Billiards Digest Subscription Rate

Pushout

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A month or so ago I got my notification that my BD subscription was going to end with the July issue. I was shocked at the current rate, $48.00 for a year! Looking at my December 09 issue and my January 10 issue the cover price went from $3.95 to $5.95. That's $71.40 off the rack over a year.
I am lacking about six issues from the time the local Barnes and Noble stopped carrying it and one issue that needs to be replaced because of water damage. {no idea how that happened}
Sadly, I will not be making an attempt to renew my subscription and my run will probably come to an end. I subscribed before the second issue and a few years later Jim Rempe gave me a near fine copy of Vol. 1 No. 1.
I really don't feel the magazine is worth that kind of money. I feel there have been serious drops in quality and content. I've either had a subscription or bought off the rack since publication started.
How does anyone else feel?
 
Wow! I guess they're experiencing the same as most other publishers - declining readership because of the internet along with rising costs, and in this case compounded by the decreasing popularity of pool. At $48 it looks like a death spiral - prices go up, readers leave, prices go up more, more readers leave, etc. Unlike some political publications I subscribe to, they're hardly in a position to ask for donations to keep going. Sad.
 
Pushout said:
A month or so ago I got my notification that my BD subscription was going to end with the July issue. I was shocked at the current rate, $48.00 for a year! Looking at my December 09 issue and my January 10 issue the cover price went from $3.95 to $5.95. That's $71.40 off the rack over a year.
I am lacking about six issues from the time the local Barnes and Noble stopped carrying it and one issue that needs to be replaced because of water damage. {no idea how that happened}
Sadly, I will not be making an attempt to renew my subscription and my run will probably come to an end. I subscribed before the second issue and a few years later Jim Rempe gave me a near fine copy of Vol. 1 No. 1.
I really don't feel the magazine is worth that kind of money. I feel there have been serious drops in quality and content. I've either had a subscription or bought off the rack since publication started.
How does anyone else feel?
Click to expand...


My subscription just came up for renewal too.

But if I recall, the rate for three years was $115, or just over $3 an issue.

Times are tough, especially in the publishing industry, and while I agree that the quality of the editorial content has gone down and the advertising ratio is approaching that of some other magazines that I've stopped subscribing to, I feel that BD is still worth subscribing to for what I get out of it and what they do for the sport.

So, at $3 an issue, it's not so bad and I believe they are worth another three year run at my house. YMMV.

Lou Figueroa.
 
Shamos

For me, the subscription price is a bargain. The cost is worth it, if only for the education, information, and enjoyment I get from the Mike Shamos articles.
 
Paul Schofield said:
For me, the subscription price is a bargain. The cost is worth it, if only for the education, information, and enjoyment I get from the Mike Shamos articles.
Click to expand...

If I had more income I might be able to justify it but at present I just can't.
 
Check out pooldawg.com

If I'm not mistaken, you can go to pooldawg.com and get the Billiards Digest subscription for close to 50% off. That's quite a savings! Unfortunately, I found this out after I had just subscribed from the Billiards Digest website for full price. That was in mid-May, and I'm still waiting for my first issue to arrive. Anyway, hope this helps.

By the way, this is my first post - an AZ newbie.
 
print media is a dinosaur, a thing of the past. all Mags, rags are going out of biz or little skinny things, before the interner I used to buy 20-40 magiznes a month I loved them all, I cant rememeber the last time I bought one(even at a airport) perhaps 6 months ago a DuPont Regisrty to check on car prices, but not for enjoyment of lookijng at the cars, I just wanted to see how bad they got, they got hammered:embarrassed2:

the internet is rapidly replacing print media, AZ hasnt helped the pool mags or 1P.org. its evolution. The direction things are going with tablet computers, iPads-hot spots in 10 more years there will be very few mags left. think a 5 years old kid right now will know what a car magagizine is when he turns 16? very unlikely.

