Hi!
We have also had experience with Hobsons! We have advertised over the last 
few years in the Equal Opportunities Casebook for schools. This year we were 
offered a double page for 3700pounds. However we managed to bring them down 
(or so we thought) to 2400pounds!! This was actually about the same amount 
as we'd paid last year so we decided to pay it. I have however heard since 
about another institution being offered 500pound for their one-page ad. (and 
that wasn't even a repeated advert from last year)

Going on our price, maybe I should recommend you jump immediately at an 
offer as low as 800pound!!! Institutions like ours that have fallen for 
Hobson's sales techniques, are obviously paying the extra costs for the 
smaller institutions!! However, on the other hand, maybe we should all agree 
to boycott the Casebook in the hope that we are in the future treated 
EQUALLY and given REASONABLE rates!

Please let us know if there's anyone else who has succumbed as drastically 
as us to the Hobsons sales team - we wouldn't feel any less stupid, but at 
least we'll know we're not the only ones!!!

Susie Griffiths,
Disability Services,
University of Central England.
 ----------

Colleagues,

I am writing to see what you all think about this issue which is causing
myself and our Director of Admissions great concern:

The formerly titled "Higher Education and Disability" booklet published by
Hobsons for SKILL used to give a free listing for all unis. and sold
advertising space for those who wished to have a better spread. Last year
we paid =A3800 for our half page.

Today someone from Hobson's rang and tried to sell me a renewal in a new
guide. As we understand it, this is to be a general Equal Opportunities
Casebook for schools (with three sections you have to choose from:
general, equal opps, disability). They are also publishing another guide:
a Disability Casebook for Postgrads. I was keen to ensure that we did have
some sort of entry as we, like many of you no doubt, have included
reference to this advertising/publicity in our HEFCE Dis. Statement and
we feel obliged to keep our commitments. I do the text for these things=20
but the budget for all publicity is held by Admissions, so Ireferred the=20
salesperson to our Director of Admissions.

The upshot was that they wanted =A31,000 for the same space as last year an=
d
informed our Dir. of Ad. that there would be NO free listing this year
i.e. either you found the money for an expensive ad or you wouldn't be
included! After expressing some concern about this and the overall cost
for a guide which was different from that which we had previously entered,
and whose format seemed rather dubious, she was offered a discount so that
we'd only have to pay =A3800 but only if we confirmed TODAY (classic
double-glazing sales technique but not what we expect from monopoly
educational publishers of disability guides!). =20

I wonder what others think about this - we are strapped for cash at Bath,
even with our ratings, as we are small, and I imagine that lots of you are
in an even worse financial situation. I'm approaching our two consortium
partners to see if they are willing to consider a joint ad. to cut costs,
but at Bath we are not happy about the approach being adopted by Hobsons,
especially when they are trading on their association with SKILL which I'm
sure we'd all like to support. Is anyone in a position to comment on
what SKILL gets out of this (do much of the profits go to SKILL or to
Hobsons which I understand is a Daily Mail operation). And how do you all
feel about the idea of directory on (not so) "Equal Opps" covering
disability opportunities that will not list your information unless you
pay very the high advertising costs set by Hobsons??

What do you think about collective action i.e. not buying into the
publication unless they restore a free listing....or something?

Sorry if I could have been more succinct but it's a hot Friday evening!

Look forward to hearing from you (meanwhile at least we haven't succumbed
to their "today or never" discount tactics!).

Leila Edwards=20
***************************************************************************=
***

Leila Edwards                              Direct line:  tel: 01225-826879
Dean of Students                          Internal ext:  6879
                                                   Fax:  01225-826709
Room 4W 3.4a                           External e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
uk
University of Bath                     Internal e-mail:  adsle
BA2 7AY

Secretary/Diary: Kate Lewis     tel: 01225-826826  ext:  4796=20
***************************************************************************=
***




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%