ScanningUSA Magazine Problems

[jaymatt1978]

Alright this SHOULD be an easy fix.....but it's not!! My aunt got me a subscription to ScanningUSA for Christmas. She gave them my address but they sent the magazine to her house, no big deal I thought I would just e-mail them my address . That was back in Janaury, I have e-mailed them every month since NO REPLY AND THEY STILL SEND IT T O HER HOUSE!! The e-mails DO NOT BOUNCE, I just don't get a reply I called, she has called, NO ANSWER I have to go to her house every month to pick up the magazine. Can someone give me the magic trick to contact the subscription department over there?
Also th e magazine is ripped EVERY month?? I don't know what's up because when I buy it in the store it comes in one of those annoying plastic bags.! When they mail it out they don't use the plastic bags!!!
Bottom line I like their magazine but their customer service STINKS!! I will
continue to be a loyal reader, but maybe I won't renew my subscription because I really don't see the benefits! I will buy it at Borders, in the stupid plastic bag!!!

 

[Harryjr]

Did she order it direct from the magazine or through a service?

I subscribed to Car & Driver for years ordered from the mag itself. Never a problem. Arrived every month on the 3rd in good condition. One year my daughter's school was selling magazine subscriptions as a fund raiser so I ordered through them. Big mistake. Similar problems to your's. Delivery any day of the month, if it came at all. Often ripped. After that, ordered direct from the mag and no more problems.

I suspect the services buy the copies in bulk and reship them. Can't suggest any solutions though other then waiting till the subscription expires and starting over from scratch.

HarryJr.

 

[zonian149]

Scanning USA Magazine
P.O. Box 9580
Naperville, IL 60567

Phone (630)-499-5851

 

[trunker0205]

I agree the customer service is not the greatest,I called and complained about getting my magazine 2 months later than what was in the stores.

 

[RESCUE4NFD]

Scanning USA

Scanning USA has the worst customer service of any company I've ever had business with.After 4 years of LATE mailings,NO mailings,and NO responce from the customer service dept. I cancelled and NEVER read the mag again..

 

[Jacob]

I just called Scanning USA, ask to speak to a supervisior was refused and was rudely spoken to and then hung up on. I quess they want to put themself out of business.

 

[SouthSoundScanner]

The Editor of Scanning USA is a RR member,here's his member name, Scanusa

 

[jaymatt1978]

Well a little update I dug through my files and found a 800 number and finally got them to change the mailing address let's see if it happens next month!! Luckily I keep all my paper concerning articles I write. I like the content and the writers aren't half bad, but the managment is total ly useless. I tried the number listed above FIVE different times before I found the 800# and I got no answer, not even a machine! Finally when I got someone on the phone they gave me a Yahoo e-mail account:usaorders@yahoo.com

 

[karldotcom]

I read that rag at the booksellers...and leave it there. Half of it is a printed out FCC report that are available on the internet.

 

[kevin390]

A few years ago I was subscribed to that magazine. I bought this scanner from a place I think was named "Radio Hobby Shop" and they asked me if I wanted to subscribe to this magazine. I liked one of the writers a Jon Von Allen seem to know alot about scanners,, so I agreed. I got maybe 2 or 3 magazines, them nothing and called the Shop. They were the rudest people to deal with. They weren't so rude when I was spending my money. But after they got my C.C. number forget about it. Took a while for the scanner to get to me and I think they were only in Ohio it has been a while. I gave up asking about the magazine and for Mr. Von Allen he used to be on Strong-Signals all the time don't know what ever happened to him. A good person to ask a question to..........Ray

 

[DPD1]

I always hate to see anyone go out of business or get drummed out by the internet. It seems like a lot of the people that work at publications are a little grumpy these days. I can kind of understand, because it must be terrible to think you're going to do something your whole life, then watch your livelihood drift away.

Then on the other hand, it never ceases to amaze me how many businesses are completely incompetent when it comes to communications. Frankly, I have no idea how a lot of them stay in business. I can't even remember how many times I've emailed parts manufacturers with questions about parts they make (from sites that ASK you to email them with questions), and never get a response. I'd say maybe one 1 of 5 I'll get a response, or worse. I could be looking to buy 10 grand of materials for all they know.

I've emailed or called businesses that I already buy parts and materials from on a regular basis, only to be ignored. Recently I sent emails to two magazines and called a third to get rate charts for advertising... I never got a reply from any of them. I only wish that I could be so successful someday that I can just throw money away.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[kd5dga]

At one time I purchased Scanning USA from Hastings book stores but now Hastings does not carry the magazine anymore.I did like some of the articals but seamed a little letf wingged for the opinion part.
I never decided to get a subscription to it.

 

[Taloniilm]

Regarding magazines that cover the scanner hobby, does anyone have a suggestion as to which to subscribe ?
Thank you for your replies

 

[timmer]

Monitoring Times, Popular Communications

 

[K7TKR]

My two cents worth...for what it is worth

ScanningUSA is junk mial-I had a subscription and did not renew it-I felt the articles were way out of date and the equipment reveiws were way way way out of date on old equipment.

The best two magazines I DO like, and a lot are Popular Communications( popcomm) and Monitoring Times(MT). Popcomm is put by the same fine folks who put out CQ magazine and is filled with stuff sure to tickle anyone's fancy-from railroads to aircraft and shortwave-it's in there. MT is the same. The equipment reveiws in both are up-to-date, to the point and vert informative-not a blanket get-this ad. And the articles cover the WHOLE hobbie, not just little snipets of it.

 

[Taloniilm]

Roger that... I've been reading both of those publications off and on over the years. My focus was Short Wave back then... Been more interested in scanning the past few years. Sounds like a trip to Books-A- Million is in order...

 

[K5MAR]

FYI, if you subscribe to PopComm or any of their other magazines be prepared to get frequent subscription renewal requests no matter how long your subscription is for. I subscribed to PopComm, CQ, and CQ-VHF and I was continually getting "special offers" in the mail. I told the representative at HamComm that if they couldn't eliminate the junk mail and simply send me a renewal notice 4 months or so before my subscriptions expired I was going to drop my subscriptions. He said they couldn't, so I did. Don't want or need the junk in my mailbox.

Mark

 

[N9JIG]

FYI, if you subscribe to PopComm or any of their other magazines be prepared to get frequent subscription renewal requests no matter how long your subscription is for. I subscribed to PopComm, CQ, and CQ-VHF and I was continually getting "special offers" in the mail. I told the representative at HamComm that if they couldn't eliminate the junk mail and simply send me a renewal notice 4 months or so before my subscriptions expired I was going to drop my subscriptions. He said they couldn't, so I did. Don't want or need the junk in my mailbox.

Mark

That is true for almost every magazine. I subscribe to several radio, aviation, rail and computer magazines and get renewal notices for each of them often, even for those in which I have 2 or 3 YEARS to go before the subscription runs out.

Magazine subscription lists are also an extremely valuable commodity for the junk mail business. Imagine a large list of people all interested in a particular subject that you can target with direct mail advertising.

Back to the subject at hand (Scanning USA) I noticed that they had the October issue out in early June at a local B&N store. Was that a mistaken cover date or are they that far ahead in cover dates?