I only had two responses to my request for experiences with NAEIR, but I was asked
to post a hit, so here they are, following my initial request:
-----Original Message-----
From: School Library Media & Network Communications
[mailto:LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Bonnie Fulmer
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 9:42 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: GEN: NAEIR Free Supplies and Merchandise?
Our school received a mailing from a company called NAEIR (National
Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources) that claims,
"Schools, churches, and other nonprofit organizations across the US are
invited to join NAEIR and claim over $100 million in free supplies and
merchandise." NAEIR says it is "a nonprofit organization that collects
donations of inventory from manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers,
and then redistributes these goods to nonprofit organizations all over
the United States." They are located at 560 McClure Street, Galesburg,
IL.
If your school has joined, would you please let me know how the
experience went? I don't want to rely just on anecdotal information
I've unearthed with Google. I know I can trust my colleagues here to
tell me the real story.
First, the two LM-Net responses:
=========
Before I ever worked here sixteen years ago, my school belonged, or got hooked is a
better way to say it. The old timers used to tell funny stories about the junk
that they would get. Several years later a new supt. decided to sign us up again.
We would get catalogs to pick from, but very rarely got anything we asked for.
Think Big Lots for teachers. Some stuff may be useful, but lots of junk.
===============
Yes, the products are free!!
Our county (school district) has a business partnership that pays the membership
fee to NAEIR and each school gets to order via this membership. (I do not know how
much the membership costs.) All each school pays is the shipping for the products
ordered--and we are told how much we have to spend. Most things are packaged in
large lots so you have no control over exactly what you will get. We have ordered
the box of tape (includes book tape!!), box of office supplies, box of
bookbags/backpacks, box of jewelry, box of Christmas cards, box of caps, box of
DVDs, box of photo paper, box of first aid supplies, etc. Overall, we are very
pleased; we have received thousands of dollars worth of supplies for just the
shipping. Caveat; order as early as possible because the better selection of
items gets picked over very quickly. I like ordering online better than the
catalog since you know immediately if the items are available and your shipping
costs. Now and then, you will get flyers with specials--these are good too.
If you have any specific questions, I will be glad to try and answer them. My
principal has put me in charge of selecting and ordering from NAEIR. If you need
to know more about what is in each box, I can go into more detail---but the boxes
are VERY large and filled to the brim!!
==================
And I gathered these experiences from a public library listserv:
Several years ago we had a membership in NAIER and didn't think it was worth
it. It may be worthwhile if a city was a member, but for a single library
they didn't offer the kind of stuff we need. Sure they had software, but
all old versions. They had tons of gift wrap and greeting cards, but we
don't have big call for that either. We selected and allowed employees to
select what they thought we would use and I don't think we got $600 value.
We spent quite a bit of time going through their large catalog, but most of
it was useless to us. I wouldn't bother again.
=================================
It's not that the NAEIR people are lying, exactly, but they are putting the
most positive spin possible on an odd assortment of wrapping paper,
Christmas decorations, and assorted handbags and not-very-sticky post-it
notes.
The Hedberg Public Library "belonged" to NAEIR for several years (you had to
pay about $600 annually for the privilege of reviewing the catalog.) The
office and computer supplies section was pretty random and seldom would
totally replace anything we were buying from a place like Quill. We used
things like jewelry, CD wallets, and holiday décor as prizes at staff
meetings.
But the truth is we got so into NAEIR that we actually went to "the BIG
GRAB" one broiling August afternoon. We traveled to Galesburg, IL, on
Illinois's scantily marked byways in a mini-van, presenting ourselves at the
gate at our appointed time. We were number 150. Various other non-profit
agencies had armed themselves with pick-up trucks and rented stepvans, and
recruited some of their more brawny customers to help them grab.
By far the biggest item NAEIR had in stock was wrapping paper, greeting
cards and tschotchkes from the register of every failed card store in
America. Pallets and pallets: Happy Father's Day, Congratulations 2001 Grad,
Baby's First Christmas 2001, Snoopy in a Mortarboard, gift bags with
lazy-fishing-dad motifs. One of the rules of NAEIR is that the agency
getting the free stuff can't resell it - so what were "the Friends of
Russia" going to do with a 4' x 4' crate of Happy Father's Day wrapping
paper? Insulate their steppe homes, we thought.
We did manage to fill up a mini-van. We got some fabric that a staff
member's daughter made into pillows for the staff room. We got some 9 x 11
envelopes in a weird pink shade. We got tons of gift bags for our
Friendshop, though the manager was a little non-plused when we presented
them to her. We only narrowly avoided heat stroke and being run over by the
burly, toothless minions of "First Baptist Angel Hearts Day Care."
==============================================
We use NAEIR, and have done so for a few years now. I believe that with your first
year's membership, that if you don't (at least) recoup your membership fees (with
product) they'll refund your membership fees. I could be wrong, so don't quote me
on that.
So, we took the 'Pepsi Challenge', and got a membership. I will say that while we
are (on the whole) pleased with our experiences with NAEIR, there is a fair amount
of junk with the good stuff. Many of the department heads at our library have been
provided with materials to supplement their programming (ie - Patriotic items to
give away at a 4th of July parade, packets of seeds and small gardening tools at a
program on gardening, etc.), and are quite thankful for the materials. As for me,
personally, whenever there are office supplies that I (even remotely) think my
department can use, I'll order them so we can have them on hand for patrons. Case
in point - there was a recent close out on patriotically themed school supplies &
stationary items. I ordered 2 cases of each, and have been giving them out to
patrons. I started doing this in response to the numerous patrons who come to the
Circulation desk, looking for pens, or paper, or folders, or envelopes. Heck - I
have problem enough keeping my own department staffed with office supplies (given
the volume we use) to even remotely begin to think about having items on hand for
patrons. NAEIR helps me to supply the desk with items specifically for our patrons
to use.
According to our records, with membership fees, shipping fees and other
incidentials, we spent $2,347 on NAEIR. According to the records provided to us by
NAEIR, the retail value of the items is around $23,500.
A 10 to1 return ratio on our investment? You bet we love NAEIR!
==============================
From the Marshall Democrat News:
Sweet Springs refrains from joining NAIER
Friday, June 11, 2004
By Naomi Campbell/Staff Writer
The Sweet Springs Board of Education decided against becoming a member of the
National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources program after
discussing the matter at length Thursday.
The bulk of the board's monthly meeting centered around the possibility of
purchasing resources through NAEIR, yet the overall consensus was that the program
might not be worth the expenses.
NAEIR provides nonprofit member agencies with products ranging from business to
education to health that can be picked up or delivered from Galesburg, Ill.
Board member Ken Hughson said the district had been involved in NAEIR at some point
in the past, but the people who had inquired about possible purchases hadn't found
anything the district needed.
"It's kind of like going to a garage sale," said ag teacher Dan Hill, who
remembered the district's former dealings with the program. "Just because it's
cheap doesn't mean you need to buy it."
Eventually deciding against paying the $575 joining fee, the board made its
decision. The agreement was that if NAEIR membership seemed beneficial, the matter
could be discussed again in the future.
==================================
So I'll pass this information along to my principal and see what he decides.
As always......
LM-Net ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bonnie
___________________ ___________________
|| \/
| ||
|| Bonnie | Fulmer, Librarian ||
|| Spackenkill | High School ||
|| 112 Spackenkill | Road ||
|| Poughkeepsie, | NY 12603 ||
|| voice: | (845) 463-7810 ||
|| fax: | (845) 463-7817 ||
|| Bonnie.Fulmer@spackenkillschools.org ||
||____________________/\___________________ ||
Thanks!
Bonnie
---
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