The new issue of RodMaker mailed this afternoon. There has been a change which I will need some feedback on once you get your copy. (Scheduled delivery date is February 27, although many of you will get it a bit before then.)

We have dumped the plastic mailing bag in favor of what is known as a "false cover". The plastic bag did a great job of protecting it but required more labor to prepare for mailing as well as being hard for the Postal Service to handle in some situations.

The false cover, which is nothing more than some heavyweight paper on the outside of the magazine and which can be removed easily once it is delivered, should also protect the magazine. What I will need to know is how well it protects it. I know the percentage of what was mailed previously in terms of loss, theft or damage. If the new false cover does not cause an increase in any of those numbers it will be the way the magazine will be mailed from now on.

There is also some cost savings in doing it this way and that results in more funds that can be put back into the magazine to make it bigger and better for the readers. (I'm always looking for ways to make it a better value for the subscribers and the price has remained the same now for nearly 4 years.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new false cover will work out okay. I'd appreciate your feedback, good or bad, when your's is received in a few weeks. Thanks.

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Tom, I am a member of the Coastal Conservation Association (the CCA) their magazine,(The Tide) uses what I think is a false cover. If it is, I have never had a bad copy. There is usually a black and white sketch of something pertaining to the theme of the magazine. On the other side it list the addresses of all the CCA state offices and state chapters. It looks very nice and it protects the contents very well.

Tom, Your magazine has proven so valuable to me that I would read it no mater what - torn cover to shredded cover!

Sean

Well maybe this way instead of having to steal my copy the postman can use open it up and read it in the can and then put it back in the mail when he's done.

Seriously, the magazine is already a good value and I can appreciate all the work that goes into it.

Tom, I was shocked. I read the book cover to cover looking for some lewd text or photos. All the other plain covers offer something like that. I had to read it a second time with a different mindset. Buddy

P.S. I, like the others, have kept every single issue and I show them off whenever I can. Keep up the good work.