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Magazine prices


The Sage

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Hi All,

Just been thinking ( I know it can be dangerous ) over the last few month's why is it that magazine prices just seem to suddenly increase by 25p to 45p in cover price.

There being no for-warning such as letting people know say 1 or 2 month's issue's prior to the increase and tell us why this is so. I know the cost of paper and printing

cost's have increased? I do buy other magazine's and 1 of these mentioned in it's editorial in September that the price of the magazine was to increase the cover price

from 3.95 to 4.20 as of the December issue. This is the first time to my knowledge a magazine had done this. If a magazine is to increase the cover price can we possibly have some better quality paper used I'm sure you know which magazines I'm refering to?

Well let's have your thought's?

Cheers

Andy

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  • 1 month later...

I thought all of the apostrophes were superfluous.

Some people have commented to me privately about use of apostrophes. The third use in particular is very difficult if you are not a native English speaker. It's hard to find a more concise and correct article than that on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe

In summary

The apostrophe serves three purposes:

* The marking of the omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of do not to don't).

* The marking of possessive case (as in the cat's whiskers).

* The marking as plural of written items that are not words established in English orthography (as in P's and Q's, the late 1950's). (This is considered incorrect by some; see Use in forming certain plurals. The use of the apostrophe to form plurals of proper words, as in apple's, banana's, etc., is universally considered incorrect.)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word comes ultimately from Greek ἡ ἀπόστροφος [προσῳδία] (hē apóstrophos [prosōidía], "[the accent of] 'turning away', or elision"), through Latin and French.[2]

The apostrophe is different from the closing single quotation mark ( ’ , usually rendered almost indistinguishably but serving a different purpose), from the similar-looking prime ( ′ ), which is used to indicate measurement in feet or arcminutes, as well as for various mathematical purposes, and from the ʻokina ( ʻ ), which represents a glottal stop in Polynesian languages.

Edited by Ed Russell
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I thought all of the apostrophes were superfluous.

I though that comment was unwarranted. Rather reply to the subject than just criticise other peoples writing styles.

As for magazines, I guess it is a case of they upp the prices every now and then to make up for rising costs. Personally I'd rather see magazines use cheaper paper and cost (a lot less) less. Newspapers manage to print decent photographs on their type of paper, so why we need glossy paper I'm not sure.

All I do is read the mag, maybe tear out an article or two that I think might be useful in future (although with the resources available on the internet that is happening a lot less these days) and then throw them away. My wife does the same with good housekeeping and whatever other magazines she reads. So really, glossy paper is a luxury we don't need ... in my opinion :)

Gary

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I'm kind of the other way to be honest - in the big scheme of things 30/40p is totally insignificant but if the quality of paper means better & clearer photos which in the context of a modelling mag is pretty important i'm all for it plus the rising costs of running a business, postage increases etc have got be catered for and so also I don't have an issue paying a few pence more for people to earn a decent living either - theyt'll do a better job and maintain the quality of what they do (hope I don't sound too much like a hippy although in my general experience they don't like paying for anything)

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I think that with all the resources available now, magazines are facing difficult times to get their product out the door. Ironically, there never has been so many of them specialising in particular areas than now. At £4.00 +, often a mag is bought for one or two articles, expensive enough I would have thought! In the not too distant, the digital version will surpass the hard copy issue IMHO. Although there is nothing quite able to beat a real model mag in the "reading room" :blush:

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I used to regularly get 4 a month, then cut down to 2 now it's just one. I got the latest issue of that mag yesterday morning and had finished it by lunchtime. However there was one good article in it I'll refer to time and time again. I'd rather have the hard copy than mess about on line. I find it hard to measure against plans on my screen.

My idea of the perfect magazine was the old Neil Robinson edited MAM a good mix of reference and modelling with no superflous, rapidly dating, 'catalog' pages.

I still think there is a place for magazines but I'm much more selective than I was five years ago.

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Personally I'd rather see magazines use cheaper paper and cost (a lot less) less. Newspapers manage to print decent photographs on their type of paper, so why we need glossy paper I'm not sure.

You are in the minority, then - most seem to moan about the lack of quality of paper in some mags....

Paper costs are up, again. There's only so much that can be absorbed without a price rise. Let's face it, everythig goes up in price, all the time. That's why Airfix kits no longer cost 1/6.

Oh, and no-one gets rich from our hobby, so don't for a moment think that publishers, editors and authors are running around in Rolls-Royces...

Edited by Paul Bradley
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You are in the minority, then - most seem to moan about the lack of quality of paper in some mags....

I've got no problem with that, I was just expressing my opinion. :)

I stopped buying mags ages ago once they crossed the £3.50 price barrier. I figured I'd rather save the money toward a novel (roughly 2 model mags = 1 novel). I feel novels are better value in terms of reading time than model mags. And now I get my 'fix' of model articles off the web. (Again, just a personal opinion :) )

Gary

Edited by Gajman
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Time was I'd buy several magazines a month. modelling, photograghy, outdoor and computer. These days, apart from one photographic mag I subscribe to, I only buy a mag if there is something I definitely want to read.

