Hi Everybody;

Now I don't know about how the rest of you Good People value Magazines, But the PRICE for Quality mags, has Gone thru the Roof. And I can only Speak for myself, I can remember when the price of Good Reading Material was only 4.95 ! Now the Price has jumped at over Ten Dollars, now I Value and Enjoy reading Good Articles and revues almost as much as I do Building A Good Model. Now I Said Almost;
And I really enjoy my reference library, and when you pick up some magazines all there is too read is Advertisements and very few Articles !! Now there are A couple of New Magazines, and I have to Admit that they are Good Quality and all in Color, But they are Twenty Dollars and then there are A couple others that are Double that Price.
Its Getting too be where the Magazines are almost the same price of the Models,-------I Guess I Had Just Shut the Hell Up And Say Just Take All My Money.

CHEERS & HAPPY MODELING; MIKE.

Mike

I have to agree with you, as I do find the quality magazines come from the other side of the ocean. But, I read my magazines on my tablet, and get them through PocketMag, you save about 40%-60% depending on the magazine.

Kevin

I agree with Kevin - gone digital but also for me just hangin here at Kitmaker and the other ( ) sites amounts to some good reading also... and much cheaper

My iPad did replace a lot of the reading material that used to hang out in the bathroom if you know what I mean.


Cheers

I can remember when "good reading material" was only 50 cents.

I want a subscription to a certain magazine. But, a year's subscription is over $100. I'll be looking into the digital version, soon. My biggest problem is finding a place for my tablet near my workbench.

Ditto! The price is freakin outrageous!

Where do these folks come up with their pricing? Doesn't simple economics tell us that when the price of a good or service goes down people buy more of it? I would subscribe to multiple magazines but not when the cost is well over a kit! I like to actually engage in my hobby rather than read about it if the costs are that close.

My uncle is in commercial printing and I've asked him about stuff like this before. His response is that as of the last few years the costs have gone way up due to environmental regulations on inks and paper at least in the U.S..

Don't forget that work, printing and postage have gone up considerably as well and often ads didn't keep up with it and they're going for a bargain.

I value print magazines over anything digital and I wouldn't want to miss it. but many have gone out of print due to the above and the competition internet has brought in.

I ditto philmmusic.
I am at the IPMS convention at the moment and have talked with Pat of MMIR over the last couple days and that is a problem, shipping and postage has gone up considerably but on the plus side, his magazine (MMIR) as well as magazines such as Migs Weathering Magazine are high quality almost book type with all gloss pages. They stay around like books therefore to me the investment is worth it.
my 4 cents (it was 2 but inflation..)
- John

I say stop buying them. How many times do you need to purchase magazines that show you how to do winter whitewash? If you have a good source of reference material - builds, how-to, painting - then you do not need to continually purchase them anymore. Piss on them if they keep producing the same old information over and over and over again. You pocket your cash, the mags stay on the shelf, and maybe the producers of them will take the hint and prices will come down. STOP BUYING THEM!!!!

This publication is worth every penny.
Scale Model Addict - Published in New Brunswick, Canada
This is a very, very good magazine. Wow...
They are on issue #5
Here's a sample http://magazine.scalemodeladdict.com/sample04/#/4/
Get it!
This magazine is like a wealth of info that never goes out of date...you keep it on hand for reference. $12 CAD
I seen other mag's for $20 , like that fine scale modeller special mag, I bought it but find that the Scale Model Addict is a lot better!!
Here's their site http://www.scalemodeladdict.com/

Military Modelling is about $10 per issue. It is about $8 per issue, with a subscription. I highly recommend it for armor fanatics.

Thomas
You have to remember not everyone is into digital. And there are new modelers entering the scene everyday that may not have seen an issue last year. As you can see on this site there are new and different techniques all the time. I am computerized but prefer to have the magazine in hand. You would be amazed at how many people (newer modelers I presume) have a magazine opened at a vendors table (at IPMS convention) trying to match up exact paints used in an article.
It all boils down to personal preference and choice, but you can't yell at them for producing a product that has a market -if you want it buy it -if not don't
In the higher end magazines I look at what you get for $10 -$15 and I think its a deal

FSM is under $40.00 for 1 year ($5.99 cover price) and is ALL the magazine I'll ever need. Plus being a member of over a dozen modeling forums and sites its the coverage I get that works.

$100 for a magazine subscription? What... does that come with free supplies too?







Jeff

Theybare really forcing you to go digital these days,same thing with books,much cheaper digitally,but I'd rather have print

With most things I would agree but with print media I suspect the magazine would disappear entirely.

The competition with digital isn't really for readers but for advertisers. That's why magazines are so thin these days. A company isn't going to spend big money for a multi-page display ad showing their products when they can place a smaller piece giving the URL of their website instead.

KL

Are we talking about a Яusso-Soviэt magazine or...?

If anyone thinks that these magazines are getting rich they are sadly mistaken. As the editor of SMA I know first hand just what goes into the process and just what comes out the other end and I can assure you that the reason some of us continue doing this is NOT for the money.

I can't help but wonder Hellbent, if your uncle explained to you the exorbitant costs of printing due to current costs and regulations, why do you wonder "Where do these folks come up with their pricing?" Doesn't simple economics tell us that when the price of creating something goes up, so will the cost of purchasing that something?

How many of us have no problems dishing out $350.00 for the latest phone, $65.00 for the latest Playstation game, $3.00 for a Starbucks coffee or $2.00 for a bottle of water? Are those easily justifiable because they have a greater importance? $100.00 for a years worth of reading material you can always go back and re-read or a $100.00 for a few hour round of golf at the nice course down the street?

SMA has maybe five pages of advertisement in a 64 page magazine, (plus front and back covers or 68 pages) it has seven full build/paint articles and four separate columns (which are really just smaller, more concise articles)so no one can say that SMA has more adverts than modeling, we work extremely hard to have the exact opposite.

If some of you knew exactly what the cost of printing just one issue was you might be shocked, (feel free to send an email to say Interprint in Florida, posing as a publisher and ask them the cost to print 1000 copies of a 64 page magazine with 100# glossy cover and 80# pages full bleed so you don't have to trust me)

Then factor in what the contributors will be paid for their work in that issue (we pay modelers $50 a page for feature articles) plus when you only sell four or five pages of ad space, it really doesn't amount to much. Then factor in the discount you must sell your magazine to a major distributor just in order to be even in the game with everyone else (55% off cover price is a good place to start) Then, you'll need to figure the cost of getting your magazine on pocketmags, iTunes and the app store (you need to purchase the app and pay for the service) only to then find your digital version stolen and placed all over the Internet on various torrent sites for free.

So if Interprint charged you $3500 to print 1000 issues and it cost you almost $3000 for contributor payments alone and then you had to sell your $12.00 cover price magazine to a distributor at a 55% discount it should be pretty darn clear that even before factoring in the app store costs, the shipping/fright charges of a half ton pallet, the cost of the envelopes and holy cow we haven't even mentioned the cost of the art department who handles the layout or the editor who gathers the material and cleans up text contributed by a modeler whose native language isn't English...

we're almost working for free.



Yeah. That's honestly how it really works for some of us.

Stop buying the magazines because you're just funding their yachts and fancy mansions...

I just buy older magazines Military Modeller can go pretty cheap on Ebay and I have to admit I've learned more from them then Fine Scale Modeller and Scale Auto combined.

I think the point is that quality comes at a cost. I am sure that Ken ( I will pick on you ) could recoup better margins by printing on low quality stock, reducing the payments to contributors, and making the magazine as bare bones as possible. And I am quite sure it will get ignored soon after. We are exposed to high quality all the time now...I think i may be time to push for a pay raise. The boss will understand, right?

Or maybe we have to make choices and cannot own everything.

Ken, all I can say is touche on all your points!

We do have a habit in the U.S. In particular of thinking that if a guy is selling us something he's out to screw us. It's interesting as I have always had the same thoughts as you about the products that I produce but never really looked through that same prism toward other industries and businesses.

Quality is also a big factor in that... You really do get what you pay for. People expect a good product but don't want to pay the true value.

Don't get down and keep fighting the good fight. I'm sorry about shooting off at the mouth like that. Please forgive me, Hellbent

No offence, but you Guys have been spoiled until now, because for the last 10-12 years at least, the Price for these kind of magazines has been somewhere between 15-20$ (a piece!!)And the Price is still climbing. We also pay around 2,25$ for a LITER of gas, but that's another story.
So stop whining
Jacob

No need to apologize, just thought it might help to know some of the process.

I suppose I am lucky, I live on the other side of the pond. prices are still good value. £4.50.to £5 for most good mags, £6 plus for some of the Bi monthly. I think that Digital copies sort of miss the point a little, there is something about a magazine, the paper , vibrant pictures, turning the page, smell{dont mean when we are sat on the loo} come on guys one of the best seats in the house for a good flick through a good mag.Digital copies feel a little like just being on the net
I just love a magazine .Living in the UK we are spoilt, so many great monthly mags. Keep up the great work all you publishing house's sorry guy.s just my two cents. Cheers Geraint

The only subscriptions I have to any armor related 'magazines' is more or less "Organizational". I maintain my membership in IPMS and AMPS...each publishing their own 'rag'. As far as the rest of the pack, I cherry pick the magazines I wish to throw on the book shelf which pretty much is only for potential builds in the future. Just like record albums and CD's, alot of us just pick what we like and pass over the rest when it comes to songs or articles about modeling (specifically armor for this discussion). And like some of you...cost took me out of the subscription cycle almost a decade ago. If there is money to spend, I'd rather do so on another kit or a aftermatket piece that is needed. Another reason...as I closely mentioned before...very little percentage of the articles held my interest. Seasonal issues, along with 'just-can't-do-without' issues like the "Weathering Magazine" will capture a buck or two, or ten, from me. The bang for the buck as far as the rest of the titles out there just isn't there anymore.

And speaking of cherry picking...I need build photos of the IJA 12cm SPG based on the Type 97 chassis...and supposedly there is an article in the Japanese rag, Armor Modeling, September 2004 issue, Vol. 59. Getting the photos of the build is all I need.