When I rec'd my QW mag, and it was in plastic wrap I was sure glad. The reason? It was del'd to another street, and the youngster that brought it to me told me that her mom really would have liked to have looked at it before I got it. I've had other mags that I haven't gooten when I should have, and now I know why. As far as in the stores being in plastic its probably because they want you to buy before you see it or too many thumb through or spill on them. The plstic wrap is costing the companies more so our subscriptions keep going up.