MR
#1
Is MR becoming vaporware? My April copy is only 68 (counting the cover pages) pages long??? I get ad circulars in the mail that are bigger than that.  Nope
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
Reply
#2
(03-06-2021, 07:59 AM)Tyson Rayles Wrote: Is MR becoming vaporware? My April copy is only 68 (counting the cover pages) pages long??? I get ad circulars in the mail that are bigger than that.  Nope

Not only that, but I noticed that they have increased the subscription rate to $49.95, that's up from $42.95, which was high to start with. They have steadily been cutting back on the size and have lost a lot of advertisers. I'm sure they'll blame it on the pandemic. My subscription runs out with the November issue and that's it, I really don't care that it includes a virtual edition. I used to subscribe to a computer magazine until they went virtual with no more paper copies, so I got a refund for that one..... Let's hope that's not the case with MR, at least not for now.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Reply
#3
I am thinking of subscribing again for the first time in 25 years. But I much more enjoy the old issues from pre 1990. And I can usually find those for free. Magazines, like brick and mortar retail, seem to be dead. I feel quite sad about that.
--
Kevin
Check out my Shapeways creations!
3-d printed items in HO/HOn3 and more!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s-model-train-detail-parts">https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s ... tail-parts</a><!-- m -->
Reply
#4
What I see is that MR will eventually go all digital similar to MRH but will continue to charge for a subscription. Unless they allow you some way to retain a copy locally the only way to view back issues will be to subscribe (rent) to Trains . com. Just my 2 cents (and that's probably wrong).

Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
Reply
#5
Funny you mention MRH. They have lots of good stuff there, but for some reason I rarely look at it. If I am online looking at something, I am doing something else. But I will pick up print magazines from time to time and browse them.
--
Kevin
Check out my Shapeways creations!
3-d printed items in HO/HOn3 and more!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s-model-train-detail-parts">https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s ... tail-parts</a><!-- m -->
Reply
#6
I am going to be the weird guy here but I read electronic versions of many things I used to get in print. There are several reasons I have transitioned. First is cost. In many cases Kindle versions of things are cheaper. My kids learned this for many of their college textbooks. My son has not purchased a physical copy of a textbook in at least three years. You can even rent textbooks (only problem is they don’t come with highlighted sections).

The big reason I switched was back in the days when my daughter played club volleyball. Club tournaments are huge time-consuming creatures starting at dawn and ending in the evening. Many can span a weekend or holiday weekend. There is great deal of downtime between matches. At first, I brought books and magazines. I usually could read a book during a tournament. After some time, you learn to economize what can fit in a backpack. A Fire Tablet fit better than several books and magazines. I guess because of this I have grown used to reading this way. I take it everywhere. The amount of books I read in a year has gone way up compared to when I read paperbacks.

Currently the only magazine subscription I have is to Model Railroader and it is electronic through Amazon. It costs $3.58 a month and I can cancel anytime.
Tom
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery
Reply
#7
Garden Railways Magazine folded.  They are now going to be a section of Model Railroader, i think...  

I think a lot of magazines are going to either merge or go digital only.  Garden Railways is sent as a link to Zinio, an online e-reader app.  From there you can download the magazine as a pdf file or just read it online, so you do get to keep what you purchase, just not in paper format.
~~ Mikey KB3VBR (Admin)
~~ NARA Member # 75    
~~ Baldwin Eddystone Unofficial Website

~~ I wonder what that would look like in 1:20.3???
Reply
#8
This is the trend of the future. One of the N scale-specific magazines I used to subscribe to went digital - leaving half of my subscription un-refunded - but never showed up on the 'net.

I have seen several editorials describing the amount of work and the cost of putting out these magazines, and they are indeed costly. For one thing, all of the high quality color images require a more expensive paper stock just for the printing, and with the virtual extinction of brick-and-mortar suppliers, advertising revenue has dried up considerably.

Enjoy them while you can - they won't be around much longer.

