Ruby Lane said as of October 1, 2002, Ruby Lane will be closing the Charter Shop Program to new shops. The Charter Shop program rewards committed shop owners with a 50% discount on most shop fees. The program will continue, but in October, new members will not be eligible to join.

A letter from Ruby Lane to its members said, "We originally developed the Charter Shop program to encourage shops to join and commit to Ruby Lane to help us establish a solid base of dealers. With 825 shops as of today, and over 100 new shops opened in August, the Charter Shop program has served its purpose and we are ready to close the program to new shops."

New shops that are open by October 1 will remain eligible for the Charter Shop Program going forward. As a special Thank You, Ruby Lane said it will credit shops $15 for every referral that uses their shop nickname when opening.

http://www.rubylane.com/info/topic/aboutshops