[hoonsou]

Is anyone else having the same problems as me ? Here we are on 31st of May and I'm still waiting for the June issue. The mag' which I believe comes out on the 15th of the preceding month is nowhere to be seen. After more than one phone call to their office over a period of a couple of years or more, nothing much seems to have changed. I know there have been changes in security at ports, whether air or sea, but I wonder how it is that a replacement can be sent out which arrives in about a week ! There certainly seems to be something wrong with the postage method which I realise is always going to be the cheapest way, but it's at the expense of their customers. The last issue was no exception and there have been numerous others.

I'd be interested to hear others experiences/opinions.

 

[Makemineadouble]

I've got mine which is the electronic version on my Kindle. Might be a cheaper option for u Maz

 

[hoonsou]

QUOTE (Makemineadouble @ 31 May 2017, 15:45) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I've got mine which is the electronic version on my Kindle. Might be a cheaper option for u Maz
Aah, but you're in the UK aren't you. And I ain't Maz.

I really do prefer the printed version. It just doesn't seem the same on a screen. I know... I'm a luddite.

 

[Darra]

Support your local newsagent. I got the April issue last week. At least I've never missed an issue. Although sometimes I wish I had.

 

[hoonsou]

Friends of ours run a newsagent near to us and they make next to nothing out of mag's and papers. The most profit making they have is the Lotto etc.

 

[Peter Armond]

The speed at which you get a hard copy of a magazine or newspaper depends on the number of subscribers in the area when you live somewhere other than UK.
I have a hard copy of Model rail as well as a digital subscription. The hard copy mailed from UK takes from 3 to 6 weeks to arrive, but has taken as long as 4 months.
A hard copy of my professional magazine is mailed locally and presumably sent in bulk airfreight from UK as there are probably a few hundred subscribers here. That can take anything from 2 to 6 months to arrive. A magazine for pensioners of my former employers takes a similar long time to arrive from UK.

Local book shops stock very little in the way of UK magazines beyond the Economist, which is usually a couple of weeks old.

The weekly International Express ( a compilation of a week of the UK Daily Express) is Printed in South Africa on Monday and on sale there on Wednesday (sometimes on Tuesday afternoon). It used to be on sale here by Friday morning, now we are lucky if we can purchase it by Monday morning.The distributors used to send it in Bulk from South Africa on Thursday or Friday and it was usually on sale by Friday lunch time. A few months ago they decided to send it on Saturday along with SA magazines because it was cheaper to do so. This is despite the fact that the retailers have told the distributors that customers would be willing to pay a little bit more to receive on Friday rather than a week after it was printed.

Distribution of magazines and newspapers world wide has deteriorated tremendously over the years. In the 1970's a subscription I had to "Punch" took exactly 4 weeks to arrive by surface mail. A subscription we had at the office, at the time, to the UK "Times" printed on flimsy, almost tissue paper, arrived in 3 to 4 days at a time when we had only 4 flights per week to and from UK, as against more than that (admittedly indirect) a day now.

 

[Graeme Wilsonf4]

I changed all my magazine subscriptions to digital because of this reason. I usually have them to read well before they are in the shops even in the UK. one third the price also.

 

[hoonsou]

I'd be interested to know how much extra it would cost over a year to have these mag's sent by airmail. @nd of June and it's still not here. As I said before, I'm a luddite when it comes to print vs electronic. I much prefer to have a hard copy. I use a Kobo for reading books, but have recently returned to the Library for proper books.

I did eventually get a reply from Hornby this morning:

Dear Peter

A replacement has been sent out to you.

The replacement issues are sent by Royal Mail airmail so it's a much quicker service. The original copies are sent out by the mailing house by a difference carrier which is much slower, but does keep the cost of the subscription down.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards

 

[Bigglesof266]

Same here Peter. A 300km north of you, Friday 2nd June and still waiting for my June edition.

Best guess is that Hornby Magazine have changed their "Rest of World" mailout distribution contractor and thus Antipodean routing ....again. !!

Recent months, haven't been receiving my copy until 7th through as late as 12th of the cover month, just days before the next month's copy hits the news stands in the UK.

They'd like ROW to go digital.

 

[hoonsou]

I agree Keiran. The thing is that we should be given a choice ie, do we want to pay a bit extra to have a timely delivery. I first asked for things to be sorted out in an email to Mike Wild, editor, but not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement.

 

[hoonsou]

No luck with the mag', but it's replacement arrived yesterday the 13th June. As I said, it would be nice if we were given the option of a timely delivery at extra cost. I'll ask the publishers if this can be an option before I decide whether or not to renew my subscription.

 

[hoonsou]

Well I contacted Hornby and asked about having the mag' sent by Royal Mail air mail and this was the options: Total for 12 issues £140.99, 24 issues £267.99.

Looks as though I won't bother any more.

 

[Bigglesof266]

My original June edition still hasn't arrived as of Friday 16th June's mail delivery Peter. And the July Edition was out a week ago. <sigh>

Who did you contact at Hornby Mag? I drop them an email this afternoon with an "Attention <name>" prefix to the same person advising the status quo to request a replacement sent, and see if this problem can be given some attention encouraging delivery contractor impetus.

 

[Maz066]

Do you get RM, and if so how does that come. I get it and it is very punctual from the UK but as it was a gift, i am not sure how it comes other than being stuffed into my letterbox

 

[Bigglesof266]

1.No.

2. But, to their credit the producers (publishers?) of RM include FREE a digital ed sub in the price of the hard copy sub. Whilst a far from perfect solution, at least it permits inclusion until the hard copy arrives if late rather than reading news so stale, nobody is discussing any more once the next edition is on the newstands.

