Jesse I agree with you wholeheartedly. What has happened to us?

Thanks to all who answered the post, I think Chuck IS on board with it, but like I said just put it out there and I still will get letters either way they are done, thanks again , scott

Just as another counter point, there is a valid and proven reason why many of the companies everyone does business with would prefer you move to electronic invoicing, and the reason far exceeds the cost of postage. Examples include cell phone companies, AT&T, Cable, utilities, and even credit card companies. It's cheaper, time saving,and results in less work on the part of the employees of the company.

Think about the difference in time spent between the time it takes to open/read an email vs time spent dealing with an article of paper. It all adds up. Then there is also the added benefit of having all of your records in one place right there on the computer, versus dealing with hundreds of pieces of paper. Implementing such an automated system would probably translate to a couple hours of saved time per month for the researcher, at a minimum. Paper is a hassle. Don't fear technology.

No we shouldn't fear technology, its a great thing, we just shouldn't blindly trust it or depend upon it completely.

No fear , just like old stuff better I have a nice A 5 japan made browning 3 inch with screw in chokes that was a gift from my best friend . It was for me to use if all we could find was steel shot shells . I have never shot it! I was the first office of my type to go with computer years ago , but we will be very very sorry when no one can add anymore. The schools in our are are already not teaching kids how to write cursive . No penmenship. A gentleman was know by his hand and the fact that he wore a tie while bird hunting!

One thing I have noticed, without fail, about companies who introduce new ways for their customers to do more work so they can do less work: the savings always seem to go into their pockets while the prices they charge always seem to increase. It's funny how I am the only one who notices that.

The companiesI want to see introducing new measures to lower costs are the ones with CEO's that are eating leftover Chinese food and driving Mazda 210's. The CEO's who are getting $7M bonuses? I'm not so concerned about saving them money.

This is interesting read. In a nutshell the argument for doing it is to make it easier on those requesting a research letter by eliminating the need for stamps, envelopes and a trip to the mailbox or PO. The argument against doing it is to not increase the workload on the person doing the work of researching each request, not by additional process but by way of more requests for letters.

Electronic request using PayPal reduces the cost to the requester by the cost of a stamp and envelope, about .59 savings.

Electronic request using PayPal increases the cost to the PGCA by 2.9% plus .030 on each request or $1.46.

In order to provide $40 to the PGCA with the PayPal fees the price of letter would need to be increased to $41.50.

The net result, for the additional cost of .91 cents ($1.50 - .059) PGCA members dont need to have stamps, envelopes or make a trip to the mailbox or PO.

Returning money is less work via PayPal than a return mailing of check, it's also free vs. the cost of stamp and letter, again about .059.

I think it remains to be seen if this option would actually increase the number of requests for letters. Whether it does or not what is the future of requests for letters, up down or the same? If we are a growing organization they might be going up BUT as each letter is done there is now one less Parker needing a letter, there are a finite number of guns.

If the volume of letters goes up it sounds as though the only way to cope would be to increase the turn around time for a letter to be produced and mailed.

I appreciate the efforts of the folks doing the letters now and in the past, it's a labor of love and I believe they are volunteers, however the PGCA is making money on research letters. So the organization would benefit from more letter requests.

So given all that can we make it easier on PGCA members to make their request with electronic payment, possibly increase the cash flow to the PGCA and not overwhelm the person doing the work for us? That is the question.

For what it's worth, I would definitely order more letters if it were done online. It sounds stupid to say I don't have time to go to the post office, but I work 7:00-5:00 and the post office is open 8:00-4:00. Do I drive by it during the day? Sometimes, but I don't carry the form around in my pocket on the off chance I'll get to go. I have several forms floating around that I've filled out and not sent in, ultimately forgot about. There is no question it would make Chuck's job easier, but it would take some work to get it going. I don't like computers any more than the next guy, but think about how you would have found your dream Parker 20 years ago.