[NJARC] Club selling High Value items on Ebay

[Magoun, Alex]

Some observations on the fruitful discussions regarding meeting locations, auctions, and the New Jersey Antique Radio Club's future:


 1.  Since I started attending meetings ten years ago at the Grace Lutheran Church in Freehold, average meeting attendance appears to have increased about fifty percent, from 40 to 60 members.  The club's membership has also increased, perhaps proportionately, and Marsha or a board member can plot the growth.


 1.  Sarnoff Corporation's interests have been veering from the Library's for several years, at the same time that the club's membership was developing its "clubhouse" and museum at InfoAge.  I have agreed with John Dilks that the club should meet regularly at InfoAge.


 1.  Since the NJARC represents the entire state, however, it also makes sense to take advantage of Mike Littman's generous offer to host meetings at Princeton University.  InfoAge is not conveniently located for those in the northwest or southwest parts of the state, and it would be folly to pass on an opportunity for the club to draw on the association with one the world's great universities--home incidentally to Joseph Henry and some pioneering electrical research (http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/henry_joseph.html).  The club has an opportunity to attract new speakers and members; consider the possibility of learning about the latest in tube radios (www.physics.berkeley.edu/research/zettl/projects/nanoradio/radio.html<http://www.physics.berkeley.edu/research/zettl/projects/nanoradio/radio.html>).  Alternating locations between InfoAge and Princeton University is as sensible as alternating between InfoAge and the David Sarnoff Library.


 1.  The relationship between the club and InfoAge raises questions about the club's direction, goals, and capacities that are best answered by the board's development of a strategic plan, supported obviously by engagement with the members' thoughts.  What is the state of the club's finances and what are the expectations of Wall Township or InfoAge in terms of financing the spaces used by the club?  Can the club's members support increased open hours for the museum or educational programs for children during the week?  How does the club best fulfill its chartered mission, "preservation of radio history"?


 1.  The NJARC is member-driven organization but it is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with various legal and financial obligations.  One of those is sales taxes.  The treasurer may be taking on increased bookkeeping duties if the club begins selling items on Ebay.


 1.  I've observed before that the amount of stuff to "save" is only going to increase over the next five to ten years, and the club's prominence makes it the outlet for many estates.  But the almost monthly basis of these auctions and their distraction in some instances from the excellent programs is a strong argument for arranging weekend auctions at InfoAge, perhaps with bidding available online-if Dave Sica is willing and available for what might be quarterly events.


 1.  Several people have suggested ways to balance the non-profit club's collective interest in maximizing profits (for vague purposes) with serving the membership.  Weekend auctions using some version of these approaches, effectively publicized through the usual networks across the nation, or world, would attract most of the Ebay audience without going through Ebay.  Sales taxes will still be involved, as will the shipping and handling duties.  Does the club accession that many Catalin radios and $1,000 tubes to justify that investment in preventing more mercenary members from flipping them?  Or would it be simpler to set bid minimums on items appraised above a given price set annually?


 1.  I don't envy the president or the board for dealing with these issues, and with the many constituencies among the 240 members.  Yes, it's fun to have a club, but growth has its pains and needs leadership to mitigate them.  Whether you're a leader or a follower, please keep working together to make this remarkable organization continue to thrive.

Best,

Alex

Alexander B. Magoun Ph.D.
Curator and Executive Director
David Sarnoff Library
201 Washington Road
Princeton NJ 08540-6449

609 734-2636
amagoun at davidsarnoff.org
f 609 734-2339
davidsarnoff.org
davidsarnoff.blogspot.com