Non Subscribers?

[douellet]

I see there are changes coming to trains.com in July. It seems that one should become a subscriber in the future if one is to really enjoy the website. I for one perfer to buy my CTT and Trains at my local hobby shop. I have every CTT since the first issue, I have missed a few, less than you could fit on one hand. I will continue to buy my issues from the same store as I have since the early 1990's. It's just a personal preference. Anyone else feel the same way?[?]

[Anonymous]

I just reviewed the posting on the changes. There isn't anything that you will "lose" if you don't subscribe to one of the publications. This is just a case of "value added" content for people who do subscribe. I've wondered why the paper publishers haven't done this before. There is usually material that doesn't make it into the publications because of cost/space issues, photo's, illustrations, etc. This is a way to offer that material at significantly lower costs to the supplier/producer and still use the material as an incentive to subscribe.

[Anonymous]

I think it's wise to offer value-added features for subscribers.

That said, I don't currently subscribe to any train magazines aside from "Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette" and "Z Track," preferring instead to buy my magazines at the local B&N or Books-a-Million. That gives me a good excuse from visiting those full-line bookstores from time to time since I like seeing what ese is out there and just browsing through the latest book offerings.

I'll have to think about subscribing to either GR or CTT--probably one or the other, but not both. I also regularly read "Trains," "Classic Trains," and MR, but can't subscribe to everything so I'll continue to get those publications, and a handful of others I read regularly, at the bookstore.

Each consumer will have to make up his/her own mind about subscribing (if they are not already doing so) and the real value to the individual of any value-added features. I don't generally pay all that much attention to product reviews, for example, preferring instead to read such reviews when they are provided by actual users who bought the stuff and report their observations on this and other forums.

Still, I think it's a good idea for Kalmbach to follow this path--certainly makes a whole lot more sense than those unsolicited DVDs which, from all appearances, ticked off as many or more people than they attracted.

[willpick]

I tend to agree with Allan- I don't subscribe to any of the Kalmbach magazines any more- I do buy them at my LHS if there is something of interest in an issue.
I don't think i'm going to subscribe just to get additional on-line content(I spend WAY too much time online as it is). Here's hoping the switchover goes smoothly[:)].

[lionelsoni]

I just read the announcement and don't think that it will matter to me, since I have never read the 300 product reviews nor seen the 75 videos (not that I would know how to do that, anyway). So I will keep buying the magazine at King's Hobby. (Village Hobby RIP)

[3railguy]

These changes could be a big investment for Kalmbach and they probably feel better about it with the gauranteed income subscriptions bring.

[Anonymous]

I don't subscribe to any of the train magazines but I do buy every issue. I am tired of every magazine being beat up by the post office so I prefer to buy from the hobby shops or bookstores.

[Anonymous]

I subscribed for one year to CTT, but the post office keeps trashing my copy. I even left a letter in the mailbox to stop folding my magazine and ripping it up. So I will continue to buy at the trainstore or bookstore.

[jefelectric]

Am I the only one who subscribes? I get CTT, Trains & MR by subscription and generally buy Classic Trains at Barnes & Noble. I like the convenience of getting them by mail and have not had a problem with damage. Now that I have said that, look out!

[ben10ben]

" I assume they are reasonably prompt about getting the magazines into the customer's hands?"

A couple of years ago, my dad ordered me a CTT subscription through them as a Christmas present. It was April before I received my first issue. After that, they showed up around the same time as everyone else's. They always came through Kalmbach, and not the other company.

My subscription lapsed in April of this year, and I have yet to get around to renewing. I certainly will do so through Kalmbach when I do, if for no other reason than not short-changing the people who so graciously provide this forum. I'd also hate to have to wait another four months for my subscription to pick back up.

[prewardude]

I have subscribed to CTT since 1997 and it remains my all-time favorite magazine (despite the current de-emphasis on prewar coverage). I think I'm addicted to this mag. Will be looking forward to the new Website. [:)]

Regards,
Clint

[ChiefEagles]

I subscribe. Think I'm two or three years ahead on my subscription. Then I don't worry about when it comes out and going to the train store to buy it. Makes great reading on the long flights on airplanes [which I have been doing a lot of].

[timbowilts2]

I feel, living 6000 miles from Milwaukee, that this is a retrograde step. It will not coerce me into subscribing to Trains as past experience of Kalmbach subscriptions to this side of the Pond has been horrendous.
I currently receive Trains and Model Railroader thru my village store/newsstand as I want to keep him in business therefore I regularily contribute to Kaalmbach's profits. Why can I not view Newswire?

This is discriminatory.

