Hey Buddy, can I borrow $3,000.00?

[Butch]

300491067725

Someone sent me a link to this auction. JUST LIKE YOU, I was shocked and amazed at the price... And then I figured out what I paid for all of mine over the years, adjusting for inflation, etc. While this is still an expensive auction, it is not very far off of what I have in mine today (and my costs are higher than his asking price). My paper collection that is.

[zaniac]

 :oI had no idea the catalogs are worth so much!
Is it just a coincidence that this auction popped up right around the same time certain free additions have been so graciously bestowed upon members of this forum?

[Butch]

The catalogs cost a lot of money and are are worth a lot of money. As for this causing the auction, I do not think so. I know that seller and know some of the background of the catalogs so have a pretty good idea what is going on there.

I will be honest with you, we have plans on offering our work on a subscription basis. Currently we see this as a two tiered approach. Basic Catalog access and a Premier Level which would also include access to the service manuals as well. Having said that, we have no plans are taking away anything from the web site as it is today, only adding to it.

We are not looking to get rich by any means, but the professional development of this web site is not cheap, even if the webmaster does collect Zodiacs. Then there is the matter of other expenditures such as the server and hard drive space. THAT just went up when I uploaded the scanned catalogs, some of them are almost 50 MB.

Now the conversion process begins so that they can be presented in the way the sample was shared with you all. And that is going to take some time. We are targeting some time in 2011 and still working out the project timeline for this effort and the resources it will take.

But if you were to buy those catalogs you could probably save 60+ years of subscription services here.