Cheers

Edited by chaddy
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Military Illustrated Modeller, £6.50. Not bad but I only bought it for the WNW Fe2b review........£6.50, phew! I used to buy SAM & SAMI regularly but now I have a good shuffti in the shop before I decide to buy either to make sure there's something of specific interest to me but I doubt I'm alone in this.

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Is £4 a significantly bigger proportion of salary than 2/6 used to be? I've been hearing this about rising prices all my modelling life, but the number of magazines keeps on increasing so someone must be buying.

I buy much fewer now than say 10 years ago, but that's because the content has changed from the factual to the pretty presentational. Glossy magazines filled with little more than catalogues and photos of finished models don't help me with my modelling. I agree that Neil Robinson's MAM was the best,and although nearly giving up on it after the change of emphasis I'm happy with their return to a more balanced magazine with historical content.

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Is £4 a significantly bigger proportion of salary than 2/6 used to be? I've been hearing this about rising prices all my modelling life, but the number of magazines keeps on increasing so someone must be buying.

It's not necessarily a question of price. Much of the content is regurgitated time and again. The photographic magazines seem the worst for this, similar content appearing month after month. Often it's difficult to tell one magazine from another. Thank heaven for Amatuer Photographer!

Cheers

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I used to regularly get 4 a month, then cut down to 2 now it's just one. I got the latest issue of that mag yesterday morning and had finished it by lunchtime. However there was one good article in it I'll refer to time and time again. I'd rather have the hard copy than mess about on line. I find it hard to measure against plans on my screen.

My idea of the perfect magazine was the old Neil Robinson edited MAM a good mix of reference and modelling with no superflous, rapidly dating, 'catalog' pages.

I still think there is a place for magazines but I'm much more selective than I was five years ago.

I agree with the comments here on NRs editorship of MAM and also the other in that stable, Scale Av Modelling. Last year I was on the cusp (most uncomfortable if you have ever been there) of giving up on the former but at the last moment they turned it around and started putting modelling stuff back into it. I guess a lot depends on your own interest areas as to whether a particular issue is worth it or not but I always find the articles on 'Classic Kits' which they have taken to running recently, very interesting to read.

Picking up on comments made by a couple of other 'posters' here, I also used to buy a large spectrum of aviation and/or modelling magazines- a quick count up tells me that it must have been around 8 or 9 at one time, but I am now down to just Scale Av Mod. and MAM, with both those under constant scrutiny. The perils of being on a pension perhaps or simply common sense ?

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Magazines are very usefull to us all and although I have cut down on the ones I buy its the contents that annoy me sometimes! This month my favourite mag had two full colour pages of brass pitot tubes!!! Why? Its either lack of content to put in or just a lazy way to fill two pages.

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Magazines are very usefull to us all and although I have cut down on the ones I buy its the contents that annoy me sometimes! This month my favourite mag had two full colour pages of brass pitot tubes!!! Why? Its either lack of content to put in or just a lazy way to fill two pages.

somebody paid to have two pages of their product in the mag. the editor will say it keeps the retail price down but i do agree it does p**s you off when a mag seems to be all adverts ,

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I also used to buy a large spectrum of aviation and/or modelling magazines- a quick count up tells me that it must have been around 8 or 9 at one time, but I am now down to just Scale Av Mod. and MAM, with both those under constant scrutiny. The perils of being on a pension perhaps or simply common sense ?

Pretty much the same here. I now don't buy any regularly, just as and when on the merits of individual issues. For me it's a combination of factors: reduced income, reduced content, especially quality content, in mags in favour of mere listings and/or big pictures and arty design (I bought one of the leading aircraft modelling mags the other day and was disappointed at how much catalogue-type info I had to wade through before finding anything to read), disappointment with the declining quality of reviews, dawning realisation at the space demands all these mags make. But I suspect that by some way the largest factor is that I now get my modelling "situational awareness" from the Internet and fora like this one: I no longer rely on magazines for my monthly fix of news and views.

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I was told yesterday by the Editor of a very well known modelling magazine that printers ink is now the most expensive liquid on the planet. The publishers try to panda to the green lobby and keep costs down by using re-cycled paper but the cost of ink is what is increasing the cover price.

Edited by PDH
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i only buy one now used to buy a lot 2 maybe 4 a month but packed in, now just buy it for work during the lunch break summat to read instead of hearing :grouphug: about the english ballet :footy: team latest cock up

ok look at like this

i buy a mag read it for 2 days then leave it lying around for a couple months in the pile then either rip out what i want or put it in club pile for sale at shows for club funds

log onto britmodeller or other modelling web site read latest reviews on kits , read latest news , gossip and scandals content allways changing daily so will vist more often but the mag is still lying in the pile cost me say a fiver for 2days at the most but the modelling sites are free

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Seems like everyone else years ago would buy 10 magazines amonth this included computer and photo mags today just 1. The last one to stop was MAM when it had its make over year ago maybe longer. Also SAM seems to be missing from local reading room for most of the last year and SAMI only 1 couple at wh smiths this month ?

