233 replies to this topic

[sjordan2]

But there has to be some kind of common element as to why many members regularly get damaged issues, while others like me never get damaged issues.

[Harry P.]

But there has to be some kind of common element as to why many members regularly get damaged issues, while others like me never get damaged issues.

 

Yes, there has to be an explanation. But so far I haven't heard it. The closest thing to an explanation is Gregg's story about minimum numbers of magazines being packed in bundles to each zip code, but even that doesn't explain why some people always get a damaged magazine and some don't. Must have something to do with how each regional PO handles them... I guess there are differences.

[sjordan2]

Has MCM or the printer ever consulted with a reputable 3rd-party mailing house (other than the one being used) to get ideas about the problem? We're told that everything comes off the press just fine, but has anyone ever inspected certain batches after the mailing labels were affixed and before mailing? As most everyone knows, publications pass through a multitude of hands and processes before they're received in the mail.

[Harry P.]

Has MCM or the printer ever consulted with a reputable 3rd-party mailing house (other than the one being used) to get ideas about the problem? 

 

I have no idea.

[southpier]

i got mine today. at first glance it looks like a bunch of great stuff.

 

every issue is technically fine, but this issue's subject matter holds much interest to me.

 

heck, i remember Car Modeler in the early sixties on pulp paper with tiny, barely legible, black & white photos. there was a great debate whether or not there would ever be color photos inside of a model magazine. i think it was R&C Models that had a centerspread in color. the rest is history.

 

last issue was good, too.

 

let's be appreciative of what we have.

Edited by southpier, 15 January 2013 - 01:53 PM.

[Ramfins59]

I enjoy ALL the issues of MCM, even if sometimes the subject matter doesn't appeal to me........  Yep...... I enjoy ALL the issues...... when they eventually show up in my mail box......  January 15th and STILL WAITING for December's issue.   

[Danno]

Perhaps instead of griping on the forum about mangled issues, the receivers of mangled issues should complain to their Postmasters.  Each time.  If the Postmasters are getting complaints, they'll get to the bottom of it.  They're in a customer-service-based business, also.

 

Or, if you're really grumpy, gripe on the forum, too.  But at least complain EACH time to the Postmaster. 

 

It generally works.  I had a problem at one time with my MCM subscription, also.  It arrived dog-eared and cover torn more than it arrived in good condition.  I complained to the Postmaster.  After third round of complaints, it was found to be an issue with the letter carrier.  The Postmaster took action, and I've never had a damaged issue since. 

 

 

 

It may not be the solution to everyone's problems, but it won't hurt to get Postmasters involved wherever the problem is occurring.  If the Postmasters' investigations determine the problem is happening before the magazines enter the postal system, at least everyone will KNOW.

 

 

 

[Tom Geiger]

.  My borther who lives only 7 miles away would get his almost 2 weeks before mine and in much better shape. 

 

Timing of delivery is on the final post office.  For magazine class mail they have a certain time frame in which to deliver them. If you go in the back of the post office you will see carts full of magazines and flyers.  The carriers sort those into their day's delivery as time allows. If they have a lot of mail that day, they may not get to it so all the 3rd class stuff sits another day.  So it means that either your brother's carrier has less mail to sort, or actually gives a darn about getting all his mail out.  There is usually less mail on Saturday so that's why you see a lot more magazines and flyers in the Saturday mail.

[mikemodeler]

This is why i no longer subscribe you pay a good price for a subscription you would expect it to be here on time and not 2 months late

 

My sentiments exactly. After 10 plus years I grew tired of the various reasons for the delays and the occasional damaged copy.

 

I wish I could say I miss not getting the magazine but in my busy world, I don't. Maybe if the magazine was available in a digital format I might be interested.

 

I am surprised that at 11 pages we have not heard from Gregg, is everything okay with him these days?

[Ramfins59]

Well I finally got my issue in the mail and it was in perfect condition.  I wasn't totally thrilled with the content, but that's just me.  Some issues have a lot of stuff I like and some don't.  I have no problem with that.  I'm just glad that I finally got it.

[Harry P.]

Got mine yesterday. Minimal damage (bent, dog-eared, but not ripped).

[jbwelda]

so have you guys ever laid a copy of MCM on the table next to a copy of just about any other magazine, but we could use SA as an example?

 

because its pretty apparent to me there are differences in the magazines themselves that may well make MCM more prone to catching up in equipment along the way.

 

for one thing, MCM is printed on much heavier stock (paper) than SA in particular and most magazines in general. that makes the pages bulge out where on other pubs they lay flat and the thinness of the paper actually acts to hold them together vs the thicker stock inviting air in between the sheets which make the pages tend to fluff out even more. Note that this stock thickness is not a bad thing; in fact it is high quality and lends a sense of "weight" to the magazine that is often lacking in lighter weight, slicker publications like SA

 

then there is the matter of the saddle stitch (commonly known as the staples and the manner in which the pages are collated as they are printed and later folded and cut). SA is also saddle stitched so no difference there although again it seems with the thicker stock used in MCM, the center staples make the magazine spread apart instead of lying flat.

