|
Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Sept 23, 2023 14:25:22 GMT
And the boycott has spread across philatel-land. angore posted Linn‘s annual circulation statement, which I gratefully share below: For those not aware, the 52 weekly issues of Linn‘s Stamp News are now published so that a print subscription only gets you 24 issues (2 per month) in print form, and 28 issues in digital-only format. The numbers shown above are only for the print copies. The numbers that matter are shown after 15c: Total Paid Subscriptions 6,115 was the average number for each issue for the previous 12 months, while 4,457 was the number for the issue nearest the filing date of the statement (the Oct 9, 2023) issue. Look again: 1 year ago - well over 6,100 paid subscribers. Today - 4,457 Can‘t say I sympathize for them. This message was brought to you by the letter S S is for “Schadenfreude.”
|
|
|
Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Sept 24, 2023 1:43:52 GMT
Right there with you Ted. It hasn't "worked" yet though, until they change their stupid pricing structure. Which so far, hasn't moved. I'm one of those reductions. Let's see if they "get it" down the road. I think the most infuriating thing was in their marketing where they tried to make it sound like "This is what you asked for, and we heard you", which was total bunk. No one asked for annual subscription that prevents you from accessing previously paid for content. So until they "fix" that issue, I'm sticking with my 2021 and 2022 US Specialized catalogs for all things Classic US.
|
|
angore
Junior Member
Posts: 75
|
Post by angore on Sept 30, 2023 12:21:21 GMT
If you noticed it only covers the biweekly printed edition and not the digital only version. This is a major drop from last year and I am waiting for the Scott Monthly report since now a separated branded publication. Most printed publications face dimishing circulation without a proportional uptick on the digital. Last year they mentioned digital circulation but not this year so that confused me initially.
Given the ad content of the digital only, it really should be offered for no cost. As I said on Facebook, I believe the reasons (all my opinions) are 1) few buy though ads in Linn's and 2) much less interest in new issue information since fewer collect new issues and can get information elsewhere. The Washington report is always a good read and balances all the press releases that a resident apologist posts. Since digital, they can abandon the traditional letter size format as if it was printed,
I think they provide value but need to find a good business model.
Now if the AP did not come with the membership fee, I doubt the circulation would be 24,000 (numbers of APS members). APS is finally offering a discount for digital only soon to US addresses. I find the AP sometimes a quick read. For example, in the issue dedicated to baseball, I had zero in baseball and the often overlapping reports by the president, executive director, and editor lack bite. I like the APRL Philatelic Literature Review more,
|
|
|
Post by cddstamps on Oct 3, 2023 11:21:01 GMT
I saw you said.... APS is finally offering a discount for digital only soon to US addresses ...
that is because they have no clue about having members overseas. well that is how they act ... I am not even sure how many people in the APS echelons even know there is a planet let alone a philatelic community outside of the US.
|
|
angore
Junior Member
Posts: 75
|
Post by angore on Oct 4, 2023 10:28:37 GMT
APS offerred a digital membership (no printed copy) for international members but did not offer the same deal to US members that would result in a discount off the $45. The AP journal tends to have mostly US subject articles so likely people that collect US material outside the US. All the major societies are like this.
|
|
|
Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Oct 8, 2023 17:25:03 GMT
Well, as a APS lifetime member, who lives outside the US, The A in APS does stand for "American". But that doesn't limit the topics to only US. If you attended the APS Summer Seminar this year (and other years in the past), you would find quite clearly that the society isn't bent only toward US material. But it does make sense that it does have a strong US foci. They had some big issues with being hacked earlier this year, and as an initial move, blocked many countries while they worked out where the attacks were coming from. I had several conversations directly with Scott English and other members of the APS, and they did work out issues for several countries, and I know they are still working on a few (and a couple that may never come off the blocked list). But they are making good progress on this problem for those members who do live outside the US to be able to still have access and participate in APS activities. They too, are recovering like many businesses from the impact of Covid. Some things helped the APS during that time, and others were detrimental. It will take some time, but it does appear they are making a full recovery. And it's really not trivial given all the other issues that they have held their membership fee for 2024 to the same rate it has been for some 15 years now. No small feat.
