Why every checkout counter in America sells those $14 magazines
March 15, 2023 7:11 AM Subscribe
Now I am thinking about all the freelance writers (which is how these things are produced) who are going to be replaced with an editor and ChatGPT or whatever. When that 50c a word for essentially meaningless drivel about [subject] dries up and blows away. It's a concern.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:29 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:29 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
Having checked out some bookazines, they are also recycling rather a lot of writing from the related magazines. Which is fine sometimes - a collection of the last ten years worth of tomato cultivation, or pants fitting, or dovetail cutting, etc can be pretty useful.
If you’re only publishing to existing special interests seems like you have an audience - development problem, though. Subscription magazines with their own editors were great for introducing new ideas in digestible ways.
Were, are — I clearly read Taunton Press publications. I hope they survive.
posted by clew at 7:35 AM on March 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
If you’re only publishing to existing special interests seems like you have an audience - development problem, though. Subscription magazines with their own editors were great for introducing new ideas in digestible ways.
Were, are — I clearly read Taunton Press publications. I hope they survive.
posted by clew at 7:35 AM on March 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
Running the gauntlet of the upscale versions of these at Whole Foods always induces in me a very strong feeling that I'm not supposed to be there.
posted by praemunire at 7:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 7:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
They're not called writers anymore... they're content creators.
I shop at Whole Foods pretty often as it's very convenient for me. Based on the publications I see by the checkout, there's a market for people who want to read about anti-inflammatory foods (???).
posted by SoberHighland at 7:41 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I shop at Whole Foods pretty often as it's very convenient for me. Based on the publications I see by the checkout, there's a market for people who want to read about anti-inflammatory foods (???).
posted by SoberHighland at 7:41 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I feel like this thread is going to be a trashing on these magazines, and as someone who purchases them I'll weigh in in their defense. Yes, I know books exist, thank you. We have probably over 1,000 in our house, over half are children books. These magazines travel well (light weight), are good for long car rides, and unlike traditional magazines (I'm looking at you Real Simple and Vanity Fair) aren't full of advertisements or articles pretending to be advertisements (10 things you must buy right now to make your life simpler, easier, cleaner etc.) The last three I bought were the Worst of Mad Magazine (compilation of classic Mad), Ancient Civilizations (good for my 5-year-old, lots of pictures) and Human Anatomy (for both of my kids). They are rugged enough to last a long time just like a book, but lighter, so easier to pop into a bag for a road trip. And yes, I ALSO have books on human anatomy, ancient civilizations and old Mad Magazines.
posted by Toddles at 7:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [88 favorites]
posted by Toddles at 7:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [88 favorites]
why are they buying these instead of a more traditional book? … But maybe that's a function of where the thing is being sold.
I grew up in a town an hour away from the nearest Barnes and Noble (yes, it dates me). People bought paperbacks from the supermarket checkout or they didn’t buy books at all. Larger, modern drugstores (half an hour away) would have a small paperback section of romances and thrillers. Target had an entire aisle, including Oprah’s book club selections and a small nonfiction group. Those things are basically gone now. Children can’t buy books on the internet now without adult supervision, and many older people prefer not to anyway.
posted by Hypatia at 7:56 AM on March 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
I grew up in a town an hour away from the nearest Barnes and Noble (yes, it dates me). People bought paperbacks from the supermarket checkout or they didn’t buy books at all. Larger, modern drugstores (half an hour away) would have a small paperback section of romances and thrillers. Target had an entire aisle, including Oprah’s book club selections and a small nonfiction group. Those things are basically gone now. Children can’t buy books on the internet now without adult supervision, and many older people prefer not to anyway.
posted by Hypatia at 7:56 AM on March 15, 2023 [9 favorites]
Reading the headline I thought this was talking about what I think of as “prestige” magazines. I’m thinking Kinfolk or the whole slew of thick and fancy cooking and literary magazines (think Lucky Peach) that used to be around. Has that category fizzled out? I haven’t been paying attention but it seems every time I would subscribe to one they’d stop publishing and they’d fill the remainder of my subscription with some trash magazine that was vaguely in the the same category.
posted by misterpatrick at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by misterpatrick at 8:11 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is interesting; I had wondered why these sorts of magazines are so prevalent on the shelves at places like Shoppers Drug Mart and have been tempted a few times to buy some of the music-themed ones, but was put off by all the recycled content.
This passage definitely describes the only magazine I still have a subscription to:
"...the future of magazines — smaller, passionate groups around something that they have a high interest in that they’re willing to pay for.”
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:16 AM on March 15, 2023
This passage definitely describes the only magazine I still have a subscription to:
"...the future of magazines — smaller, passionate groups around something that they have a high interest in that they’re willing to pay for.”
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:16 AM on March 15, 2023
I suspect the "bookazine vs. book" question is much more boring than complex market forces or anything. Bookazines have pictures, tend to be about subjects that benefit from lots of pictures, and can't really be replaced in book form by anything other than a $50+ coffee table book. If you want a detailed history of WWII you have many, many text-only options, but if you want a visual reference for uniforms or maps or arms or whatever, there's a whole section of the magazine rack that'll do you, and probably very few and very expensive options over on the bookshelves.