Regards to all fellow Trains enthusiasts who believe in supporting local businesses wherever they may be in the world

[Jumijo]

I just renewed my CTT subscription for another year. Getting a subscription seems like a no-brainer to me. Kalmbach discounts the cost substantially, the customer service is top notch, and the magazine comes to me a week or more before it's available at the newstand. Now it's my golden key to an elite web-based toy train club. How can you hate it?!

Jim

[Anonymous]

I subscribed last night after thinking about the convenience. I like to keep all the issues, so if the Post Office trashes one I will be making a phone call. Mabey I will call them sometime this week and tell them to stop folding magazines, stuffing them with bills and putting a rubber band around it!

[traindaddy1]

I recall that some person once said that if you have to ask, then maybe you are in the wrong hobby. That being said, some 'older' guys just cannot afford to buy ANY hobby publications and rely on the public library, throw-aways and the generosity of others who allow the use of their computers to participate in forums like these. Here's to the continued success of the Kalmbach enterprise.

[fifedog]

Print media is being killed off quickly by the internet. Enjoy these free exchanges while you can, guys and dolls. Kalmbach has to pay folks to provide this service for us, and I foresee the day when there will be a monthly fee to view this material...

[palallin]

I have subscribed to CTT since its third issue. (I bought the first one at a LHS, and I did go back early and get #2.) I will continue to do so, not because of any online content but because my subscription is the best way to ensure that I get all the issues. I let my MR subscription lapse long ago and buy them only when one really interests me (maybe one/year). The online content offered for MR is hardly an inducement to subscribe, though the annoncement seems to indicate the MR's will be the most elaborate of all the mags' online-only features. There's just not enough O in MR to make it worthwhile. I do get Classic Trains from time to time, and I also visit their forum, but they have no online extras.

[Poppa_Zit]

QUOTE: Originally posted by fifedog

Print media is being killed off quickly by the internet. Enjoy these free exchanges while you can, guys and dolls. Kalmbach has to pay folks to provide this service for us, and I foresee the day when there will be a monthly fee to view this material...

While the Internet has made its mark, it will never totally replace print media. Still, only 40 percent of the populace uses the Internet on a regular basis. Another 20 percent have access, but only do so -- hesitantly -- when no other alternative exists.

Print media has had to find ways to re-invent itself, though, and those publishers that do not will probably fail. One way to survive is to charge a fair price for web-based editorial.

The Internet boom of the mid-1990s quickly fizzled as people came to realize it was not the "gold mine" it was purported to be. Companies quickly set up sites expecting to make windfall profits from selling advertising and product, which proved to be mostly a bust. Yes, some (eBay, Google, yadda yadda) have been very successful, but they are the very few exceptions (survivors) of the millions who tried.

I am a perfect example of why the Internet won't replace print -- I subscribe to CT, CTT, MR and TRAINS and have made purchases from many businesses who advertise therein. In all these years of spending an average of 4-6 or more hours a day on the net, though, I have NEVER even clicked on an ad on the web, let alone made a purchase from one.

Maybe I'm alone on this aspect, but one of the reasons print media will always exist is it's difficult to balance a laptop on your knees in the bathroom. [:D]

[Anonymous]

You're definitely not alone, Poppa! The majority of hobbyists I know in the "real world" spend little or no hobby-related time on the Internet. They may be fully computer literate (isn't just about everyone these days?), may use a computer at work for eight hours a bay, and they may even conduct some personal business via a computer at home, but the majority of them have little or no interest in discussing their hobby on-line, buying their trains on-line, and other such hobby-related cyber-activities.

Despite the wealth of electronic media out there in all its various forms, I'm not terribly worried about books and magazines disappearing from the scene anytime soon--certainly not in my lifetime. The Internet already suffers from information overload, and it's bound to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better. Specialized publications--books and magazines, in particular--have a lot of advantages in that they are often focused on specific topics so information/entertainment sought can be had in a convenient, accessible package. There's a lot to be said for that, even today.

But it is wise for print material publishers to exploit the advantages of the newer media wherever possible, and in whatever way works best for them.

[Poppa_Zit]

Allan -- a perfect example: our train club.

Of a total of 57 members, 39 newsletters have to go out by mail each month because members have no email address -- not even on free sites like hotmail.com or yahoo.com. I think from that statistic we can safely assume they also lack Internet access.

Plus, because of the relative low cost of the Internet, anyone can set up a site and the information one can glean is hardly trustworthy in too many cases. Take the "cyber-encyclopedia" at Wikipedia.com -- anyone... ANYONE... can add information to any of the subjects. Want to write that CSX has a secret mainline that runs underground from St. Louis to San Francisco? No problem at Wikipedia.

[palallin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Poppa_Zit

Want to write that CSX has a secret mainline that runs underground from St. Louis to San Francisco? No problem at Wikipedia.

So, somebody has unearthed the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Underground Railway at last, have they? I just knew that the BNSF wasn't good enough to completely swallow up my favorite road!

