Thanks to the Internet, many groups have sprung up without being location specific.  They exist not in a physical community, but in an Internet community.  They have no central office, no common employees, and no central infrastructure.  The Internet has joined the members of these groups together based on a common interest, with each member of the group acting individually.

So, how do members of these groups band together and build the formality of membership, without anyone or anything there to sign up new members?  The answer that has sprung up and has become common in use, is something called BICS (Bogen IBM Computer System).

Q) What is BICS?

A) BICS is a membership and marketing function that has been adopted (primarily) by Internet marketing groups, ISPs, groups, and associations.  For those groups who use BICS as a qualification for membership, a new member pays an existing member to be part of the group, thereby eliminating the expense of centralized control and marketing.  A piece of BICS is the "transactional documentation".  In other words, it's what the new member buys from the existing member to become a member themselves.

You may be a BICS owner and not even know it!   Very few people know the name "BICS".   For example, the correct name for an IMASD Membership is a BICS parcel.

Q) What are the benefits of individual BICS ownership?

A) There are a growing number of benefits:

• BICS owners enjoy the benefits offered by the membership group they belong to.  For example, IMASD members have access to an exceptional number of marketing services without having to pay for them.

• If you own a "piece of BICS" it is transferable to any group that offers BICS as a function of membership.  This reciprocal agreement is a fundamental part of all the websites, associations, companies, clubs, and groups that offer BICS memberships.

• See the We Honor BICS Directory at www.imcforum.org/bics/directory.

Q) What are the benefits of offering memberships (that are supported by BICS)?

A) A website that offers memberships gets added revenue.  If the memberships are supported by BICS, the added benefits are:

• Reduced Overhead and Management.  The expense of marketing and expanding the group is borne exclusively by those who choose to do it, not by you.

• Reduced Marketing Costs.  Those existing members who solicit new members, collect and keep all of the money paid (by the new member) to be part of the group.  This provides the financial motivation for existing members to expand the group by soliciting new members.  The members then become their own, totally independent, marketing entity for the rest of the group.

Applying this concept does not interfere with, or reduce revenues.  The increased membership translates to an increased customer base, and this is accomplished without the usual hard-cost of advertising.

Q) Is there a downside to BICS?

A) If someone wants to sell you a membership (to a club or group) that is a "re-sellable" membership (such as BICS) know in advance what you are getting into.  If you are unable to sell your membership, your only recourse is to look to the entity with whom you paid in the first place.  By itself, a BICS parcel guarantees you nothing, and has no value.  It has value only to the extent that the club or group determines.   It is transferable only to the extent that another group chooses to allow you in.  Your club or group has decided to provide you with benefits because you paid someone for BICS, and nothing more.

Sure, a piece of BICS might get you many free services, and get you into any association, club or group that honors BICS, but there are no guarantees.  Yes, someone might buy your membership at a profit, but you could lose money just as easily.

On the other hand, those who favor BICS say,  "If a group or association wants to sell you a membership that is not backed by BICS, ask them to look into accepting BICS.  BICS has a history of re-sells, and in many cases appreciation.  Joining an association has a cost.  BICS can turn that cost into a profit."

Profiting from a membership purchase is indeed unique, and having a re-sell market is much better than not having one (as with other non-BICS membership groups).  But never buy a membership just because of BICS.  There are no guarantees and BICS is not an investment vehicle.  BICS should be considered to be a plus factor, but never the sole reason for joining any directory or group.

Q) Where do BICS memberships come from, and who decides who gets sell them?

A) Everything is decided by mutual agreement of the existing BICS members.  Any increase in available memberships is proposed by, and then voted on, by the members themselves.   They have increased the number of available memberships three times.  Each membership holder benefited by the increase, then having additional memberships to sell.

Q) How is BICS managed?

A) It is self-managed.  An independent firm (an accounting entity) keeps a database with assigned BICS membership numbers.  Each number has contact information for the person or company it represents.  If you own a BICS number (a membership to a group or association) and you sell it someone else, a small fee is charged by the accounting entity to record the transfer.

Q) How did BICS get started?

A) Several Internet membership groups came together with the same need during the Internet boom of the late 90s.  By early 2000 the moniker "BICS" was adopted from a technology system (Bogen IBM Computer System) that had been in use since the early 90s as a database manager.  The sharing and ownership of this computer system was the beginning of an Internet group known as the Internet Marking Association of Surplus Dealers, and this group was one of the first groups to make BICS a requirement of membership.  

Since then, BICS has expanded and evolved to become what it is today.