I'm not being negitative here, my tone may sound as such but its not meant that way at all, have a good one

happy 4th!!!!!!!!:thumbup:

Fatboy
 
Fatboy said:
print media is a dinosaur, a thing of the past. all Mags, rags are going out of biz or little skinny things, before the interner I used to buy 20-40 magiznes a month I loved them all, I cant rememeber the last time I bought one(even at a airport) perhaps 6 months ago a DuPont Regisrty to check on car prices, but not for enjoyment of lookijng at the cars, I just wanted to see how bad they got, they got hammered:embarrassed2:

the internet is rapidly replacing print media, AZ hasnt helped the pool mags or 1P.org. its evolution. The direction things are going with tablet computers, iPads-hot spots in 10 more years there will be very few mags left. think a 5 years old kid right now will know what a car magagizine is when he turns 16? very unlikely.

I'm not being negitative here, my tone may sound as such but its not meant that way at all, have a good one

happy 4th!!!!!!!!:thumbup:

Fatboy
Click to expand...

It used to be 30 a year with an instructional dvd free,
 
Many long-existing newspapers have gone belly up due to the way people get their news today. There was a 30-year newspaper in Colorado -- can't remember the name -- but they recently went bankrupt.

I remember my parents used to subscribe to The Washington Post and The Evening Star, having it delivered to our front door every day. I used to love looking at the funny papers and the TV guide and the advertisements. Today, the Sunday paper has no TV guide, and the advertisement section is skimpy, maybe one or two pages, not like it used to be when I was a kid.

Most people today get their news from online Internet sites. Heck, even The Washington Post has an online site that is more popular than the print paper. The advertisers are who keep the newspapers afloat, and they get a better bang for their buck online, reaching more eyeballs, than they do in the print media.

BD is unique in that there's not too many pool print mags out there, so I think it may survive okay, as long as they can keep their subscribers.

I'll say this, though. Where do *you* go to get your pool news? A pool magazine or an online pool website? :wink:

Well-written instructional articles can also be enjoyed on websites.

Like everything else in pool, for most of the pool print media folk, working on the magazine is a labor of love. They ain't laughing all the way to the bank. I wish BD the best in this tough economy.

I recently purchased a Pool and Billiards Magazine subscription for a friend of mine who is, shall we say, in a place where he can enjoy a lot of reading time. He has no access to Internet. I was a little surprised at the price, but I bought it anyway, hoping he will enjoy the diversity. He's already getting BD. :grin-square:
 
I used to renew at the super billiards expo every year because they only charged $20 But they didn't show up for the expo this year and I refuse to pay that much for a magazine subscription. I got inside pool instead. It's not a bad magazine but you never know when there going to ship one and it's not near as nice as billiards digest.
 
Denver Post

JAM said:
Many long-existing newspapers have gone belly up due to the way people get their news today. There was a 30-year newspaper in Colorado -- can't remember the name -- but they recently went bankrupt.
I remember my parents used to subscribe to The Washington Post and The Evening Star, having it delivered to our front door every day. I used to love looking at the funny papers and the TV guide and the advertisements. Today, the Sunday paper has no TV guide, and the advertisement section is skimpy, maybe one or two pages, not like it used to be when I was a kid.

Most people today get their news from online Internet sites. Heck, even The Washington Post has an online site that is more popular than the print paper. The advertisers are who keep the newspapers afloat, and they get a better bang for their buck online, reaching more eyeballs, than they do in the print media.

BD is unique in that there's not too many pool print mags out there, so I think it may survive okay, as long as they can keep their subscribers.

I'll say this, though. Where do *you* go to get your pool news? A pool magazine or an online pool website? :wink:

Well-written instructional articles can also be enjoyed on websites.

Like everything else in pool, for most of the pool print media folk, working on the magazine is a labor of love. They ain't laughing all the way to the bank. I wish BD the best in this tough economy.

I recently purchased a Pool and Billiards Magazine subscription for a friend of mine who is, shall we say, in a place where he can enjoy a lot of reading time. He has no access to Internet. I was a little surprised at the price, but I bought it anyway, hoping he will enjoy the diversity. He's already getting BD. :grin-square:
Click to expand...


It's the Denver Post that went under if memory serves me, JAM. As far as the BD is concerned it is the best pool mag out there. I did a search for a BD subscription and found Pooldawg at $24 a year. I just renewd my subscription through them. I too was shocked at the price because I think the last time I renewed was for 3 years and that was around $55 for 3 yrs, again if my memory serves me. Have a great 4th.