I have lots of feelings about the magazine market right now, but the ones that sell do seem to sell. A lot of the ones that sell are this special-edition format, though, either bookazines or collectors-edition pop culture compilations.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:16 AM on March 15, 2023 [15 favorites]
I have lots of feelings about the magazine market right now, but the ones that sell do seem to sell. A lot of the ones that sell are this special-edition format, though, either bookazines or collectors-edition pop culture compilations.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:16 AM on March 15, 2023 [15 favorites]
Our house currently has 8 magazine subscriptions and piles of books, but also some appetite for the bookazine/$14 impulse buy - Preview of the coming Pokémon year with some obvious but fun filler? Sure! Slightly lurid popular history of London archeology with great photos of sites and artifacts? Perfect 15 minute kinda brain dead at the end of a long day before bed reading for me.
I also miss the wire racks of cheap paperbacks and a magazine section that took up 1/3 of a supermarket aisle, but growing up in their heyday inculcated me with a love of brightly colored trash that no later education or subject specialist nerdery has eradicated. This genre provides (within reason, given the price) the same (suspect but deep) pleasures, or at least a decent facsimile.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:45 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
I also miss the wire racks of cheap paperbacks and a magazine section that took up 1/3 of a supermarket aisle, but growing up in their heyday inculcated me with a love of brightly colored trash that no later education or subject specialist nerdery has eradicated. This genre provides (within reason, given the price) the same (suspect but deep) pleasures, or at least a decent facsimile.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:45 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
I think impulse purchase has got a lot to do with it - that and the fact that people instinctively feel something that looks like a magazine will be cheaper than something that looks like a book.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:49 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 8:49 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
The target audience, format, and (in some cases) topics might differ, but these seem to have a lot of overlap with the Oxford University Press Very Short Introductions series: an overview of a topic in about 100 pages for those who want more than Wikipedia but don't want to read an 800 page tome.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:54 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
If something's mixed in with the more traditional magazines, it's set to be more of a spontaneous impulse buy, because it's "just" a magazine. Books feel like they should be more deliberately-chosen purchases, while these "bookazines" are impulse-buy things.
A magazine is probably also a lot easier to throw away (or, hopefully, recycle), even if it costs as much as a book.
posted by Gelatin at 8:56 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
A magazine is probably also a lot easier to throw away (or, hopefully, recycle), even if it costs as much as a book.
posted by Gelatin at 8:56 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I also miss the wire racks of cheap paperbacks and a magazine section that took up 1/3 of a supermarket aisle
Oh, man, you're bringing me back to a hobby that is probably now long defunct. Every few months I'd take $100 or $150 and go to the local bookstore that had a giant magazine and news section and just browse for like an hour and buy things that caught my eye. Some of these were weird zines, or maybe one issue of a magazine I'd never otherwise buy, or things that felt somehow fun or "transgressive". Anyway, it's nearly impossible to do that anymore. But wow, yeah, I met a lot of interesting ideas and amazing things doing that.
posted by hippybear at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2023 [14 favorites]
Oh, man, you're bringing me back to a hobby that is probably now long defunct. Every few months I'd take $100 or $150 and go to the local bookstore that had a giant magazine and news section and just browse for like an hour and buy things that caught my eye. Some of these were weird zines, or maybe one issue of a magazine I'd never otherwise buy, or things that felt somehow fun or "transgressive". Anyway, it's nearly impossible to do that anymore. But wow, yeah, I met a lot of interesting ideas and amazing things doing that.
posted by hippybear at 9:00 AM on March 15, 2023 [14 favorites]
I always wondered if part of the point of these was that they were evergreen. October People Magazine has to be gone at some point, but "50 pages of glossy Princess Di pictures" and "hey, remember the beatles?" and "Jesus: buy this and we'll tell you if he was real (he was)" can stay on the stand forever.
posted by Rinku at 9:01 AM on March 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by Rinku at 9:01 AM on March 15, 2023 [19 favorites]
I have a few of the cooking related bookazines. I don't often cook from cookbooks -- it is easier to just google a recipe at the moment I need it than find one in my cookbook collection -- but I like to leaf through them and get ideas and look at pictures. Bookazines fill that niche without being something I feel compelled to keep forever and they generally contain no advertising or much less advertising than actual magazines, which are mostly ads.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Because it's as much about how it reads as it is about the cost compared to a book - just now the promise of topic-related content chunked out in familiar, easily digestible formats, from lists and listicles to features to interviews and and Q&A's and pictorials, all of it easy to dip in and out, simple pick up and put down - not so unlike the kinds of pubs one might expect to find in a rack in the bathroom until it was assumed everyone just reads their phone while they take a shit.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 9:19 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by thecincinnatikid at 9:19 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
These magazines aren’t new. In the 1970s through 1990s, Hearst Magazines and the former Meredith Corp. used these publications to test the market. They would put out an issue of something highly specific, like Better Homes and Gardens or Country Living, to see if it would stick. If the first one didn’t do well, they would attribute it to lack of interest and not print another, Husni said. But if a title did well, it had the potential — like Better Homes and Gardens and Country Living — to take on a life of its own.So this is why Time would have Jesus or Mary or Elvis on the cover, semiannually, throughout the nineties?