But had a card for £25 subscription for next 12 months so think I'll will be taking that route in near future. As for paper I dislike cheap paper and can remember one mag leaving me covered in news print each month.

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In many a modern magazine the articles, even over up to 5-10 pages, tend to be all about "How I painted the XXX kit of the XXX" in excruciating detail and nothing else. This is no good to me and goes straight into the recycling.

I see the point in some how-to painting articles, but not to the relative exclusion of the rest. Or when the article lacks any of the essential, to me, comment on how well it goes together, any constructional pitfalls to avoid such as errors in the instructions, and at least some comment on the kit's accuracy and perhaps suggestions as to minor modifications or conversions. Or even the basic accuracy of the full size colour scheme used.

I'm not expecting full build and mod articles every time on the level of Bruce Crosby's old pieces on the Italeri LVTs in MilMod - which spring to mind as exemplars in temrs of content and sheer usefulness for their length - but at least some basic assessment would be nice. Airfix Modelworld is actually doing pretty well in this respect in its pieces on the new and reissued Airfix kits.

"Catalogue pages" had some value as I sometimes found stuff which I might otherwise have missed, but thayt is increasingly rare when scans of the likes of BM, Perth Military Modelling, Aermorama and Hannants tell me 99% of what is coming out, and it doesn't help when the catalogue pages include stuff that has been out for months.

The other problem I have is the tendency of some modelling magazines to produce purely historical articles of the kind that has very little value for modellers (i.e. does not actually help one make a model of the Scruggs Wonderplane etc.), whatever its wider interest - if I wanted those I'd buy something like Aeroplane rather than a modelling magazine.

It's not convenient for me to look at newsstand issues before I buy, so there comes a cutoff point where I just won't renew my sub even if there is some remaining value in some issues. So I now take fewer magazine subs than I did and even those are shared with a friend (I buy A and B ... and he buys X and Y ... and we read both). Not good for the industry but if they won't produce stuff that is useful for me as a modeller that's their lookout - a shame.

Edited by Lothian man
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I've got to say that the quality of magazine articles and magazines in general looks to have gone downhill, I've had the time to look through some old mags recently (SAM/SAMI/MAM etc 10-15 years old) and the content of the older mags is simply better, more informative, more authorative, and simply not as dumbed down.

I would suggest that the Publishers really need to look at the product they had, see what customers want (both advertisers and readers) and ring the changes, especially with competition from the internet.

A couple of options for you all though, write the sort of articles you would like to see and submit them, or vote with your wallets - I do both.

Cheers

Col'

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In many a modern magazine the articles, even over up to 5-10 pages, tend to be all about "How I painted the XXX kit of the XXX" in excruciating detail and nothing else. This is no good to me and goes straight into the recycling.

I see the point in some how-to painting articles, but not to the relative exclusion of the rest. Or when the article lacks any of the essential, to me, comment on how well it goes together, any constructional pitfalls to avoid such as errors in the instructions, and at least some comment on the kit's accuracy and perhaps suggestions as to minor modifications or conversions. Or even the basic accuracy of the full size colour scheme used.

I'm not expecting full build and mod articles every time on the level of Bruce Crosby's old pieces on the Italeri LVTs in MilMod - which spring to mind as exemplars in temrs of content and sheer usefulness for their length - but at least some basic assessment would be nice. Airfix Modelworld is actually doing pretty well in this respect in its pieces on the new and reissued Airfix kits.

"Catalogue pages" had some value as I sometimes found stuff which I might otherwise have missed, but thayt is increasingly rare when scans of the likes of BM, Perth Military Modelling, Aermorama and Hannants tell me 99% of what is coming out, and it doesn't help when the catalogue pages include stuff that has been out for months.

The other problem I have is the tendency of some modelling magazines to produce purely historical articles of the kind that has very little value for modellers (i.e. does not actually help one make a model of the Scruggs Wonderplane etc.), whatever its wider interest - if I wanted those I'd buy something like Aeroplane rather than a modelling magazine.

It's not convenient for me to look at newsstand issues before I buy, so there comes a cutoff point where I just won't renew my sub even if there is some remaining value in some issues. So I now take fewer magazine subs than I did and even those are shared with a friend (I buy A and B ... and he buys X and Y ... and we read both). Not good for the industry but if they won't produce stuff that is useful for me as a modeller that's their lookout - a shame.

I agree with you on the construction and painting articles in modern magazines, it used to be that you had several pages of detailed build and conversion details followed by " I painted it green". Today it's " I stuck it together " followed by pages and pages of painting and weathering details, most of which may or not be spurious.

Like most of the other posters in this thread , I find I'm buying less and less magazines these days, not because of the price ,but because the content just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

I'm more likely to pick up a copy of Aeroplane Monthly than any of the model mags these days and get my modelling fix on Britmodeller.

Andrew

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