Anybody have a Linn's from the early 1980s kicking around to look up the subscription figures (printed in every issue)?
I used to get 25 a week for my stamp store customers in a small town! I seem to recall circulation figures around 80,000, but it could just be my older memory painting a rosy picture of the past again.
Roy
You're right, Roy. It was a weekly where each issue was as thick as a Sunday newspaper used to be.
"I stayed onboard when the format size was reduced, followed soon thereafter by a halving of the publication frequency."
In the Feb 20, 2023 issue of Linn's, Jay Bigalke, editor of Linn's made the following statement:
"Responding to the shift toward digital news consumption, Amos Media Co. announced in January the following changes starting with the March cover-dated publication.... A Scott-branded monthly magazine will debut in March. The March Scott Stamp Monthly magazine will replace the Linn's Stamp News monthly magazine and will be published once a month, for a total of 12 issues a year. This new print publication will largely focus on feature articles and will continue to include the Scott New Issues update section.....Regarding content for both publications, readers can anticipate new features and additional news
coverage."
I am a digital subscriber. They are not folding but reducing printed issues (some will be digital only) and returning the monthly expanded Linn's
back as the Scott Stamp Monthly so 52 Linn's (some digital) and 12 Scott montly.
Calstamp you mentioned clipping articles. I do save the PDFs but unlike yesteryears I do not see many to "clip" anymore.
I use to buy 95% of my stamps through Linn's advertisers but ended in 1990's when online sellers popped up.
This is how I read the circulation numbers:
15c Paid circulation: 8,357 (avg over 12 months)/ 11392 (nearest filing).
16a paid digital 2,496, 2,859
16c total paid printed and electronic 10732 / 14100
I believe the reason for the avg vs latest near print date is that the monthly can have a separate circulation. The digital circulation is much lower than I remember.
The old Linns which used to boast its circulation (close to 100,000 they claimed at one time) was my connection to stamp collecting in the 1960s/70s. In the early 70s i was introduced to the American Philatelist with dues i believe were $8.00 a year and joined right up. Back to Linns, I loved the feast of the many pages of ads and the section with trade offers. You could actually find good trading partners for long lasting trades. Well as we have seen the world changes few things are permanent.
Ah, Phil. You've jogged free yet another Linn's memory. Believe it was entitled "Trading Horn".
My daughter (and collecting partner) and I enrolled in a long-standing stamp exchange based in south Florida. The "circuit manager" (Jerry Gerstein) passed away several years ago. Allison invested untold hours building circuit books. Together we claimed thousands of dollars of "new" material for her then-nascent WW collection.
Simpler times.
I agree, simpler times.. i enjoyed posting ads on the Posthorn for $2.50 to sell and trade. Things seem more scattered now..i think the internet changed a lot of things.
I always loved Linn's! I edited the "Viewpoint of Youth" page back in the 1970s.
And Varro Tyler's feature "Focus on Forgeries".
Thanks for the update, Al. I am behind in my reading some Linn's. My subscription expires in April. I'll need to see what I want. I definitely will subscribe to the Scott Monthly. I do not like reading online.
When you realize that the AP, publication of APS, has a larger circulation than Linn's, it adds a perspective. Publication circulation is down across the board.
I was a subscriber of Linn's and also of Stamps, think it was publish in Canada, at the same time, does anyone recall Stamps? it was also a newspaper type magazine.
Stamps was my preferred hobby periodical to read from when I was a young teenager. After it ceased publication, I turned to Linn's.
Stamps Magazine merged with Mekeel’s Weekly and is still published as Mekeel’s & Stamps Magazine (24 issues per year). Mekeel’s Weekly, founded in 1891 is the oldest continuing stamp magazine in the world.
I remember reading the magazine-sized Stamps at local libraries. I only subscribed to Linn's beyond the APS membership.
This thread has been split, moving 1 posts onto a new Thread titled:"Free Older Issues of Linn's"
Does this mean that starting in March, there will only be the monthly publication, and no weekly publication?