Personally, I love print on paper and prefer it anything else, if only for the sheer enjoyment of browsing through it without the need for any device or power source, and the images are a constant hard-copy reference.
Reply
#9
Every print magazine is getting smaller. My wife subscribes to Reader's Digest, Time, and National Geographic as well as various nursing magazines. Since she retired Last December, she has let the nursing mags subscriptions expire. Of the other magazines that she subscribes to, the only one that has not seemed to get a lot thinner is National Geographic. It is much less expensive to publish online, but even then advertisers are finding even cheaper platforms to use for marketing. Print magazines will probably be gone completely in 10 years, and the publishers will either go digital, or go out of business. The only model railroad mag I read is MRH. I sent in emails to both the NMRA and Santa Fe Historical & Modeler's Society, asking them to go digital with their magazines. They have not done it, so I no longer subscribe. I really don't have time or storage capacity for paper.
Reply
#10
(04-16-2021, 10:20 AM)Russ Bellinis Wrote: Every print magazine is getting smaller.  My wife subscribes to Reader's Digest, Time, and National Geographic as well as various nursing magazines.  Since she retired Last December, she has let the nursing mags subscriptions expire.  Of the other magazines that she subscribes to, the only one that has not seemed to get a lot thinner is National Geographic.  It is much less expensive to publish online, but even then advertisers are finding even cheaper platforms to use for marketing.  Print magazines will probably be gone completely in 10 years, and the publishers will either go digital, or go out of business.  The only model railroad mag I read is MRH.  I sent in emails to both the NMRA and Santa Fe Historical & Modeler's Society, asking them to go digital with their magazines.  They have not done it, so I no longer subscribe.  I really don't have time or storage capacity for paper.

I see it heading that way too, but I have a special little reading room where I am able to read a few magazines that I do subscribe to including MR. Balancing a laptop there is difficult and risky, Icon_rolleyes and my eyes don't really appreciate trying to read things on my cell phone. I'm in favor of keeping the paper editions.

Raising advertising rates has a point of diminishing returns as advertisers drop away, another reason why magazines are getting thinner. As for storage, they tend to take up a lot less space now days. Waiting
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Reply
#11
Raising ad rates is a sure way to go broke however that is the mistake a lot of business' make. Like most here I don't read on-line so when the print mags go under that will be it for me. The digital mags won't last either as most of us don't read em' and sooner or later the advertisers will figure that out. I'm thinking 10 years from now forums like this will be the only way hobbyists will have to communicate. With no way left to advertise their products and a even smaller amount of brick and mortar stores (if any left at all) manufacturing could cease except for the small part time people who will get the word out thru places like this. I'm afraid this could be the end of a lot of hobbies.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
Reply
#12
A good number of years ago, I subscribed to a few computer mags. I got a notice saying that they were going all digital and said I could ask for a refund, which I promptly did. When I started in this hobby, I subscribed to MR, not only to see what others were doing, but for the ads. I'm sorry advertising folks, but those ads now days don't seem to change from month to month. If everything goes digital, when I need something, I will do as I do now, go look them up. Going to the LHS is futile, their shelves are bare, and the last one that we visited said he could order anything I needed. I told him how far I'd have to come back to get it, and he said, "oh"...... A real pity that he didn't stock anything worthwhile or I'd have become a customer.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Reply
#13
Part of the problem is that the number of advertisers is dropping. Brick and mortar stores are almost a thing of the past.

I stopped my MR subscription because it didn't relate to anything that I am doing or want to do, and N-scale is mostly ignored by a majority of the vendors who advertise. Larger scales and huge layouts with massive wiring and computers dominate, and to me the trains are what it's about - not the mechanics or the size. And how many different times do I have to see the same thing presented?
Reply
#14
(04-17-2021, 08:47 AM)ezdays Wrote: A good number of years ago, I subscribed to a few computer mags. I got a notice saying that they were going all digital and said I could ask for a refund, which I promptly did. When I started in this hobby, I subscribed to MR, not only to see what others were doing, but for the ads. I'm sorry advertising folks, but those ads now days don't seem to change from month to month. If everything goes digital, when I need something, I will do as I do now, go look them up. Going to the LHS is futile, their shelves are bare, and the last one that we visited said he could order anything I needed. I told him how far I'd have to come back to get it, and he said, "oh"...... A real pity that he didn't stock anything worthwhile or I'd have become a customer.

Same here.  All of the LHS outfits in Colorado have closed.  Even the vaunted Caboose no longer advertises and is no longer a store worth going to.
Reply
#15
(04-17-2021, 03:41 PM)Mountain Man Wrote: Same here.  All of the LHS outfits in Colorado have closed.  Even the vaunted Caboose no longer advertises and is no longer a store worth going to.

I see (in the back section of the latest MR) where there is a local train swap meet in May. "Strict social distancing rules enforced". It's been years since I went to a swap meet, maybe, just maybe it might be worthwhile. What happens if MR goes digital, well, I used to be able to go over to "trains.com" and find out what the swap meet schedules are locally. I haven't done that in a long time, so I'm not sure you still can do it for free.

As far as brick and mortar stores, there's one in Apache Junction, about 75 miles from my house, and Jim Currie says there's one in Tucson, over 150 miles away. Is it worth the risk of time and expense driving there to find out they are "plumb out of (you name it), but can order anything you want"?

I think I'll give that swap meet a try, it's a heck of a lot closer and the $5 entrance fee helps support the hobby. If nothing else, I get to chat with a few folks that have the same interest that I do in railroading.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)