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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:33 pm
by Ken Hobbs
Under the heading of York sale fee's again was mentioned.
A suggestion to scrap transfer fee's. The cost of scrappinig this fee would be a cost to the society (as at the 30th September) £7800. How would the Society recoup this cost to continue to run an efficient office?
At the AGM a special resolution to reduce fee's was put forward to the floor, a full explaination on the was given to those present on the consequences that would incurr if the proposals were carried, Duncan in an earlier posting on the AGM informed you that all proposals on fees were rejected.
I assure you that any fee increases are done with a lot of serious thought and bebate among all of your Council and figures are not plucked out the air. As treasuer I will continue to keep fees as low as I possibly can and, hopefully, there will not be any need for any further increases in the near future.
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:20 pm
by catomell
As someone who has only recently (i.e. within the last year) purchased her first Dexters, I was admittedly surprised at the transfer fees as I encountered them. My husband even more so! (won't mention the language!).
I would like in the future to be in a position to sell some stock. I did notice that the transfer fees are to be paid by vendor or buyer. Would it not be an idea to suggest that they are paid for by the vendor. After all, if they are about to receive in the region of £200-£300 for the sale of a heifer, surely they can afford to spend £10-£15 to notify the society of the sale. It's only a suggestion, and I hope not to cause too much controversy. All I will say is that, should I in the future be in a position to sell some stock, I will be happy to suggest that the purchaser pays to join the DCS, but I would be happy to pay the transfer fee.
This is provided that the fee does not increase to something silly over the next two/three years.
That's the only suggestion that I have.
By the way, I am aware that the fees need to be paid to cover costs of paperwork etc....
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:10 pm
by Peter thornton
Ken
I have some experience of running societies and setting fees, being the UK chairman of the Photo Marketing Association.
The main thing is to get people IN the association. We have built a worldwide association by giving away trial memberships.
If you look at my post re the York sale I was suggesting that someone buying their FIRST Dexter might be excused the transfer fee (and given a free trial membership) That's only a suggestion for discussion, what do others think?
How many fees is the society losing by owners who do not join? That is the real question.
If animals are changing hands for, say, £250 - £300 then just work out the costs incurred
£12.50 registration
£10.00 transfer
+ bull hire, AI fees or bull depreciation
+ Vet fees for dehorning etc
+ all the other small costs of ownership
Leaves not a lot!
Some of us are happy to pay most of these fees but I only pass on the feedback I personally got from the 2 new owners I spoke to.
Remember that these new owners are asked to pay:
£30 membership
£15 joining fee
£10 transfer
£20 herd prefix registration
Thats a whopping £75!
I just don't think they will be paying any fees at all.
That means the society loses out on all of these fees plus all of the fees from the progeny of these animals, and all of their unregistered descendants.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:46 am
by andy
I agree with Peter. We took a Dexter to the Autumn exhibition at the East of England Showground yesterday (9/10/05). We met several new Dexter owners, two of which had bought at Melton Sale. Neither of these intended to join the Society.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:01 pm
by Peter and Joan
As new dexter owners with 2 registered in-calf cows, I have to agree with Peter and Andy - I am looking at almost a third of the cost of another beast just in society fees, with another £25 to pay in the next three months to register calves (presuming no calving hitches)
Will I pay up and join? Very doubtfull, I'm afraid - I suspect it would give my beef a slightly sour taste!
Regards,
Peter
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:59 pm
by Ken Hobbs
I hear what you are saying but you do not suggest how to make up the loss of revenue.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:02 pm
by Ken Hobbs
On membership joining. it is increasing, not decreasing. to make up the loss we would require another 260 or 25% increase in new members.
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:57 pm
by Duncan MacIntyre
Those of us who have the long term future of the Dexter breed at heart really need to be a bit more positive about things. We need to stop worrying about those who do not wish tp be part of the registered stock scene, who are content to buy rear and sell unregistered stock, will increase in numbers as the number of registered stock increases, and at times they will by from those of us who do register ours. They are not a threat to us, and they are not a loss to us if they do not want to be part of DCS.
What we must do is be positive about running a society which provides good service for its members and takes care of the breed. We need to promote the services the society provides, and we need to back our council in providing these services at a reasonable cost in a professional manner.
The membership does need to communicate with council and vice versa. When we see shows and sales of Dexters with little or no Breed Society presence we need to make our feelings known. Those who stand for council need to be prepared to put in some work, and if council members are not available for a particular occasion then others should be prepared to step forward and lend a hand. In the Stoneleigh S/S days it would have been unthinkable not to have a Dexter Society stand manned most of the daylight hours by a large number of volunteers, ready to lend an ear to enquirers and offer help and advice,
Perhaps we need to take stock of what is being done and what is not being done, to look for a change at what we can do for the Dexter rather than what the Dexter can do for us.
We need to value what is done for us by our paid office staff, and we need to appreciate the huge amount of unpaid work done by volunteers.
We need to remember that the number of registered Dexters in the UK has grown beyond expectations in the last few years and the growth seems to continue. No other British breed can compare. Let us be more positive and proud of what has been achieved. Nothing is as infectious as true enthusiasm.
Duncan
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:24 pm
by Inger
Why is there an extra charge for prefix registration? In NZ it is all part of the joining fee. Do you have huge overheads that are causing your society to have to raise large sums to cover expenses?
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:57 am
by oliver1921
I would like to support Duncan's comments and it is vital that we all support what the Council and Society are doing for us - maybe prices will come down if we really get behind the society and all encourage ALL Dexter breeders to be members thus increasing the numbers of registrations. We have to remember what the Society does for us in promoting the breed and the quality of the breed which should enhance the values when we come to sell cattle.
Lets cut the rubbish and get behind the society and council who put in vaste amounts of time for the love of the breed which is to the the benefit of all Dexter owners - remember the council members pay the same fees as us so if it was not necessary would they encourage the fees to go up!