David
in a Linn's from 2014, old circulations numbers were given
January 1990: 57,700
November 2008: 40,012
November 2013: 32,586
Not about Linn's but up to about a year ago I was a diligent buyer of a magazine called Canadian Stamp News. I used to have my local magazine store save it for me and I'd pick it up every few months or so. When I noticed that I was just letting them pile up without reading them I decided not to bother anymore. Since I have a cut off for my Canada collection of 1988 and the mag mostly discussed new issues there was rarely anything of interest to read. I assume the paper is still in production but I'm not sure. Years ago it was a huge magazine but at the time I finished with it it was a shadow of it's former self!!
"Does this mean that starting in March, there will only be the monthly publication, and no weekly publication?"
Thank-you, Angore... so 24 printed means one Scott Stamp Monthly and one printed Linn's each month, eh?
David
I will add that Linn's that most Scott/Linn's publications are essentially printed materials in PDF format. I could hope that for the digital only issues they could be more flexible on format and content since not constrained by considering printing and mailing costs.
They have not shown much margination in the past. I could see the digital only as FREE with editorial costs paid by ads.
Al
https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-pos ...
Fixed Link
(Modified by Moderator on 2023-02-11 05:57:39)
Thank-you, cva.
David
Ottawa, Ont. Canada
If the rumors are to be believed, Linn’s as many of us “mature collectors” knew it will soon cease. Yet further evidence of the hobby’s rapid evolution. Reportedy the number of paid subscribers has declined to less than 8,500.
While I haven’t been a subscriber for several years, I fondly remember the days of the tabloid-sized weekly periodical. My personal copy would arrive each Thursday afternoon, and the balance of the day would be spent poring over the latest issue from cover-to-cover. Typically my first stop was KTP, to learn about the latest treasures discovered by the fabled E. Rawolik or one of his numerous descendants. This was followed by the “question and answer” feature, and then one of the feature articles penned by either house writers or outside subject experts. And finally, the adverts which over time seemed to overshadow the editorial content.
I stayed onboard when the format size was reduced, followed soon thereafter by a halving of the publication frequency. While I entertained brief dalliances with other philatelic publications, Linn’s remained a staple for me. Although I dropped out as a subscriber more than a decade ago, my philatelic files remained stuffed with articles clipped across the years and carefully sorted by country or subject. It was only a few years ago that I donated said files to a philatelic friend who ultimately digitized the content.
If you’re a US-based stamp enthusiast age 50 or above I suspect you, too, have many memories of the weekly publication which served to inform, entertain, and dare I say, educate.
re: Linn’s
Anybody have a Linn's from the early 1980s kicking around to look up the subscription figures (printed in every issue)?
I used to get 25 a week for my stamp store customers in a small town! I seem to recall circulation figures around 80,000, but it could just be my older memory painting a rosy picture of the past again.
Roy
re: Linn’s
You're right, Roy. It was a weekly where each issue was as thick as a Sunday newspaper used to be.
re: Linn’s
"I stayed onboard when the format size was reduced, followed soon thereafter by a halving of the publication frequency."
re: Linn’s
In the Feb 20, 2023 issue of Linn's, Jay Bigalke, editor of Linn's made the following statement:
"Responding to the shift toward digital news consumption, Amos Media Co. announced in January the following changes starting with the March cover-dated publication.... A Scott-branded monthly magazine will debut in March. The March Scott Stamp Monthly magazine will replace the Linn's Stamp News monthly magazine and will be published once a month, for a total of 12 issues a year. This new print publication will largely focus on feature articles and will continue to include the Scott New Issues update section.....Regarding content for both publications, readers can anticipate new features and additional news
coverage."
I am a digital subscriber. They are not folding but reducing printed issues (some will be digital only) and returning the monthly expanded Linn's
back as the Scott Stamp Monthly so 52 Linn's (some digital) and 12 Scott montly.
Calstamp you mentioned clipping articles. I do save the PDFs but unlike yesteryears I do not see many to "clip" anymore.
I use to buy 95% of my stamps through Linn's advertisers but ended in 1990's when online sellers popped up.
This is how I read the circulation numbers:
15c Paid circulation: 8,357 (avg over 12 months)/ 11392 (nearest filing).
