Done with WW Magazines?

[Dave Lehnert]

I'm Just about ready to toss in the towel.

I like to read magazines so I subscribe to a lot of woodworking as well as others. I get magazines on the new stands and if I like I subscribe.
Well thats my first problem. I send in my card and guess what? I get that same issue I purchased on the news stand as my first issue. You would think the card would be coded as to what issue it came from.
I sent in a card for Fine Woodworking. I get 3 back issues all in two days??? So I receive 1/3 of my subscription in two day and they are old issues. A quick call to them fixed the problem.
WOOD magazine I have been a subscriber since around 1986-87. I was going to let that one go but got an offer 3 years for the price of one. Sent in on-line but they only gave me 2 years. A call fixed that but now I get my magazine in my Mom name???? and now receive all kinds of cooking and the like magazines???? A call fixed that problem for now.
We move on to Popular Woodworking. I get my new issue today with a renewal notice. "Please extend my subscription before I miss a single issue" it says. "We haven't received your renewal instructions. And sooner than seems possible, Your Subscription will expire". I'm paid till sometime in 2010:confused:
I am not done by a long shot but this is getting long winded.
Am I the only one that feels this way.

[Joe Vincent]

I stopped subscribing to any magazines of any kind because of similar issues although not with the mags you listed. I had been thinking about starting up a subscription to Popular Woodworking, but hearing this kind of thing certainly is a disincentive.

[Dave Lehnert]

I stopped subscribing to any magazines of any kind because of similar issues although not with the mags you listed. I had been thinking about starting up a subscription to Popular Woodworking, but hearing this kind of thing certainly is a disincentive.

I think I like POP wood the best right now. There shop is about an 20min drive from my house. I like what they are doing with hand tool education. This months issue is a good one.

[Neal Clayton]

i think the internet is gradually making these things obsolete just like it's done with the newspaper business.

just about anything for sale in print can be one-upped by a google search in about 30 seconds.

[Randal Stevenson]

I like the magazines but get tired of the fact they take no more then 30 minutes to go through (then you go back when your ready to build something out of them).

But I ordered a subscription for me (after receiving a one year subscription gift, that cost what the three year did), that was three years, and renewed my fathers for three years.

Last month he started to write a check to them to renew, due to the "renew now, your subscription will expire soon" bs. I had him go grab his copy and shown him the 2010 expiration date on the mailing label. That is a misleading practice to try to get more money out of people (because when they come due, they offer three year deals again), that I think should get the attention of the BBB and local attorney generals (deceptive practice). The older you get, the smaller the fonts.

[Joe Vincent]

I think I like POP wood the best right now. There shop is about an 20min drive from my house. I like what they are doing with hand tool education. This months issue is a good one.

I agree. Popular Woodworking is my favorite. I still pick up FWW once in a while, like their current issue which I think is good.

[Don Bullock]

I take several woodworking magazines. On some magazines the renewal notice comes more that a year before the subscription expires. My wife pays the bills and keeps a list of them and their expiration dates because it's very easy to send in money every time they send out a renewal notice. Like others, my favorite right now is Popular Woodworking.

[Alex Shanku]

I dont subscribe to any, as some of the issues I dont find interesting (or more likely, redundant from a previous publication)

I still think Woodwork is the best mag out there. FWW a close 2nd.

[Sean Kinn]

Yep same here...I get a 2yr subscription, and on the second issue I receive they have the "renew now or risk missing an issue" warning. Drives me buggy since I usually ask for magazine subscriptions as gifts and can't quite remember when they started. I'm pretty much letting them all expire at this point and sticking with online and/or dvd archive versions.

[glenn bradley]

I learned to avoid the problems (mostly) by subscribing directly from the publisher. The "great deals" some magazine selling outfits offer is lost in the frustration. FWW online seems to be about the best overall bargain out there for me.

[Jim Becker]

I've tempered my magazine reading in the past few years. Fine Woodworking, and Woodwork have been my main reads as of late and have been my only subscriptions, although I did subscribe to the non-advertising Woodworking magazine that Chris Schwartz edits recently.

