By way of information, my January RMC showed up yesterday. I'm located in NY's Lower Hudson Valley.
NYW&B
Carstens Publishing and RMC
- Thread starter jackn2mpu
- Start date
By way of information, my January RMC showed up yesterday. I'm located in NY's Lower Hudson Valley.
NYW&B
Boris
Beach Bum
I just picked up Decembers, at B&N last Thursday. I should go and see if they have the new issues. This is the reason I let my RMC subscription lapse, MR's March cover is due out next week, while RMC's January issue is just now arriving at subscriber's mail boxes.
Not for nothing, but for a small staff, RMC contains a lot of good stuff, and continues to be a quality publication.
Joe
Not for nothing, but for a small staff, RMC contains a lot of good stuff, and continues to be a quality publication.
Joe
Burlington Bob
Well-Known Member
To me there is not much difference between getting the January issue the first week of February or the March issue on about the same date. I guess it is related to our desire to have everything ASAP.
I was almost as perturbed at getting an issue of a woodworking magazine almost a month and a half before the issue date as I was if it was late. When it came that early it felt like I was getting shortchanged on my subscription. It's all in ones perception.
I was almost as perturbed at getting an issue of a woodworking magazine almost a month and a half before the issue date as I was if it was late. When it came that early it felt like I was getting shortchanged on my subscription. It's all in ones perception.
Not really. It's about consistency of product delivery which speaks volumes about the care going into a product. Also it's about whether stuff gets lost in transport as well.
Boris
Beach Bum
Talking about consistency, I stopped by my local B&N today. The January MR and one December RMC were still on the shelf. There were two "new" Kalmbach MR Special issues, one on how to get started, and the annual Model Railroad Planning, which I bought. Since neither publication was there last week, They were just placed on the shelf. The entry level one has a display until 2-25-2013 on the upc, so I surmise it should have been displayed much earlier.
Since the three B&N that I patronize are all somewhat different in how they display magazines and periodicals, I suppose perhaps I expect to much (consistant delivery and quality content) from publishers. Then again, I still buy them even when I swear I never will again
.
Since the three B&N that I patronize are all somewhat different in how they display magazines and periodicals, I suppose perhaps I expect to much (consistant delivery and quality content) from publishers. Then again, I still buy them even when I swear I never will again
.trailrider
Well-Known Member
IMHO, putting the issue date a month ahead (e.g., the issue that comes out the first of December is shown on the cover as the "January" issue, is strictly a marketing ploy. That applies to just about every periodical that appears or is sent by subscription. True, I don't like to see the December issue coming out a month or more late, so I don't get it until February or later. Usually that occurs when a publication is running behind for whatever reason...problems with the printer, etc. When that happens on a consistant basis, the publishers need to do something to catch up. Hopefully Carstens will fix whatever problems they have, so everyone (well almost everyone) will at least be happy with the delivery date, if not the content.
Seems like every publisher has a different schedule. I subscribe to 2 motorcycle magazines. Over a week ago one of them I received was the March issue. The other title announced toward the end of last year that starting in 2013 they will be publishing 13 issues a year instead of the normal 12 but annual subscription price will stay the same. I can hardly wait to see what name will be on the cover for the 13th month!!!
Publishers may function under the premise that time is something fluid and flexible from the Twilight Zone and can be bent or adjusted as needed.
The only consistency I can count on is my subscription to the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette. It is a bi monthly and always arrives right around the last week of every other month.
Early or right on time isn't a problem for me. Late can be irritating when you read through the section on show listings or club open house and find out it was 3 weeks ago! Otherwise I can't think of anything in a magazine that is so time sensitive that it has to available on a certain day. After all they aren't a newspaper.
Publishers may function under the premise that time is something fluid and flexible from the Twilight Zone and can be bent or adjusted as needed.
The only consistency I can count on is my subscription to the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette. It is a bi monthly and always arrives right around the last week of every other month.
Early or right on time isn't a problem for me. Late can be irritating when you read through the section on show listings or club open house and find out it was 3 weeks ago! Otherwise I can't think of anything in a magazine that is so time sensitive that it has to available on a certain day. After all they aren't a newspaper.
Update:
Just got the January issue of RMC today.
Something someone mentioned about why worry when one get's an issue: how about all the show notices and time-limited sales or club events? It's the pits when I see an event I would have liked to have known about and I don't get wind of it until after the event because the issue with the notice didn't get here in time. Same as NH Mike feels on this late issue deal.
Just got the January issue of RMC today.
Something someone mentioned about why worry when one get's an issue: how about all the show notices and time-limited sales or club events? It's the pits when I see an event I would have liked to have known about and I don't get wind of it until after the event because the issue with the notice didn't get here in time. Same as NH Mike feels on this late issue deal.
Boris
Beach Bum
Putting an issue out a month ahead is a marketing ploy, it's like the NY Times using tomorrow's date for today's issue.
My big issue with periodicals is when my subscription copy still hasn't arrived, but is available in a retail outlet. Since I have already prepaid for the periodical, it causes concerns to rise, that my issue was lost.
Usually the subscription price is lower than at the retail outlet, but outlets like B&N that discount for members, and allow customers to preview the magazine, mitigate the cost differential.
Joe
Yes, I do want to make mention of the USPS factor, one which may weigh in more heavily than many of us anticipate.
I know in the case of MR (and surely the same prevails for RMC) I have experienced incidents of my copy showing up a week, or more, later than a friend's in the next town over. The area USPS sorting center often seems to get around to forwarding magazines only after everything else has been addressed and odd bundles of magazines to a particular location can sit in the facility for extended periods following their arrival. That's not just a story, my wife worked for the post office for years.
So, all the fault may not be on the part of RMC all the time.
