Re: Bookstore

[Diana Walstad <dwalstad@bellsouth.net>]

> Dear AGAers,

    If you would like to give benefits to AGA members, then my book 'Ecology of
the Planted Aquarium' should be sold at a steeper discount to members.  Right
now the AGA is listing it for $33, which includes shipping, but still people can
get it cheaper elsewhere (~$26), which makes me and the AGA look bad.    I'm
asking the AGA to pay me $26 for each book, which retails at $29.95.  I would be
willing to go down to $25 as my cut selling through the AGA.  If the AGA really
wants to <not> make a profit on books, then they should sell it at $25 plus
shipping to AGA members and $33 to non-members.

Diana Walstad


Diana Walstad

> Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 06:08:44 -0500
> From: Neil Frank <nfrank@mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: MCM - Digest V1 #242
>
> Mary also asks:
> >Are there any other =
> >perks we could offer our members?  What about taking 10% off book store =
> >purchases?
>
> THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION. Perhaps we should clarify the purpose of the AGA
> bookstore. Certainly, it is to provide "hard to find/obtain" items. [Karen
> mentioned that it is ONLY available to AGA members and its objectives do
> not include a profit]. I don't deny that we MAY have decided that in the
> past, but I really can't recall and I don't know where to look to find it.
> I suggest that the AGA-MC/AGA-SC figure out a way to document our policies
> (maybe on the web site... maybe on a work in progress subpage for AGA-MC
> only?.... after issues like this come up and we make a decision <g>]
> Therefore, my followup questions:
> (1)Is AGA bookstore and posted prices available to AGA and non-AGA members?
> There is no perk if anyone can buy our books from us... at the same price.
> (2)Should there be a 2-tiers of prices. Either discount to AGA or markup to
> non.
>        [(1) and (2) are connected. I say we should offer to both AGA
>           and non-AGA, but ONLY with 2-tiered pricing. Nothing formal...
>          if person identifies himself as AGA, then he gets lower price]
> (3)What are our profit objectives of this particular activity and what
> should be the prices? Some of our money making ventures can fund other
> activities (e.g. Bookstore can fund speakers... or TAG or ???). Or,
> bookstore is supposed to buy wisesly and then break even. There is benefit
> to letting one activity fund another; otherwise TAG might require ads to
> make the magazine better? So, the choice of what to charge and to whom all
> depends on many factors (book costs, inventory analyses - what to do with
> bad purchases, profit objectives and probably our tax status. Despite the
> long list, I think it can be done in a relatively simple way [come up with
> a moderate markup that is intended to cover expenses -- basically designed
> to break even--and then any extra monies can fund a particular activity or
> have the money go into general fund].
>
> I am sorry to throw another bunch of questions in the pile, but from
> someone who has been in the organization for a long time, it seems that we
> periodically try to reinvent the wheel.
> - --Neil
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of MCM - Digest V1 #243
> ***************************



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