My memory did fail. It was the Rocky Mountain News that failed, sorry about that.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JAM
Yep

jay helfert said:
Still the best publication out there imo.
Click to expand...

Yep, for less than the price of one beer (Sam Adams) it is a great read and have subscribed for ever. Plus, who wants to miss a George Fels article !!! Not to mention cue corner and shooting tips. Good Stuff.
But I"m a sucker, when I like something, I don't look at the price. So when Dove chocolate hits $50 a pound I'm still buying !!
 
Pushout said:
I feel there have been serious drops in quality and content. I've either had a subscription or bought off the rack since publication started.
How does anyone else feel?
Click to expand...

I too have noticed that there has been a serious drop in content. Billiards Digest has gotten thinner and Inside Pool has shrank to next-to-nothing. Inside Pool will not be renewed at this household, but the jury's still out on BD. Certainly, I'm gonna hafta get a better rate than $48/year if I renew.

Maniac
 
I wouldn't mind paying the price for a BD subscription, but my experience with them was a very poor one. I received a subscription as a gift in 2008 and was very excited to begin receiving the magazine. Unfortunately, in a twelve month subscription period, I only received two issues. I was very dissapointed to say the least.

When the subscription was up, I promptly received a renewal notice in the mail. I guess they just forgot to send all the magazines before it. I called BD after being given the renewal notice and explained the situation. I told them I didn't get what was paid for the first year so I would not be renewing my subscription. The gentleman on the phone said, "ok, we'll cancel your service. Bye."

I figured if they didn't care about the poor service I received, obviously they were making enough money they didn't need me. I liked the two I got, but for $48 a year, I can't afford to pay $24 an issue, lol.
 
Yep my renewal notice just came up also. In the same dilemmia as others. Hate to let it go but the issues are getting smaller and the price keeps going up. Agree with Fatboy, print media will soon be a thing of the past. Our local paper, the Lexington Herald Leader has shrunk noticeably the last few years. Been a subscriber to BD since 1983, hate to stop but..........
 
I subscribed to it for a good 15-20 yrs along with P&B (first to shrink) and the Snap for its short term and Conrads Billiard News, but with price not being my biggest concern, I've able to find and enjoy, like fatboy, what I want thru the internet. What I see with the difficulty of magazines, not enough great billiard articles etc. because there's not enough money/or a tour to support a dozen Jerry F. writers, I'm sure the Golf Mag's are doing well.
 
Don'tScratch said:
If I'm not mistaken, you can go to pooldawg.com and get the Billiards Digest subscription for close to 50% off. That's quite a savings! Unfortunately, I found this out after I had just subscribed from the Billiards Digest website for full price. That was in mid-May, and I'm still waiting for my first issue to arrive. Anyway, hope this helps.

By the way, this is my first post - an AZ newbie.
Click to expand...

Great first post!! I went to pooldawg.com and got a subscription for $24.95!! Thanks so much for posting this! I might still have been unable to subscribe if my mother hadn't sent me money for my birthday, which by the way, is tomorrow, happy Fourth of July!
 
Pushout said:
A month or so ago I got my notification that my BD subscription was going to end with the July issue. I was shocked at the current rate, $48.00 for a year! Looking at my December 09 issue and my January 10 issue the cover price went from $3.95 to $5.95. That's $71.40 off the rack over a year.
I am lacking about six issues from the time the local Barnes and Noble stopped carrying it and one issue that needs to be replaced because of water damage. {no idea how that happened}
Sadly, I will not be making an attempt to renew my subscription and my run will probably come to an end. I subscribed before the second issue and a few years later Jim Rempe gave me a near fine copy of Vol. 1 No. 1.
I really don't feel the magazine is worth that kind of money. I feel there have been serious drops in quality and content. I've either had a subscription or bought off the rack since publication started.
How does anyone else feel?
Click to expand...

BD was becoming redundant 15 years ago. You can get all the info you need, either news or instructional, on the internet, making BD not even worth the paper it's printed on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top