Has RCM folded?
10-25-2005, 06:28 AM
#505
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RE: Has RCM folded?
ORIGINAL: Joe Nagy
Hi Everyone;
Greetings to All From sunny Arizona.
After almost 500 postings herein, maybe we should put this RCM Folding Thingie to rest, and let RCM RIP.
I just did a quick calculation: RCM has been successfully published since Oct. '63: thats roughly an issue every month for 41 years, 8 months. That's a pretty good run I'd say. Let us look at our own lives and the management decisions that we have made ourselves, for ourselves, and how many of them were gems, or less. Just think, a small company that we all know and have all grown up with called General Motors, is also on the brink of oblivion, and they possibly have a few more management smarts than little RCM, or 'usins' [ourselves].
I've enjoyed RCM over the years very much, supported them, [have every single issue ever published], and if they are to be no more, I can accept the fact and get over it. Should RCM rise from its ashes like the Phoenix, I will give it a chance, if not, Rest In Piece RCM, you had a great run, brought a lot of hobby enjoyment to a whole lot of us. Thanx for the memories, and Salute.
Best regards to Everyone, and RCM, from Phoenix,
Joe Nagy.
Hi Everyone;
Greetings to All From sunny Arizona.
After almost 500 postings herein, maybe we should put this RCM Folding Thingie to rest, and let RCM RIP.
I just did a quick calculation: RCM has been successfully published since Oct. '63: thats roughly an issue every month for 41 years, 8 months. That's a pretty good run I'd say. Let us look at our own lives and the management decisions that we have made ourselves, for ourselves, and how many of them were gems, or less. Just think, a small company that we all know and have all grown up with called General Motors, is also on the brink of oblivion, and they possibly have a few more management smarts than little RCM, or 'usins' [ourselves].
I've enjoyed RCM over the years very much, supported them, [have every single issue ever published], and if they are to be no more, I can accept the fact and get over it. Should RCM rise from its ashes like the Phoenix, I will give it a chance, if not, Rest In Piece RCM, you had a great run, brought a lot of hobby enjoyment to a whole lot of us. Thanx for the memories, and Salute.
Best regards to Everyone, and RCM, from Phoenix,
Joe Nagy.
Their plans were great for the nonARF crowd!
10-25-2005, 09:33 AM
#506
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RE: Has RCM folded?
flicka5,
I agree also, those folks are stealing money from people. It would be nice to hear that some one bought the mag and will honor all subscriptions. I think that's a dream never to come true.
We the ones who have been taken have to let it go as a loss. RCM is not about to honor anything.
Sledge_78
I agree also, those folks are stealing money from people. It would be nice to hear that some one bought the mag and will honor all subscriptions. I think that's a dream never to come true.
We the ones who have been taken have to let it go as a loss. RCM is not about to honor anything.
Sledge_78
10-25-2005, 01:05 PM
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RE: Has RCM folded?
IMHO, I think that the LHS helped its demise. Most hobby shops refused to carry it because it has mail order ads in it which showed how bad the prices were in the hobby store. Most LHS charge the distributors "suggested retail price". The model hobby business is full of undocumented !QUOT!verbal contracts!QUOT! which tell the dealers they cant sell for less than X price. So, no matter where you go to buy this product, mail or LHS, the lowest price has been decided by the distributor. If the LHS saw the magazine as an asset to selling hobby products, they would would have sold their products anyway because most people !QUOT!want it now!QUOT!. I wont buy anything until I see it first hand in a hobby shop, I then will make a reasonable offer for it (so they can stay in business). If the price doesn't budge then my business goes out the door with me.
If someone does advertise and sells for less, or part out systems or kits, the distributor cuts them off from product. I hate this type of restrictive business and will purchase outside the U.S. if it means paying less. It is a form of price fixing.
RCM is/was a great magazine that had real content and reviews that were honest. Most of the reviews I read now in other magazines are influenced by the manufacture of the product being reviewed. So everything gets a decent review.
Maybe they should sell RCM to someone else, who will continue this fine magazine.
Long live RCM
If someone does advertise and sells for less, or part out systems or kits, the distributor cuts them off from product. I hate this type of restrictive business and will purchase outside the U.S. if it means paying less. It is a form of price fixing.
RCM is/was a great magazine that had real content and reviews that were honest. Most of the reviews I read now in other magazines are influenced by the manufacture of the product being reviewed. So everything gets a decent review.
Maybe they should sell RCM to someone else, who will continue this fine magazine.
Long live RCM
10-25-2005, 06:43 PM
#509
RE: Has RCM folded?
I've never seen a LHS that didn't have RCM, and I've done a bit of travel around the country on business. I've also seen the mag on the shelves of local convenience stores, some of the local chain grocery stores, and local book stores.
