Are subscription magazines a con?

Associate
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I use to pick up PC Gamer on the odd month, and quite enjoyed it. I'm sure the last time i picked it up the price had gone up to 6.99 though.

No way was i paying that, its a shame because it will never go down in price, so no more PC Gamer mags for me. I wouldn't want to read a digital version of a magazine.
 
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Associate
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I grab Tabletop gaming magazine every now and then but apart from that I can't see the point unless its a very niche area with rubbish forums. Unlike overclocking ;)
 
Soldato
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the ones I can never fathom are the "build a Terminator" [latest example] type
I believe some of them, if the collection is complete, can be worth money. I know one guy got the Star Trek Fact Files, all in official binders, and sold it for more than it cost him.

Other than that, yeah complete rip-off.
 
Soldato
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I use to pick up PC Gamer on the odd month, and quite enjoyed it. I'm sure the last time i picked it up the price had gone up to 7.99 though.

No way was i paying that, its a shame because it will never go down in price, so no more PC Gamer mags for me. I wouldn't want to read a digital version of a magazine.

It's not in the same format, they just publish all their reviews, articles etc as any other gaming website would do. Same as they have done for years now, it's one of the reasons I stopped my subscription. Why pay for something when everyone else is getting it for free online?
 
Soldato
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I use to pick up PC Gamer on the odd month, and quite enjoyed it. I'm sure the last time i picked it up the price had gone up to 7.99 though.

No way was i paying that, its a shame because it will never go down in price, so no more PC Gamer mags for me. I wouldn't want to read a digital version of a magazine.

HOW MUCH!?!?!?!:eek:

Thicker novels and games are cheaper than that.
 
Soldato
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Still a lot for a mag in today's world.

on what basis is it a lot ? A meal deal (the cheapest one is £3 from tesco) that's something you buy and eat in 15 minutes. A magazine is once a month? How much is a macdonalds meal deal? about 6.99?
What about a pint of beer ? 3-4£ ? for 15mins of drink . A magazine will last a month , and longer if you keep them. How much is a mocha latte almod no soya from starbucks ? 3,4,5£ ? in that context 6.99 dones't seem that much to me.
 
Soldato
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on what basis is it a lot ? A meal deal (the cheapest one is £3 from tesco) that's something you buy and eat in 15 minutes. A magazine is once a month? How much is a macdonalds meal deal? about 6.99?
What about a pint of beer ? 3-4£ ? for 15mins of drink . A magazine will last a month , and longer if you keep them. How much is a mocha latte almod no soya from starbucks ? 3,4,5£ ? in that context 6.99 dones't seem that much to me.

Based on the fact all of the information you can get for free off the internet and straight away via gaming websites.
 
Associate
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I used to read a wide range of magazines but digital media has well and truly replaced topics such as auto, pc, football with instantaneous feedback on reviews, transfers etc etc. YouTube in particular is great for reviews as soon as embargoes are lifted.

I also feel magazines are a bit expensive, almost the same cost as a Netflix subscription so they don't provide particularly good value for money.
 
Man of Honour
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I never subscribed, but I used to buy (without fail)

World Soccer
FHM
Loaded
Practical Classics
Fast Ford
Classic Ford
Max Power
Revs
Performance Bikes

Crazy, looking back. Must have cost a fortune over the years. This is all before the Internet was any good, obviously.

I used to work for the publishing company who produced some of those. Max Power was awesome - quite often there were photo shoots with models taking place right behind my office. It was very distracting :)
 
Man of Honour
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Off topic but I always thought FHM was underrated. Quite a lot of random / silly content but interesting articles too - like ‘life on board a submarine’ or ‘I am against hunting and I went hunting’. Just examples as I’ve completely made those up :p

Used to take turns buying it in the student flat :)

One genuine article, that I can re all, was about an undercover guy stopping animal cruelty. Had the horrible explanation of the content of literal ‘torture porn’ where naked woman literally tortured and killed dogs and cats (I won’t give a graphical descriptive as honestly it haunts me) was a very upsetting read but the undercover guy got them behind bars for a long time, IIRC. Yeah, stuff you wouldn’t expect reading.
 
Soldato
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Based on the fact all of the information you can get for free off the internet and straight away via gaming websites.

Yes i don't disagree with that and thats probably the biggest reason for the dearth of quality but the existence of the internet doesn't preclude the existence of a magazine at what is a ‘reasonable’ price. Its like saying ill never buy a pint in a pub cos i can get it for a fraction in the suoermarket and drink in my house. Well yes you can but its not a pint in the pub then is it? The internet is not a magazine and a magazine is not the internet.
 
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