3. With respect, not everybody lives in Sydney (AU International Mail Receiving Centre), Canberra or Melbourne. AU politicians seem unmindful of this too.

4. I did take out a super slashed promo price digital sub to BRM to try both the mag and digital format out, but won't renew to the format unless it as at anything but near giveaway pricing. I read on a 9.7" Android tablet, but like railway modelling's arguably predominant presbyopia afflicted aged demographic, don't really enjoy the digital format due to that viewing size constraint. I much prefer HM's content to BRM, kudos to Mike Wild and team, but if subscribing to it, I want to read it in traditional hard copy format size. I would not and shall never subscribe to digital format only. By the time digital becomes the inevitible option of "digital or digital" only like a post-war demob suit choice of "brown or brown", fortunately such worldly concerns will unlikely be of concern.

5. Here's the thing. Riddle me this if you would? How for instance, can Chain Reaction Cycles or Wiggle UK get a bicycle wheelset, cycling shoes, pedals, clothes or a myriad of other items to me consistently and reliably delivered to my door in less than a week from time of ordering, yet in 2017, HM can't seem to manage arranging regular delivery of their magazine to ROW subscribers in AU which releases to newstands the first week of the month preceding its nomenclatural cover issue before the release of the subsequent month's cover edition? If I ordered a one off hard copy book from Book Depository UK it reaches me faster, within 7 or less days usually, properly and effectively protected from sorting machine, handling or weather mishap in a purpose designed effective cardboard packaging all included in the cover price of the book a mega savings over High street bookseller pricing?

There just has to be a better, more efficient alternative method available to effect timely predictable regular delivery to pre-paid ROW subscribers than coercion to switch to Digital Edition no subscription?

P.S. I emailed keypublishing orders/subs yesterday (GMT+10 Sat here) re the as yet still to be delivered/missing June 2017 edition. Understandably it being the weekend, nothing heard back as yet. UK Monday or Tue reply I expect.

 

[hoonsou]

QUOTE (Bigglesof266 @ 17 Jun 2017, 11:58) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>My original June edition still hasn't arrived as of Friday 16th June's mail delivery Peter. And the July Edition was out a week ago. <sigh>

Who did you contact at Hornby Mag? I drop them an email this afternoon with an "Attention <name>" prefix to the same person advising the status quo to request a replacement sent, and see if this problem can be given some attention encouraging delivery contractor impetus.
My first email, I sent to Mike Wild... not even an acknowledgement. I then emailed the subscriptions dept and had the reply that I posted earlier. Where the original copy went to, I've no idea. To have the mag's sent out reliably by air mail is ridiculously expensive, so that's that. I do like the HM but don't want the frustration of wondering where it is nearly every month.

 

[Robert Ellis]

I have just given up on HM because of the constantly late delivery. I know that I live in a rural area of Far North Queensland but having to wait until the middle of the month, when the new issue is being released in UK, is unacceptable in this day and age. After many years as a subscriber I have not renewed my subscription. I don't really care whether it is the magazine or their distributor, HM publishers should sort the problem if they wish to retain customers.

 

[hoonsou]

Same here Robert. Absolutely no reason for this. I'm waiting for my last issue to arrive and that's it. I received a replacement copy the other day (23rd of June) for the June issue which should have been here a month ago. It was in a brown envelope marked as posted on the 20th of June in Budapest... three days in the post !

As I said earlier, I'd already received a replacement copy on the 13th of June.

 

[Bigglesof266]

HM street news stand availability is advertised with fanfare as 8th of the month preceding the cover date. Thus for instance, July 2017 copy hit the news stands on 8th June.

As both of you have pointed out, the logistics with the ROW subscription model need to be addressed when we are all waiting for our June copies (released on 8th May) still to arrive on 23rd June as I was, by which time the July copy has already been available in the UK even to impulse buy customers from 8th June.

If this were an isolated instance it would merely occasion trivial annoyance in life's greater scheme of things, part and parcel of things not always going to plan in life 20,000km removed from Blighty in the Antipodes. Or were it 1788 AD, totally understandable. But it's not, delivery after the release of the next month's edition become for some considerable time now a consistent 'feature' since yet another apparent alteration in the distribution contractor (?) or method responsible for subs down under. Surely a solution other than coercion to subscribe to digital only copy for regular timely delivery can be figured out by HM for pre-paid ROW hard copy subs in 2017?

 

[hoonsou]

QUOTE (Bigglesof266 @ 26 Jun 2017, 10:54) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>HM street news stand availability is advertised with fanfare as 8th of the month preceding the cover date. Thus for instance, July 2017 copy hit the news stands on 8th June.

As both of you have pointed out, the logistics with the ROW subscription model need to be addressed when we are all waiting for our June copies (released on 8th May) still to arrive on 23rd June as I was, by which time the July copy has already been available in the UK even to impulse buy customers from 8th June.

If this were an isolated instance it would merely occasion trivial annoyance in life's greater scheme of things, part and parcel of things not always going to plan in life 20,000km removed from Blighty in the Antipodes. Or were it 1788 AD, totally understandable. But it's not, delivery after the release of the next month's edition become for some considerable time now a consistent 'feature' since yet another apparent alteration in the distribution contractor (?) or method responsible for subs down under. Surely a solution other than coercion to subscribe to digital only copy for regular timely delivery can be figured out by HM for pre-paid ROW hard copy subs in 2017?
And there I reckon is the nub of it. You've enlightened me Keiran; I thought the release date was the 15th of the preceding month, now it turns out to be the eighth, it's even worse ! I wrote an email to Key Publishing last Friday explaining what happened but no reply yet. It seems pretty obvious to me that they just aren't bothered too much about Aussie subscribers. I'll miss some of the articles, but I'm not prepared to put up with the aggravation.