posted by condour75 at 9:21 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I don't know if this marks a trend, but the selection at the local Whole Foods over the last decade seems to have moved from magazines that were a good match for the store vibe, e.g., organic/sustainable recipes, spirituality, women-oriented themes, to Marvel-themed bookazines (e.g., Everything You Need to Know About Avengers Endgame!); multiple bookazines about celebrities, such as Whitney Houston; and fad diet (keto, paleo) magazines. From that, I'd assume that there's more of an emphasis being placed on film/media tie-ins and newsy tie-ins, which probably reflects the Bezos-ization of the chain (separate rant).
posted by the sobsister at 9:23 AM on March 15, 2023
posted by the sobsister at 9:23 AM on March 15, 2023
These "bookazines", are they the same thing as mooks?
posted by sukeban at 9:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by sukeban at 9:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
I've definitely noticed that cultural shift at Whole Foods. And (again, maybe this is a separate thread) also a noticeable increase in the amount of sugar they put in the 365 branded items. Savory foods, like taquitos and pizza crust, are noticeably sweet. It's such a quality downgrade from the pre-Amazon era. All across the board.
posted by knotty knots at 9:26 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by knotty knots at 9:26 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Toddles: My apologies first, I actually hadn't meant to be condescending but now that I read that back I certainly did sound like it. My apologies.
What I meant by that was: I was noting that these seemed to be deep-dive single-topic publications, the kind of thing that you'd expect most people to specifically intend to head to a book store to look for. But they were being sold alongside magazines and being picked up as "impulse buys" or "I'm at the airport and need something to read" buys. My intent was more idly wondering whether book publishers have tried selling some of their books alongside magazines as well. And in some places they do indeed - usually in the glorified "newsstands" you find in airports. But the standard books you find there are usually only in a narrow range of topics (SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many of them are the kind of books I can best describe as "business self-help"), and it's just been puzzling me why book publishing houses don't expand their offerings of books on other topics in these markets, since there's clearly interest.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:29 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
What I meant by that was: I was noting that these seemed to be deep-dive single-topic publications, the kind of thing that you'd expect most people to specifically intend to head to a book store to look for. But they were being sold alongside magazines and being picked up as "impulse buys" or "I'm at the airport and need something to read" buys. My intent was more idly wondering whether book publishers have tried selling some of their books alongside magazines as well. And in some places they do indeed - usually in the glorified "newsstands" you find in airports. But the standard books you find there are usually only in a narrow range of topics (SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many of them are the kind of books I can best describe as "business self-help"), and it's just been puzzling me why book publishing houses don't expand their offerings of books on other topics in these markets, since there's clearly interest.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:29 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Books that have that many glossy color photos are generally quite expensive.
posted by phunniemee at 9:34 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 9:34 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Bookazines have pictures, tend to be about subjects that benefit from lots of pictures
Yeah, I feel these are a bit like softcover, disposable coffee table books. I can see the appeal, both on price point (you can easily be $100+ for a coffee table book) and on the fact that you can throw the thing out after three months.
Marvel-themed bookazines
I picked up (meaning physically, not "purchased") an Antman one to browse while stuck in a checkout line because it promised me the science behind the movie. It did not deliver.
posted by mark k at 9:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Yeah, I feel these are a bit like softcover, disposable coffee table books. I can see the appeal, both on price point (you can easily be $100+ for a coffee table book) and on the fact that you can throw the thing out after three months.
Marvel-themed bookazines
I picked up (meaning physically, not "purchased") an Antman one to browse while stuck in a checkout line because it promised me the science behind the movie. It did not deliver.
posted by mark k at 9:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Yeah, I feel these are a bit like softcover, disposable coffee table books.
....Huh! That's a good point.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
....Huh! That's a good point.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also with bookazines vs. books, these are meant to be sold at the registers in grocery stores where it's a much more frequent impulse purchase than a book might be. They aren't meant to sit there forever and almost always have an offsale date above the barcode. However the content is easy to just reprint so you'll see the Nat Geo National Parks in stores every May.
posted by drinkyclown at 9:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by drinkyclown at 9:43 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Having checked out some bookazines, they are also recycling rather a lot of writing from the related magazines. Which is fine sometimes - a collection of the last ten years worth of tomato cultivation, or pants fitting, or dovetail cutting, etc can be pretty useful.
Oh, they're like Archie Comics digests and Mad super specials! This just clicked for me.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:46 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
Oh, they're like Archie Comics digests and Mad super specials! This just clicked for me.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:46 AM on March 15, 2023 [6 favorites]
They aren't meant to sit there forever and almost always have an offsale date above the barcode.