Coonskins forever!

[Anonymous]

Robert,

CTT offers a lower price to first-time subscribers to attract their business, which is no different from other magazines. Depending on the offer, we often lose money but with a goal of gaining a profitable customer once he or she renews in subsequent years.

The magazine sellers on eBay and other places take these introductory-offer cards and sell them to the public for a tiny add-on fee, whether the buyer is a new subscriber or not.

Since we honor all of our subscription-offer cards, it sometimes turns out that a CTT subscriber or a recently expired subscriber can get a new subscription at cheap price through one of these magazine dealers.

While that's a bargain for the individual subscriber, if all of CTT's subscribers did the same thing, we'd lose so much revenue that we'd go out of business.

Sincerely,
Neil Besougloff
editor

[dwiemer]

[2c] Just my 2c, but I think that CTT is a quality product. I purchase from Kalmbach and happily do so. What would save me maybe $5-10, is not a thought if it could mean that the magazine would cease to exist. We need to support this magazine as they have a good product and offer good service. I also think we need to support our local hobby shops if they are reasonable and also offer good service. If you don't support them, they will be gone.
Dennis

[Anonymous]

I just subscribed for the second time and although I know there are cheaper rates out there I went directly through Kalmbach. I agree it's a very good magazine and I enjoy the media put out by this company and am happy to support them.

[Anonymous]

So does the magazine lose money on retail or newstand sales? Why are you punishing people who do?

I get every magazine issue at my local hobby shop or even sometimes newstands. I do this at the hobby shop because I feel like if I walk in there I should at least buy something. There are enough people being babysat for free in there as it is. This gives me a chance a month to go in a get something if I don't see the other item I am looking for.

Please don't make me subscribe to Trains to read the Newswire. I do like that feature. Of Kalmbach magazines I buy Trains occasionally, MR often, and every CTT. I buy your magazines and have subcribed in the past. I do like to support my local store in my way too.

The way I see it if no one was buying at retail because there was no incentive to buy at a retail those stands would stop carrying the magazine especially a non-LHS. If those magazines are not out in the open and selling on the stands it may be harder to get new readers.

Here is an idea for us loyal readers yet non-subscribers. How about maybe having a code published in the magazine somewhere to unlock web features for that month? Regular subscribers could always have access still and the rest of us lowly retail readers could be happy as well.

[Anonymous]

Magazines don't make money on subscriptions or over the counter sales (they shouldn't loose money either and hopefully these revenues offset production and handling costs) They MAKE money on selling adds. Advertising rates are based primarily on subscription figures with over the counter sales a secondary influence. I believe the theory is a subscriber is more likely to buy things they see in the magazine because they are more likely to read the entire magazine than an OTC buyer who buys on impulse or soley for a cover story that catches their eye.

[Poppa_Zit]

QUOTE: Originally posted by emmaandy


Here is an idea for us loyal readers yet non-subscribers. How about maybe having a code published in the magazine somewhere to unlock web features for that month? Regular subscribers could always have access still and the rest of us lowly retail readers could be happy as well.

How could you keep the code from being distributed freely all over the Internet after one person buys -- or just examines -- the magazine?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chuckn

Magazines don't make money on subscriptions or over the counter sales (they shouldn't loose money either and hopefully these revenues offset production and handling costs) They MAKE money on selling adds.

It's true in most of the magazine publishing industry that money is made on ads, but not in Kalmbach's case. Our magazines are financially driven by circulation because of the nature of our business. Other magazines can charge their advertisers high ad prices due to their large circulation numbers. Their advertisers are mostly large companies with large advertising budgets, like car manufacturers and such. In our case, we do not get advertisers like that. Our philosophy is to provide readers with information from advertisers who can help them find the products they need to enjoy their hobby. As I'm sure you can imagine, advertisers who meet that criteria do not have large advertising budgets these days.

Therefore, we depend on circulation, particularily our renewal subscribers, for the majority of our revenue stream. While we use online subscription agents such as mags4cheap.com to help us attract new customers to our magazine, we do not receive very much in return for those subscriptions. Of course, in the end it is your choice how you renew your subscription, but there are benefits to renewing through Kalmbach. As ben10ben mentioned earlier in this thread, online subscription agents are slow in forwarding subscription information to us, so you risk missing issues by renewing through them. We are proud of our excellent customer service here at Kalmbach, and by renewing directly through the company before your subscription expires, you can be sure you'll never miss an issue.

Elizabeth Runyon
Group Circulation Manager

[Jumijo]

As a long time subscriber to Kalmbach periodicals, I'll vouch for the excellent customer service. Always pleasant and always helpful. And never ever have I had to call a second time to get an issue resolved. A lot of well known, "household name" magazine publishers could learn from Kalmbach's example.

Jim