End of an era? SCD
 

Not sure if this belongs here or in the Watercooler section.....

Today in the mail I received my SCD, just has I have for 25+ years. I can't even start to calculate the number of hours that I scoured those classified ads in the older issues. Today's issue has a wrapper that loudly proclaims "This is your LAST ISSUE". And, I am not planning on renewing. It isn't that I don't "enjoy" reading it any more, it is just that I don't need it any more. With all of the information that I get here and other places, I just don't learn anything when I scan it and the ads are pretty much the same each and every issue.

It will be weird not getting a new issue in a few weeks, but not weirder than when I cancelled my home phone and only getting 1 daily paper (instead of 3) delivered to the house.

Anyone on here want to try to convince me to renew my subscription?

Mike

I let my subscription lapse 3 years ago.

Mine lapsed over 5 years ago, tired of them promoting Coach's Corner.

When I tried to cancel my home phone service with Time Warner (Spectrum now) they gave it to me for free. The guy said I should keep it just so I could have 911. My bill went down $40 and I still kept my home phone which I've had the same number for 25 years now.

Back in the 90s it was an event. Those ads were a critical way to find cards.

I let my sub lapse about 10 years ago. Can't say that I've missed it. Surprised they are still in biz.

Quality of Editorial Content Has Nosedived
 

As a (now retired) trade press editor for more than 30 years I find the articles in SCD have become overly commercial and there are too many typos in them. I cancelled my sub more than a year ago. Example of a funny typo? When I picked up the show SCD at the National earlier this month the cover said "39th National Convention Issue." But on the table of contents it was listed as the 38th National. Am I picky? Maybe. Proofreading was my passion. More importantly, there is more often one or two decent articles surrounded by a lot of puff pieces. Thank you.

I agree
 

A HUGE +1.... I cancelled probably 15 years ago because of this.

Then they're not much different than most news these days. A lot of what I read is not only full of typos, but is barely better than the stuff that got me Cs in High school. Some of it is worse.

I finally cancelled my local newspaper this year when the subscription rate was over $400 for 52 weeks. I read it on line for Free each morning. $ 400 available to buy some more cards !!!

One of the main reasons I cancelled also.

That is how publishing is now..no editing, typos, missing second part of articles...my daily newspaper, now owned by Gannett, is the same way...gotta get costs down to compete, and, in the process quality goes down...
As a (now retired) trade press editor for more than 30 years I find the articles in SCD have become overly commercial and there are too many typos in them. I cancelled my sub more than a year ago. Example of a funny typo? When I picked up the show SCD at the National earlier this month the cover said "39th National Convention Issue." But on the table of contents it was listed as the 38th National. Am I picky? Maybe. Proofreading was my passion. More importantly, there is more often one or two decent articles surrounded by a lot of puff pieces. Thank you.[/QUOTE]

Scd
 

I guess that I am in the minority. I subscribed to SCD for many years, then I cancelled my subscription for a couple of years. I re-subscribed a couple of years ago because I enjoy receiving the magazine. I skip over some of the articles, but there are always some articles and info that interests me.

I check out the ads, and a couple of months ago I responded to an ad that was placed by a dealer that I had never heard about. I contacted him, and in the last couple of months I have purchased several T213-2's for my set.

The cost is minimal, and BTW guys, Coaches Corner has not advertised in SCD for several years. I am not going to let an occasional typo stop me from enjoying my magazine.

Rick

I used to enjoy SCD. Problem was that it began publishing too frequently, the content was not very compelling and quickly they began doing more ads about auctions and less and less sales ads.

George Vrechek's articles are the only reason I still subscribe.

How often does SCD now publish ? Is there any other publication out there ?

Amen, brother!

Best always,

Larry

Probably been over 15 years for me to.

Still have good memories of the old days though. I probably first started subscribing in the early 80's, before I was even a teenager. Some of those issues were over 200 pages, I believe.

It was also one of the only ways to know what Baseball Card Shows were going on in the area. SCD must have had a ton of subscribers back then, because almost every show in the 80's was packed with dealers and attendees, no matter how small it was.

every two weeks...........

I am almost 100% positive you do NOT need a phone number to dial 911 from a landline. You just need to have a dial tone. However should you get disconnected, you would have to call back as the 911 dispatch operator has no way of knowing who called or what 'location' it was from.