This is often true, although that offsale date might be six months from release. Generally "when the new one comes out" is when magazines get trashed, but since bookazines aren't serials, there's no automatic replacement and some of them only get thrown out when the store gets tired of them.
posted by restless_nomad at 9:47 AM on March 15, 2023
This is often true, although that offsale date might be six months from release. Generally "when the new one comes out" is when magazines get trashed, but since bookazines aren't serials, there's no automatic replacement and some of them only get thrown out when the store gets tired of them.
posted by restless_nomad at 9:47 AM on March 15, 2023
Every now and then I see one of these that looks interesting, but the price tag always scares me away. Somehow I didn’t know they didn’t have ads.
I do still get the feeling it’s going to be mostly recycled content or badly written puff articles - stuff I didn’t care about in a $3 People magazine or free at the hair salon, but which I would really hate at the price of a good paperback. So I’m torn. But I’m really intrigued by the appreciation.
posted by Mchelly at 9:49 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I do still get the feeling it’s going to be mostly recycled content or badly written puff articles - stuff I didn’t care about in a $3 People magazine or free at the hair salon, but which I would really hate at the price of a good paperback. So I’m torn. But I’m really intrigued by the appreciation.
posted by Mchelly at 9:49 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
there's no automatic replacement and some of them only get thrown out when the store gets tired of them.
The stores do need to pull them and return the covers if they want credit for unsold copies though. Magazines are always guaranteed sale since the stores get credit from the distributors, and the distributors get credit from the publishers.
posted by drinkyclown at 10:01 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
The stores do need to pull them and return the covers if they want credit for unsold copies though. Magazines are always guaranteed sale since the stores get credit from the distributors, and the distributors get credit from the publishers.
posted by drinkyclown at 10:01 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Running the gauntlet of the upscale versions of these at Whole Foods always induces in me a very strong feeling that I'm not supposed to be there.
I have this same feeling, but it's in every checkout line, not just whole foods.
posted by Dr. Twist at 10:02 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have this same feeling, but it's in every checkout line, not just whole foods.
posted by Dr. Twist at 10:02 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
So this is why Time would have Jesus or Mary or Elvis on the cover, semiannually, throughout the nineties?
Or Dracula! (I came very close to buying that one. But I didn't.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:02 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Or Dracula! (I came very close to buying that one. But I didn't.)
posted by uncleozzy at 10:02 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
The stores do need to pull them and return the covers if they want credit for unsold copies though.
Used to be true, isn't anymore, at least at Barnes and Noble. Magazines come in on consignment, the store pays for the ones they sell and trash the rest unmutilated. (Or, well, they call the big shredder truck to mutilate them wholesale.)
posted by restless_nomad at 10:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Used to be true, isn't anymore, at least at Barnes and Noble. Magazines come in on consignment, the store pays for the ones they sell and trash the rest unmutilated. (Or, well, they call the big shredder truck to mutilate them wholesale.)
posted by restless_nomad at 10:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I suspect a lot of these are bought as spontaneous gifts, too, like “oh we’re going over grandpa’s house, he always liked Elvis and it’d be nice to bring something” or “oh, I’ll grab this Ant-Man thing for the kids’ Easter basket” or whatever.
posted by smelendez at 10:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by smelendez at 10:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Oh interesting, I work at an independent distributor so we haven't worked with Barnes & Noble. Although during the pandemic we did switch many stores to affidavit returns instead of sending covers. I still get hundreds of covers back every week from various stores.
posted by drinkyclown at 10:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by drinkyclown at 10:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Makes sense! I really, really don't understand the economics of the Barnes and Noble magazine department, and I'm not convinced anyone else does, either.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:41 AM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad at 10:41 AM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
Since establishing our pirate Little Free Library last year we've been getting frequent donations of bella GRACE -- it appears to be a hard copy of "White Woman's Instagram" that retails for $18.99 (US)
posted by art.bikes at 10:47 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by art.bikes at 10:47 AM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
→
I was reading down the thread thinking exactly the same. Mook is short and works, and has been around since the last century. Bookazine sounds like a terrible hipster beard care product that may have been briefly available in a Portland boutique circa 2006.
posted by scruss at 10:54 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
These "bookazines", are they the same thing as mooks?
I was reading down the thread thinking exactly the same. Mook is short and works, and has been around since the last century. Bookazine sounds like a terrible hipster beard care product that may have been briefly available in a Portland boutique circa 2006.
posted by scruss at 10:54 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
From the brief wikipedia description, it sounds like mooks are genuine periodicals, while these are one-offs affiliated with a periodical.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:32 AM on March 15, 2023
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:32 AM on March 15, 2023
I feel like people are missing one of the key points of these magazines. They don't change their interface every week like the web does. There are no popups, popovers, delayed popups, ad rotations, autoplaying video, dead URLS or worse spam and malware. They are easily understood, zero maintenance, reusable, easily sharable, almost zero for post purchase energy consumption and everybody knows how to read a magazine even my father with senile dementia can look at the pictures and turn the pages without any frustration. There is a reason they sell them in places frequented by seniors or parents and why they are pretty much absent or buried in online marketplaces.
