Hi
I don’t know how many people here, comes from abroad, but I think it is a bit frustrating, that it is not possible to pay for membership etc. via any online payment service system. Sending a bank checks are expensive and will quickly cost about $20-30 + membership dues.
About a year ago I proposed RHA to use a Paypal account, but that didn’t seem to be the right answer unfortunately.
I still hope though, that RHA sooner or later will do something to make membership payment easier with some kind of online payment system for hybridizers abroad, as RHA is absolutely the only serious association to join!
Best Regards
Bo Valeur
Denmark
Bo,
If I recall correctly, I used Western Union Money Transfer, which also costs money, but not that much. I paid my membership for 3 years in one go, to spread the cost of the transfer.
Of course, online payment would be even easier… and may even increase the number of oversea-members.
Rob
Rob
Surely an online payment system will increase the overseas-members. I will be the first one to sign in 
I am not an expert on this area, but it should be possible to arrange some how, I guess.
Actually today I bought a used copy of “Modern Roses 10” via Visa card in US for only $9+shipping. Amazing low price, I think.
Bo
I use my Visa to shop on Amazon. I only have to log-in and click three times to spend another $50… it’s too easy! Have two books coming up on Meadows and Wild gardens. The Meadows book is from Christopher Lloyd and published in the UK, but it’s cheaper to order from the US and have it shipped to the Netherlands where I live!
You should really check out the Western Union Money Transfer option…
Do you like Modern Roses? I thought it was ‘only’ a big book with a lot of rose names in it. I mainly use Helpmefind and find it sufficient. What’s the added value for Mordern Roses for you?
Rob
Modern Roses sometimes gives chromosome numbers.
I’ve asked Steve at HMF whether they might be willing to list known ploidy numbers as an adjunct to their database. He agrees it is a good idea and has it on a list of upgrades he hopes to implement.
Rob
Yes Amazon is an excellent shopping place for new and older rose books. I use both the US and UK sites.
As rather new on hybridizing, I have bought some older books, by Kordes and especially them by Jack Harkness, to get a closer view on roses and rose hybridizing from the early days. “The makers of heavenly Roses” is great historical reading.
As Henry mentioned Modern Roses should also give me the chromosome numbers on some of the species, and I guess/hope also the parents of the roses are mentioned as well.
And then it was only the famous three clicks away
Bo
I don’t think we can get Amazon to handle online payment of membership dues for us, but it would be nice. Do you know anyone at Amazon who might be willing to get this done for us at an excellent price?
Seriously, RHA has been looking into using an online payment system, but cost is a real issue. Our dues have been the same for a long time, but prices of production and mailing have gone up quite a lot, and if we add another 65 cents to our cost for each membership we will do ourselves no favor.
The biggest cost, of course, is related to mailing on the non-USA memberships; the $2 additional charge for international memberships does not begin to cover the difference in mailing expense.
We’re happy to have members no matter where they are, and we’d like to keep our membership dues low, so we’re looking for a way that will save money for RHA and its members.
Saving your money is important in keeping RHA membership absolutely the best bargain in the rose world.
Please suggest an economical way for us to handle online payment of membership dues.
Peter
Doesn’t PayPal handle this sort of thing?
Link: www.paypal.com/
I have considered joining the RHA a few times but I begrudge paying my bank
Would you be willing to consider electronic versions of the news letter?
I just throw them away when I am done reading them. An electronic version that was e-mailed instead of a mailed paper one would save money and actually be more useful to me because I could archive them on my pc for future reference.
I honestly do not neet a hard copy to feel like I am getting my moneys worth. The worth comes from reading all the excellent information.
I guess it might lead to some un-authorized re-publishing. How much revenue is generated from the re-sale of back issues? Would loosing the money from selling back issues be offset by not having to mail a hard copy to the members willing to accept an electronic version?
By the way, I think Roberts idea is a good one. Payapl is a fairly well accepted means of paying through the internet. I have used it a number of times and have felt it was a fairly painless way to do on-line transactions.
I think Steven is right about those of us that can accept electronic versions of the newsletter. It saves time and postage. We can print any portion if we want a hard copy.
And electronic versions of the news letter to non US/Canadian members or all and a Paypal payment, would be a very good solution I think to keep dues low and also avoid the high bank payment. So I agreed with Robert, Jins and Steven on their view.
Bo
Steven, Robert, and others who throw away the paper copy of the Newsletter after reading it–
You’re welcome to do that, of course–it’s your copy–but I find that as my information level changes and my interests change I notice things I hadn’t noticed on first reading.
But if you still want to get rid of your paper copy of the Newsletter, pass it along to someone who’s interested in roses. That person might even find it interesting and decide to join RHA.
We will probably have an online payment system in place by early in 2007.
We have considered alternative delivery systems, but many of our members are not online. For those who are online and have been online for years, the existence of this other group may be a surprise, but RHA is not going to abandon these members. I don’t know how much the minimum press-run costs, but I think we’re pretty close to that now. Beyond that, the only saving by providing copies electronically would be in postage and envelopes, and in labor (which is a gift from those who send it out). Surprisingly (or not), many people cherish their paper copies and refer to them often over the years. I myself have had the experience of going back to look at an old issue and discovering something very interesting that I didn’t remember (and couldn’t remember having read).
Peter
Peter
Great news about the payment system! I can’t wait to sign in.
As for the newsletters, it could be made as a choice for the members, electronic versions or standard mailed.
Bo
If we have an online archive of all back issues we won’t have to save hard copies.
I literally have boxes and boxes of materials it is unlikely I will ever have time to digest and shouldn’t feel compelled to assign valuable storage space.
Less is more in my case. I respect the needs of those who choose not to use a pc. For those of use who do have online access I feel we chould be given a choice. In our case hard copies are redundant and a waste of resources.
On the same line, I was not suggesting a complete conversion to an electronic format. Every penny counts. Why would one not be inclined to accept saving where it may be found.
How many times have you needed to reference something but could not remember what issue it was in? It would be pretty easy to search with some key works and find every document on your hard drive containing those key words.
I do understand the value of hard copies and have no doubt that many would prefer to read a hard copy. I would much rather sit back with a book instead of sitting infront of a computer.
For me, the RHA is a wonderful group and has added much to my life. I do worry about small groups like the RHA though. I fear the day something like iVillage comes along and says hey, heres a great way to generate some money.
I was just in the process of printing off the paperwork to renew my membership when I saw this thread here.
Here are my two cents on the topic;
An electronic version of the newsletter would be great. I do happen to keep all of the paper copies myself. I tend to go back from time to time to older issues and find that different articles interest me now that didn’t at the time OR that I didn’t remember reading etc. I happen to be a paper lover, so I like being able to take the newsletter to read right before I go to sleep, or while I am relaxing on the patio, etc. BUT, an electronic copy would be nice for my records. Since I do tend to carry the newsletters around from one room to the other, I have lost a few along the way. An electronic copy would be a nice backup.
As for online payment systems, Paypal is pretty easy to set up. We have been using it as a means for “donations” on the RC message board and it has proven to be quite effective. The ease of access I think makes it more compelling for people to go and use it on thier own when they feel like it. I think the same would be true for collecting membership dues…and perhaps even a few extra donations here and there for the RHA. Just a thought.
Peter, if you have any questions about how PayPal has been working for us, just let me know and I would be happy to share any info I have.