CLUB DISCOUNT FOR OBSERVER'S HANDBOOK 2009
 ----------------------------------------

[THE 2009 ISSUES ARE ALL SOLD OUT AND NO MORE REQUESTS ARE
TAKEN AFTER 12 DECEMBER 2008. THIS LETTER EXPLAINS WHY CLUBS
FAVOR THE NYSkies OFFER. YOUR CLUB MAY CONSIDER AVAILING OF
THE NYSkies OFFER FOR THE 2010 EDITION WHEN IT COMES OUT IN
SEPTEMBER 2009]

   The 2009 Observer's Handbook of RASC, Canada, issued in mid 
September 2008. It is now the time to obtain your copy. 
    Like in prior years, NYSkies offers the Observer's Handbook at a 
substantial discount to astronomers in the US. They do not have to 
scrounge and beg and grovel at listprice retail outlets for their 
copy. The situation is far worse away from a large town. There may 
be NO outlet to scrounge, beg, grovel at! 
    One of the benefits of astronomy clubs is that they can obtain a 
discount for a quantity of the book and pass the savings to their 
members. Your own club may do this already. 
    However, most clubs just can not get up enough requests to make a 
discount quantity. The club is too small or too few of its members 
appreciate the Observer's Handbook. The larger clubs usually secure 
the discounts while the little ones suffer to pay listprice. 
    That's why the small clubs turned to NYSkies. We secure the 
discounts for them. They in turn get the Observer's Handbook with NO 
MINIMUM number required. Even if only a couple of their members want 
the book, they get it at the big-club discount. 
    Does this offer pass over the large clubs? No it doesn't. If your 
large club already has a working service for the Observer's Handbook, 
KEEP IT. It is a valuable club benefit that your members appreciate. 
    However, large clubs last year came to NYSkies for small numbers 
of the books. Why? They explained:

    New members missed the offer and your club did not want to make 
them wait a while year for the next offer. 
    Your club may allow only one copy from its supply but some members 
need a second copy for their observing site or car. 
    The sluggish economy (yes, it was getting bad last year) thinned 
out the number of requests to less than the discount minimum. 
    Your club's supply ran short of the membership needs. 

Situations like these can be absolutely irritating to the chair of 
your club's OH service! In the past, that chair probably belly-ached at 
one of your club meeting, no? 
    Now that the OH is on the street, I do warn that THEY WILL ALL BE 
GRABBED UP VERY QUICKLY! No kidding. One factor ns grabbing up the 
books with this discount is that the damage of $20 each -- a dozen 
dollars under listprice! -- includes pack & post to you. 
    Well, there COULD be a lingering copy, due to some laziness in 
putting in your request. Do you really want to run a club on slender 
hopes like that? You'll do better for your club to stage a comet watch 
for Thanksgiving weekend. 
    Uh, for what comet? For the new long-tail naked-eye comet that 
will come along by then. It'll light up the sky. What's more, you can 
start collecting Observer's Handbook requests then. 
    Yeah, right. 
    So, consider the NYSkies discount at 'www.nyskies.org/oh.htm'. 

:Last update on 14 December 2008