SCD Subscriber?

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Just out of curiosity, how many board members are:

1. Current subscribers to SCD
2. Former subscribers to SCD
3. Neither

I'm a former subscriber.


(Just to be clear, my personal negative feelings about SCD in no way reflect on Bob Lemke or his catalog.)

Edited for spelling.

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Posted By: Nathan

I'm a former subscriber - no desire to renew or continue.

Nathan

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Posted By: JudgeDred (Fred)

Former

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Posted By: Shannon

Former

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Posted By: barrysloate

I still subscribe purely to keep up with some of the news and events in the hobby. But every time I see you-know-who smirking on the front cover I vow not to renew.

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Posted By: Harry Kress

Former

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Posted By: Mark Holt

Current subscriber....uh oh, now I'm labeled...

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Posted By: eric p.

current, i subscribe for the same reasons as barry.

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Posted By: Greg Ecklund

Former

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Posted By: T206Collector

...ran out in October, and I received a number of renewal notices, but I did not opt to renew -- however, after not receiving a few issues, I started getting them again and noticed that my new subscription end date is now October 2007. It's not a bad free rag.

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Posted By: FYS

Current. Just renewed about 3 months ago for the first time in years. The acution catalogues are worth the subscription price. Otherwise, I think there was only one good article (Mastro/Nagy) that I remember reading in the last three months.

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Posted By: joe maples

I just keep subscribing to the magazine. I have been a subscriber since eary 70's when Stommen's owned the paper. Even though it takes only 15 - 20 minutes to read now. And you do get auction catalogs and some of the articles are informative. I always consider letting it lapse, but it is not that expensive.

Joe

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Posted By: DJ

FORMER! Was a subscriber from 1979-1995. Never will subscribe or purchase again.

DJ

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Posted By: brian p

Former...the magazine just became irrelevant to my collecting about twelve years ago.

Brian

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Posted By: Patrick McMenemy

Former subscriber....Early on I enjoyed it, and I found a lot of vintage material. I have not subscribed for over 5 years.

Patrick

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Posted By: andy becker

former. i should....but i can't. it's a shame.

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Posted By: Frank Evanov

still with them. They have an occasional decent article [the one about the Burdick collection comes to mind].

Frank

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

former

 

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Posted By: Cat

neither

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Posted By: Anthony

Current, but only because they had a free offer for 10 issues. It's still not worth it.
Also a former advertiser- they totally messed up the insertion order and I"ll never advertise again.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

.........................ieven wrote them a letter to the editor once, Finally decided it wasn't worth either the dough or the huge accumulation of newspaper. I could find out about auctions here, and the couple of guys who sold stuff through their pages that interested me either quit or bwecame less interesting. Mainly, though, TOO MUCH PAPER!

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Posted By: Kevin Cummings

Never.

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Posted By: George H. Counter

2. Former subscriber to SCD


Too bad Lemke's Standard Catalog is following the same path.

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Posted By: Tim Newcomb

Pre-Krause era. I remember the Stommen version with great affection.

Tim

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Posted By: barrysloate

There was once a time I paid for a fed ex subscription because there was so much good material being offered that even a few hours would be the difference between getting something great or just missing out. Obviously, the way business is conducted today has changed dramatically and most of the advertising is either an announcement of an upcoming auction or a heartwarming ad which reads: "we are accepting consignments." Did anyone in the hobby realize that these auction houses are accepting consignments? Who isn't accepting a consignment?
However, in all fairness to Bob Lemke he still writes a weekly column that is always informative and nearly always offers checklists and background information on some rare and obscure card set. Bob is still the only throwback to the good old days of SCD. If they would just banish the practice of having advertisers on the front cover...

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Posted By: identify7

former

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Posted By: Larrie Dean

I am a current subscriber although sometimes I wonder why?! It is basically advertisements would very, very, few articles other than reports of a few auction outcomes.

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Posted By: Jim Clarke

Former weekly subscriber... I've been burned by 2 of SCD's advertisers and I wrote letters complaining to SCD about it... Nothing was done, nor was I sent back a letter from SCD. When SCD offered a FREE classifieds if you re-newed years ago.. I tried to do it with a "MR. MINT" Hate club and a place where people could tell stories... SCD refused to run it and sent my money back.... LOL .... I do bye the Lemke Price guide every year.. JC

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Posted By: ockday

former

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Posted By: Kevin Savage

I know SCD is a mere shadow of what it used to be - but I still enjoy it and occasionally find leads and collections in it. I know we all have time limitations- and I admit I don't read it cover to cover all of the time- like I once did.

Will SCD be around 5 years from now? I for one, hope so- but magazines just can't be as timely as webblogs and internet sites- and this makes any hobby magazine's future existence challenging and difficult..... The advertisers will almost always seek the cheapest road to sales- and the collectors will only buy and read a magazine if they see it as a value- filling a need they have for cards and/or information.