We have not had a landline phone number in close to 20 years.

Scd
 

Loved some of the off-beat stories. One writer was obsessed with completing a set of Mac & Cheese (I believe I have that right) cards. Bought boxes and boxes and drove his wife crazy.

That was Bob Lemke on the Kraft M&C boxes. He even gave tips of what to do w/ the cheese packets, like sprinkle some on popcorn.

scd
 

I still like getting SCD in the mail just to read the articles.... almost never find anything worth buying in the ads however. Also enjoy some of the "finds", the full color pictures, and the show calendars. Like it was said before, the cost is minimal and its one more way to have fun with the hobby.

Any kind of print magazine has struggled in today's virtual times. We used to take the morning paper but when they got all political we decided we didn't need it. Never looked back. Now I just get news online.

I was a subscriber for over 20 years and canceled after seeing all the bad stuff on Coachs Corner ads. Didn't ever cross my mind about autographs being fake back then as it wasn't really talked about until Operation Bullpen came out it was clear alot of there stuff was bad and SCD turned a blind eye because of the money CC spent on ads. There was page after page of full page ads. I complained to them many times why they continue to run there ads and there was never a reply back so I decided I don't need a magazine that runs ads of questionable items.

I think of Bob when I think of SCD and the good ol' days. Both are fond memories and missed.

Ricky Y

SCD Lost Me When....
 

....they could not use the "Clout" of a big customer of USPS to argue that the mailings destined for central and northern Wisconsin should not be sent 5 hrs. south to Chicago to be redirected back up north when time permitted. I live 2 hrs. north of the loading dock that sent my copy 5 hrs. in the wrong direction and languish for days waiting to be redirected back to me. So....it was very dated when it arrived in my rural mail box. I waited on the gravel road like a dog waiting for the school bus for an anticipated arrival.....usually with my beloved rescue yellow lab.
When I would call them and say "Maybe I should hitchhike down to get my copy at your office/shipping dock on "The Day".....they had just stumbling, mumbling and bumbling responses. My criticisms in NO way reflect on the beloved Bob Lemke or the hard working USPS workers but just SCD's inept approach to marketing their product. But....that was the place to find cards, in the '90's, and meet some really cool dealers and engage in wonderful phone conversations. But...those days are gone...for sure.
Sincerely, Dennis O'Brien....because I am being critical of SCD

Leon: It's because the DMN now is in the other direction from you ;)

Rich

Here is my David Rudd imitation:

I have written back in the day about the decline of SCD. Certain aspects of their decline probably would have occurred just as it did at Beckett in terms of print.

However, the failure to be quicker to adapt to modern technology is still a major issue. Do you know I can list my show on Beckett by myself through their convention calendar but I have to email the editor of SCD to get it listed in their catalog. Small issue, but why could they not make it easier for a promoter to list shows. Beckett does verify and approve all listing, they could do the same at SCD. And yes I mentioned my frustration to SCD at the National about that issue.

I do think the collector to collector showcase ads are a winner for all concerned.

But the fact that Beckett was way ahead on technology is why Beckett won the pricing and hobby publishing game. My old friend Frank Barning told me that more than 20 years Beckett would win because of that. BTW -- he was writing an SCD column at that time so he would have been just as happy if SCD won the war.

I didn't think about SCD in awhile. But since this post I just bought a subscription ( 26 issues for $ 26 ) . It will be fun ( I hope) to get some publication again in the mail. Since OldCardBoard stopped publication, the mail has been boring ! It would be nice to see monthly reports with sections devoted to 19th Century, Pre-War 20th Century, Post War 20th Century and Modern. I'll let you know what I think of my first issue when it arrives.

A newspaper should report the news.

Agreed. Editorial page is there for a reason. Cancelled our subscription several years ago; never missed it....

Back in the early 80's I really wanted a subscription to SCD but I didn't have the money to spare on it. Luckily, my mother was friends with a family whose father had a subscription for his indifferent boys. I would always find a way to go with my mom to their house so I could look through the stacks of SCD's they had around. I remember one article on collecting vintage game worn hats, looking at a Boston Braves example and thinking "man, what it would be like to collect THOSE!!!"