NYW&B
otiscnj
Well-Known Member
FWIW, I don't envy 'young Mr. Carstens,' that took over for his Dad, Hal, after Hal passed on. Based on my experience, many 'arrangements/contracts,' and 'interests in continuing to support a marginal business(such as printing RMC, or any hobby magazine), for that matter, aren't continued, for a number of reasons, after a figure like Hal, is no longer on the scene. Add to that Carstens probably hasn't got the deep financial pockets, such as Time Warner, or CBS, with printing house/vendors, and I can see that its an upward battle to sustain ongoing operations each month, not to even attempt to address, growing the business. I think RMC remains a high quality publication, even if I don't subscribe to it these days, I often purchase a copy wherever I am, that its available. I don't know how involved Phyllis is involved in things, but having her around, ought to make it easier for 'young Mr. Carstens to 'break the ice/approach' needed vendors/partners, to keep getting RMC out on time every month.
When it gets to the point, that, it doesn't happen much, and multiple issues are combined, then suscriptions extended, I think the writing's on the wall, given how other good publication efforts have unraveled. I sincerely hope that won't happen to RMC.
I remember years ago, maybe in the 70's when Railfan first came out, before combining with Railroad magazine, there were 'issues.' At that point, there was such a run by some to cancel their subscriptions, that I recall Carstens used to offer refunds in US Postage stamps. $30 in postage stamps, when mailing a letter cost under 20 cents for a letter, generated a lot of 'what kind of rinky dink operation has Carsten's become, questions back then.
Are things any different now? When's the last time anyone mailed a letter or post card, to another individual???? My friends in the Post Office have been lamenting its demise virtually since they started their careers as letter carriers/clerks, and 'mail men,' since the 1980's. Sometimes train wrecks happen in what appears slow motion.
Rome wasn't built in a day; neither did it crumble in a day. If you were a Citizen of Rome, or just a peasent, you might recognize, in say 250AD, that things aren't as good as in the past, but as long as you could play 'kick the can,' you'd pass on, well before Rome actually fell, in your great great or even 6-10x great grandchild's time, just like your parents before you, and their parents, and their parents parents, etc...
When it gets to the point, that, it doesn't happen much, and multiple issues are combined, then suscriptions extended, I think the writing's on the wall, given how other good publication efforts have unraveled. I sincerely hope that won't happen to RMC.
I remember years ago, maybe in the 70's when Railfan first came out, before combining with Railroad magazine, there were 'issues.' At that point, there was such a run by some to cancel their subscriptions, that I recall Carstens used to offer refunds in US Postage stamps. $30 in postage stamps, when mailing a letter cost under 20 cents for a letter, generated a lot of 'what kind of rinky dink operation has Carsten's become, questions back then.
Are things any different now? When's the last time anyone mailed a letter or post card, to another individual???? My friends in the Post Office have been lamenting its demise virtually since they started their careers as letter carriers/clerks, and 'mail men,' since the 1980's. Sometimes train wrecks happen in what appears slow motion.
Rome wasn't built in a day; neither did it crumble in a day. If you were a Citizen of Rome, or just a peasent, you might recognize, in say 250AD, that things aren't as good as in the past, but as long as you could play 'kick the can,' you'd pass on, well before Rome actually fell, in your great great or even 6-10x great grandchild's time, just like your parents before you, and their parents, and their parents parents, etc...
Rumors are floating around the 'net that the end is near for Carstens. That follows some recent cryptic comments on FB from somebody who's in a position to know. While they were very vague, they implied impending problems for something, and this would sure fit.
If the rumors are true, it will be sad to see them go, as RMC was arguably one the longest running model railroad magazines out there.
As with many things, establishing who's the oldest is not quite as clear cut as you'd hope, here's an entry from Wikipedia:
If the rumors are true, it will be sad to see them go, as RMC was arguably one the longest running model railroad magazines out there.
As with many things, establishing who's the oldest is not quite as clear cut as you'd hope, here's an entry from Wikipedia:
I have enjoyed RMC on and off since the mid 70s, I hope it survives. Despite the rough editing and poor grammar, it's a far better magazine for actual modeling, as opposed to building layouts and layout tours. The latest issue I have found on the newsstand was the June issue, that I found at the end of July.
Sent from my Vic20 using Java Moose
Sent from my Vic20 using Java Moose
DairyStateDad
Mumbling in the corner
I am guessing that MRH really cut into RMC's market, and being free is hard to compete with. I find a fair amount of similarity between the two of them editorially, with the emphasis (As FCL2117 notes of RMC) on specific model-building projects and also all sorts of prototype arcana. I think MRH even touted a while back when they had overtaken RMC in some metric or another (perhaps there's a reference to that earlier in this thread)....
ChevelleSSguy
Member
If it really ends up being true. The fact that they never seem to have a set delivery time on schedule for when an issue ends up in your mailbox certainly doesn't help. You cant keep sending out a issue that's already a month old on the cover. In any case though, its a magazine that I always enjoyed reading.
DairyStateDad
Mumbling in the corner
Sounds like you have specific intelligence on this matter? The website is still soliciting subscribers...
goscrewyourselves
I'm the one
I know I am late and way behind the times on this; however, the way to run a business and direct people/customers to your site is to have a "forum"??? How does having a forum direct people to your site? General rule of thumb is that it is the site that directs the customer to a forum, not the other way around.
Companies that use or rely on Forums generally do to duck shove their responsibilities with "tech support", I mean real tech support where an actual technician who actually knows the product can help people with problems, rather than rely on "other customers" to take stabs in the dark in an attempt to help others.
You are right though, it is 2013 (well, was at the time the post was made) BUT, it is a pity we aren't back in 1993, or even 1973, when business' actually had a sense of pride and knew what customer relations were.
Best way to run a business is to run it and NOT rely on computers, forums and/or third party's to do it for your.