16a paid digital 2,496, 2,859
16c total paid printed and electronic 10732 / 14100
I believe the reason for the avg vs latest near print date is that the monthly can have a separate circulation. The digital circulation is much lower than I remember.
re: Linn’s
The old Linns which used to boast its circulation (close to 100,000 they claimed at one time) was my connection to stamp collecting in the 1960s/70s. In the early 70s i was introduced to the American Philatelist with dues i believe were $8.00 a year and joined right up. Back to Linns, I loved the feast of the many pages of ads and the section with trade offers. You could actually find good trading partners for long lasting trades. Well as we have seen the world changes few things are permanent.
re: Linn’s
Ah, Phil. You've jogged free yet another Linn's memory. Believe it was entitled "Trading Horn".
My daughter (and collecting partner) and I enrolled in a long-standing stamp exchange based in south Florida. The "circuit manager" (Jerry Gerstein) passed away several years ago. Allison invested untold hours building circuit books. Together we claimed thousands of dollars of "new" material for her then-nascent WW collection.
Simpler times.
re: Linn’s
I agree, simpler times.. i enjoyed posting ads on the Posthorn for $2.50 to sell and trade. Things seem more scattered now..i think the internet changed a lot of things.
re: Linn’s
I always loved Linn's! I edited the "Viewpoint of Youth" page back in the 1970s.
re: Linn’s
And Varro Tyler's feature "Focus on Forgeries".
re: Linn’s
Thanks for the update, Al. I am behind in my reading some Linn's. My subscription expires in April. I'll need to see what I want. I definitely will subscribe to the Scott Monthly. I do not like reading online.
re: Linn’s
When you realize that the AP, publication of APS, has a larger circulation than Linn's, it adds a perspective. Publication circulation is down across the board.
re: Linn’s
I was a subscriber of Linn's and also of Stamps, think it was publish in Canada, at the same time, does anyone recall Stamps? it was also a newspaper type magazine.
re: Linn’s
Stamps was my preferred hobby periodical to read from when I was a young teenager. After it ceased publication, I turned to Linn's.
re: Linn’s
Stamps Magazine merged with Mekeel’s Weekly and is still published as Mekeel’s & Stamps Magazine (24 issues per year). Mekeel’s Weekly, founded in 1891 is the oldest continuing stamp magazine in the world.
re: Linn’s
I remember reading the magazine-sized Stamps at local libraries. I only subscribed to Linn's beyond the APS membership.
re: Linn’s
This thread has been split, moving 1 posts onto a new Thread titled:"Free Older Issues of Linn's"
re: Linn’s
Does this mean that starting in March, there will only be the monthly publication, and no weekly publication?
David
re: Linn’s
in a Linn's from 2014, old circulations numbers were given
January 1990: 57,700
November 2008: 40,012
November 2013: 32,586
re: Linn’s
Not about Linn's but up to about a year ago I was a diligent buyer of a magazine called Canadian Stamp News. I used to have my local magazine store save it for me and I'd pick it up every few months or so. When I noticed that I was just letting them pile up without reading them I decided not to bother anymore. Since I have a cut off for my Canada collection of 1988 and the mag mostly discussed new issues there was rarely anything of interest to read. I assume the paper is still in production but I'm not sure. Years ago it was a huge magazine but at the time I finished with it it was a shadow of it's former self!!
re: Linn’s
"Does this mean that starting in March, there will only be the monthly publication, and no weekly publication?"
re: Linn’s
Thank-you, Angore... so 24 printed means one Scott Stamp Monthly and one printed Linn's each month, eh?
David
re: Linn’s
I will add that Linn's that most Scott/Linn's publications are essentially printed materials in PDF format. I could hope that for the digital only issues they could be more flexible on format and content since not constrained by considering printing and mailing costs.
They have not shown much margination in the past. I could see the digital only as FREE with editorial costs paid by ads.
Al
re: Linn’s
https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-pos ...
Fixed Link
(Modified by Moderator on 2023-02-11 05:57:39)
re: Linn’s
Thank-you, cva.
David
Ottawa, Ont. Canada