What's new(s)? Ferrari in periodicals.

Nice article in March 23 Classic and sports car on the 3 generations of the 400 series.

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TOFM 58.
095998320.

Marcel Massini

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Just picked up my copy from the newsagent today.

No idea why they would put a 328 with white painted bonnet louvers on the cover.

I thought it was a trick of the light. Turns out it wasn't.

In all my time I have never seen that modification before.

 

This may have been brought up already, and, if so, I apologize for bringing it up a second time. But in the event it has not.....:

I have subscribed to OCTANE, a very good English car journal since about 2003- nearly its inception. (I just got rid of more than five linear feet of old issues, which gives an idea how long I've been a loyal subscriber) But lately, their subscription service seems to have fallen off a cliff. The last issue I received was November 2022. In addition, a friend and fellow Ferrari owner realized he hasn't seen an issue in forever as well.

The US company which formerly represented OCTANE over here has gone dark- phones shut off, no answer to emails. Safe to assume they are out of business, I think. Email inquires to OCTANE have received only vague promises to send all the missing issues, and a rather brisk admonition to be patient as it takes time. Indeed, it does appear to take quite a bit of it.

I bought the April issue at Barnes & Noble yesterday, so OCTANE is still publishing. But has anyone else noted these sorts of problems?

I have to admit that I have looked forward to every issue of OCTANE since the beginning. While not all the features are about cars I have an interest in, there has always been something to be delighted with in every single issue. It's some comfort that I can get it (and wait longer for it) at the bookstore, but they still owe me back issues, and I'd like to have them.

As a final insult, a few days ago, I received a notice that I needed to renew my subscription. (although they had my ZIP code wrong) When I logged onto the service web site, it refused to process my credit card for renewal. Imagine that.

 

Welcome to the brotherhood. Discussed in detail over a long time in the “What’s new in Ferrari periodicals” thread. If you want to move your comment over there it would contribute to the continuity. There are far too many posts to move from there over to here. Your situation is not unusual or surprising, by the way.

 

I'll see if I can move it. Thank you.

 

I started a thread about terrible service from OCTANE- the last issue I saw was November 2022, until I bought April at B&N yesterday. Apparently the USA agent for them has been toe-tagged, phones dead, lights off etc. OCTANE themselves seem to have outsourced all subscription jobs to some other company which is inaccessible entirely- I get vague promises of the back issues and brisk admonitions to be patient. I've BEEN patient, for all the good it's done, which is nil.

If anyone knows how to get in touch with these clowns, I'd appreciate any help possible. Oh, and I tried to renew them, and the web site wouldn't accept my credit card. Idiots.

 

When you contact the subscriber “service” department you’re talking to a third party. The magazine outsources all of that. They keep telling me that the issue has been sent. I don’t care that it’s been sent. I care that I didn’t receive it. They don’t go beyond what they see on their screens. There’s no attempt at researching and resolving the problem.

 

Not idiots.
Criminals, crooks and thieves.

Marcel Massini

 

You are not alone.
We all should start a massive campaign on every possible social media channel against such crooks and criminals.

Marcel Massini

 

Definitely an over seas issue, I’ve been a subscriber for years with no issue at all, But I’m from the U.K.


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Greetings, Marcel.

What I don't know is whether this sort of nonsense on the part of OCTANE et al is just poor organization and stupidity or whether it is deliberate. I am inclined to think that it is just a combination of ineptitude on the parts of Royal Mail, US Mail (who are famous for their ability to deliver nothing on time or at all), the fact that subscription servicing for OCTANE has been outsourced to a non-USA company, and OCTANE themselves. The previous USA agent for them at least answered the phone and replied to emails. Now, it is radio silence; just crickets altogether and nothing else.

Last evening I went on eBay and bought as many as I could of the issues I've missed. I doubt whether I will get any satisfaction from OCTANE, so my plan will be to buy a copy each month at B&N. It isn't the fault of the individual contributors that the subscription servicing is so wretchedly bad. If I am able to find email addresses for the editorial staff I will write to them and see if they can be persuaded to actually DO something about all this idiocy.

 

I live in Switzerland and Octane magazine cannot be bought at newsstands. Plus, we have no such thing as Barnes & Noble or Borders, etc.
So, if they really want to sell their mag, outside of the UK, they should set up a working distribution system for subscribers.
And not just take (steal) the money and then not deliver.

Marcel Massini

 

Well, come to think of it, we don't have Borders anymore, either, since they went bust. But B&N is still in business.

In the USA, bookstore chains like B&N sell magazines also- an entire wall of the store, which is a large one, is magazines only. Clearly this business model works for them. I'm perplexed that bookstores in other countries.

