Here's my take on club membership (for John Benedict's question as well). A CC & GTCC member (to me) is equivalent to Good Housekeeping's Seal of Approval. When I ran my A.C. new issues service (over 150 subscribers), I ALWAYS sent chips to club members before receiving payment ... some packages were for a couple hundred dollars each. Never did I require payment up front. Yes, I got taken by a few stinkers ... who got me for one or two mailings... but never again. However, I would not do that with a non-club member whom I did not know.

No, I'm not saying that all club members are honest ... or that non-club members are dishonest, it's just the way I did business.... and that's the same choice that some members choose to do on this private message board when they run THEIR contests.