why increase in MR cost?($4.95 to $5.50)

[Anonymous]

one day i was looking at my jan MR mag when i noticed the price on it [$5.50] had gone up from $4.95 (dec 04). i have a subscription then [and now] and have wondered why the increase in price.

[Anonymous]

I just subscribed to their $30.00 12 month sub via their mail out reply card solicitation.

[Anonymous]

the price for one mag.

[AggroJones]

Time goes on. Things increase in price. I'm not effected by this right now. My subcription expires in August.

[IRONROOSTER]

Glad I renewed in September for three years.. Guess their costs went up.
Enjoy
Paul

[ndbprr]

Who do you think pays for all those contests where they give stuff away?

[jsoderq]

Have you bought gasoline lately?

[Anonymous]

Being the beginner, $5.50 is still a bargin in my eyes.

[BNSFGP38]

So with this price increase..........can we get some content inside Model Advertiser?

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: Glad I renewed in September for three years....

Me too! Normally I renew right after the price increase.


Regards

Ed

[jlcjrbal]

I just got a copy of the Model RR news paper, alot of nice stuff in there also as well as they haVE A 3 ISSUE FREE SPECIAL IF YOU GO TO THE WEB SITE

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jlcjrbal

I just got a copy of the Model RR news paper, alot of nice stuff in there also as well as they haVE A 3 ISSUE FREE SPECIAL IF YOU GO TO THE WEB SITE

what's the website?

[jrbernier]

If you want a cheap subscription, try the following:

http://www.netmagazines.com/product.asp?pID=110978&TR=608&cID=26

I just tried it($19.95/year), takes a couple of months before your 12 issues start arriving, but several other folks say it is very good, and reliable. That less than the cost of 3 issues at the new price....

Jim Bernier

[Anonymous]

Probably to pay for UP licensing fees.

Rick

[jlcjrbal]

www.modelrailroadnews.com

[BRAKIE]

Well,I notice the price increase..Now if the magazine fit the price then I would not mind the price hike.Looking over last years I found 4 issues that was worth buying the rest wasn't Worth the $4.95.So,now its a look before I buy.If its a good issue I am buy it if not then it goes back to the rack.
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BNSFGP38 said:(snip) can we get some content inside Model Advertiser?

I could not agree more..Now we are paying $5.50 for a magazine full of ads with very little usable content..[B)][8][V]

Sorry Terry,You gotta improve the magazine if you expect $5.50..So I am not cheering your new and needless price hike.MR is not the magazine many believes it to be.There are better magazines.

[jabrown1971]

20 years ago......each issue 3.95 (was it less). MOre pages and articles, less advertising...........half the price............Okay, I know that there is inflation, and they have to pay all those editirs to do a great job, I know I wouldn't live in Milwaukee in the winter for for less than 50K a year. .5.50 seems a bit much for one issue, especially since they have so many ads. I noticed as soon as they moved to the suburbs the price went up on a regular basis. Does renting cost more than ownership(building), or are we paying the moving costs still. Maybe they should quit using quadgrapichs and go back to printing it in house.

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jabrown1971

20 years ago......each issue 3.95 (was it less). MOre pages and articles, less advertising...........half the price............Okay, I know that there is inflation, and they have to pay all those editirs to do a great job, I know I wouldn't live in Milwaukee in the winter for for less than 50K a year. .5.50 seems a bit much for one issue, especially since they have so many ads. I noticed as soon as they moved to the suburbs the price went up on a regular basis. Does renting cost more than ownership(building), or are we paying the moving costs still. Maybe they should quit using quadgrapichs and go back to printing it in house.

And 45 years ago, it was 50 cents a copy.

'Course, back then there wasn't all that much in it. Virtually all the pictures were B&W (January, 1959 was the first I remember with color pictures). Now it's all color. There wasn't that much advertising in it, either. Then again, there wasn't that much to advertise since there weren't that many manufacturers.

Personally, half the reason I buy the thing is for the advertisements. It's always nice to see someone coming out with something new. Especially when it's something I want.

Andre

[Anonymous]

Hello
I must say I can hardly understand your complains about 55cents. You see, I'm from Germany. Here modelrailroading is very expensive. Expensive models, expensive magazines: Ok, there are less adverts in this magazines, but it increases. And costs for yearly subscriptions for magazines with comparable information given, are about three times the one for the MR. Cheaper ones have often only 4 or 6 issues a year.
I think it is all a question of perspective (I hope this is real English :-S ).
Yours
Matthias

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: I think it is all a question of perspective...

I think you're right. Sometimes we tend to forget how good we have it.

While European model trains maybe expensive, they certainly seem to be well designed and constructed.

QUOTE: I hope this is real English...

Your English is fine, and a lot better than most of us could do in German.


Regards

Ed

[Anonymous]

Supply and demand, if ya don't like it, don't buy it, the Mag will get the message either way !

[MRTerry]

Dear readers,

I think jsoderq hit the nail on the head - our costs rise, just like everyone else's. Just in the last year, we've had substantial (well beyond the increase in the Consumer Price Index) increases in paper costs and in the cost of distribution. (We have to pay a pretty handsome amount to get the magazine onto newsstands.) We've been able to hold the subscription price the same because we wanted to reward our subscribers for their loyalty, but we needed to make up some of the revenue somewhere. None of us enjoy raising prices.

As far as the advertising, the percentage of the magazine that is editorial content (stories, reviews, columns, etc.) is actually substantially higher than it was 5 or 10 years ago. Plus we've gone to all-color printing, a better cover, put bonus content online, and made other quality improvements. For example, compare today's MR track plans to our track plans from back in the day. We think that has resulted in a better product, and one that helps enhance our readers' enjoyment of the hobby more, but it all costs money.

