Re: Current problems and plant sales

[Neil Frank <nfrank@mindspring.com>]

Hi Merrill,

Hope all is well. Regarding our plant "sales," the real purpose is to
provide rare, hard-to-find plants to our members at a "reasonable cost. If
we want, I think we can approach this the same as book sales -- providing
hard to find items as a service to the membership. I think the AGA "policy"
on sales is to provide something that can't easily be found elsewhere. When
someone suggested that we provide books cheaper than other dealers, the
idea was shot down. When and if an item is available elsewhere, even if it
is more expensive, I think that AGA should discontinue the item. With this
concept in mind, we might even want to limit the plant list to plants that
we believe are truly hard to get. Your concerns are well taken regarding
fertilizers, substrates, etc. I don't think we should go in that direction.

My question posed to the MC had more to do with the legal side and tax
liability.

At 01:28 PM 7/29/99 -0500, amc2@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>Hi, Karen and all....
>
>Sorry to have been away for such a long while from the occurring problems
that Neil is causing 
>:>) but it has been unavoidable.  It seems that if we wait long enough, a
solution arises with 
>such an interested and active organization that you have been chairing.
>
>I'm glad to see that the membership has been strong, since I have been
working at this.  
>However, I will be pleased to do what else I can to help in this situation.
>
>I don't believe that we should get into handling live plants!  I think
that books can be an 
>easily understanable thing as far as a non-profit organization.  But, with
plants available, we 
>are in business and everything will have to change.  The next thing will
be fertilizer, 
>substrates, etc.  As it is, some of our "Board" members are already
selling things on their own 
>and making it known through the APD - whether at a profit or not (which is
not my business to 
>know, but I don't think that it is out of the "goodness of their heart"). 
>
>Please accept this as my personal opinion and I hope to hear further from
the "group".
>
>Best wishes to all.
>
>Merrill
>
>
>
>