I've known a number of LHS owners pretty well. The price they buy a kit or anything else in their store for is dependent on how many they can order in a given shipment. the fewer they buy, the higher the price they have to pay. It is their property, and they have the legal right to sell it for whatever they can afford to charge. If they purchase the kit at a low enough price, and they do enough business, they can match any mail order or on-line price. And remember, the LHS is not just handling the product for the manufacturer. They are buying outright for resale. If they can't sell the kit, or engine, or motor, or accessory, they are stuck with it. The manufacturer will rarely take it back unless there is a problem, and then they are most likely to give a replacement, not a refund. And in states like Ohio, that have personal property tax, this purchase is carried on their inventory and gets taxed each and every year until it's sold.
A garage I worked at has the same situation. We had trouble with a discount store across the street from us. They were selling Autolite batteries for a considerable amount below what we could buy the same battery from our supplier. People would buy the battery there and bring it to us to install. This is not a profitable operation for us, but we did it for an economic principle know as "Good Will". Maybe some of these people would remember us if they needed work. One day, the distributor came in and offered us a package price if we bought a certain quantity. The price offered would let us price our batteries almost as low as the DS. We bought the package, and sold some of the older unsold stock to a recycler. A few weeks later, we noticed that the DS was still under pricing us. Boss almost attacked the rep for the distributor when he found out the dist. also handled the DS chain. Price difference was just due to an economic fact of life. A store that can buy boxcar lots of an item gets a much lower price than a store that only can buy onesies and twosies. In fact, one day I almost got fired, and would have if the boss's lawyer hadn't been there. Customer came in, needed an odd-ball battery that we didn't have. Went across the street, found that the DS had one, so I bought it on a PO, installed it in the car, charged a dollar less than our advertised sale price plus the installation and charging system check. Boss got mad because the margin was almost twice what it would have been if we had the battery in stock. Took the lawyer almost 10 minutes to convince the boss there was nothing illegal or unethical in what I did, and that the extra mark up even with the dollar extra discount probably offset the time I spent to chase down the battery, which the boss would not have charged for.
Hobby Shops have the same volume pricing issues. They get stuck with a huge amount of unsold merchandise. One second generation LHS owner that got out of the business cleaned out the sore basement of almost $30,000 worth of unsold mdse from over 30 years previous. And that was in 1984.
Another LHS who tried to branch out from doll houses and model railroading managed to back off from RC without too much loss after a customer asked him to get a Duraplane because he was interested in buying one. They spent a busy hour discussing the plane on the LHS counter after it arrived. Proprieter, trying to get established in RC, offered it for 15% off the MSLP. Customer turned it down, he only wanted to see what the kit was like before he mail ordered it for about another 15% off that price. Only consolation for the LHS owner was that the shipping cost made the cost of the plane higher for the turkey than the offered price plus sales tax.
I kind of apologize for deviating from the topic, but I've seen and heard a lot of things against LHSs, and thought they should be better defended. Without their help, I could have ended up in a local Tough Guys Club (Neighborhood gang) as a kid.
RCM came in a bit late in the educational process, but it was still part of the process.
I've known a number of LHS owners pretty well. The price they buy a kit or anything else in their store for is dependent on how many they can order in a given shipment. the fewer they buy, the higher the price they have to pay. It is their property, and they have the legal right to sell it for whatever they can afford to charge. If they purchase the kit at a low enough price, and they do enough business, they can match any mail order or on-line price. And remember, the LHS is not just handling the product for the manufacturer. They are buying outright for resale. If they can't sell the kit, or engine, or motor, or accessory, they are stuck with it. The manufacturer will rarely take it back unless there is a problem, and then they are most likely to give a replacement, not a refund. And in states like Ohio, that have personal property tax, this purchase is carried on their inventory and gets taxed each and every year until it's sold.
A garage I worked at has the same situation. We had trouble with a discount store across the street from us. They were selling Autolite batteries for a considerable amount below what we could buy the same battery from our supplier. People would buy the battery there and bring it to us to install. This is not a profitable operation for us, but we did it for an economic principle know as "Good Will". Maybe some of these people would remember us if they needed work. One day, the distributor came in and offered us a package price if we bought a certain quantity. The price offered would let us price our batteries almost as low as the DS. We bought the package, and sold some of the older unsold stock to a recycler. A few weeks later, we noticed that the DS was still under pricing us. Boss almost attacked the rep for the distributor when he found out the dist. also handled the DS chain. Price difference was just due to an economic fact of life. A store that can buy boxcar lots of an item gets a much lower price than a store that only can buy onesies and twosies. In fact, one day I almost got fired, and would have if the boss's lawyer hadn't been there. Customer came in, needed an odd-ball battery that we didn't have. Went across the street, found that the DS had one, so I bought it on a PO, installed it in the car, charged a dollar less than our advertised sale price plus the installation and charging system check. Boss got mad because the margin was almost twice what it would have been if we had the battery in stock. Took the lawyer almost 10 minutes to convince the boss there was nothing illegal or unethical in what I did, and that the extra mark up even with the dollar extra discount probably offset the time I spent to chase down the battery, which the boss would not have charged for.
