APS Board Approves Five-Year Strategic Plan

http://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps...ic-plan.html ... Linn's ... APS board approves five-year strategic plan

Here are a few tidbits that might provoke a thought or two:










Q/ What does it mean to "merge" internet sales (electronic platform) and circuit sales (physical platform)?

Q/ What does it mean to make "a new web-based circuit sales system"?

Q/ Will "a new web-based circuit sales system" be more accessible, or less, to the members who rely on it the most?










Q/ Online meetings, online forum, redesign(ed) website ... as ways to reach the former members?

Q/ Do you think that the 'survey' should be by phone & postal mail?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Southpaw and I were at lunch the other day, we wondered out loud why the APS did not solicit volunteer help for online development. (Southpaw is a professional designer and I have technical skills as examples of just two people.)

I would guess that APS is targeting a new web site design and some 3rd party web group has fed them justifications like the statements you outlined. A web group's objective would be to initially sell them as much as they can and try to lock APS into a long term relationship. Online meetings, forums, managing circuit online... all sound like things that a web development company would promote. Doing it this way means there are no real objectives defined so determining if the effort is a success becomes difficult.

Or.....

Ideally APS has an 5-10 year IT plan and then got 4-5 quotes with web development companies to implement that vision. One of the good things about doing this the correct way is that you can then measure if the objectives have been achieved.
Don

Oh... and, as Bill Weiss is not here to say it:

"What about fighting fraud & abuse?"

We have solid evidence that the APS Board of Directors doesn't give "a hoot and holler" what the membership thinks. They are going to do what they are going to do. They solicit members' input to give their actions credence.

If the increase in sales circuit charges isn't working, then something's got to give...the present structure isn't working. I'm guessing that a dues increase is in the offing.

For me...as a 43 year member, every December brings a decision as whether I stay or go. If the costs go up (membership, APRL fees, more sales circuit fees) then I'm out the door.

http://990s.foundationcenter.org/99...1412_990.pdf

I read here that the APS pays more than 180,000 dollars in employee health insurance. Can that be correct? Aren't there just two employees?

EDIT: I'm assuming that others are contract employees and would not receive health benefits. Perhaps that's where I'm wrong.

See line 5 of the Form 990 you linked.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

For you deep-divers:

http://www.faqs.org/tax-exempt/PA/A...Society.html ... American Philatelic Society

http://www.faqs.org/tax-exempt/PA/A...Library.html ... American Philatelic Research Library

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Thanks, ikey; I overlooked that. I obviously don't know what all the APS does.

Every day I keep asking myself, why didn't they put IkeyPikey in charge.

Making circuit books available online only would be a huge mistake.

Since they are losing money, perhaps they are trying to kill them off.

Don had it right, right away: the proposal was put together by someone who 'knows' the digital world, but knows nothing about the APS membership, the services, etc.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Ikey Pikey: Do you absolutely know for a fact that the proposal was put together by some one who knows bother about the APS membership, the services, etc.?

I do not think that 'online circuit books' mean that folks are going to be viewing the circuit books over the internet. I think the books would still be physically send around. What could be done on line is checking on status and tracking of the books. If they take it to the next level, they might implement allowing people to pay online before sending the books off. This would allow the sellers see revenue quicker. It might also allow the seller to 'if this book should ever roam, box it's ears and send it home'. In other words, the seller may be able to see that the book is 3/4 empty and request that it be sent back to them.

Online features might also include setting up a more robust 'profile' for buyers in real time. But I think the accounting aspects would benefit the most from being online.
Don

Glenn: The OP is mostly quotes, with a few questions to open discussion. Don offered two thoughts (read his post, earlier in the thread). A lack of finality is implicit in two thoughts. I nodded my head at one of them, which hardly constitutes an offer of fact ... nor need it. My agreement is based on the thought that the APS has an aging membership, and the circuit books are something with which they are long familiar, and doing anything on the internet is something with which they are less familiar, and that moving even the accounting for the circuit books to the internet will not serve an aging segment of the aging membership that we would do well to not jettison just yet. Cheers,

I'm disappointed they missed the obvious way to acquire new members (at least to me): An online forum to which they could invite all 31,000 members to participate and share their knowledge. Then "America's Stamp Club" really would be America's the world's stamp club.

I doubt a forum will be implemented; APS is concerned with liability and risk. Plus, they would need resources to monitor it 24/7. I doubt they would try to rely upon volunteers to moderate something that could get them heartburn if handled incorrectly. I also don't think that they would spring for the infrastructure cost of a forum, so they would be looking at 'renting' what is needed to get a decent forum up and running.
Don

What Don said. Further, a membership organization runs the risk that, for active members, the forum will become the organization ... and people leave an online forum at the drop of a hat.

Back in the days of Pan Am's serial bankruptcies, my brother joked that they should have sold the airline, and kept the headquarters building.

Lately, Yahoo seems to be doing just that, keeping its boutique investment in Alibaba, and selling the Yahoo.

There are institutional mindsets that set in when you are looking out from the institution, rather than in from the outside.

I think it fair to say that sound financial footings look more important than mission statements when you are th folks trying to balance the check book.

Q/ Will the APS evolve into a membership-supported theme museum with a neat revenue-generating journal?

Q/ Would that be a good thing, or a bad thing?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey