up my feelings well. If
>the mag was devoted to plants I could see buying a small number, 10 or
>20, but don't really see much of a market within our group for it because
>it doesn't seem to be heavily plant related.

It is _all_ plant related, but most of it (so far anyway) is articles that
have already been published elsewhere.  I have not seen this first "real"
issue, (have you, Neil?) but Khew did send me his prototype.  These were my
impressions of the prototype:

1.  It was not user friendly.  I needed to have Dave help me open it up so
that I could read it.

2. I have to say that I am still highly prejudiced toward books and
magazines that I can curl up in bed with rather than something that keeps
me sitting at the computer for longer than I do already.

3.  It was not edited well at all (although I hope that was fixed in the
"real thing")

4.  While there were quite a few photos, they did not necessarily have much
to do with the text (Neil's article was an exception in that regard) and
the photos were not well captioned

5.  Khew's plan, as he explained it to me, was to produce a new "issue" on
a monthly basis.  At $9.95 a copy, that puts it right up in the ball park
with the Amano magazine in price without anywhere near the quality of
photos due to the media used.

Even if the real first issue is better designed than the prototype was,
like Bob, my inclination would be to pass unless he'd let us offer just a
few at a time to our members as we do all the other publications we sell.
If we see that people like them, and are buying them regularly, we could
increase the quantities purchased.

As far as giving them to new members, that's fine, if he gives them to
us.<g>  I don't see any good reason that we should pay to promote his product.

Karen