FW has also done me a big favor in offering the first 201 issues on DVDROM which I just ordered. A very large pile of paper magazines will no longer be vying for storage around here. (I just had another woodworker pick up many years of several magazines) In the future, I'll just buy the annual disks for archival and sell or give away the paper issues.

[Rod Sheridan]

The only magazine that I continue to subscribe to is Fine Woodworking.

I became tired of more deck building and bird feeder articles that the other magazines seemed to promote.

My interest in woodworking magazines tends to be towards methods of work, rather than build this table type of article.

I know the basics, what I need is information from experts on specialised items such as marquetry or finishing techniques.

If I see one more article on why I need a planer or jointer, my blood pressure monitor may go off.

Now, this changes of course as your experience and knowledge changes, there isn't anything wrong with an article on why I need a jointer, it's just that for me, it's redundant information.

Regards, Rod.

[rob mason]

At one time, I got them all, but the proliferation of information on the intarwebz has helped me more than the magazines.

I did recently re-subscribe to Popular Woodworking only because my sone was selling them for a school fund-rasier.

[Heather Thompson]

I do not subscibe to any magazines, buy them at my local bookstore, the mailman can be brutal and I hate that. The magazines that I buy ever time are FWW and WoodWork, to me WoodWork brings the true spirit of woodworking home, the intellectual and spiritual side of the craft. The issue of technique and style are very important, but for me what drives the artist is paramont, it helps me find my own creative self. I would take WoodWork to a deserted island along with my hand tools and be very happy.

Heather :)

[Tom Hargrove]

I agree that the marketing techniques used by magazine publishers are annoying. But it seems like they all do it, and I can't say that that one publisher is worse than another. These tactics are not so offensive that I have cancelled a subscription, or refused to subscribe. The end date of each subscription is generally printed on the mailing label, so I keep track of things that way. I quickly review and then recycle all other marketing junk that I get.

I still like getting paper documents, since I often re-read an article several times. This is especially true if I am using the article for inspiration for a project. I also enjoy the information in some of the advertisements, specifically material, tool and hardware suppliers. It is more difficult to do this when I get information from an internet source, unless I store and print the information.

I am a relatively new Pop Wood subscriber, and recently bought a news stand copy of Woodworking. I think the projects they feature are more in line with the projects I might actually build. The photos look less staged than in other publications, and often show actual sawdust and clutter in the work areas. The Pop Wood editors also admit that they are still learning after many years of experience in the craftmake, and often make mistakes, which I find refreshing.

I gave up my FWW subscription last year after about 15 years, but still read issues at the library from time to time. If I like something, I make a photo copy, then scan it into my computer.

[Ray Schafer]

I am not going to renew any of my woodworking magazines because of the deceptive practice of trying to get me to renew when I still have several years on my subscription. I hate that!

I am going to start using the web exclusively. I can get FWW from the local library.

Here is a notice to the WW magazines: If you stop being deceptive, I will renew!

[Alan DuBoff]

We move on to Popular Woodworking. I get my new issue today with a renewal notice. "Please extend my subscription before I miss a single issue" it says. "We haven't received your renewal instructions. And sooner than seems possible, Your Subscription will expire". I'm paid till sometime in 2010:confused:
I have noticed this also, and I know I'm paid for a couple years. This is very misleading to the subscriber, IMO.

To be honest, Popular Woodworking seems to be turning into a similar magazine as FWW, more and more advertisements, more tailored to projects I probably won't do, and more and more SPAM falling out of it on the floor. I don't plan to renew at this time, although have a year or two left, maybe I'll change my mind.

Woodworking, which has no advertisement in it is still my favorite, even though it only comes out 4 times a year.

I find I can get much of the information online these days, so magazines are becoming less important. Much of it is re-hashed anyway...

[Bill Arnold]

The only subscriptions I take are Fine Woodworking and Wood. I've been getting 'renew now' notices from Wood for a couple of years, although my subscription runs until March, 2009. Their renewal rate was also higher than a new subscription, so I challenged them on it. I sent an email asking why I could get a substantially lower rate through a third-party. They asked what rate I had found and offered me the same deal for a renewal.

