Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 24

Thread: Old magazines

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,548

    Old magazines

    OK, lets just say that I have spent a lifetime saving my old magazines. I have pop science and pop mech mags that go back to the 60's. I have car mags that do the same......hundreds of them. I have WW mags back to the late 70's, more hundreds.

    Now, lets say I have run out of room, the wife needs the space, and I have internet access to many of them anyway, although I much prefer leafing through a mag.

    I will keep some of the ones I like best, but the rest simply have to go. I refuse to throw them away, I don't want to try selling them one at a time on E-bay, but they still have to go. Craigs list maybe?

    Are there places that will buy these things? If not, I would appreciate suggestions on who I could donate them to. I hate to see them thrown away at Goodwill. There used to be used books stores that carried such things, but they seem to be extinct.

    Maybe I should just build another garden shed .
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Clinton Township, MI, United States
    Posts
    1,554
    Went through this about a year ago. Took them all to a recycling center. Tough to let them go, but I have not missed them. I do have all the woodworking mags on disc, so that data is still there, but my other mags are gone.
    It is a tough moment, but really it is for the best.
    Mike
    From the workshop under the staircase, Clinton Township, MI
    Semper Audere!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA
    Posts
    1,311
    You might be able to give them away on CL, but it seems unlikely that you would be able to find a buyer willing to pay significant amounts. It doesn't cost anything to try though.

    Most magazines at the local Goodwill sell for 25 cents and it looks like they sit there for a while.

    Ebay seems like it has a much bigger audience. Some of the asking prices are a few dollars per mag. Don't know if they actually sell.

    Steve

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    468
    Had the same issue a few years ago, car magazines from the 70's & 80's.

    Put a free add on CL, they were gone in 1 hour.

    Ed

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    15,332
    I've finally (I think) had all my subscriptions end. No more magazine for me. I do have a decent collection (not near yours) but were I to get rid of mine, I would simply toss them in the recycle bin and not think twice about it. The CL route sounds best, however. There are probably people looking for such things for various projects...who knows?!
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  6. #6
    I gave all mine away except for FWW. Those are stored in several places including on a shelf under my home-made kitchen table for my perusal during morning coffee.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Glenelg, MD
    Posts
    12,256
    Blog Entries
    1
    When my father cleaned out his collections of mags (Pop Science, Pop Mechanics, Byte, etc.) a few years back, he gave them all to me. I thumbed through each one VERY fast, looking for articles of interest... I probably tore out 30-40 pages from hundreds upon hundreds of magazines. Was it worth my time? Sort of... got a few useful ideas, but no way t measure the return on my investment. Everything not used immediately went into the recycle bin.

    The only thing I kept were Invention & Technology mag (Smithsonian)... articles are well written/researched and detailed. I may eventually grab a few articles and toss the rest of those, as well.
    Hi-Tec Designs, LLC -- Owner (and self-proclaimed LED guru )

    Trotec 80W Speedy 300 laser w/everything
    CAMaster Stinger CNC (25" x 36" x 5")
    USCutter 24" LaserPoint Vinyl Cutter
    Jet JWBS-18QT-3 18", 3HP bandsaw
    Robust Beauty 25"x52" wood lathe w/everything
    Jet BD-920W 9"x20" metal lathe
    Delta 18-900L 18" drill press

    Flame Polisher (ooooh, FIRE!)
    Freeware: InkScape, Paint.NET, DoubleCAD XT
    Paidware: Wacom Intuos4 (Large), CorelDRAW X5

  8. #8
    I would give the CL a quick try and see if they go. Otherwise, take them to the recycle bin and don't look back. You will enjoy the floor space they are taking up. Good luck.

    Red
    RED

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Coastal Virginia
    Posts
    647
    Went through this several years back. I had full collections of FWW, Wood and several others including metal working mags like Home Machinist. Hated to get rid of them but they took up a LOT of space. Tried selling them on CL but I couldn't even give them away. About that time I picked up a decent printer/scanner with ADF and duplex scanning capability. On a whim I cut the spine off one and fed it through and converted them to PDF, worked like a charm! I don't often look though them but it is nice when I'm looking for a project or a specific edition to have it on hand. Working a little at a time I scanned all 600+ and keep them on a external drive, about 600gb in all.

    Mike

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh, Australia
    Posts
    2,700
    Been there and done that. All the car mags went but the big collection was National Geographic, every issue sine 1965 and I had to just about beg someone to take them. I offered the whole lot to the local library and got a no thanks which surprised me but eventually I found someone who took them. the other thousands pf books I had went into the recycle and my Kindle is my friend these days with no regrets. Magazines are read on a big 27" screen, how anyone can read a PDF on a small one even a laptop is a mystery to me.
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Upland, CA
    Posts
    1,344
    I am condensing offices at work and just hauled home three pickup loads of magazines to store. Easily 4,000 pounds of paper. I had one 12'x12' office with 3 wall lined with bookshelves up to the 10'ceiling. I tossed what I could and I'm left with car magazines that take up almost 30' of shelf space. National Geographic, Architectural Digest, and Sunset taking up almost that much. When I finish remodeling, I can't see having this much shelf space so some will have to go but what would go?

    Has to be golden to someone but I'm not sure I care anymore..........

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    San Antonio, TX
    Posts
    530
    Don't forget retirement homes and senior centers sometimes like to get a library of magazines.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Annapolis, MD
    Posts
    135
    My dentist could use some updating of his office magazines. 1965 Nat'l Geo would be newer than some of what is there...

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,622
    I inherited boxes of them from my FIL before he passed. I held on to them for several years and finally threw them in the recycle bin. For sentimental reasons I hated to do that but I needed the space. I recycle all of my current subscriptions to a couple of friends.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
    Posts
    4,731
    In the same boat right now.
    My collection goes back to around the late 1980's.
    I have convinced myself that if I needed to look something up I would not be able to find them quick if at all anyway. So I dont need them,
    I have let all my Woodworking mags run out and just this month now subscribe to Popular Woodworking digital edition on my Amazon Kindle Fire. I like it so far because the magazines (I think) are kept forever on the cloud . If I need to find a magazine it will be as easy as going to my Amazon account and download it.
    I have two other non-woodworking digital magazines I subscribe to for some time now and every back issue I purchased is always available to me.
    Time Magazine digital lets you go back and read any (Or most) back issues as long as you are a subscriber. Just the other day I heard about a magazine story I was interested in from 1997 Time Magazine and I was able to find and read it in just minutes.
    Last edited by Dave Lehnert; 04-16-2016 at 1:10 AM.
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •