[Texascavers] bulk mail and TX Caver mailing

[Rod Goke]

Back about 20 years ago the Texas Caver was mailed via bulk mail to minimize mailing costs. At that time, I was the person responsible for maintaining the TSA membership/subscription database on my computer (with a Z-80 processor and CP/M operating system, for any of you other old farts who can remember that far back) and for printing the mailing labels for each mailing of the Texas Caver. To facilitate bulk mailing, I wrote a dBASE program to print the mailing labels sorted and grouped according to the USPS requirements for bulk mailing. This was NOT simply a matter of sorting by zip code. I don't recall the exact rules for bulk mailing at that time, but they were approximately as follows: 1. The total number of items mailed had to be at least 200 to qualify for bulk mail. 2. Items had to be grouped and bundled according to 5-digit zip code, provided that there were at least some specified minimum number of items (probably about 10, but don't remember exactly) in each bundle, where all items within a bundle had to have the same 5-digit zip code. 3. Items with zip codes that didn't qualify for the 5-digit bundles then had to be grouped and bundled in a similar manner according to the first 3 zip code digits. 4. Items that didn't qualify for the 3-digit bundles then had to be grouped and bundled still further. I believe it was by state, and then, finally, a mixed state bundle. Also, I think we had a few subscriptions that were mailed out of the Country and had to be separated from the bulk mail bundles. I believe my program also counted and reported the number of items in each bulk mail bundle, in addition to the total number of bulk mail labels. I think it also printed the TSA membership expiration date on each label and included some special indication for those that were about to expire. Sticking labels and bundling Cavers for bulk mailing took a lot of work, but we didn't expect the editor do everything by himself. I printed the labels. Then we would often get several volunteers together to stick labels and arrange the bundles. These volunteers didn't have to understand the USPS rules for sorting bulk mail into bundles, since the label printing program took care of that. When several volunteers got together to share the work, it seemed more like an enjoyable social event than a burdensome chore. Similarly, we also devised ways to split the work of updating the database (for new memberships, membership renewals, address changes, etc.), and I wrote another dBASE program to facilitate this. Turning work into an opportunity for social interaction was, and still is, the most effective way I know to prevent volunteers from feeling burned out. At that time, the number of actual TSA members was often a little less than the 200 required for bulk mailing, but the database included enough free or exchange subscriptions mailed to cave owners, institutions, etc. that we were able to mail the required minimum. To achieve this, the database probably included more complimentary and exchange subscriptions than it would have otherwise, but the lower cost of bulk mail meant that we could actually save money by mailing a few extra copies. In fact, we might have even had a policy of mailing one copy after a person's membership expired and printing "EXPIRED" on the label to remind them to renew. I don't remember for sure about this, but I think I recall adding a feature to the label printing program to do this. TSA probably could save money by using bulk mail if they mail a sufficient quantity, but that quantity might be impractical to achieve if many people choose not to receive paper copies. If TSA does want to use bulk mail, I'd be glad to talk with whoever is currently responsible for the database and the mailing label printing to see if there is anything I can do to help. If TSA does not find it practical to use bulk mail, then we might consider other ways to reduce mailing cost without eliminating the quality printed copies that so many of us still value. For example, many of us in TSA regularly attend local grotto meetings and might be satisfied to pick up our printed copies at local grotto meetings instead of having them mailed to our homes. With this option, TSA could notify members via email whenever a new edition becomes available so that we would know to pick it up at the next grotto meeting and could access it electronically in the meantime. This method of distribution would require one volunteer in each grotto to receive a box of Cavers and to distribute them to the appropriate people. (I'd be willing to do this for the UT Grotto.) It might greatly reduce the number of Cavers that have to be mailed individually and have the added benefit of encouraging local grotto attendance. As a TSA member, I'd be happy to select this option and wouldn't even mind giving TSA my email address for this purpose if I could trust them not to list it on a website.  Rod -----Original Message-----  From: Chris Vreeland  Sent: Dec 14, 2009 8:14 PM  To: texascavers Texas  Subject: Re: [Texascavers] TSA, Caver, and Caving  I just got my gorgeous hard copy of the Caver in the mail today, and have to say that as an old fart, I really like getting publications in the mail at seemingly random intervals, and sitting down in a chair to read them. Then, I enjoy putting them on my bookshelf.  One thing I do not enjoy is driving to Office Max to stock up on ink cartridges. If it takes another $5.00 a year to keep them coming, I think I can skip a pack of cigarettes in order to make that happen. BTW, Thanks Mark, for an excellent issue! As a former editor, I thought i knew all about the unsung heroics of editing, but your tale of woe tops them all. Please keep up the good work! On Dec 14, 2009, at 10:18 AM, Linda Palit wrote: I believe the problem with the bulk rate has been that we are not sending out enough copies to get the bulk rate.  The truth is, also, that print media is in decline.  I believe that it is probably time to revisit the two-tier membership option and gradually phase that in.     From: mark.al...@l-3com.com [mailto:mark.al...@l-3com.com]  Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 7:39 AM To: lmcn...@austin.rr.com; TexasCavers Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Re: Digital vs. Print     I'm in the process of pursuing the bulk mail rate/permit for us, Logan, as I plan on continuing to do the newsletter for the foreseeable future.   (Sorry to tell y'all that!)   From: Logan McNatt [mailto:lmcn...@austin.rr.com] I am one of those antiquated bibliophiles who prefers a hard copy of The Texas Caver, but I certainly support the use of electronic copies for all that prefer them.  I would be willing to pay the extra cost of printed issues. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com