Fast-forward almost 3 decades and I just shelled out the $26 for my own subscription. I know the publication aint the same as it was all those years ago, but what the heck for old time's sake.

I remember back in the late '80s - early '90s, you could pay more to get your subscription copies delivered to you via First Class Mail... and you also had the option of paying even more, much more, to have your copies delivered Next Day via FedEx. I think it broke down to $15.00 per issue if you took the Next Day option.

SCD's heydey was of course the 1980's and 90's, and it is now well past its prime. I discontinued my subscription around 20 years ago, although I saw a copy last year. There are still timely articles in it but that is not what made it great. It was the ads, with all the great cards and memorabilia for sale. If you were fast you could pick up some amazing things, but you definitely had to be fast. The minute the issue arrived you had to drop what you were doing and scour the pages. People read the articles but few bought it for that reason.

And all newspapers have opinions, there is no such thing as a paper that only reports news. They have an editorial page for that reason. People read the newspaper that shares their view of the world. I have been reading the same paper daily for over fifty years, because it tells me what I want to hear. It also has the best damn crossword puzzle, which I finish every day, seven days a week.:)

My first post here, just joined today. My brother and I had a subscription to SCD back in the late 70s through the late 80s. Prior to that there was a much smaller version called The Sports Hobbyist that my bro and I picked up each month at a local grocery store. My first out of state purchase circa 1976 was a '54 Topps Kaline in ex cond for $6. The dealer sent me a note stating it sold out and instead he sent the same card but in vg cond along with a $1 return. Wish I'd have kept those old magazines. I did cut out an article about a t206 Wagner that sold for a whopping $1500 and taped that to a card holder folder. First packs I bought were in 1972, although I bought some chemtoy superballs before that.

So much for nostalgia... I signed up for an SCD subscription on August 31 and here it is 2 weeks later and I have heard nor received anything from them.

It does take time, even today, for subs to be processed, please give them one month and then if you have not received any issues let them know

Rich

Will do, Rich.

Why does, or should, it take a month to process a subscription? I never did get my 2 subscriptions a long time ago from Beckett. Both companies are a mess when it comes to print, if you ask me.

John Stomman & his family started the SCD Magazine, they were located in Milan Michigan. I started my subscription in the early 70's, back then it was a great source for cards. Bought and sold many cards thru the magazine. When it was bought out it started downhill .

Joe

most print publications are on life support. your experience is totally unacceptable.

I was a subscriber from 1976 up until the late 1990's. At that point they were being sent 4th class media mail and I would often get two or three issues on the same day.

I went my post office to complain and was told but the local postmaster that they only sorted media mail when he could afford extra people to work through it. He told me that by law/rules he didn't have to deliver media mail by any certain date. By the time I received it everything I would call on was already sold.

During it's heyday I loved it and still have thick folders with articles on stuff I collected.

Leon: When the Beckett sub people were in house it worked fine; once it was completely outsourced, then it was another issue.

I think F&W still does there in house but we do need patience.

And yes they should improve their on-line systems as I noted about my show calendar experiences

Rich

I placed my new subscription order on August 24 through Amazon..received my first print copy in my mail box on 9/17...This is very good...esp since Amazon stated not to expect sub to start until November...and, you don't receive anything from them except for the magazine.

Hence the option to pay more for expedited delivery.

I didn't think about SCD in awhile. But since this post I just bought a subscription ( 26 issues for $ 26 ) . It will be fun ( I hope) to get some publication again in the mail. Since OldCardBoard stopped publication, the mail has been boring ! It would be nice to see monthly reports with sections devoted to 19th Century, Pre-War 20th Century, Post War 20th Century and Modern. I'll let you know what I think of my first issue when it arrives.


UPDATE: Ordered on 8/30, received my first issue on 9/25. It is 52 pages. Nice article about 1955 Topps Variations, 1948 Leaf Boxing Set etc.
I enjoyed getting something about SportsCards in the mail again ( better than bills) ! But I'm an oldtimer, still like to hold it in my hand instead of reading it on a screen. For $ 1 / issue I give it a thumbs up !

I got my first issue tonight! I'll read it with my coffee in the morning

If anyone would like to sell their copy of the most recent (Oct 12, ‘18) issue, I’d love to buy a few extras!