I agree that taking someone's money for a subscription whilst knowing that the magazines will not be delivered is indeed thievery. I just don't know what to do about it.

 

Octane is owned by Autovia Limited. You can try writing to the Chief Executive (James Tye) and/or directors (Benedict Smith and Thomas Swayne) - details here: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13018565/officers However, you will likely be wasting your time unless you get your legal representative to do it, threatening to sue.

 

Not a bad idea. There are two magazines that I buy regularly at B&N, both for over thirty years, mainly because I couldn't rely on their magazines coming in the mail in acceptable condition. I decided I'd rather pay extra to be able to get issues at the bookstore in pristine condition even if I had to wait a little. Even that isn't necessarily a guarantee, since sometimes B&N gets somewhat wrinkled copies. Fortunately that's usually an issue at an individual store, and there are five B&N stores that are relatively convenient to me.

 

I am baffled and unpleasantly surprised by the amount of complaints and the issues that I see in this thread, and since I am not the only person in this forum who is (at least partly) relying on the magazine business for (at least part) or their income, this is downright worrying.

We all know paper magazines are struggling since society started to gradually shift to the digital world. Because of that, many publications disappeared but a positive effect is that quite a few high quality publications found their way to a new (more focused) audience. An audience that is willing to pay more for a magazine, in return for more quality. An easy deal as it looks, but this is exactly where my disbelieve comes in.

How is it that some companies can't even get a stack of paper from one address to another, while this type of doing business has been going on for ages? Is it because these companies have been gutted by obsessive cut-backs or do more and more people nowadays don't give a @#*^ anymore? There are plenty of writers and photographers who make high-end quality content and there are loads of enthousiasts who are willing to pay a good price for that content so this should not be that hard to fix...

Natan

 

Amen.

I’ve never understood businesses that, when their customers are saying, “Here. Take my money!” just ignore them…..in this case, after taking their money. As @Marcel Massini says, it’s very near theft. But I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and just call it gross incompetence and neglect.

 

I’m not going to blame USPS this time. I receive The Road Rat, Magneto and Classic and Sportscar, all U.K. publications, with no problems at all, so it’s unlikely that they’re failing to deliver Octane as long as it gets into their system. I think this is clearly the fault of the distributor’s malpractice and the publisher’s failure to insist that the distributor do its job. It’s shameful.

I did request and receive some assistance from the editorial staff, but it was ineffective. Two months after their “intervention” I still haven’t received an issue through subscription. I wrote to the same parties again last week and have not receive a reply, so now I expect nothing. So I’ve had it with them, and I’m not going to inconvenience myself to patronize them and reward their atrocious service by buying from a newsstand (the nearest B&N is a four hour round trip) or from an eBay reseller.

 

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I don’t believe any of this. When you get an alphanumeric case number that’s as long as a VIN you’re pretty much screwed. I’ll post if anything comes of it.

 

With all the delivery issues, here are my two cents. I subscribed to Magneto and Retromotive for a few years. Both are great magazines, and any email communication with either was personable and friendly. But I let both subscriptions expire, because both magazines just didn't get to my house. I probably got a third of the ones I subscribed to.

Once I missed two issue in a row of one of them, contacted them, and they said they would send replacements immediately. Five months later, I received an envelope from China with the missing issues. I don't know what it is, but it is a consistent problem. Good magazines; poor delivery.

 

Don't get me started on Retromotive!

Not receiving your magazine is bad in more ways than one. Not getting paid for the stories you write (including photography you paid out of pocket) for a magazine that is not going to be delivered is even worse. The founder/editor ran off, new owners act like they care and want to do everything to make things right, yet I have been trying to get my money for two stories for more than a year now. They keep lying, deflecting, repeating questions and then stop responding...

Natan

 

Why am I not surprised? Happens with soooo many of these car magazines.
I started writing in 1974 at age 17. Have plenty of experience.
On top of all that, oftentimes the publishers/editors do not/did not even return the material sent (color transparencies/slides in pre-digital times). And 30 or 40 years later my original slides and also many of my own black white photos suddenly turn up at Automobilia auctions (especially at the Ladenburg auctions!!). How crazy is that?
And did I mention that the now deceased editor/publisher of the Italian book series Automobilia who published "Ferrarissima" and other books not only forgot to return my material but also forgot to pay a single Lira? But he once showed up at my office with a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce.
Oh well.
C'est la vie.
One gets used to it.

Marcel Massini

 

I agree with you Marcel and dishonesty is as old as humanity, I just can't get used to it, because everything gets so much better if you just treat people with respect... But like you said, c'est la vie.

Natan

 

I appreciate hearing these things. If nothing else, it gives me the strength of conviction in avoiding these companies (and their products) like the plaque.