[Lori Kleinberg]

I agree the constant renewal notices do get to be a pain:(. I have also started to keep a seperate list that has the magazines subscription ending date. On the other hand, I have found at least with the woodworking mags, a quick email to the publisher or editor usually clears up any problems.
I like getting the actual magazine in hand, as opposed to reading it on the internet. I have kept all the past issues, because I like to go back over them. Sometimes for the plans for myself or if a family member wants me to make something but not quite sure how to explain it, I give them the magazines to thumb through.
I have subscriptions to Wood, Shop Notes, Woodsmith and Popular Woodworking. I do not presently get FWW. I would like to but they are expensive. I have been thinking lately of doing the online subscription for this one magazine, otherwise I like to cuddle on the couch with one of my woodworking magazines and my little girl ;)(dog).

[Jim Becker]

Heather, hopefully, the new publishers of Woodwork will keep all that is good with the magazine intact....

[Paul Steiner]

I do like woodwork magazines but they rotate topics about every five years. I have been give some old WOOD magaizines and I have three that claim "build the best router table". I have built a few projects from the magazines, but I wonder if the money is better spent buying plans or contributing to this site.
But my best project for my woodshop classes comes from a 1986 WOOD magazine. Plans for a boomerang, my students love it.

[Adam Cavaliere]

I wish magazine publishers would use something like Zinio to publish their content. I like having it in electronic form. I can still print out an article if I want to have it in the shop (even though there is a computer in there :rolleyes:). I get other magazines through there and enjoy it greatly.

[Jon Grider]

I gave up my subscription habit a decade ago. Occasionally,I'll spend an evening at the public library perusing current and back issues to see if I'm missing anything,but generally,I'm not. The trend seems to be less substance and more ads. For 8 bucks a pop for FWW, it's just not worth it for what you get imo.

[Rick Potter]

I subscribe to about 10 magazines, several on woodworking. I found out years ago that I get the best deal by calling their subscription dept. number and asking what kind of deal I can get. Often it is a multi year, sometimes it is a great deal for only one year. On the one year only deals, I can usuall call a couple weeks later and extend it for another. I never subscribe through the mail unless it is a smokin' deal.

I have found that many of the early extension offers I get are from 3rd party companies that sell subscriptions in a bundle. Apparantly the magazine publishers allow them to do that.

I may find several magazine issues that are of little interest to me, but during the subscription period I always find tips, or projects that make the whole subscription worth the money, especially since I usually get a year for the price of two or three issues. Therefore, I keep subscribing.

Rick Potter

[Jeff Nicol]

Hey all, My Dad is 70 and he has years and years of WOOD, FWW, SHOPNOTES, and a couple others! He dropped off about 200 so far and I have a lot of reading to do! So I guess this is a gloat and I love it!! When I am done maybe they will go on the sale page!

Have a great night!

Jeff

[Gary Lange]

You need to watch your subscriptions very close and write down when you sent it in and when it may be up for renewal. They send out what looks to be a renewal slip and before the wife figured out the scam we were 10 years up on my Outdoor Photography. Now everything we subscribe to is written in a book and when these things come she checks the expiration if it isn't do in the trash they go.

[Randal Stevenson]

I've tempered my magazine reading in the past few years. Fine Woodworking, and Woodwork have been my main reads as of late and have been my only subscriptions, although I did subscribe to the non-advertising Woodworking magazine that Chris Schwartz edits recently.

FW has also done me a big favor in offering the first 201 issues on DVDROM which I just ordered. A very large pile of paper magazines will no longer be vying for storage around here. (I just had another woodworker pick up many years of several magazines) In the future, I'll just buy the annual disks for archival and sell or give away the paper issues.


For those of us who aren't up on it, how many DVD's would it take to get to the current issue, do you think? (I don't know if they increased the number of issues or anything, so as someone with some older issues, you might have a better feel for it).

