Mark - Will a price also be given for first class mailing? If not, it would be very helpful to have the price available on ARRL Web. 73. Jim, W6CF Wilson, Mark K1RO wrote:
The US Postal Service has undertaken an initiative to ensure that membership organizations such as ARRL are in strict compliance with USPS rules governing payment for Periodicals Class publications as part of a membership. You will begin to see some changes to our membership forms over the next few weeks and may get some questions.
QST is mailed at Periodicals Class postage rates, which represent a substantial discount over regular postage rates for something the size and weight of QST. To qualify, we must meet certain requirements regarding paid circulation and subscription records. Although the USPS would prefer that associations conduct two separate business transactions -- one for membership and one for the QST subscription -- they allow magazine subscriptions to be paid by dues or contributions provided that the amount paid for the subscription is clearly shown separately from the dues. The example given is: "Annual membership dues of [$] include [$] for a 1-year subscription to [Title].
For years we have used a blanket statement "Fifty percent of dues is allocated to QST, the balance for membership." This must be changed on our membership and renewal forms.
There are only general guidelines for setting the stated subscription portion of membership. It does not have to be based on cost, nor does it have to be the rate that we would set if we were just selling magazine subscriptions and not memberships. It must be higher than a "nominal" price (ie, it must indicate some reasonable value). It must be low enough that it works within the paid circulation guidelines with our various discounted memberships - Youth, Senior and multiple years - and with premium offers.
We will be amending our membership forms to show an annual QST subscription rate of $15. The new forms will say something like this: "One-year memberships include $15 for a one-year subscription to QST. Membership and QST cannot be separated." The choice of $15 was not arbitrary. We believe the figure should reflect a realistic value for QST but we can't go any higher without creating problems with the discounted membership rates and premiums.
We have to show the subscription portion for each membership category (regular, Senior, Youth) and term (1 year, 2 year, 3 year), and we have to note the postage surcharge for Canadian and International rates. So the membership forms will get a bit complicated and staff is working on the best presentation.
Other associations are wrestling with this as well and they are all over the map. Some examples of stated subscription prices for association journals: AARP, $3.30. NRA, $3.75. Sierra Club, $7.50. IEEE Spectrum, $16. Sports Car Club of America, $24.
Again, if members ask, this change is to comply with USPS requirements. It does not mean that QST costs us $15 a year to produce, and it does not mean that we could or would sell QST subscriptions for $15 if they were available separately from membership.
73, Mark K1RO