Just received the January issue today. Seems a bit early or time is moving faster
Time is moving faster. We are moving further away form the black hole, where time slows down.
I am glad that you received your issue today.
I have come to the conclusion that there is no rhyme or reason to when any of us receive our monthly Model Railroader. Formerly, I received my issue on the third Friday of the month. It was exciting. However, last year I was late with my renewal. I am not talking about renewing late like in January of 2010, but like December of 2009. Suddenly, I was very lucky to receive it by the first week of the following month. No rhyme, no reason! I would just recommend getting your subscription renewed in October or November. Maybe they will not move your name onto another mailing list that mails later. I am very frustrated with the late arrival. But, the true reality is “I have to accept the things I cannot change.” I do not think any of us could influence or change the shipping schedule of Model Railroader.
Ham.
As we get older, time definitely does move faster. Either that, or I’m moving much slower. Yeah, that’s it. As for the magazine, I usually get mine around the last week of the month or the first week of the following month. But, joy of joy’s, I received January’s issue on Nov. 22/10. Believe me, I’m not complaining, but the Feb. 2011 issue will probably arrive later than normal.[banghead]
Blue Flamer.
wcu boy,
I have experience in the printing industry, and there could be numerous reasons why your issue has been delayed, and many of them would not be MR’s fault. First, Kalmbach is a publisher, not a printer. I believe Quad Graphics does their printing for them. MR must submit files to Quad for them to print. Sometimes files can be corrupt. This can cause delays. MR also has to supply the files of all of our names and addresses. Sometimes there are issues with this as well. Even if everything MR sent was fine, there may be issues at the printer. Machines experience unplanned downtime. Sometimes there are schedule conflicts. If you are the printer, and you can either work on Newsweek or MR but not both at the same time, which one do you think is going to win out? There can also be shortages. Maybe your name is near the end of the list, and if there is a shortage, they may have to go back on press and your copy is delayed by several days (depending on schedule, paper availability, etc.) All in all, I think MR does a good job of getting their magazine out on time. I subscribe to three publications, and MR is always in the mailbox first. Actually, I received the January issue the same day I received someone else’s December issue.
MR of course, why print the bad news?
Ernie C
[:)]
Cll them. If you didn;t get Decemeber by now that’s more than just the delay - my December was a few days behind the usual delivery date, my January came earlier than they have for the past few months.
–Randy
I have only been a subscriber for a few months…but I have noticed them coming rather late.
No matter, I have multitudes of model railroad media available to me via the web and other publications. Of course the internet is no substitution for holding something valuable in my hands, skimming it once it, reading it cover to cover, and then consulting it later after it is placed in my library.
when ever it gets here, it is a darn fine read.
hi sschnabl
Are you sure that you are not a Kalmbach employee? Your excuses sounded very close to plagarism of the excuses for late delivery that I heard from the telephone receptionist at Kalmbach. Furthermore, I have not received my January 2011 issue as of today. You bet your “bottome dollar” that Kalmbach is going to receive a phone call from me tomorrow. I am extremely frustrated with MR.
Maybe the reason they sound like “plagarism” is because they’re right from both sources, so they’re going to sound the same.
There are many hands in the deliver of mailed items to one’s door. Any one of them might have a bad week due to unwanted and unexpected events. If you are losing sleep because you haven’t received an item that normally appears a week earlier in each cycle, it would be more appropriate to simply deal with Customer Service. All it has ever taken for me to get my due is to explain to someone on that end that I have not received the item. I get it shipped to me right away…every time.
Crandell
Brother Blue, I resemble that!
Not being connected in any way (other than as a subscriber) with Kalpubco, take the following as opinion only:
Since the Christmas holiday and New Years create havoc with mail, non-mail delivery, personnel scheduling at the editorial and printing levels etc., it would make good sense to try to avoid being late by moving deadlines forward. As a result, the December issue got into the system at the perfect time, when capacity had been ramped up but not loaded up.
As far as I am concerned, if my issue arrives before the month printed on the cover, I’m a happy camper. If it arrives a month before that, I bow once toward the Northeast and keep on trainin’.
Chuck (Long-time subscriber modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
WCU boy –
Where do you live that you get mail delivery on Sunday?
Also, where did you read in the fine print that your issue is guaranteed delivery by a certain date? I’ve never seen that. My issue arrives on the first, plus or minus 4 or 5 days either way. Sure, I’m looking forward to getting it, but I don’t get my shorts in a wad when it’s on the 5 days late side.
Perhaps the reason you get what sounds like excuses from the publisher is that you “favor” them with an irate phone call without giving the issue a fair chance to arrive.
[quote user=“tomikawaTT”]
Blue Flamer:
Hamltnblue:
Just received the January issue today. Seems a bit early or time is moving faster
Ham.
As we get older, time definitely does move faster. Either that, or I’m moving much slower. Yeah, that’s it. As for the magazine, I usually get mine around the last week of the month or the first week of the following month. But, joy of joy’s, I received January’s issue on Nov. 22/10. Believe me, I’m not complaining, but the Feb. 2011 issue will probably arrive later than normal.
Blue Flamer.
Brother Blue, I resemble that!
Not being connected in any way (other than as a subscriber) with Kalpubco, take the following as opinion only:
Since the Christmas holiday and New Years create havoc with mail, non-mail delivery, personnel scheduling at the editorial and printing levels etc., it would make good sense to try to avoid being late by moving deadlines forward. As a result, the December issue got into the system at the perfect time, when capacity had been ramped up but not loaded up.
As far as I am concerned, if my issue arrives before the month printed on the cover, I’m a happy camper. If it arrives a month before that, I bow once toward the Northeast and keep on trainin’.
Chuck (Long-time subscriber modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Time is moving faster!![;)]
Last time I looked, I was young and studying in medical school. Now, I just finished the recertification exam for the American Board of Emergency Medicine for the 3rd time.[8D]
wcu boy,
No, I am not an employee of Kalmbach, I just subscribe to this magazine as you do. Like I said, I have experience in the printing industry, so I understand how things can be delayed. Trust me, I’ve had to be on the wrong end of the conversation trying to tell a publisher why their books/magazines won’t be delivered on time. It’s not fun.
I am pretty happy with the direction the magazine is going with Neil at the helm…lately the majority of articles are interesting to me. Keep up the good work MR!
The only things I can think of to improve the magazine would be to maybe add a legend to the track plans for feature layouts to include what the numbers mean on the track diagrams. Over the years, the notation nomenclature has changed, and it is kind of hard to keep track of what numbers and notations mean what. Also, if there is a close up photo of a structure on someones layout feature article, it would be nice to have some kind of notation of weather or not the structure is scratchbuilt, kitbashed, just a regular kit, and/or who produced it if available commercially.
Jody
Back in the 70’s, I was a subscriber to MR and it used to come in a manila envelope. The issue used to arrive at various times during the month and the envelope was usually ripped open at the bottom from being rolled up tight enough to tear it. The magazine was always in good shape, and I was very busy, so I never thought much of it. That is, until one day I drove past the letter carrier sitting in his delivery van on our street reading a copy of MR (likely mine). Yes, I went to the local post office and complained. The envelopes stopped being shredded after that.