(Regular mags offer a lot of this except with about 50% of the bulk being ads but they generally tend not to be as nostalgia focused as these specials are).
posted by srboisvert at 11:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
(Regular mags offer a lot of this except with about 50% of the bulk being ads but they generally tend not to be as nostalgia focused as these specials are).
posted by srboisvert at 11:37 AM on March 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
And, yeah, these are very definitely point-of-purchase impulse-buy items. The self-checkout line at the local Whole Foods has people snake through a short passageway that is entirely lined in impulse-buy items, including many bookazines.
posted by the sobsister at 11:54 AM on March 15, 2023
posted by the sobsister at 11:54 AM on March 15, 2023
My intent was more idly wondering whether book publishers have tried selling some of their books alongside magazines as well.
Besides the marketing issues (which books make sense in the grocery aisle - romance, self-help, large-print memoir, etc.), I can share that in Canada, magazine distribution and racking (where your magazine sits on the shelves etc.) is pretty tightly controlled.
(I just found this post on the US state of things, which may or may be accurate.)
My guess is that book publishers, because they have to profit on the actual sale of the book (where magazine newsstand sales are partly marketing for subscriptions) aren't as into the kinds of deals that distributors are favourable towards, and distributors don't have a lot of extra rack space despite the loss of so many print magazines because of...SIPs/bookazines.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:56 AM on March 15, 2023
Besides the marketing issues (which books make sense in the grocery aisle - romance, self-help, large-print memoir, etc.), I can share that in Canada, magazine distribution and racking (where your magazine sits on the shelves etc.) is pretty tightly controlled.
(I just found this post on the US state of things, which may or may be accurate.)
My guess is that book publishers, because they have to profit on the actual sale of the book (where magazine newsstand sales are partly marketing for subscriptions) aren't as into the kinds of deals that distributors are favourable towards, and distributors don't have a lot of extra rack space despite the loss of so many print magazines because of...SIPs/bookazines.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:56 AM on March 15, 2023
Also, I used to go and re-rack the magazines at my local grocery store to put mine on the top, until the store manager caught me at it and told me he was getting in big trouble with the distributors. So...don't do that I guess. He still yells 'hey EDITOR' at me when I go in.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:57 AM on March 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by warriorqueen at 11:57 AM on March 15, 2023 [16 favorites]
store manager caught me at it and told me he was getting in big trouble with the distributors. So...don't do that I guess. He still yells 'hey EDITOR' at me when I go in
You still go in there? I'm in awe. I'd feel compelled to move to at least the next state over.
posted by praemunire at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
You still go in there? I'm in awe. I'd feel compelled to move to at least the next state over.
posted by praemunire at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
I grew up in a town an hour away from the nearest Barnes and Noble (yes, it dates me). People bought paperbacks from the supermarket checkout or they didn’t buy books at all. Larger, modern drugstores (half an hour away) would have a small paperback section of romances and thrillers. Target had an entire aisle, including Oprah’s book club selections and a small nonfiction group. Those things are basically gone now. Children can’t buy books on the internet now without adult supervision, and many older people prefer not to anyway.
This is my situation in a nutshell. Nearest halfway good bookstore AND B&N are 90 miles away. We do have both a public library and a small independent bookstore about 65 miles away but both cater heavily to the lowest common denominator, which means bad bodice rippers and far right military fantasies. This leaves me in the hands of Bezos. I bite that bullet but I do it with a pain in my belly.
posted by Ber at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is my situation in a nutshell. Nearest halfway good bookstore AND B&N are 90 miles away. We do have both a public library and a small independent bookstore about 65 miles away but both cater heavily to the lowest common denominator, which means bad bodice rippers and far right military fantasies. This leaves me in the hands of Bezos. I bite that bullet but I do it with a pain in my belly.
posted by Ber at 12:30 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
praemunire: "Running the gauntlet of the upscale versions of these at Whole Foods always induces in me a very strong feeling that I'm not supposed to be there."
Oh my god. I took a photo of a magazine at Whole Foods once, because of the cover article: "Donkeys: The new goats?"
I don't know if Modern Farmer is one of these "bookazines" or whatever these guys want to spin it as, but I do know that I nearly passed out from laughing so hard at that stupid magazine cover
posted by caution live frogs at 12:37 PM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
Oh my god. I took a photo of a magazine at Whole Foods once, because of the cover article: "Donkeys: The new goats?"
I don't know if Modern Farmer is one of these "bookazines" or whatever these guys want to spin it as, but I do know that I nearly passed out from laughing so hard at that stupid magazine cover
posted by caution live frogs at 12:37 PM on March 15, 2023 [8 favorites]
My take is that they are there in large part to sooth the nerves of impatient patrons waiting impatiently on the checkout line. Time passes more smoothly if you can spend a minute or two checking out the latest dope on the royals or the Hollywoods or fun picture of cats or nice real estate.
