National Eagle Scout Association

[69RoadRunner]

My son just got a postcard from the National Eagle Scout Association with an offer to be in their 2021 Yearbook.

Is this, well maybe scam is not the right word, but a scam like those National Super Smart student yearbooks they tried to sell us when we graduated high school but was really just anyone who would pay for the book?

Are you just paying for the book or is there any other benefit to this?

[yknot]

1 hour ago, 69RoadRunner said:

My son just got a postcard from the National Eagle Scout Association with an offer to be in their 2021 Yearbook.

Is this, well maybe scam is not the right word, but a scam like those National Super Smart student yearbooks they tried to sell us when we graduated high school but was really just anyone who would pay for the book?

Are you just paying for the book or is there any other benefit to this?

I think the general consensus is that if not a scam it's basically the same as the Who's Who type vanity publishing racket. Not to say there aren't some benefits to being listed but as we all know these days being listed anywhere means you'll get endless pitches, direct mail, promotions, etc. 

[MattR]

If they can't explain the benefit and you have to ask us, but they will take your money ... sounds like a scam.

Might be better to spend that money on a photo album to give your son. He'll one day look at it and remember some good times. That's what yearbooks are for.

[69RoadRunner]

44 minutes ago, yknot said:

I think the general consensus is that if not a scam it's basically the same as the Who's Who type vanity publishing racket. Not to say there aren't some benefits to being listed but as we all know these days being listed anywhere means you'll get endless pitches, direct mail, promotions, etc. 

 

2 minutes ago, MattR said:

If they can't explain the benefit and you have to ask us, but they will take your money ... sounds like a scam.

Might be better to spend that money on a photo album to give your son. He'll one day look at it and remember some good times. That's what yearbooks are for.

Thanks, that confirms what I was thinking.

[skeptic]

It is an apparently annual thing, sort of like the publishe your poem or short story things.  Not a scam, just a way to get the Eagle out there in some manner, but mostly a fund raiser to support the annual scholarships.  The book itself is mostly vanity, though it may have some use for historical review in a vague way.  I doubt many outside Scouting will review it though, at least I have not heard of it being used by recruiters or others.  

Every year now for the last five or six we get this same question.  And we get the same individuals making negative comments while most just note it is real, but not of great use except for the money it raises for the very "useful" scholarship program.  You do not have to buy it, but you might want to make sure the info is correct.

[yknot]

12 minutes ago, skeptic said:

  And we get the same individuals making negative comments while most just note it is real, but not of great use except for the money it raises for the very "useful" scholarship program.  You do not have to buy it, but you might want to make sure the info is correct.

It is not negative to be accurate and honest. The NESA Yearbook is marketed by a company that publishes many other such vanity publishing projects in a number of fields. That's their business and that's the racket. Some people still think it's nice to buy one, and that's fine, but it would be dishonest not to be clear on what it is. 

[skeptic]

38 minutes ago, yknot said:

It is not negative to be accurate and honest. The NESA Yearbook is marketed by a company that publishes many other such vanity publishing projects in a number of fields. That's their business and that's the racket. Some people still think it's nice to buy one, and that's fine, but it would be dishonest not to be clear on what it is. 

Every contact I had in the past had the details available.  It was certainly clear to me then, and still is.  Yes, it is sort of part of the vanity press world, but it is not a scam, as the details are readily shared.  On the other hand, the follow up cards and even phone calls can be confusing.  In the end, it is a personal choice.  Like most things, just be sure you understand it and decide for yourself.  

My comment about negative is that too many suggest it is IS a scam, even though it has been around for over a decade now.  Just because some do not feel it is worthwhile and too expensive does not make fraudulent.  But just my view and not worth any more discussion.