No ARRL Membership Renewal for Me
Smorgasbord / Kirt's Cogitations™ #355

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Regrettably, I will not be renewing my membership with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) after it expires in March 2024. The ARRL recently announced that dues will increase from $49 to $59 per year (+20%) -- not unreasonable since they have remained the same since 2016 (30% inflation since then). However, that does not include the print version of QST magazine anymore; you need to pony up another $25 for a hard copy. That means for the same goods and services, membership is now $(59 + 25) = $84 per year -- a 71% increase.

Here's another way to look at it. If the established value of print is $25 (let's use just $20 for a best-case scenario), then the former membership w/o print would have been only $(49-20) = $29. That makes the increase for just membership a factor of two: (59/29=2) -- a 100% change!

My response to the member survey regarding dues a few months ago was that the print version of QST could be offered at a separate cost, but with a reduction in the current membership cost ($49/year). Instead, they both separated the cost of the print edition AND raised the base dues rate.

Life members will no doubt be ticked off about being required to now pay extra for the print version of QST. It seems like a clear breach of contract. In fact, my current membership runs through March 2024, and the ARRL notified me that if I want the January, February, and March issues of QST, it will cost me an additional $6.25. Again, a breach of contract. Any lawyers out there with an opinion?

Bidenomics has been steadily breaking my financial back, so costs need to be trimmed; ARRL is a casualty. I'll miss sitting in bed reading QST and looking for stories to reference here. In contrast, RF Cafe prices have remained steady (advertising has decreased), so my effective income has gone way down in the past three years. Nobody gives me a raise :-(

Posted November 22, 2023