For the store owner, if someone actually buys them, well, that's just a bonus.
posted by BWA at 12:38 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
For the store owner, if someone actually buys them, well, that's just a bonus.
posted by BWA at 12:38 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
That article warriorqueen posted about the decline of magazine distributors and wholesalers is very interesting. Until recently I lived in New Orleans, and the question of where to buy various national magazines would occasionally come up.
The answer was generally Barnes and Noble in the suburbs: New Orleans has some great bookstores, but none of them carry magazines. Chain grocery and drug stores didn't have many, corner stores generally have zero, and there haven't been traditional newsstands in years if not decades. I assume this is probably the case in a lot of small-to-medium-sized cities. But there's something ironic about having to drive to a chain store in the suburbs to buy a copy of The New Yorker.
posted by smelendez at 12:40 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
The answer was generally Barnes and Noble in the suburbs: New Orleans has some great bookstores, but none of them carry magazines. Chain grocery and drug stores didn't have many, corner stores generally have zero, and there haven't been traditional newsstands in years if not decades. I assume this is probably the case in a lot of small-to-medium-sized cities. But there's something ironic about having to drive to a chain store in the suburbs to buy a copy of The New Yorker.
posted by smelendez at 12:40 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't know if Modern Farmer is one of these "bookazines" or whatever these guys want to spin it as, but I do know that I nearly passed out from laughing so hard at that stupid magazine cover
Hell, I just burst out laughing at my desk at work reading that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:50 PM on March 15, 2023
Hell, I just burst out laughing at my desk at work reading that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:50 PM on March 15, 2023
This got me thinking that the only place to buy physical books near me is the drug store; something I previously thought was a weird item for them to stock. Mind you there is a Chapters just across town about 10 km away.
posted by Mitheral at 1:25 PM on March 15, 2023
posted by Mitheral at 1:25 PM on March 15, 2023
Oh my god. I took a photo of a magazine at Whole Foods once, because of the cover article: "Donkeys: The new goats?"
Donkeys are great. One of my favorite domesticated herbivore videos of all time features a woman who owned a farm where an isolated tree in a field was on fire (from a lightning strike, maybe), and one of her donkeys resolutely refused to allow her to get within 50 feet of it. She would push forward, and the donkey would head her off and push her right back, braying loudly. No goat would care that much.
She finally gave up. Lucky for me I hate Whole Foods, or there could be a miniature donkey curled up on a bed in the corner braying for me to get out the curry comb right now.
posted by jamjam at 2:08 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Donkeys are great. One of my favorite domesticated herbivore videos of all time features a woman who owned a farm where an isolated tree in a field was on fire (from a lightning strike, maybe), and one of her donkeys resolutely refused to allow her to get within 50 feet of it. She would push forward, and the donkey would head her off and push her right back, braying loudly. No goat would care that much.
She finally gave up. Lucky for me I hate Whole Foods, or there could be a miniature donkey curled up on a bed in the corner braying for me to get out the curry comb right now.
posted by jamjam at 2:08 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
“You’re no longer talking about an impulse buy,” he said. “You are talking about a curated, creative product.”
I'd be fascinated to know how many of these things are sold to people who thought they'd only cost as much as a magazine and didn't notice the price until either (a) after the purchase, or (b) never, because it was a line item in a (nowadays very expensive) cart full of groceries.
posted by The Tensor at 2:22 PM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'd be fascinated to know how many of these things are sold to people who thought they'd only cost as much as a magazine and didn't notice the price until either (a) after the purchase, or (b) never, because it was a line item in a (nowadays very expensive) cart full of groceries.
posted by The Tensor at 2:22 PM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I miss the pocket books that were like this, but only slightly larger than a deck of cards. They were basically one long article on one topic-- ghosts or card games or household hints or whatever. Very fun treat I got as a kid. Haven't thought about those in years!
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:38 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:38 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you are vulnerable to the allure of donkeys, by all means avoid the social media of the Squirrelwood animal sanctuary, which features a donkers named Mojo who, when faced with treats, can summon an imploring face that would make Batman's heart melt. I don't even know if people often call a donkey a donkers, I only know that that is how I spontaneously described him when I saw that face.
posted by praemunire at 3:16 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 3:16 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I've recently had occasion to want to buy a magazine for an elderly person - looking for some light reading, not on screens - physically lightweight and easy to handle, with pleasant reading but not overly vapid or commercial. Something like a newspaper or magazine used to be. I went to several stores and couldn't find anything suitable - these bookazines were the closest thing to it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:13 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:13 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I like these magazines. I agree with a lot of people above: they are interesting and detailed, but less than a huge book; less expensive than a coffee table book; no or few advertisements.
Also, it's a reasonable cost to mail (cheaper than a book to mail) and a nice surprise to get in the mail. And I found a friend appreciated them when she was recovering from surgery, the mags were engaging but not overwhelming.