 

the thing to take home from those two facts is that MCM is putting out a quality publication but that quality is suffering because of a lack in the delivery department, be in the press shop or the mailing shop or the USPS or wherever. that problem is a byproduct of the fact that MCM is a quality magazine printed on good thick stock. the thing to do is to protect your quality product, all the way through the production/delivery chain.

 

i think the best way to do that is with a plastic or paper sleeve (plastic is getting pretty environmentally touchy lately though it would be cheaper and more efficient than paper). while some magazines never get caught up in machinery even though they are not protected by a sleeve or bag, i would bet that it is VERY RARE that a magazine inside a plastic bag is damaged in any way.

 

What i have been saying without really coming out and saying it is that the money is being spent to put out a quality magazine...you have to protect that quality all the way down the chain to the consumer. OR at least offer the consumer a way to protect himself (other than the pretty troublesome route of calling the publisher)...this could be an optional charge of like 5$ a year to have the magazine bagged.

 

i think this seriously needs to come up at the next stockholders meeting or at least in the corporate boardroom.

[Tom Geiger]

 

What i have been saying without really coming out and saying it is that the money is being spent to put out a quality magazine...you have to protect that quality all the way down the chain to the consumer. OR at least offer the consumer a way to protect himself (other than the pretty troublesome route of calling the publisher)...this could be an optional charge of like 5$ a year to have the magazine bagged.

 

 

 

 

Very good analysis!  I randomly get all my magazines damaged or not.  I was going to post that Greg must rough up the magazines for those he knows personally, but I know that's not the deal.  I don't think it's a matter of option, but of doing all the magazines the same way. Simply put, it would add costs to bag 'em.  I get Vintage Truck Magazine and that comes poly bagged. It never gets damaged. But what's the cost differential?  Is it enough that it would chase off subscribers?  

[Harry P.]

so have you guys ever laid a copy of MCM on the table next to a copy of just about any other magazine, but we could use SA as an example?

 

because its pretty apparent to me there are differences in the magazines themselves that may well make MCM more prone to catching up in equipment along the way.

 

for one thing, MCM is printed on much heavier stock (paper) than SA in particular and most magazines in general. that makes the pages bulge out where on other pubs they lay flat and the thinness of the paper actually acts to hold them together vs the thicker stock inviting air in between the sheets which make the pages tend to fluff out even more. Note that this stock thickness is not a bad thing; in fact it is high quality and lends a sense of "weight" to the magazine that is often lacking in lighter weight, slicker publications like SA

 

then there is the matter of the saddle stitch (commonly known as the staples and the manner in which the pages are collated as they are printed and later folded and cut). SA is also saddle stitched so no difference there although again it seems with the thicker stock used in MCM, the center staples make the magazine spread apart instead of lying flat.

 

the thing to take home from those two facts is that MCM is putting out a quality publication but that quality is suffering because of a lack in the delivery department, be in the press shop or the mailing shop or the USPS or wherever. that problem is a byproduct of the fact that MCM is a quality magazine printed on good thick stock. the thing to do is to protect your quality product, all the way through the production/delivery chain.

 

i think the best way to do that is with a plastic or paper sleeve (plastic is getting pretty environmentally touchy lately though it would be cheaper and more efficient than paper). while some magazines never get caught up in machinery even though they are not protected by a sleeve or bag, i would bet that it is VERY RARE that a magazine inside a plastic bag is damaged in any way.

 

What i have been saying without really coming out and saying it is that the money is being spent to put out a quality magazine...you have to protect that quality all the way down the chain to the consumer. OR at least offer the consumer a way to protect himself (other than the pretty troublesome route of calling the publisher)...this could be an optional charge of like 5$ a year to have the magazine bagged.

 

i think this seriously needs to come up at the next stockholders meeting or at least in the corporate boardroom.

 

I agree with you. The damage thing is a big problem. I don't know if the weight of the paper is the problem, but who knows... it might have something to do with it.

 

BTW... GBP is a privately held company, there are no stockholders.

[michaelbaskett]

I live here in Southern Ontario, Canada....

I was missing issue number 171...

I called the nice lady at Golden Bell...

Both 171 and 172 arrived in the mail today....

They both look to be Great Issues...

I'll be busy reading for a while....

Many Thanks....

Bill....

[sjordan2]

Got mine a couple of days ago in perfect condition here in East Tennessee. Until I had to walk through the snowfall to my front door. 

[midnightprowler]

I know for a fact the condition problems are NOT from my post office.  The same thing has happend with MCM when we were living at our previous address, which is almost 20 miles from here, completely diffrent post office.  I know it's not GBP's issue, but it has to be on the Colorado end of things.

Edited by midnightprowler, 18 January 2013 - 12:12 PM.

[crazyjim]

No new issue here in Citrus Springs, Fl yet.

[southpier]

who's willing to give me $5.00 in case my subscription price goes up?

[Craig Irwin]

Got mine yesterday, in perfict shape, at my local hobby store.