I was out shopping yesterday and saw a few new magazine issues - and they were sealed in plastic so you could not leaf through them. .... so I figured I could check online... but nooOOOOoooo.... Fons and Porter doesn't show preview pics

There were 2 other magazines that were wrapped up in plastic and I forgot which ones they were....

I always like to leaf through them to see if I want them - and on occasion I've bought them - although I'm still upset that I actually misplaced one I bought 2 winters ago and now I'm ready to make the project and can't find it lol. I'm determined to find that magazine!!!

Is anyone else annoyed that you can't see a preview of the quilts inside a magazine?? I can't be the only one...

lol

I do find it annoying and I usually won't buy them because I don't know if I am really interested in them or not!

I try to get them out of the library to see if I am really interested.

I get upset also, so I don't buy them

You are not the only one. I'm still a beginner at quilting and the magazines are kinda pricey for me to buy without knowing if the patterns are going to be too advanced for me. Even if I love the quilt on the cover, I usually won't buy it unless it says right there that it's an EASY quilt or great for beginners.

There are more people out there! When I was in the grocery store today I thought I would take a peek at the magazines available. I didn't buy any, but someone had opened a Fons and Porter to see what was in it.

Okay -- I confess, it irritates me so much, I've been known to open the plastic and look........ :oops: ;-) I don't tear it up....I do it so I can put it back. If they want to sell to me, I'm looking.... Haven't been thrown out of a store yet!

Yep, that's just wrong to wrap magazines in plastic. I think we all know that buying a magazine is a great value if you love one or two of the patterns featured. Of course we'll buy it. Obviously this plastic wrapping is biting them in the behind! Their loss.

amandasgramma, we'll send you out as a scout! Let us know which magazines to buy!

I never buy a magazine in a plastic bag. I like to check the patterns. Also, another plastic bag to be deposed of along with all those inserts that fall over the place.

the shops around here open up one copy for customers to look at to see if they want to buy it.

check with customer service or the check out counter to see if they have the same policy or convince them to start one.

I will not buy a magazine that is wrapped in plastic. Sorry Fon and Porter but ... if you had something I wanted I think you would want to show me. I just assume that they are trying to trick me into buying something that has little real value, why else would you hide what it is you are trying to sell.

Who do they think they are --- Playboy??? ;-)

I passed on a couple of magazines recently because they were wrapped in plastic, and I couldn't see what was inside. :evil: I was tempted, but then I decided to pass because I didn't want to "roll the dice" and then be disappointed. I've also passed up a QNM because it was so thin! What's up with that? If you were to get rid of all the ads they had in the magazine, you would be left with only a few pages that feature patterns and articles. I even stopped subscribing to QNM because they were getting more and more ads. :?

I fine it very annoying, but do understand why they do it.

I agree! I won't buy a magazine if I can't preview the contents to see if it even something that is interesting to me.

I do the same thing.

I love to buy magazines - but if it's sealed in plastic and I don't look inside - then they've lost a sale.....like Fons & Porter...it drives me crazy - they have them all sealed up - I used to buy their magazine - but not any more....

I wouldn't mind so much if I could actually see preview pictures online but Fons didn't have them up so nope. Just can't bring myself to buy it.

I saw one magazine that had an absolutely stunning appliqued quilt on the cover. I'm not big in to applique although I do it and I like to think I'm pretty darn good at it and all but it was also sealed up in plastic... There was like 4 of them on the shelf that were in plastic and only one or two that you could actually look through...

I'd be even okay if they put preview pictures on the back cover if they really felt the necessity to bag it... but nope.. usually a full page ad for some company...

I open them very neatly at the top edge and look thru them, put them back on the shelf neatly so the next person can also look at the "opened one" then buy a "sealed one" if they wish... I figure bookstores put magazines out on the shelf with intent that you pick it up and look thru it, and I have every intention of doing just that. Never had a complaint.

