The Club gets a lot of bad press from people that, frankly, don't know much about what the Club does or how they do it.
Yes, its now the livelihoods of several people, and yes they get paid to do this stuff, but it doesn't change the very basic concept of the club being a communal effort.
It takes time , effort and capital to assemble the various newsletters and other items and activities together, and its a full-time job.
Some of the Club folks I know from many interactions on-line--they are collectors too. Most of the material in the Club newsletters comes from the staff, because getting RELIABLE contributions from members is so sketchy. The newsletters get heaped with criticism because people believe they are boring and a waste of time and money. A LOT of people dismiss the Club and refrain from joining because of this......and yet no-one of them consider that is the membership sharing the hobby that makes the newsletters. That has been the core of the club from day one, and yet its "someone else's job".
Geez. Adding to it is the ( often completely misplaced_ perception that the club is a major cash gouge because they are just trying to "make money". Well, yeah, its a business now, its been like that for well over a decade. Its not just a newsletter any more, the club is fielding its own products which cost a considerable amount to develop.
Now, I said those very words to someone on another forum a couple of years ago and they scoffed right back saying " what's to DEVELOP?? They just re-use what Hasbro gives them!!"
If it was only that easy.
The licensing permissions, arrangements with factories overseas, clarification and establishment of what parts to use, numbers of parts to be cast, manufacturing, trouble-shooting....the list of checkpoints to manage is very long. Classic example: the Tanks for the Memories Mauler, that the Club discovered had a cracked unsalvageable mold. They could pay for the mold to be restored, but I understand they already had parts cast for that vehicle--parts that were then unusable. Who ate the bill for that?
Yeah, the Club did, from what I understand.
If only it was so easy.
When we see something like a con set, or these membership figures coming out, its the end of a very long expensive, often-frustrating chain.
I'm not an apologist either, I'm a non-paying member of the Club, at this time--but I support the idea of the Club when and where I can. Yes, its a chunk of change for a Canadian or International membership, and I've long wrestled with the cost myself.
Want to know a little secret??
The Club DOES extend perks to those folks that do contribute, be they members or not. Write a series of articles, or do some illustrations that add up to the cost of membership and I'm sure they would gladly barter a membership in lieu of payment for the stuff. And you know what? A dozen or two dozen people doing that would provide the club with enough fresh material for a couple of years, easy. None of those slamming the Club consider that--which is a shame.
Personally, I think they have been hitting these ideas out of the park over the past couple of years, with very inventive and savvy ideas in BOTH scales, AND I think their best ideas are still yet to come!