Anyone subscribe to Shop Etc. Magazine?

Jan 10, 2006
3,627
9
I got a great deal through Hearst directly to subscribe to Shop Etc. for $5/year. BUT it's taking FOREVER to get my January issue--it's already been on the newstands for 2 weeks already! I checked their website and they don't consider an issue late until it's the LAST day of the issues month. So until January 31, I can't complain--which is ridiculous because by then the February issue will be out for a week and the January issue will be gone! If you subscribe to Shop Etc, I'd be curious how your subscriptions have gone... Thanks!
 
when did you first get your subscription? usually it takes 6-8 weeks for the first issue to come.

i don't like shop because i feel like a lot of their stuff is kinda shady. it seems like they're paid to endorse some of the stuff they put in their mag - like they had a whole spread of Lee jeans one time and then, not so subtly, a Lee coupon. Lee hasn't been fashionable since, i dunno, 1983, so i don't know why they'd do that unless they are getting paid, which is shady journalism.

although it may not seem like 'journalism,' mags like that can make a big difference in what people wear and what sells in stores, and i think that it's important that whenever a magazine receives compensation or brokers a discount deal in exchange for a particular spread, it needs to be above-board and clearly stated.

i think Lucky does it much better - it never seems to me like they're paid to feature even the stuff that they offer discount codes for. it's always chic, fashionable, and minimal - you never see an entire spread of product from one brand unless they're doing an article on why they like the brand's website, catalogue, etc.

sorry, that was completely OT. i'm a magazine journalism major.
 
I LOVE Lucky too--but I am a self-confessed magazine junky. So when I got the offer for $5/year, I figured--"what the hell!" My subscription started--but they sent me the "holiday" issue that had been around FOREVER as my first issue--I called and told them that I already had that issue, so they added a month to my subscription. So the January issue would be my 2nd one in my 1 year subscriptoin. But at this rate--I'm wondering if I'll EVER see it!

I just HATE seeing magazines on newstands before I get them in the mail--I consider the "early" delivery one of the perks of the subscription. I'm ok if I have to wait a few days--but at this rate it's been 2 weeks since I saw the January issue at my local bookstore! I'm curious if I'm the only one who has this problem with Shop Etc.
 
You're not the only one, wicked. I took up the same offer for $5 a year, and I did get the Holiday issue as the first one, when it was already old. I haven't got January yet either.

I subscribe to Lucky, InStyle, O, and a few others and often I see them on the newstands before I get them. One issue of InStyle which I saw on the newstand and was really looking forward to never showed up at all; I had to call and have them send a replacement. So it's not just Shop, Etc. I always had the feeling it was my postal service because where I live the postal service is just awful. It takes forever to get something from across town, we don't have a regular mail carrier for our route, so things are put in the wrong boxes all the time, etc. So it never occured to me that it was the magazine's fault.
 
I'm embarrassed to how bad of a magazine junky I am--but here are all the magazines I subscribe to:

1) Lucky
2) Vogue
3) Harper's Bazaar
4) Elle
5) Money
6) Town & Country
7) InStyle
8) Smart Money
9) Life & Style
10) Shop Etc.

Life & Style was a Christmas gift and the subscription hasn't started yet. But ALL the other magazines almost always arrive in a timely manner. And they ALL consider an issue late if it's about a week into the month. Town & Country, another Hearst publication actually considers something late if it's 3 days into the calendar month!

I just wonder why Shop Etc. is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO slow--I'm thinking about writing a complaint letter if this keeps up. The fact that they don't consider something late until the last day of the month is a weird concept to a magazine junkie like me :P
 
I love Lucky, it's my favorite magazine. My mom bought me the Lucky Shopping Manual for Christmas. It has great style tips and outfit ideas, and what to look for when shopping for a certain piece of clothing.

I'm a bit of a magazine junkie myself :shame: I subscribe to:
Lucky
Newsweek
Cosmopolitan (I know it's silly, but I can't stop reading it!)
Marie Claire
Glamour
Oxygen
Allure, my other favorite magazine :biggrin:
 
Another junkie here. :amuse: I have about 15 subscriptions to all different kinds of mags... fashion, art, investing, gossip, news. I usually keep a few in my car in case I go somewhere and have to wait (like the car wash). But the rest of them just pile up in my house! It drives my bf crazy!
 
i have...

Vogue
Lucky
Bazaar
Elle
Glamour
Maxim (i don't care what anyone says, it's awesome)
Entertainment Weekly
Budget Living (which is actually really fun)
Radar (sooo funny)
InStyle
...i feel like i'm forgetting some
want subscriptions to:
Vanity Fair
Newsweek


since i'm a magazines major, i'm kind of a magazine snob. i will never, ever, as long as i live, buy another issue of cosmo, no matter how much they promise to make me skinny and give me multiple orgasms. it's the same magazine every month with a different color cover. and if i ever want to buy a tabloid, i feel ashamed to go through a checkout line with it, so i have to go through self check-out.

i wrote my statement of interest to journalism school about compulsive magazine buying, lol. got me in to one of the most competative programs in the country, though, so at least my money got me something!
 
amanda said:
when did you first get your subscription? usually it takes 6-8 weeks for the first issue to come.

i don't like shop because i feel like a lot of their stuff is kinda shady. it seems like they're paid to endorse some of the stuff they put in their mag - like they had a whole spread of Lee jeans one time and then, not so subtly, a Lee coupon. Lee hasn't been fashionable since, i dunno, 1983, so i don't know why they'd do that unless they are getting paid, which is shady journalism.

although it may not seem like 'journalism,' mags like that can make a big difference in what people wear and what sells in stores, and i think that it's important that whenever a magazine receives compensation or brokers a discount deal in exchange for a particular spread, it needs to be above-board and clearly stated.

i think Lucky does it much better - it never seems to me like they're paid to feature even the stuff that they offer discount codes for. it's always chic, fashionable, and minimal - you never see an entire spread of product from one brand unless they're doing an article on why they like the brand's website, catalogue, etc.

sorry, that was completely OT. i'm a magazine journalism major.

I agree that Lucky is much better. I'm also ashamed to admit that the layout of Shop Etc. frustrates me. I'd rather have more about fashion and less about home stuff. Whenever I pick up a Shop Etc., I get to the end of the fashion section and think, Is that IT? :evil: :lol: However, I do love the shopping essay that they always have at the end.
 
ALL fashion magazines should include those little sticky tabs like Lucky magazine has...It would make my life so much easier...and I'll bet people would spend more money because they would be able to find the pages easier!:lol:
 
Buttery said:
I agree that Lucky is much better. I'm also ashamed to admit that the layout of Shop Etc. frustrates me. I'd rather have more about fashion and less about home stuff. Whenever I pick up a Shop Etc., I get to the end of the fashion section and think, Is that IT? :evil: :lol: However, I do love the shopping essay that they always have at the end.

i feel the same way, except i don't want to know about beauty products either, lol. i mean, what's the use in devoting pages to perfume when the only thing that matters about it is how it smells?
 
amanda said:
i feel the same way, except i don't want to know about beauty products either, lol. i mean, what's the use in devoting pages to perfume when the only thing that matters about it is how it smells?

I was afraid to mention the beauty stuff...I don't like it there, either.:shame: :lol: I wish they'd dedicate the entire magazine to fashion.