Magazines and the Newsstands: True or False (Test Your Knowledge)
June 6, 2007You think you know the newsstands, and the folks who frequent them to buy magazines, think twice. What follows are ten true and false statements about magazines and the newsstands. Check if you can tell the true ones from the false:
1. Newsstands buyers are habitual buyers
2. The majority of people who buy magazines on the newsstands do not send in the discounted subscription cards.
3. For a lot of publishers, the newsstands are nothing but a showcase for the advertiser to see the magazine “in their face.”
4. The reason publishers put much more copies than they sell is because they do not want to have empty pockets.
5. Some magazines can make money selling only two copies of every ten they put out.
6. Low cover price does not mean selling more copies.
7. The Magazine Publishers of America uses frequency to define a magazine, thus not everything you buy on the newsstands is a magazine according to their definition.
8. Magazines without advertising can survive and thrive on the newsstands.
9. More than 70% of American magazines are sold by subscription rather than single copy.
10. Cosmopolitan magazine sells more copies per issue on the newsstands than any other magazine.
So what is your score? How many true statements and how many false? If you answered true on each and every one of the above ten statements you’ve passed with flying colors. Believe or not, all the above statements are true and in the following days and weeks I will be writing and expanding on each statement, so stay tuned…
Mr. Magazine 
Samir
Pts. 1 & 2 seem to me to be in opposition to each other; and I am doubtful of 2. Can you identify your sources. No arguments with any of the others.
John
Thanks John…it is corrected…sorry for the delay, but your comment was caught as spam…have no earthly idea why? See the correct statement in my response to Tim below….
true…magazines “can” be run without a single ad page…i am a 17 yr old teen mag publisher…and i am tired of chasing companies for ads…and then chasing them for not paying up…
How can 1 and 2 both be true? Or are these people all chronically amnesiac? Or do they never actually USE those cards?
Good catch Tim…In fact if only 1/4% of all subscription cards are returned, magazine publishers consider their efforts successful. I have corrected number 2. Thanks, Samir
11. There are few of us who can pass by a magazine newsstand without stopping to “smell the roses,” appreciating that overflowing cornucopia of color images and the sweet bouquet of coated stock intermingled with the latest fragrances. With our KinderHarvest magazine recycling program, MagazineLiteracy.org celebrates every newsstand copy – sold and unsold – as reusable reading materials for children and families who want to learn and love to read. We are committed to the rescue of surplus copies from across the magazine supply chain for use by community literacy programs, and look forward to collaboration with industry thought leaders to achieve this objective on a global scale.