You wouldn't buy a car without checking it out, You would not buy a house without out looking through it. So why would you buy something you don't know what is in it? :thumbdown:

hahahahahahehehehehehe

I just told DH this evening that I DIDN"T want to renew my F&P @ the end of the yr.[He always get it for Christmas]
I received the BH&G and going to try it.?? I've liked it in the past. DH said the same thing about the plastic, are they Playboy??? lol lol

I politely and carefull open the plastic and look at the mag to see if it's worth buying. I am not buying a pig in the poke. hahahahahha

I actually like the BH&G better than F&P.... :-D

I wonder if they went to that because people were ripping out the pages they wanted? Just a thought.

I was in Joanns yesterday and it was the first time I saw the F&P mag not in plastic wrap. maybe they are wising up.

I'm thinking of getting the American Patchwork quilting magazine as well. I got an offer in the mail for two years for the price of one and some book with quilting tips that I will probably look through once and put it on the shelf to take up space lol.

I noticed the other day in JoAnns, ALOT of their new magazines are wrapped in plastic. Some had small little FREE items. Couldnt they just plastic over the free item so you could still peek inside, lol?

ROFL!! Of course some of us react to quilt pics the way guys react to Playboy - and it's tough to sell a mag with drool marks...

Me too if I think I may want to buy it.Like you I am careful though. Perhaps if enough people did that, sealing them in polythene may stop.

Oh, OK...me, too :)

And I don't buy ones wrapped in plastic. Too many times I was so disappointed in the contents, that I simply refuse to buy them anymore. But if I'm really curious, I will cheat and look inside - although I do prefer to find one that someone else has opened!

I do like this one - it's the only one I subscribe to now.

Oops, was supposed to copy the comment about subscribing to American Patchwork. sorry...

Why do they do it? I was buying magazine quite frequently but have stopped because I am not paying $7.00 for a mag I may not get any use out of.

And now we know why they wrap in plastic --to keep all those annoying subscription cards in the magazine --why they need more than one is beyond me!

I wonder how many people open the plastic, neatly or not, and then buy the unopened one. If you open it you should buy the one you opened if you are going to purchase. At the price of these magazines these days I appreciate not having to worry about missing pages --some people think that because they are buying something else they can just tear out articles and put the mag back on the shelf.

you know, all this kvetching on the board is accomplishing nothing.
If everyone emailed the magazines in question (they all must have websites with contact info) and simply said

"I wanted to buy your magazine this month but I did NOT, because I could not see what was in it."

you might reach someone who can DO something about it. And if you mentioned, I bought soandso magazine instead, because it WAS available to browse through, it would really drive the point home.

with the internet, it is so easy to contact large companies - and they DO pay attention. They will figure, for everyone who bothered to contact us, there are lots more who did not.

Thanks for the heads up on BH&G, Dee............

I do buy the one I have opened, I only open if I am fairly sure but not certain I want to buy.

I point blank refuse to buy a magazine in a plastic bag. Based on what I've seen lately particularly from Fons & Porter the plastic bag is usually hiding a severe lack of contents.
If I remember I send an e-mail to customer service to say they lost a sale.
I think if they read all the threads on this board on this very subject they'd stop doing it.
And I agree with those who say if they really wanted to see it, they would open it. But since it just annoys the dickens out of me it's a long time since I was tempted to open one!

Yup, I'm annoyed by the plastic wrap. Really don't want the cd that they include - I get way better tips here! So I may well end up with a magazine that doesn't really interest me, plus the wrapper and cd go in the trash...

If the cover looks really interesting, I'll go home & check their website to see if I can see any more info to make the decision as to whether or not to get the magazine next time I'm in the store. Usually, I just forget about it & don't buy it!

I stopped my quilt mag subscriptions a couple of years ago.
The last quilting mag that came I looked through it page by page with the intent of seeing just how much value it held for me. I used the little sticky markers for something of interest.
When I was finished there were 2 sticky markers. They were for 2 paid for ads. They were the only 2 things of interest to me in that whole mag. That done it for me.
The rest of my non-quilting magazines will not be renewed either.
Pretty much feel the same about most quilting books as well. I could never use all the patterns I have accumulated, no matter how long I might live.