Thanks for reading MR, and have a good weekend!
Terry

[jfugate]

MR is the only hobby magazine I subscribe to, and it's the only one I own a complete collection of back to 1959.

I think the magazine has come a long ways since the 60s, although the only thing I miss is the lack of under construction photos. It seems there's a fear of scaring the newbies off if you don't show everything slick and polished.

However, I will admit it appears that policy has softened up some in recent years. To that, I say: YAY!

After almost 40 years in the hobby, I'm still finding new and interesting tidbits in almost every issue of MR. And like others have expressed on here, half the reason I buy the magazine is *for* the ads. I like to keep up with what's being sold in the hobby because if it's something I'm interested in, I'll buy it!

Keep up the good work, Terry!

[Anonymous]

Nah... here's the real reason:

I told 'em I wouldn't submit my work to a cheap magazine.

So they raised the cover price in an attempt to appease me.

(That was a joke, people)

[:D]

[savaglio]

I find no problem with the price. I switched to the subscription model several years ago. I still consider MR and the other magazines to be entertainment. Less than the cost of a DVD or a movie ticket. I get many hours of enjoyment from one issue and my collection dates back to the 30's. Nobody likes to see price increases, but the cost is really how you rationalize it to yourself. In my case, I call it entertainment and the cost does not seem to high. One month of cable for most people is more than a years subscription. My opinion for what it is worth. And the ads have been part of the hobby since day 1! I get a kick out of all the complaining about the ads. Where else are you going to find out what is available? I know that with the internet the paper ads are less relevent but I still enjoy them.

[krump]

Question for Terry, or perhaps Canadian Subscribers to MRR ???


thus far I have not taken the subscription bait, though I believe that I have noticed card offers of 33% - 47% savings... that sounds great.

reality (as I understand it) is that the accrued savings are approx 15% or less (little more than the cost of one magazine) for Canadians - taking into account that the dollar exchange, cost of money orders (approx $7.50 - since my no-cost account personal cheque can not be sent directly) and an extra $12 shipping to Canada, store points ... are other factors.

I would probably get a 3 yr subscription if my ACTUAL savings were at least 25%- 30% (all things considered) over the newstand prices that I pay... (after taxes $8.03 Cdn / issue).

at present I buy at Zellers where the store "points" give me an additional advantage directly at the store. ( I enjoy the monthly purchase, so the home-mailed delivery is not really a sales pitch to me, though it is more convenient)

as I calculate it ...

subscription 1 yr = $35 ($50 Cdn) + $12 ($16 Cdn) + $7.50 Money Order ($7.50 Cdn) - store point advantage of approx $10 /yr Cdn = $82.50 for 1 yr subscription vs $96.36 , at newstand...
- MRR is GETTING CLOSE, but not quite convincing yet for the 3 yr committment

I'm not complaining, It is a great Magazine that I buy Monthly, and enjoy very much. If the savings were even close to what the "cards" indicated, then I'd take a long term subscription...if 47% can be offered in USA, what about 25%- 30% actual savings to get Canadians like me interested ???[:D]

increased costs are a fact of life - this magazine and the internet advantages are terrific.
comes down to what makes cents

[Anonymous]

$.55 increase to $5.50? For me its worth it. The improvements over the years are great. Color photos throughout - way cool (anyone remember the old Paint Shop when B&W photos were used? Kinda hard to see what the end product looked like). For the price of renting a movie I can have hours of pleasureable reading. I also reread old issues numerous times to the point of some of my older issues (back to 1963) are litterally falling apart lol. When I compare the price of MRR to what else I can buy for $5.50 (and its actually less since I"m a subscriber) and then compare the time I spend with each issue to the enjoyment time I can get from the other product - MRR is quite the bargain.

Just my opinion.

BTW: I do want to say that I've never seen typos in MRR. It seems that a leading competitor has several every year. Yeah I'm nitpicking, but I do think it is evidence of the professionalism and pride that the MRR staff has.

[canazar]

While I never enjoy a price increase, I can acept ths one. A freind of mine gave me a bunch of MR copies fromt he 70's. I am in the learnign stage and its neat to see the old stuff and how they used to do it. One hting I noticed though, all the black and white pictures, shorter articles, and in some, just horrible pictures, (bad lighting, bad printing) I had to laugh when I thought how far things had come (My Tyco cars form when I was akid to my new stuff I had been buying and even the magazine quality). Inmy eyes I can see the huge improvement and I think it is justified.

John k

[Anonymous]

I got my first issue, July 83; $1.75. thats a lot of money when your 14. My first job was McDonalds for an amazing $3.35/hr. Fast forward 20 years a conservitive estimate is I make just a little more than that now. MR has to be one of the best bargains of all time!!!!

[Anonymous]

In the realm of 300 Dollar plastic HO engines 5.50 hardly merits notice.

Some one made a reference to the cost of Gasoline. I think it is running 45 dollars a Barrel (55 gallons) on the market.

The cost of INK (Color ink, black ink and ink ink) runs near 670- a barrel. I may be way off on my price quote of Ink as I was told what they cost 6 years ago at a printer's in Des Moines IA when delivering rolls of newsprint.

The cost of gas for my car to get the magazine is marginal.. about a nickel a mile for a total of 1 gallon or so of gas in my car. (1.85) I did subscribe to the new MR deal of 12 issues for 30.00 by mail recently and soon I wont need to spend the gas to get the magazine. I would be able to save the trip until most of my orders for the month have come in.