Missing RCM&E issue.

[Dr. David]

I see that the the December issue was labelled December and January vol 63 number 12.  This issue was very thin on content and certainly did not make up 2 issues.

Now I see the there was no Vol 64 number 1, and the current issue is marked February Vol 64 Number 2, which is also very poor on content.

I hope that RCM&E are going to compensate  customers who have a yeary subscription as  I do.

Dr. D. Wilson

[Piers Bowlan]

I thought both the December/January as well as the February RCM&E editions have great content. I particularly liked Tony Nijhuis's EDF Lightening in the March edition too but then you can't please all the people all of the time. If you don't like the mag you can always buy a subscription to a different RC model aircraft magazine that you do like. (there aren't any). Alternatively you could email the editor and make suggestions for what you would like to see in RCM&E in future.

 

Personally, I think in these impossible times we live in where every business is struggling for survival you could consider cutting RCM&E some slack. I have subscribed to RCM&E for many years and I for one won't be seeking 'compensation', I just hope that they are able to continue as a monthly mag in future. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Piers Bowlan

[Dave S.]

I have most RCM&Es going back to 1970 (currently reading January 1975) and there have always been months that don't have so much to appeal for me - and others that do. It's very likely that a random dozen of us would not agree on which articles we prefer though! 

[kc]

The discussion is not about whether we like the content - it's about whether we get the 13 issues a year that we paid our subscriptions for!    Do subscriptions get extended to compensate for the missing issue?

 

[Ron Gray]

Not wishing to make it a big issue (no pun intended) but the OP did state that the December issue was thin on content, and the February one was very poor on content. He did also say that there was no Vol 64, No1.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Ron Gray

[kc]

You are right Ron,  but what we really want to know is whether we get 13 issues that we subscribed to or only 11.

In recent years there were 13 issues a year - 1 each month and a Special in the autumn.   In the August 2020 RCME the subscription offer said RCME publishes 13 issues a year.    No mention then of getting less.    But by the time the November RCME came out it said the publisher reserves the right to amend this term.    So people who subscribed to the offer in the August issue would still expect 13 issues!   Later subscribers could expect less.

[Bob Cotsford]

David Ashby has apologised for this in an earlier thread, the Covid situation was stated as being the reason for both lack of content and the missing issue.  IIRC other publications were actually suspended for several months so perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky to have only lost one issue plus the free bonus issue?   Yes, we paid for twelve and were promised a bonus 'Special' but do you really want to insist on your pound of flesh (value around a fiver last time I looked at one off issue prices or £4ish at subscription rates) when so many companies have already gone to the wall?

Edited March 11, 2021 by Bob Cotsford

[Nightflyer]

Personally I appreciate the team's efforts through the pandemic and recognised early on that materialmwould be a struggle with impact on shows, fly ins, competitions et al.  After all even the manufacturers have had their challenges and even at clubs have felt the impact too. Hopefully we can get flying soon back to normal and life moves to normality and then plenty of material for our scribes.

[kevin b]

Ok. Currently times are difficult and we all appreciate sacrifices have to be made.

Also we cannot expect to receive the same level of service that we had come to expect from suppliers over many years.

It is going to take some time for life to return to something we can call "normality".

However I do seem to think that some people / companies are using this situation to their financial advantage and not just in our hobby.

This brings me on to something I am currently keeping an eye on regarding my future purchasing habits. Particularly of magazines.

Last year we lost 2 issues of our favourite  reading material. This was understandable under the circumstances, but as most of the sales are by subscription (I am given to understand), the readers lost out financially, not the publishers (who also saved from government incentives).

We were given to understand by management that this would be "sorted out" come subscription renewal. Has anybody renewed recently and received a discount ?  I don't know.

The other interesting fact is that the magazine issue dates (so far this year) now appear to be 5 weeks apart. Now my maths isn't all that good, but I reckon that is 10.4 issues per year, down from 13.

I have always been satisfied that RCM&E has given excellent value for money. Current circumstances  understandably mean that the content cannot be up to its usual high standard and that some of it is having to be resurrected from previous issues and presented in a new light (not necessarily a bad thing for new readers). However it does mean that contributors payments as well as attendance costs for shows etc are also now minimal.

 

Call me a cynical Yorkshireman, but personally I am waiting for the announcement of a price increase.

 

Please note that this is not a rant, but rather an observation on my part. 

 

[kevin b]

Hmm.

Somebody moved my thread to a more "appropriate" location I think.

Fair enough. At least that answers one of my questions.

I wonder if it will get deleted ?

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Yep, was already a thread on it Kevin, not be deleted been here since Thursday.

[Piers Bowlan]

On 14/03/2021 at 22:28, kevin b said:

...

We were given to understand by management that this would be "sorted out" come subscription renewal. Has anybody renewed recently and received a discount ?  I don't know.

The other interesting fact is that the magazine issue dates (so far this year) now appear to be 5 weeks apart. Now my maths isn't all that good, but I reckon that is 10.4 issues per year, down from 13.

I don't know which month you are expecting .4 of an edition Kevin but I believe that subscription payers can expect 11 issues this year? With a cover price of £5.95p each, a subscription will still save you £19.95 p.a. (according to my dodgy maths). I won't call you a 'cynical Yorkshireman' but hopefully that will put a smile on your face. ?

 

(from the glass half full department!)

[kc]

People who subscribed when the advert stated 13 issues are entitled to receive 13 issues!    There can surely be no way we can be sent less!   It's as clear as anything in the adverts it said 13 issues against the subscription price.  It's a contract for 13 issues.  It's only very recently that some small print was added to the advert to say the publishers can amend the term - it wasn't there when I subscribed.