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

Automobilia is out of business, so in the end 'justice reigns'.

 

News from Automobilsport, #36 dedicated to Ferrari in Le Mans

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Octane no 241 feature on 250GTO 5575GT by our own Marc Sonnery.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Too bad they can’t figure out a way to get it from their distributor to me…..I guess mailing stuff is really difficult. /sarc

 

Plus, it's yet another thing on the 250GTO. Pass...

 

Same here.
Octane takes the money and doesn't deliver.

Marcel Massini

 

Apologies if I have missed mention of this which is a special edition of the UK magazine Classic & Sportscar. As usual with such things, what that means is a collection of reprints of Ferrari-related articles previously published (in the last 20 years) in the monthly magazine. Helpful if you aren't a regular reader, or maybe just handy to have the articles together in one place, but duplication otherwise.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Ok, here’s some news:

Thursday, Octane issue 240 was in my mailbox, official U.S. market address sheet and all. I guess after months of emailing, nagging, and generally making myself a pain in the ass, they may finally have their U.S. distribution sorted. I won’t be sure until I’ve received several issues uninterrupted.

 

So I received the above-mentioned issue of Octane….now today I get a letter telling me my subscription expired….a month ago

I went to the web site to renew and it would not accept either my PayPal or credit card payment, saying it’s “not authorized.” After taking time to contact both PayPal and the cc company I was advised that there’s no reason the payment is not authorized or cannot be processed. Ok. Tried again. Same result. Then I called Octane…an international call on my own dime. After about 5 minutes of asking the agent to repeat everything she said because I couldn't understand her....plus an explanation of why she was quoting the price in € instead of $ or £, creating another five minute hold…I gave up. And hung up.

I’ve never understood companies that make it difficult for customers to give them money. The clunkiness of their on-line payment system is about equal to their distribution incompetence. Easy payment, flawless delivery, toll free customer service access…..These are business practices that are automatic today. Octane acts like it’s in 1983. This magazine doesn’t deserve my business. What it deserves is to fail, which is a shame because I find its editorial content quite good.

 

Just bought #240 at my car newsstand the other day. The owner assured me he had spoken with the magazine distributor and was told things are ‘back on track’ and Octane should be available ea month.
That’s a big ‘we’ll see’ but he was confident

 

Back on track? The "owner" is an idiot. I'm sorry, but none of the subscribers including myself should ever have had to deal with all the BS and rampant incompetence. It's not like they are a new publication finding their way, or a very small grass roots operation, etc... There is simply NO excuse for their monumental screw-ups with distributing their magazine. I was a subscriber from Octane's very first issue, but after my last copy somewhere in the 200's I have not received an issue or renewal notice for awhile now... nothing, and I don't have the time or patience to chase a publication to throw my money at them. I guess I'm just generally disgusted with the attitudes of, and the direction that Octane, Cavallino, AutoWeek, and a few others have gone.

Maybe I've just become a grumpy old man.... But I am also one who remembers what good business and good customer service is/was.

 

Don't disagree. The magazine business certainly has reached new lows.
There was a time when I subscribed to over 50 magazines. Today...........not so much.
I looked forward to reading all the latest. The Net changed all that.

 

I'd like to add & clarify a bit. If when you wrote "the Owner" you meant the owner of the newsstand... well he may not be the brightest bulb, but also may not be an idiot either. However... there's no question in my mind (what there is left of it!) that all of the powers that be at Octane now are certified idiots. In every sense, it is simply not the great magazine it once was.

 

Did I mention that Magneto’s on line renewal is a mess too?

 

I also used get so many publications, really too many. Subscriptions and numerous monthly newsstand purchases. Yes the 'Net' changed everything, a lot. That said... within all the many changes, there are a few, very few, who have been able to withstand the effects of the Net and actually produce great work, and offer great service, but those are truly few and far between. Everything changes, and change is not always good or for better, but it is now saving me a lot of money in subscriptions and newsstand purchases!

 

#59.

Marcel Massini

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Have any U.S. subscribers received The Road Rat #14 yet? Tracking for my copy says it landed on our fair shores on June 29. U.S.P.S. has sat on it in Noo Joisy for 8 days. Today I'm told a U.S.P.S. “shipping partner” has taken it to Illinois which seems an odd route to my address in Florida.

 

Nope. You it seems get yours before I get mine in Michigan. I’ll let you know when mine lands.

 

Maybe somebody can help me understand why this package has gone from England to New Jersey to Illinois to Georgia, over 11 days and is apparently still in the the custody of a USPS “shipping partner.”

 

Because they can.

 

UPS brown in NJ thanks you for your patience on behalf of the USPS. I just read your issue while it was in Illinois

 

If DHL is the mysterious “shipping partner” that would explain a lot.

 

Just got mine today.
Michigan.

 

Good.

Tom @F1tommy promises to forward mine as soon as he’s finished with it.…postage due, of course.

 

Ok, mine finally arrived today. I have an idea that the 8 day delay in New Jersey had something to do with the handoff between the UK shipper and USPS. I suspect DHL. I’m not sure why it went from NJ to Chicago on its way to Florida. ​