Amos on the other hand... they deserve the pain they are getting, and hopefully the reverse their position sooner rather than later.
|
|
angore
Junior Member
Posts: 75
|
Post by angore on Oct 11, 2023 10:26:54 GMT
The circulation numbers for Scott Stamp Monthly were published. Circulation was 9496.
|
|
|
Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Oct 11, 2023 12:37:52 GMT
The circulation numbers for Scott Stamp Monthly were published. Circulation was 9496. I think the higher number for SSM is a reflection of the fact that they publish more that is of practical use and informative to collectors. Linn’s, as is obvious from their name, is focused on “News,“ with very little educational material printed. With the abundance of online resources for stamp news, LSN has become superfluous.
|
|
angore
Junior Member
Posts: 75
|
Post by angore on Oct 12, 2023 10:16:45 GMT
I definitely agree. The typical reader now is not the beginner collector who had been interested in dealer ads and new issue information.
|
|
|
Post by cddstamps on Oct 19, 2023 11:59:54 GMT
Talking APS I see I missed a comment from Scott (classic) very useful as well Thanks for the update ....... BUT ... I just tried sending a Letter to the Editor. did as per their directions thought someone should comment on one of the articles :-) I read in he October edition. reject reject will robinson. wrote a message through contacts no response. oh yes I am not in the USA just like I said earlier. I hope to hear from them so I can send my letter to the Editor. Maybe things will change but as an overseas member - and reader of what I think is a very good magazine I might add - they do not show they know there is philately outside of the USA. oops no I stand corrected the October 2023 American Philatelic had a very nice piece on the Stockholm 2019 Exhibition.
|
|
angore
Junior Member
Posts: 75
|
Post by angore on Oct 19, 2023 12:19:42 GMT
I have sent emails to APS and found they do not always respond to those sent by the website message system.
APS is going to issue a quarterly Stamped newsletter that has "lighter" articles. I complained about too much inhouse focus with duplicate information (Pres, Exec Director, editor) covering topics like summer seminar and stampshow. Sometimes just seems like writing to fill space rather than enough specifics on APS direction, goals, etc.
This is a paste of the editor;of the ISWC journal (The Circuit) comments in the recent journal. I tend to agree there is a lot of focus on postal history by many collectors that write articles.
When I get a copy of The American Philatelist (great magazine!) I count up how many images of stamps there are vs. things
other than stamps. In a recent issue, I had to thumb through 17 pages before finding an image of a stamp (not a cover or a postcard… but an image of just a stamp). In fact, there were (excluding advertisements and any stamps on covers, etc.) about 38 images of stamps (souvenir sheets, blocks, count as one), vs. 67 images of covers/envelopes/letters/postcards (32 of those 67 items with nary a stamp to be seen). And this is in a magazine written for “stamp” collectors.
Is there anything wrong with collecting covers? No. Is there anything wrong with collecting postcards? No. Is there anything wrong with my collecting catalogues? No. But we need to be aware that in doing these things, we are not collecting stamps. We are collecting other things.
I guess what I am saying — perhaps not clearly — is that we may sometimes be straying from the very source of the hobby. I know I do sometimes when I get caught up in something philately-adjacent (like my catalogues). But we always have to go — to quote the title of a famous Paul McCartney album — “back to the egg.” Back to the source: stamps. As “stamp collectors,” our common bond, our objet d’amour, needs to be stamps. We need to refocus on the source of the hobby and define our hobby. If we can’t define what our hobby is — at its heart — we will lose it. Using Occam’s Razor, stamp collecting is perhaps best defined as a hobby of collecting stamps.
Philatelically yours, Fr. James Lentini Editor, The Circuit
|
|
|
Post by cddstamps on Oct 22, 2023 3:28:14 GMT
and as an addendum, when something nice happen say so. well I got a nice email from someone at the APS. now watch the December issue :-) lets see eh!!!
|
|