There used to be an actual advantage to signing up to pioneer or temporary pioneer. The literature was cheaper for pioneers. I can't remember how much cheaper the books were, but magazines (which were sold to the public for 5 cents each) cost 4 cents for publishers and something like 2 cents for pioneers.
When my ex and I left the pioneer service we received a letter from the Society asking us to count up the books and magazines we had left over from our pioneer service and pony up the difference between the pio and pub rate. They said we could just pop it into the contribution box. We never did.