Hobby Shops have the same volume pricing issues. They get stuck with a huge amount of unsold merchandise. One second generation LHS owner that got out of the business cleaned out the sore basement of almost $30,000 worth of unsold mdse from over 30 years previous. And that was in 1984.
Another LHS who tried to branch out from doll houses and model railroading managed to back off from RC without too much loss after a customer asked him to get a Duraplane because he was interested in buying one. They spent a busy hour discussing the plane on the LHS counter after it arrived. Proprieter, trying to get established in RC, offered it for 15% off the MSLP. Customer turned it down, he only wanted to see what the kit was like before he mail ordered it for about another 15% off that price. Only consolation for the LHS owner was that the shipping cost made the cost of the plane higher for the turkey than the offered price plus sales tax.
I kind of apologize for deviating from the topic, but I've seen and heard a lot of things against LHSs, and thought they should be better defended. Without their help, I could have ended up in a local Tough Guys Club (Neighborhood gang) as a kid.
RCM came in a bit late in the educational process, but it was still part of the process.
10-26-2005, 09:54 AM
#510
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RE: Has RCM folded?
ORIGINAL: N1EDM
I just had a horrible thought....
What if they sold it to Tower Hobbies/Great Planes???
Nothing but GREAT REVIEWS for GP stuff....
Maybe we ought to start a totally unfounded rumor - whaddaya say?
Bob
I just had a horrible thought....
What if they sold it to Tower Hobbies/Great Planes???
Nothing but GREAT REVIEWS for GP stuff....
Maybe we ought to start a totally unfounded rumor - whaddaya say?
Bob
Don't they already own Model Airplane News?
10-26-2005, 10:11 AM
#511
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RE: Has RCM folded?
ORIGINAL: N1EDM
I just had a horrible thought....
What if they sold it to Tower Hobbies/Great Planes???
Nothing but GREAT REVIEWS for GP stuff....
Maybe we ought to start a totally unfounded rumor - whaddaya say?
Bob
I just had a horrible thought....
What if they sold it to Tower Hobbies/Great Planes???
Nothing but GREAT REVIEWS for GP stuff....
Maybe we ought to start a totally unfounded rumor - whaddaya say?
Bob
10-26-2005, 10:55 AM
#512
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RE: Has RCM folded?
volfy,
That sounds interesting. Hobbico owning RCM. So the manufacturer's would control the content. Wow! What if someone independent cam along and offered objective views. De je vous , all over again. Kind of like the wolf in charge of the chicken coup.
Sledge_78
That sounds interesting. Hobbico owning RCM. So the manufacturer's would control the content. Wow! What if someone independent cam along and offered objective views. De je vous , all over again. Kind of like the wolf in charge of the chicken coup.
Sledge_78
10-26-2005, 11:14 AM
#513
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RE: Has RCM folded?
Well I guess I'm another one of the lucky ones. While overseas my wife automatically renewed my subscription to RCM in July of '05. Needless to say, I never received another issue from that date on, nor have I received a refund of the subscription price, an explanation, or an apology. BTW, RCM was the firm that sent the renewell notice.
I don't care how long a company has been publishing or in business, if they accept funds for a service or product and fail to provide the service or product for which the funds were accepted without filing bankruptcy, it's called theft. Plain and simple, theft. That falls under dishonest, deceitful, underhanded, mail fraud, and a bunch of other negative metaphors.
So if any other company or individual picks up the company that published RCM, or RCM starts up again, you owe me a years subscription, thank you very much.
Pat
I don't care how long a company has been publishing or in business, if they accept funds for a service or product and fail to provide the service or product for which the funds were accepted without filing bankruptcy, it's called theft. Plain and simple, theft. That falls under dishonest, deceitful, underhanded, mail fraud, and a bunch of other negative metaphors.
So if any other company or individual picks up the company that published RCM, or RCM starts up again, you owe me a years subscription, thank you very much.
Pat
10-26-2005, 01:40 PM
#514
RE: Has RCM folded?
Interesting. I went back to the LHS where I heard about the letter from Kalmbach Publishing about the RCM situation. Got to spend some time reading the letter this time. Letter was dated Aug 29. Apparently they were only the distributor for whoever published RCM. They said the publisher had just notified them at that time that they were looking for a buyer. Kalmbach was notifying the stores that recieved the mag through them that Kalbach would honor the return agreements they have with the stores. Kind of says that Kalmbach is going to take a hit on this as well.
