Do People still use?????????

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Was going through some old photos of things I use to make in years gone by and came upon a few items that I was thinking of once again adding to my inventory for my fall sales. One in particular was popular about 15 to 20 years ago when I could not have enough of them. But with todays age of internet and devices that we carry, I was wondering does anyone still get magazines??? Does anyone still use magazine racks to store their favorite magazines next to the couch??? I get and I have since cut way down on many woodworking magazines because of cost factors. But I store them in a box in the shop:smile:

I value the opinions of the well versed members here. The greatest factor here though is price of materials has gone up so much. I use to get $125 at craft shows and $150 at my store for these magazine racks back 15 to 20 years ago. I am not sure what I would have to add to this price to make any money. Yes these are all hand made but my shows indicate over the years that people do not appreciate this fact as much as they once did. It gets harder and harder each year to turn a profit on my woodworking items because people just look for price as a driving force. The influx of so many China made items has corroded our minds. I am sure we all see this in our pen selling venues too.

I am getting off topic though. My question is there still a market for magazine racks??? Not up on the latest trends in the homes these days. I only make these out of red oak but do make them in natural or dark stain. That seems to be another factor, People love white furniture and less natural woods. Just thinking out loud here.

Oh yea here is the magazine racks I was refering to. Thanks for your thoughts.:smile:



DeerMagazineRack.jpg





HeartMagazineRack.jpg
 
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You know I wonder if you make a few smaller areas in this rack that are made to fit say a kindle and or an ipad that may just be a cool seller or a nook? So maybe think about how you can design this for today? Now of course you would still want space for your CSUSA catalog!
 
Well John;
Just my opinion! The magazine racks are beautiful, so much detail. I would think you would need to get double from what you were getting 15-20 years ago. That being said, is there a market? I am sure you would find a couple of people that would purchase them because they would see the value. However, how many people are looking for a good deal? Also, the day of having a rack full of magazines, I think has dropped off dramatically, myself trying to be eco-friendly, I have switched a couple of my magazines which were mailed to me, and now read them online. We as pen-turners for the most part have a tough time selling our products, again competing with off-shore. I think many of us have our loyal customers waiting for that special off the wall item, which they will buy.
Most of my transactions now happen by word of mouth, and the odd show that I attend usually picks up one or two more customers who sit on the fence waiting for that special one.lol
It is still nice to have a lot of lookers and if you have the room for a rack or two and can sit on the investment, by all means give it a try
MY OPINION ONLY------for what its worth.lol
Dave
 
I don't get nearly as many magazines as I used to. But those missing magazines have been replaced by catalogs from PSI, Klingspor, Rockler, CSUSA, Sanding Glove, etc.
 
mikespenturningz said:
You know I wonder if you make a few smaller areas in this rack that are made to fit say a kindle and or an ipad that may just be a cool seller or a nook? So maybe think about how you can design this for today? Now of course you would still want space for your CSUSA catalog!
Click to expand...


And maybe take it one further and a rack for all the remotes?

I hate to say it. I also dabble in antiques and won't touch them as they just don't sell very well anymore. If you bring it into the today's living room with use with the gadgets, you might have something that will sell...
 
I would say your market has shrunk but older folks and people with a "country" style of decor would still be in the market. If, as Mike said, you added electronic storage setions to them the market would open up to more people.
 
I also should mention that my wife was up till recently the VP for news at the major NH newspaper and the readership of that and other periodicals are dying off rapidly.

It is getting so bad that people don't have newspaper around to train their dogs or put on the bottom of their bird cages...
 
John, I can give you some perspective on magazine sales. I don't believe they will completely disappear for a very long time. Having said that, they are well on the decline.

I spent over 20 years in the magazine printing industry which peaked in the '90s. The lifeline of the magazine is the advertising content, which is where the majority of the magazine's profit exists. When advertisers moved toward the internet it created a severe decline in magazine publications and page counts in general. I suspect this decline will continue for a while, since they're competing with the internet for their advertising dollars.

I believe there is a market for magazine racks. That market is certainly smaller than it was 15 years ago.
 
Times are changing John , I don't think many people have magazines nowadays , were now in the digital age that's why I will start selling DIGITAL PENS
 
Erik831 said:
Times are changing John , I don't think many people have magazines nowadays , were now in the digital age that's why I will start selling DIGITAL PENS
Click to expand...

You're not too far off. Been seeing more and more pen designs with stylus attachments for ipads and such...
 
I still get Shop Notes, Wood Smith and Fine Wood Working. There are some magazines who present data on paper that is so much more useful than on a screen. (and no matter what happens, I can always read the magazine on the back porch when internet gets taken down. :)
 
Great work, but I agree with most here that the racks are among other things that no longer have a special place in the living room.

I still receive/buy a few magazines, but I store them flat. Standing up a contemporary mag seem to encourage it to fall apart. Thinner paper, fewer pages, etc.

I don't do internet books, I want to hold the book, when and where I want. I can make notes in the margins if I want. Internet is too impersonal, to me.

Russ
 
I hate to say it, but are we the real target group for our sales of items such as this? My wife use to get in arguments at the paper with the publisher (well in his 70s) that they needed to find a way for the 20-40 year olds to find an interest with reading the paper. He wanted to keep the 50-70 crowd happy with the content. Problem she would raise is you can keep the older crowd happy, but that's today's readership. Once they have passed, the younger set still will have no interest as you never nurtured them in the early days. Also, alot of the advertising folks use to do in the back of the paper is now done free on Craigslist and other type electronic sites taking away a chunk of the day to day operating revenue.

Sorry to get on the soapbox, but here this every night for years...

Mike B
 
As long as Publishers Clearing House has the ability to give away money, there will be magazines -- although, the clientele for beautiful racks is probably not the same as those who submit sweepstakes entries :biggrin::wink::biggrin:
 
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