E-subscription

Since the digital version doesn't matter where you are, does that mean the international subscription will be the same price as for usa residence?

I currently have both subscriptions. I am enough of a dinasaur that I have not been able to completely let go of the paper version. I have been subscribing via my Nook and my wife actually got me a Nook HD+ for Christmas, which works a lot better for magazines (at least for these old eyes). The HD+ has a 10" screen instead of a 7" screen (diagonal measurement I think) and higher resolution. The digital version is an exact duplicate of the paper version, it looks just like you ran the paper version through a copier and stored it on your Nook. With B&N (and the others as well I suspect) once you buy a magazine it is yours. If you cancel the subscription you still have all the issues that you purchased. You can also download a trial version for free (1 week I think), you just need to remember to cancel it if you don't want to buy it. To me there are pros and cons to paper and digital, but you can't beat the digital for traveling or just having all the issues right at your fingertips. But a magazine never has to be recharged ;-)

Jeeves

I see this is over a year old- so forgive me.  I recently let my print subscription lapse and was going to go digital- until I saw the cost.  Tim-- you said the costs for creating both are the same-- yet pretty much every other modeling magazine I know that is offering subscriptions through pocketmags is offering it at a pretty dramatic discounted rate in comparison to the print edition.  So-- are they losing money doing this, or is using pocketmags over Zinio a better alternative??  I obviously have no clue how all this works, but I am just stating that if you guys at Kalmbach really want to stay competitive, it might be worth your time to start trying to figure out these questions.  

I'll keep an eye out to see if things change, but if I can save money switching over to Tamiya, Scale Model Addict, or some of the UK publications so that I can use that money on models and supplies instead, explain why I shouldn't?

Jeeves, how did you find the Pocketmags subscription at much lower cost than printed version? I found most modeling mag at £28-35 range in digital subscription which are similar to print subscription in UK.

In US, we pay much less for the FSM than other readers in Europe and Asia simplely because of the international postage. The reverse is true when I subscribe to UK magazines. Typical UK magaine print subscription is $80-140 a years, or 2-4 time of FSM. In general, all modeling magazines are expensive because it was driven by the market size.

The pocketmags.com does offer good saving for international subscription. And they offer single issue purchase too. However, it is NOT true that Pocketmags is cheaper than Zinio. For example, I checked on a UK magazine "Hi-Fi Choice". The subscription is $40 (equivalent to £25) on Zinio. On the other hand, it costs £35 (equivalent to $56) to subscribe the same magazine on Pocketmags. Bottomline, shop before your jump.

$50 for both print and digital versions of FSM is still, by far, the best deal for US modelers. I am the old fashion type of guy who wants a paper copy in hand even if I can read it on the internet. If nothing else, printed page is much easier on the old eyes.

Hi Jeeves,

I can't answer to the strategies of other modeling magazines. I can tell you that costs for creating the print and the digital versions are almost identical. There are service and provider fees, production costs, and a long list of other things that go into the digital mix that essentially mirror the paper copy. At the end of the day, both versions of the magazine -- digital and paper -- have to pay for themselves. If one is cannibalizing the other, then there's something wrong in the mix. Right now, both are doing very well.

If you are in another country, the benefits for buying a digital copy are multifold, in that you pay the $39.95 rate because we don't have to cover the costs of shipping. In the U.S., we are still very competitive with our rates. A digital subscription to Tamiya magazine via pocketmags is going to run £27.99 ($44.99). We cost less. You also get the issue earlier than those who wait for it in the mail. You can also purchase single issues, or do just about anything that you can do with pocketmags.

In the end, does the content we provide meet your standards and expectations? I hope we do, and we work hard to. However, that's a choice you have to make for yourself. I hope you keep on with us. I know we have some great stories coming up this year, and Aaron and I are putting together the next round of how-to videos, many of which are only available to subscribers.

Thanks for taking the time to ask,  and whatever your subscription decision, I hope to see you and your models around the Forum.

Regards,

Tim

Digital version can go in your pocket!

pzl66

Digital version can go in your pocket!

But it cannot project out normal page size holographic image yet. How do you read a magazine on a pocket size screen? I just don't get it.

I understand it a bit more now Tim- thanks!  

keilau...I know the single issues are pretty different-- about half price what you would pay to grab the paper copy...but for instance-- a 12 month digital subscription for one with 12 issues a year is around $45 as compared to the print costs (with shipping obviously) of over $100...

I guess the main thing for me- and I am by no means a master modeler- is that I find the articles on Finescale to be things I pretty much already know-- I do enjoy the reviews and still like the magazine-- but I have found some other magazines to be more skill building for my level.  I think what you guys do for the general modeler is great-- and folks just entering or reentering the hobby can get a lot of great information from you guys...I am just not that guy...