Why $29.99 for BA mag?

Talk Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by CMB2012, Apr 17, 2014.

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  1. CMB2012

    CMB2012 Initiate (0) Nov 26, 2008 Colorado

    I've subscribed to the magazine for probably four years now and one of the things that has kept me going is the economical price tag. When did the price double and why? I remember last year seeing a promo for $10 a year. Is this a push towards digital formats? I really like having the physical copy but I'm not sure about $30.
     
    #1 CMB2012, Apr 17, 2014
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  2. RWNay

    RWNay Initiate (0) Oct 7, 2010 Illinois

    I'm pretty sure when I signed up a several months ago, it was $29.99 for 3 years. But I could be wrong...
     
    #2 RWNay, Apr 17, 2014
  3. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    It's roughly $1 to print and $1 to ship each single copy of BA mag (and most other mags of our size) per month. That's $24 per subscription shipped, leaving us with only $6 in gross profits per subscription. And that $6 gets eaten up quickly once processing fees (~$1), other related costs, and our time are applied.

    Now one might make the argument that advertising helps offset all of this, however, that wouldn't be taking the costs of maintaing 8 employees into consideration and a considerable amount of freelance content/art fees each month. And let's not forget that the cost of nearly everything goes up annually, so if we don't adjust subscription fees our profits will continue to shrink.

    We've also dabbled with reduced subscription fees, but learned our lesson; you take a loss and are forced to rely solely on ad revenue. We also believe that BA mag has value, hence the increase to $29.99.

    Bottom-line: It's not cheap running a magazine, and there's a ton of risk. There's no point running one if we're not making a profit. And we strongly believe that BA mag is worth a mere $2.49 per month; the cost of a cup of coffee.
     
    #3 Todd, Apr 17, 2014
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  4. AnalogErik

    AnalogErik Initiate (0) Jul 23, 2013 Minnesota

    Print media is on a steep decline. The fact that they still print the mag is astounding in itself. Give them credit, not grief.
     
    #4 AnalogErik, Apr 17, 2014
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  5. DaveHack

    DaveHack Maven (1,433) Mar 28, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Trader

    I just feel that is a huge jump in price. I too have subscribed for several years, but not sure if I need it that bad.
     
    #5 DaveHack, Apr 17, 2014
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  6. Brightside

    Brightside Initiate (0) Apr 8, 2014 Pennsylvania

    I'm willing to bet $29.99/year is virtually nothing compared to how much any given member on here spends on beer...that's $0.57 a week
     
    #6 Brightside, Apr 17, 2014
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  7. HRamz3

    HRamz3 Initiate (0) Feb 9, 2010 Pitcairn

    Only if you exclude the "carb counters" and the "teetalers"...
     
    #7 HRamz3, Apr 17, 2014
  8. ChanChan

    ChanChan Maven (1,341) Dec 12, 2009 California

    I already spent $80.00 on beer this week, is not even Friday yet :''(
     
    #8 ChanChan, Apr 17, 2014
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  9. johnjohnbeer

    johnjohnbeer Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2012 Ohio

    30 a year for a magazine is too much for you guys? How much have you spent on beer alone this week?
     
    #9 johnjohnbeer, Apr 17, 2014
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  10. DNICE555

    DNICE555 Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2008 Connecticut

    Great point. I love reading a good magazine while I'm on the throne... way better than staring at my phone.
     
    #10 DNICE555, Apr 17, 2014
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  11. JuniperJesus

    JuniperJesus Pundit (805) Feb 26, 2011 Illinois

    I love the argument in this thread to justify the increase: How much have you spent on beer this month? Someone tell the people at Car and Driver to double their subscription price because people pay a lot for cars.
     
    #11 JuniperJesus, Apr 17, 2014
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  12. JimKal

    JimKal Savant (1,213) Jul 31, 2011 North Carolina

    I do enjoy the magazine but would like to get it on Zinio for reading on my iPad. I've been working at reducing the amount of paper I have around the house. I'm a book lover but now do most of my reading on my Kindle. I am a current subscriber but am looking forward to switching to the e-version when it becomes available.
     
    #12 JimKal, Apr 17, 2014
  13. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    We reached out to Zinio, but they never got back to us. I might try again.

    In the meantime we're on Google Newsstand, which gives you access to BA mag via an Android device or Google Chrome. We know that the entire world doesn't use Google, or wants to, but it works well for now.
     
    #13 Todd, Apr 17, 2014
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  14. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    Unrealistic example. Car and Driver's circulation was over 1.25 million last year. They can afford to do dirt cheap (give away) subscriptions as they're dealing with massive ad buys, bulk printing and shipping, and an enormous amount of cash flow from subscriptions. Not to mention that they're owned by one of the largest, multi-billion dollar, international, mass media groups on planet earth that owns hundreds of publications.

    We're a small, independently owned, family run business.
     
    #14 Todd, Apr 17, 2014
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  15. Gunch43

    Gunch43 Initiate (0) Jan 15, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Props to Todd for honesty and transparency. You won't see many businesses taking the time to justify their costs to the consumer.
     
    #15 Gunch43, Apr 17, 2014
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  16. imfromwisconsin

    imfromwisconsin Initiate (0) Sep 30, 2013 Rhode Island

    If it's too much, then subscribe to the digital version -- literally $.99/issue and thats a steal.

    The content in these magazines is great, and even the quality of paper. Plus, the site itself is great and why not support something that we all use on a free and regular basis?

    It's basically $2.50 per magazine, which is much lower than stand prices in grocery stores, etc. for most magazines.
     
    #16 imfromwisconsin, Apr 17, 2014
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  17. RblWthACoz

    RblWthACoz Initiate (0) Aug 19, 2006 Pennsylvania

    I regularly waste $2.50 a month on less worthy things.
     
    #17 RblWthACoz, Apr 17, 2014
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  18. rxeight

    rxeight Initiate (0) Feb 5, 2012 Illinois

    I recently renewed car and driver for less than the cost of a stamp per issue. Not sure how the little guys work but the big magazines make way more money on the advertising than the subscriber costs. To the point where they give the magazines away to increase the number of readers and thus increase as revenue.
     
    #18 rxeight, Apr 17, 2014
  19. ctobbi

    ctobbi Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2014 California

    I'm glad this is being discussed. It's easy to assume that writers, photographers, editors, publishers, etc. are paid by some mythical journalism god but, unfortunately, that is not the case. Assignments aren't cheap to report, especially if there is travel involved, which there is 100% of the time. Everyone enjoys reading magazines and learning about the latest beer news but its a full-time job to source the information and distribute it to a wide-scale audience. The price of a magazine is paper, ink, postage/distribution, and food/rent/livelihood of the people busting their buns to make it happen.
     
    #19 ctobbi, Apr 17, 2014
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  20. gmendez1122

    gmendez1122 Pundit (761) Feb 7, 2013 Illinois

    if you ever bought a fifty fifty eclipse that you enjoy for 30-45 minutes then dont complain about a one year magazine subscription.
     
    #20 gmendez1122, Apr 17, 2014
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