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How much is your magazine collection worth?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by YachtForums, Aug 10, 2020.

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  1. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2002
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    Location:
    South Florida
    Saw this ad on Craig's for a collection of muscle car mags. 60 mags for $50 or two cases of beer, but it needs to be the right beer...

    https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/boa/d/hialeah-classic-muscle-car-magazines/7174665536.html

    I had a collection of about 100 boating magazines many years ago, but they are currently contributing to the altitude of the local landfill. I can't imagine scouring all those issues to find a review or an op-ed now. I know a few folks still like to flip a page, but for me the iPad was the nail in the coffin. The ability to zoom-in or brighten the screen as needed is a requisite of my age. And I think it will be worse for future generations who grew up being bombarded by blue light.

    The amount of information that is available at the swipe of a keystroke is simply remarkable. If YachtForums was a magazine, I would have a stack of 425 issues accumulated over the past 17 years. Now I can access ALL of that information instantly. Maybe I'm a little prejudice, but I believe YF magazines would have more value because they contain the collective knowledge of several thousand experienced contributors who aren't being paid for an opinion.

    And that's my op-ed today. Contrasting points of view are welcome. Simply write a letter, put a stamp on it and send to the editor-at-large. You can spend the next few weeks wondering if your opinion was ever read and if it was, would it be published?

    ***

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  2. Ward

    Ward Senior Member

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    Vancouver BC
    I'm somewhere in between...

    When I was a kid in the 70s, 80s, we had subscriptions to Yacht Racing, SAIL, a couple local magazines (Nor'Westing, Pacific Yachting), and sometimes picked up other magazines. I held onto those collections (7 or 8 Bankers Boxes worth) for many years. When I was older and working in IT, I had a variety of free and paid magazines coming in, Datamation, Byte, PCWorld, Digital News and Review, SunExpert, etc., plus Spectrum and Computer from being an IEEE member, plus I ended up with quite a few science and general magazines because our work library would give them to me when they were disposing of the older ones... I eventually dealt with all of these (20+ boxes worth) by ruthlessly going through them and ripping out only the most interesting articles, which reduced the volume by about 90%.

    I like reading something with physical pages, electronic versions of magazines have never appealed to me, and ebooks are only a fall-back, if I can't get a real copy. I "grew up" with the Internet: I was in university and then working with minicomputers in the very early days (back when there were also alternatives like BITnet) and then when it took off, so I love the fact that you can find almost any information you need, but I've learned to only trust information sources that are well-curated (like YachtForums). For 35 years (going back to Usenet days), I've had the opinion that in order to get value out of an online information source, you have to participate for a while to know how much to trust it and how to really get useful information out of it.
  3. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Can't remember when I last read a magazine except at a doctor's office. My wife still gets People, and I have 2 special issues of Playboy saved and preserved.:) I'm afraid magazines have gone the way of the do do bird.
  4. Oscarvan

    Oscarvan Senior Member

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    Chesapeake Bay
    I have every issue of the "Flying Lady" since.... 1998 ish.... So do a LOT of other people.
  5. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2004
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    Sweden
    These days I am only buying a few magazines, but through clubs and associations they are still flooding in. I have this stack of still wrapped and unread and even if I have thrown away about 2000 yachting magz I have another 2000 left...

    Magz.jpg
  6. Donzi 54

    Donzi 54 Member

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    Oct 21, 2009
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    Point Pleasant, NJ & Morehead City, NC
    I stopped collecting them. I quickly read them then pass them on.
  7. jsschieff

    jsschieff Senior Member

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    Middletown RI/Stuart FL
    I still love magazines --I subscribe to at least nine boat-related magazines of all kinds from all over. It may go back to my first job as Assistant Editor of Boating Magazine, at that time the largest circulation boat mag in the US. Looking at a magazine online just doesn't seem as good to me. I still remember fondly the days when Yachting was 1-1/2" thick, when Rudder was a fine magazine, when Motor Boating & Sailing was thick and well-written.

    I had mountains of old magazines hanging around, but finally heaved them out during a move some years ago. Also ended up selling/heaving 300 + old nautical books, and a similar number of gardening/architecture books. Still have many old nautical books that I can't bear to part with. Reading on the computer or tablet just doesn't seem as rich and satisfactory as a physical magazine or book to me, but that's not to say I don't spend hours in front of the computer reading marine blogs and Yacht Forums.

    I find the best use of the computer is to watch videos -- I love watching nautical marine videos on a big computer screen.
  8. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    I am a boat magazine junky, started at a very early age. Probably have every PMY from day one, love my old Marlin and Tournament Digest magazines, and just the feel of older boat magazines, they require some searching in the articles but nuggets of solid information can still be found. Have those 1-1/2” Yachting and Motorboating & Sailing Boat Show editions, have stuff back from the 50s if I look hard enough.

    I am not kidding when I say I have 200+ 8-1/2” x 11” x 12” tall boxes in storages racks in the garage. Dreaming of scanning them one day for a retirement project and making a database.
  9. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    I see a real need for some here to watch the show Hoarders.:rolleyes:
  10. cleanslate

    cleanslate Senior Member

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    I HAD a 1974 issue of Yachting with a test review article of my current Chris - Craft 22' Tournament Dory which was the first year of the fiberglass model. Some how I lost it. But I did make photo copies of the article which I have and still refer to. It was a few pages long, very interesting and informative to read as an owner of said boat. The pictures help me keep with the factory look of the boat, which is the way I like it.
    I would pay a few bucks to find/get that issue again. Also would like to possibly fine one on my 1981 Ocean Yachts Sunliner 42' . I would pay a few bucks for that too.
    I think many YF members and others, would like to get there hands on tests/article of their boats along with photos.

    I think you guys/girls could make some money if you were able to get them listed on some sort of data base. Perhaps right here on YFs. Members new or old could go in and enter their boat make , model and year to see if that mag. or article is available.
    BUT some one or ones, has to do the leg work.........:eek:
  11. BRyachts

    BRyachts Member

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    Ft Lauderdale
    I only collect two types of mags, AR-15 and Beretta, lol
  12. WiserTime

    WiserTime New Member

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    Mar 1, 2020
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    Stuart, FL
    I still get the actual Power & Motoryacht. I look forward to each issue and have most of it read the day I get it. I used to have every issue from ‘85 to late ‘90’s??? Complete waste of pulp, but my thing I guess. RIP Tom Fexas and your wife losing it out the rental car window in Italy.
  13. 993RSR

    993RSR Senior Member

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    Annapolis/ Palm Harbor
    I enjoy flipping through Marina Life. Interesting articles on cruising destinations.
  14. dainisk

    dainisk Member

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    Jan 15, 2007
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    Perth, Fremantle
    I've subscribed to Passagemaker since the first issue. Look forward to it. The other magazine I love is National Geographic, all the way back to 1967. Don't know what I'm going to do with them, but just can't get myself to throw them out. otherwise, I might buy a mag at the airport for a long haul flight. I really hate reading things on a screen, especially when more and more websites seem to be using smaller and light grey type. Holding an ipad reclining on a lounge with a glass of wine just doesn't feel right. But a paper magazine does.