I know you're joking with some of the titles, but some of the titles/subjects are interesting. I don't buy a lot of them, but I liked ones on Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson and Guy Lafleur (the one on Roberto Clemente was a bit slap dash with no photo captions). Nat geo (for all the valid criticisms) has a slew of them on e.g. the universe, Vikings, the Romans, medieval Europe, national parks, etc. Le monde diplomatique has a phenomenal "hors series" (written in French) that's been running for at least twenty years, a selection of their past articles on a political, social or environmental theme. One of the latest was on Chile. (Granted you may not find le monde diplo in a grocery store, but you can see sometimes here in Ottawa.)
That said, there is a lot of re-purposed articles. And I've seen some of these mags for 40$ and more which seems bananas. And I've bought a few of these mags as presents and found the content overlapped a lot (maybe overlapped too much when you give them to the same person).
posted by philfromhavelock at 5:07 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, it's a reasonable cost to mail (cheaper than a book to mail) and a nice surprise to get in the mail. And I found a friend appreciated them when she was recovering from surgery, the mags were engaging but not overwhelming.
I know you're joking with some of the titles, but some of the titles/subjects are interesting. I don't buy a lot of them, but I liked ones on Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson and Guy Lafleur (the one on Roberto Clemente was a bit slap dash with no photo captions). Nat geo (for all the valid criticisms) has a slew of them on e.g. the universe, Vikings, the Romans, medieval Europe, national parks, etc. Le monde diplomatique has a phenomenal "hors series" (written in French) that's been running for at least twenty years, a selection of their past articles on a political, social or environmental theme. One of the latest was on Chile. (Granted you may not find le monde diplo in a grocery store, but you can see sometimes here in Ottawa.)
That said, there is a lot of re-purposed articles. And I've seen some of these mags for 40$ and more which seems bananas. And I've bought a few of these mags as presents and found the content overlapped a lot (maybe overlapped too much when you give them to the same person).
posted by philfromhavelock at 5:07 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I don't know if Modern Farmer is one of these "bookazines" or whatever these guys want to spin it as, but I do know that I nearly passed out from laughing so hard at that stupid magazine cover
Maybe, but it's worth noting that MeFi has gotten a good bit of pleasure / grist from it in the past.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:14 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Maybe, but it's worth noting that MeFi has gotten a good bit of pleasure / grist from it in the past.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:14 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'd be fascinated to know how many of these things are sold to people who thought they'd only cost as much as a magazine and didn't notice the price until either (a) after the purchase, or (b) never, because it was a line item in a (nowadays very expensive) cart full of groceries.
This is exactly how I bought one. I figured it couldn't be more than six or seven dollars. And the cashier (this is how long ago this was) rang it up and I started to ask her to put it back but the line was long and I was tired and I wanted to read it because I liked the cover so I didn't.
But I can honestly say I did get a book's worth of enjoyment from the 14.99 I did spend, and it was a balm for a tired and distracted mind. Lots of colorful pictures, easily digestible, gently informative without being exhausting, overall a deeply pleasant neutrality. So enjoyable that I bought a second one later the same year specifically for a hospital visit.
The act of buying one feels a little healthier than choosing celebrity magazine: it's the feeling you get when you spring for the baked Cheetos instead of the regular kind.
posted by mochapickle at 6:21 PM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
This is exactly how I bought one. I figured it couldn't be more than six or seven dollars. And the cashier (this is how long ago this was) rang it up and I started to ask her to put it back but the line was long and I was tired and I wanted to read it because I liked the cover so I didn't.
But I can honestly say I did get a book's worth of enjoyment from the 14.99 I did spend, and it was a balm for a tired and distracted mind. Lots of colorful pictures, easily digestible, gently informative without being exhausting, overall a deeply pleasant neutrality. So enjoyable that I bought a second one later the same year specifically for a hospital visit.
The act of buying one feels a little healthier than choosing celebrity magazine: it's the feeling you get when you spring for the baked Cheetos instead of the regular kind.
posted by mochapickle at 6:21 PM on March 15, 2023 [5 favorites]
I once let my toddler choose one magazine from a B&N magazine section to buy. He chose what I now know is a bookazine and the experiment cost more than anticipated! The entire issue was on one model of a historic steam train.
posted by brendano at 6:56 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by brendano at 6:56 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
flipping thru Archie Comics at checkout is one of the rituals of buying groceries (missed that in Covid era)...
