This has been a mystery to me for 35 years
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My guess is it's a bit of a marketing ploy. September issue goes on sale in early August and people think it's all the very latest news. Little do they know they're getting old news. Periodicals have always been done that way in my lifetime. Ed's lead time comment is right on target.
Norm
I consider it to be better than getting the August issue before August dropped off the calendar, which was what I was expecting forty years ago. I would really rather receive the September issue at the beginning of September.
Johnny
The publisher wants to provide a magazine per month and they like to be "ahead" by about a month, so they have to label the magazine on the news stand as for "next month". But Subscribers expect special treatment, so they expect to get a magazine ahead of the news stands, so they have to mark the magazine two months off so that in August, the subscriber gets the October magazine, so the news stand can sell it in September.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
For the record, the Facebook page says that the October issue was just received at the office today, and that subscribers should expect theirs in about ten days.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Every magazine is printed long before its publish date or newsstand date. Trains is not alone. Monthlies are often one to two months ahead, quarterlies can be a full quarter ahead, and weeklies even up to a half week ahead. It has been part of publishing since forever, as they say.
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Every magazine I get is dated after I receive it. Even the old weekly magazines (Time, Newsweek) did the same thing.
Although I sometimes get it up to two weeks after the publication date (Thanks, USPS), the weekly paper for my old hometown is usually dated a day or two after it hits the newsstand.
As long as my Trains shows up once a month, I'm a happy camper.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Maybe just keep the date off the magazine and just send it out as Issue 1 Issue 2 etc.. that way getting the magazine early or late isn't a problem. In this day and age no one expects timeliness in a monthly publication. If you want the latest news then Trains Online is where you need to go.
And the larger question! Will print magazines survive? Will Trains' print format be viable five or ten years from now?
U.S. News and World Report is no longer available in print. Newsweek is all digital. Time is a shell of its former self. It is not likely to survive much longer as a print news medium. Many of the nation's newspapers are only available on-line. Or a tablet or smart phone or e-reader or wherever the digital world comes up with.
I switched to the digital version of Trains as soon as it became available. It is a much better format, and I don't have to look for it in the mailbox. Or get print ink on my hands! Moreover, once the Trains publisher figures it out, digital stories can be nearly real time. Readers won't have to read articles that are two or three months old. Yeah!
Oh, have I mentioned it? I am 74. I can hardly wait for the changes that I see on the horizon. The future belongs to the trends adopted by young people. Either Trains figures out what they want, or it will not survive. Especially in print format.
tree68 Every magazine I get is dated after I receive it. Even the old weekly magazines (Time, Newsweek) did the same thing. Although I sometimes get it up to two weeks after the publication date (Thanks, USPS), the weekly paper for my old hometown is usually dated a day or two after it hits the newsstand. As long as my Trains shows up once a month, I'm a happy camper.
Tell you postal carriers to get faster horses and stop using the Erie Canal for time sensitive mail.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom?
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Ignore this, I misread something so my reply isn't applicable now.
All progress is change, but not all change is progress.
Mookie If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom?
I've got my digital subscription on my tablet computer (Nexus 7). Quite portable, thank you!
Your Kindle...
BaltACDTell you postal carriers to get faster horses and stop using the Erie Canal for time sensitive mail.
I suspect they pay the lowest possible postal rate, so they aren't handled as promptly as bills, but I also suspect that the papers get tossed in a corner and handled "as time allows."
I've had two papers arrive the same day - and this is a weekly publication...
Horses and the Erie Canal might be faster...
This may provide a partial answer. http://vimeo.com/61275290
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tree68 Mookie If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom? I've got my digital subscription on my tablet computer (Nexus 7). Quite portable, thank you!
Can you load the Kindle app on your Nexus 7? Also, can you load the Nook app? Thanks.
Ulrich Mookie If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom? Your Kindle...
Why do you have her kindle? She probably doesn't want it back now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
I used to work in the Magazine distribution trade and, while Trains my come out slightly earlier than some other monthlies they aren't really that different. If you look at the magazine rack at your local supermarket you will see that most of the monthly's come out the first or second week of the month ahead...
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
zugmann Ulrich Mookie If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom? Your Kindle... Why do you have her kindle? She probably doesn't want it back now.
You're right..should have stated MY kindle. But even that would be inaccurate as I don't have one, and besides, I can't multitask worth a s@#%
Sam1Can you load the Kindle app on your Nexus 7? Also, can you load the Nook app? Thanks.
Kindle, yes. I haven't tried Nook, but it's in the App Store.
edblysard tree68 Mookie If everything is digital - what do you read in the bathroom? I've got my digital subscription on my tablet computer (Nexus 7). Quite portable, thank you! But what if you drop it in the tub?
But what if you drop it in the tub?
What if you drop your book in the tub? Same deal..you'll have to get a new one. The hazards of multitasking in the bathroom.
edblysardBut what if you drop it in the tub?
I think you can get waterproof enclosures for them....
tree68 edblysardBut what if you drop it in the tub? I think you can get waterproof enclosures for them....
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I just read thru page 2 and I am crying....
I always wonder why some magazine doesn't try to add a *bonus* magazine to the mix? Let's say that Trains Magazine came out with an *extra* magazine in say, mid January, that was that was thicker, meatier(?) and contained above average reading. That would allow the magazine to get sort of back on the correct month rotation. It would also provide a 13th issue in one fiscal year, and boost the magazine's number of sold copies by 9%. ( )
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