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Randal, all 201 issues are on one DVDROM data disk. At $149 for the disk, it's a steal... Free shipping, too, for a short period of time.

[Randal Stevenson]

Randal, all 201 issues are on one DVDROM data disk. At $149 for the disk, it's a steal... Free shipping, too, for a short period of time.


So the current issue is 201, then? I will probably be ordering it pretty soon then. (work had me order something, which I found new, via ebay, and qualified for the cashback, and work still saved some $ and I keep the cashback).

I am being harassed by the family for a Christmas list, I may have to put the other half on it, but would prefer to put the part I emailed EZ about.

Thanks

[John Carlo]

And then the best part! You will now learn to build a workbench and do hand cut dovetails and build the latest jigs over and over and over....You will also start feeling guilty that your shop needs just a bit more organization so you will not really have time to build anything. I just don't find much new to offer in WW mags anymore.

[Michael Lutz]

I am quickly running out of space to store the WW magazines. I have about 10 years of FWW and Shopnotes, some woodsmith and Woodworking magazines. Last year I ordered a CD with the 2007 Popular Woodworking Magazines on it. I will probably do that again this year since I don't have the space for all the magazines and a CD stores much better.

Mike

[David Keller NC]

Hmmm - Well, the original question was "Done with WW Magazines?". My thoughts are extremely mixed. Despite extreme computer literacy with respect to the general population, I don't enjoy reading magazines on the computer screen, whether desktop or laptop. I think the reason is the inability to see a couple of pages at once, and having to sit up straight in the computer chair at the desktop or have a hot laptop on my lap in the easy chair.

Call me old-fashioned, but there's a lot of good things to say about paper publications, enviro-unfriendly though they may be. And they're analog - they'll be readable until the language significantly changes, which at least I think will be a few hundred years. I wonder about the ability to decode Adobe Acrobat v 9 documents several years from now.

However, my pet peeve regarding the mags I subscribe to has been the changes in an effort to increase revenue. Many of us on FWW Knot's have been blistering the ears of the editors for including tool reviews, power tool tune-up and jig construction articles as the main topic of content in the last couple of years. The aim seems to be "dumbing down" the content to appeal to beginning woodworkers, while totally forgetting that advanced content also appeals to beginning woodworkers - I remember reading my grandfather's FWW subscription in the 1980s for inspiration, though I was capable of none of the projects in it at the time.

This is my main fear with WoodWork magazine. Though the focus on "art furniture" doesn't appeal to me specifically, I do greatly appreciate the magazine's eschewing of tool reviews and other junk content. I wonder if the new publisher will keep that ban up, or they too will homogenize their content to "keep up" with the rest of the clones on the magazine rack.

[John Nesmith]

Is this the "Woodwork" magazine that several people have referenced?

http://www.woodwork-mag.com/

I googled it, and that seemed like the likely candidate. Unfortunately, it appears to only offer information about the current issue.

It seems that their bottom line might receive a significant boost by informing potential subscribers how they can take the magazine.

[Heather Thompson]

Is this the "Woodwork" magazine that several people have referenced?

http://www.woodwork-mag.com/

I googled it, and that seemed like the likely candidate. Unfortunately, it appears to only offer information about the current issue.

It seems that their bottom line might receive a significant boost by informing potential subscribers how they can take the magazine.

John,

Yes, that is the WoodWork magazine, as far as obtaining the magazine goes, I prefer a trip to the local bookstore. I love this magazine, it is the best source of inspiration short of the Creek. :)

Heather

[David Keller NC]

"Is this the "Woodwork" magazine that several people have referenced?

http://www.woodwork-mag.com/

I googled it, and that seemed like the likely candidate. Unfortunately, it appears to only offer information about the current issue."

John - that's it. I've heard quite a few potential subscribers complain that there's no facility for subscribing to the mag through the website. You can, however, view the contents of back-issues and order them. They also don't send reminders when your sub is going to run out, which is quite a contrast to the copious reminders that the other woodworking mags send. I'm guessing the turmoil over the publisher deciding to continue it and having another publisher take it up has left little resources for website improvements.