White Noise A&P Supermarket, checkout is around 5 minutes..
posted by ovvl at 6:58 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
White Noise A&P Supermarket, checkout is around 5 minutes..
posted by ovvl at 6:58 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I work at a whole foods and all I know is that the guy comes like every other Sunday to pack up all the magazines that aren't sold and there is a shit ton of them.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:49 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:49 PM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
- Easier to store
- Cost effective to print even if the book is smaller/shorter
- Easy to purchase -- "seems" less expensive, and also more disposable (less of a burden) than a "real" book
- Seeming less expensive is huge here; One is less likely to even check the price than if one were buying an actual book
- Less intimidating to non-college-educated audiences
- Large front area for placing eye-catching marketing graphics/blurbs/indications of what's inside
- Infrastructure (racks) for displaying in very high-traffic locations already exists
- Infrastructure for printing already exists and is possibly underused, since print magazines are less popular
- Less attractive to libraries, perhaps, and so less obtainable without paying
- Can fit more copies into a finite space (except when displayed as magazines, of course)
posted by amtho at 8:46 PM on March 15, 2023
- Cost effective to print even if the book is smaller/shorter
- Easy to purchase -- "seems" less expensive, and also more disposable (less of a burden) than a "real" book
- Seeming less expensive is huge here; One is less likely to even check the price than if one were buying an actual book
- Less intimidating to non-college-educated audiences
- Large front area for placing eye-catching marketing graphics/blurbs/indications of what's inside
- Infrastructure (racks) for displaying in very high-traffic locations already exists
- Infrastructure for printing already exists and is possibly underused, since print magazines are less popular
- Less attractive to libraries, perhaps, and so less obtainable without paying
- Can fit more copies into a finite space (except when displayed as magazines, of course)
posted by amtho at 8:46 PM on March 15, 2023
Readers' Digest for Generation X
posted by amtho at 8:47 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by amtho at 8:47 PM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
METAFILTER: you are vulnerable to the allure of donkeys
posted by philip-random at 10:10 PM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 10:10 PM on March 15, 2023 [4 favorites]
My recent favorite one of these was the 2021 Entertainment Weekly Scream 25th anniversary edition; it was perilously close to the pull date in March 2022. It was a fitting capstone at the end of EW's print run.
I've also just seen a collector's magazine for Casablanca's 80th anniversary--it might be a reprint to coincide with the recent theatrical re-release.
These magazines are also good stocking stuffers; I bought someone the Stan Lee at 100 one in December.
posted by JDC8 at 10:21 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've also just seen a collector's magazine for Casablanca's 80th anniversary--it might be a reprint to coincide with the recent theatrical re-release.
These magazines are also good stocking stuffers; I bought someone the Stan Lee at 100 one in December.
posted by JDC8 at 10:21 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
> The entire issue was on one model of a historic steam train.
Until this comment I was certain I would never buy one of these, but now I am not so sure.
(I do buy expensive indie mags like M and Apartamento, so be sure, I have 0 legs to stand on.)
posted by dame at 6:07 AM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Until this comment I was certain I would never buy one of these, but now I am not so sure.
(I do buy expensive indie mags like M and Apartamento, so be sure, I have 0 legs to stand on.)
posted by dame at 6:07 AM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm thinking some of the people who are spending $13-$15 are just assuming because they're magazines, they're cheaper. There is a certain percentage of the population (100% of the people I'm married to, for instance), who don't look at the price of almost anything in a store, and get surprised when the cash register total is as large as it is. I've even heard that you can ask these people while they're holding something in their hand at a Target how much it is, and they have no idea. They just want it, so they assume it's in their budget. It must be hard shopping with these people, especially if you're trying to save money for an anniversary trip to Hawaii. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2023 [5 favorites]
I bought one of these about Duran Duran couple months ago. I didn't remember that it cost $14.99, but I just checked, and yes, it did cost $14.99!
posted by vespabelle at 9:27 PM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by vespabelle at 9:27 PM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've even heard that you can ask these people while they're holding something in their hand at a Target how much it is, and they have no idea. They just want it, so they assume it's in their budget.
My point wasn't that some people are price-insensitive through obliviousness—full disclosure: it me—it's that even somebody with a pretty solid idea what a magazine costs might be surprised when the put a magazine in their shopping cart and it costs like 2X as much as a magazine ought to cost.
posted by The Tensor at 6:32 PM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
My point wasn't that some people are price-insensitive through obliviousness—full disclosure: it me—it's that even somebody with a pretty solid idea what a magazine costs might be surprised when the put a magazine in their shopping cart and it costs like 2X as much as a magazine ought to cost.
posted by The Tensor at 6:32 PM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Readers' Digest for Generation X
Antho posted this three full days ago and I am still wincing at how spot-on it is.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:43 AM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Antho posted this three full days ago and I am still wincing at how spot-on it is.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:43 AM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hey, I learned a lot from Readers' Digest when I was in middle school in suburban Atlanta with no car, almost no friends, and parents who pulled me out of the gifted program and didn't want to drive me to extracurricular activities.
posted by amtho at 4:49 PM on March 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by amtho at 4:49 PM on March 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh, I did too (suburban CT, I got to stay in the gifted program but it was just meh). That's how I recognize how apt that is.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:05 AM on March 19, 2023
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:05 AM on March 19, 2023
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
But maybe that's a function of where the thing is being sold. If something's mixed in with the more traditional magazines, it's set to be more of a spontaneous impulse buy, because it's "just" a magazine. Books feel like they should be more deliberately-chosen purchases, while these "bookazines" are impulse-buy things.
So - I wonder what would happen if you mixed in some more traditional cheap paperbacks in with the magazines.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:24 AM on March 15, 2023 [17 favorites]