I love reading the stuff on this site when I have time. I think it is a great and timely forum for information sharing on vintage cards and the people who collect them.

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Posted By: JimB

Current subscriber.
As Barry mentioned, it used to be a lot more interesting when dealers actually sold a lot of vintage material through SCD. But for the reasons mentioned above, I still enjoy it. THere was a great article about Nagy a couple of weeks ago.
JimB

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Posted By: jay behrens

former...1982-1990

Jay

I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

Just wasn't worth the effort for such a content-free mag.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

In the 80's I subscribed for the first class mailing - but then it was a time when there were good deals to be had and getting the issue sooner rather than later was a good thing. But that was in the 80's. I still have the regular, when it gets here - it gets here, mail service since SCD is no longer time relevent. I do like some of the articles and accompanying photos.

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Posted By: Bob Lemke

How many subscribed to:
Baseball Hobby News?
Ball Card Collector?
Collectors Sportslook?
Beckett Vintage?
Vintage Baseball Card Collector?
The Old Judge?
Baseball Card News?
The Trader Speaks?
Baseball Cards Magazine?
Sports Cards?

How many still subscribe to them? Oh, wait, never mind.

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Posted By: Joe Jones

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Posted By: Cobby33

3.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

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Posted By: Steve Dawson

I still subscribe to SCD, mainly because I'm afraid I'll miss something if I don't. Also, the show calendar is helpful, as are the ads for upcoming shows, so I can send items for autographing if possible.

I also subscribed to BB Hobby News, Beckett Vintage, The Trader Speaks, BB Card News and BB Cards Magazine.


Steve

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Posted By: martin dalziel

I've let my subscription lapse at times but i've always gone back. I don't tend to be as narrow in my collecting focus as many on this board (i.e. not just cards, not just baseball, etc.) thus SCD is still a good read for me. Yes, i wish it was still the mammouth publication that it used to be, and yes, i get irked by seeing some of the less than stellar advertisers with their mugs over everything but.....

Its still good to get home, get changed, get dinner and sit in my big 'ole chair for a while relaxing and lapping up the info and goings on.

Do i learn much? maybe not, but the leasurely pace and enjoyment of reading a periodical can't be duplicated in my mind.

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

To elaborate a bit on why I am no longer an SCD subscriber . . .

SCD claims that their Customer Service logo in a paid ad indicates that the advertiser has never had a complaint from a customer. In my experience, what the logo really means is that SCD will not investigate a customer complaint against that advertiser.

To cite one example:

A well know auction house failed to mention that the 19th century cards in one of their auction lots were skinned. I think that qualifies as significant error in the lot description. The auction catalog did picture the lot, but made no mention of the backs. SCD said that, while the auction in question was advertised in a multi-page ad in SCD, THE SPECIFIC LOT IN QUESTION WAS NOT MENTIONED IN THE AD.

After similar experiences with three or four other Customer Services Award winners, it became clear to me, IMHO, that these award logs are meaningless. I cancelled my subscription. SCD offered me some free issues. I said "no, thanks."

A lot of great dealers have advertised in SCD, and I have patronized many of them, and continue to do so. And it is true that publications cannot survive without advertisers. But they also need customers. When you repeatedly put one of your leading ad buyers on the cover of the publication, the advertiser becomes a business partner, and the balance between customers and advertisers becomes seriously, and in my book, fatally, out of whack.

This thread indicates that SCD has lost some longtime customers and have failed to entice some others into ever subscribing. Which is too bad, because Network 54 members are clearly avid collectors and purchasers, in all price ranges, of vintage and not so vintage material.

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Posted By: Harry Kress

Bob, at least some of those magazines died without selling their souls to the modern glossy crap the way SCD did.

That's probably why I still treasure my complete runs of TOJ and VCBC and not a single copy of SCD.

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Posted By: Jerry Spillman

Kevin Savage

Nice selection of graded N, E and T cards along with other pre-war cards in your Sports Auction #1229 advertised in the current SCD. Especially the N338-2 and the E107. Good Luck.

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Posted By: jay behrens

Harry, great observation. I really can't think of a single issue of SCD that stands out in my mind during the roughly 10 years I subscribed. On the other hand, I wish I had not thrown out all my TOJ, BHN and other old hobby pubs as I can think of at least one or two issues from each that wish I still had around for reference.

I also agree that the SCD Customer Service award is a total joke and was so even back in 1991 when I got out of the hobby.

Jay

I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

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Posted By: dennis

former

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Posted By: joseph

Current but going to let my subscription laspe. The magazine was a great piece to read 10 years ago but this newer format can't compare to the old.

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Posted By: Bill Stone

Current --I used to be able to pick up a copy at the newstand but no one seems to carry it so I went ahead and subscribed --not of the class of Old Cardboard but I like the inserts and I at least don't feel as if I might be missing something.