10-26-2005, 05:10 PM
#515
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RE: Has RCM folded?
ORIGINAL: sledge_78
volfy,
That sounds interesting. Hobbico owning RCM. So the manufacturer's would control the content. Wow! What if someone independent cam along and offered objective views. De je vous , all over again. Kind of like the wolf in charge of the chicken coup.
Sledge_78
volfy,
That sounds interesting. Hobbico owning RCM. So the manufacturer's would control the content. Wow! What if someone independent cam along and offered objective views. De je vous , all over again. Kind of like the wolf in charge of the chicken coup.
Sledge_78
The new magazine will have quality on par with Architectual Digest, with stunning glossy images of, ummm, GP ARFs on oversized lithographic print. They will get many more subscribers than RCM ever did (including people who buy them just for display on their coffee table). It will include a DVD with every issue that showcase Hobbico products. RCers will get it just for the rebates and coupons, which pays for magazine 20 times over. Hobbico gets more sales of their ARFs and other products. Everybody wins.
Except... the curmugeons will still gripe about the biased GP ARF reviews.
10-27-2005, 08:02 AM
#519
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RE: Has RCM folded?
ORIGINAL: Volfy
The new magazine will have quality on par with Architectual Digest, with stunning glossy images of, ummm, GP ARFs on oversized lithographic print. They will get many more subscribers than RCM ever did (including people who buy them just for display on their coffee table). It will include a DVD with every issue that showcase Hobbico products. RCers will get it just for the rebates and coupons, which pays for magazine 20 times over. Hobbico gets more sales of their ARFs and other products. Everybody wins.
Except... the curmugeons will still gripe about the biased GP ARF reviews.
The new magazine will have quality on par with Architectual Digest, with stunning glossy images of, ummm, GP ARFs on oversized lithographic print. They will get many more subscribers than RCM ever did (including people who buy them just for display on their coffee table). It will include a DVD with every issue that showcase Hobbico products. RCers will get it just for the rebates and coupons, which pays for magazine 20 times over. Hobbico gets more sales of their ARFs and other products. Everybody wins.
Except... the curmugeons will still gripe about the biased GP ARF reviews.
10-28-2005, 06:21 PM
#520
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RE: Has RCM folded?
OK, you've all been good, so here's another cover shot...
Would-be Magazine editors, take note! She's just a really beautiful girl, not artificially enhanced. Just pure cheesecake!! Not even wearing a bikini (though I wouldn't mind if she were wearing a bikini).
The average male should be able to find the Sidney Opera House within 30 minutes. Take any longer than that, and you're a fighter pilot....
Bob
Would-be Magazine editors, take note! She's just a really beautiful girl, not artificially enhanced. Just pure cheesecake!! Not even wearing a bikini (though I wouldn't mind if she were wearing a bikini).
The average male should be able to find the Sidney Opera House within 30 minutes. Take any longer than that, and you're a fighter pilot....
Bob
10-28-2005, 06:30 PM
#521
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RE: Has RCM folded?
You are teasing us, or did you have a Sr. moment in the attachment department.
Red
Red
ORIGINAL: N1EDM
OK, you've all been good, so here's another cover shot...
Would-be Magazine editors, take note! She's just a really beautiful girl, not artificially enhanced. Just pure cheesecake!! Not even wearing a bikini (though I wouldn't mind if she were wearing a bikini).
The average male should be able to find the Sidney Opera House within 30 minutes. Take any longer than that, and you're a fighter pilot....
Bob
OK, you've all been good, so here's another cover shot...
Would-be Magazine editors, take note! She's just a really beautiful girl, not artificially enhanced. Just pure cheesecake!! Not even wearing a bikini (though I wouldn't mind if she were wearing a bikini).
The average male should be able to find the Sidney Opera House within 30 minutes. Take any longer than that, and you're a fighter pilot....
Bob
10-28-2005, 07:05 PM
#522
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RE: Has RCM folded?
Nope.... I'm too young to have senior moments...
I'm having trouble uploading for some reason.... Please have patience.... :-D Don't want to cause a lynching (i.e., mine)
OK, it's up!! Re-check Post #519.
Just got some more 'vintage' magazines off eBay. If you guys keep this thread going, I'll keep uploading....
Bob
I'm having trouble uploading for some reason.... Please have patience.... :-D Don't want to cause a lynching (i.e., mine)
OK, it's up!! Re-check Post #519.
Just got some more 'vintage' magazines off eBay. If you guys keep this thread going, I'll keep uploading....
Bob
