MR giving total access to website this weekend

[bbussey]

Received an email this afternoon that Model Railroader is opening up their site for the weekend, so this is a good opportunity to review track plans and video content.

[wazzou]

Sweet.

[jmlaboda]

When they closed the majority of the site to non-subscribers it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, to the point that I have refused to resubscribe since it happened.  Will have to check things out but don't know just how far I will look... hopefully will at least be able to gain a few things before they shut the door once again.

[Dave Schneider]

Thanks for the message Bryan. I appreciate your sharing this with the group as I had missed this announcement even though I am a subscriber.  As someone who helps to keep the lights on at Model Railroader, I have to agree with their policy of having subscriber only content. It really an enhancement to the magazine, and a legitimate approach in my opinion to adding or keeping subscribers in this day and age. Unlike the online news industry which uses a small number of writers whose work is reproduced widely, this industry has to generate unique material constantly. I don't mind contributing....it is less than a cup of coffee a week.

Best wishes, Dave

[FrankCampagna]

I'm working this weekend. We have sites like this for great free stuff. Kalmbach, is and always has been, a business. Businesses are supposed to make money. You don't make money by giving everything away.

Frank

[MichaelWinicki]

Thanks for the message Bryan. I appreciate your sharing this with the group as I had missed this announcement even though I am a subscriber.  As someone who helps to keep the lights on at Model Railroader, I have to agree with their policy of having subscriber only content. It really an enhancement to the magazine, and a legitimate approach in my opinion to adding or keeping subscribers in this day and age. Unlike the online news industry which uses a small number of writers whose work is reproduced widely, this industry has to generate unique material constantly. I don't mind contributing....it is less than a cup of coffee a week.

Best wishes, Dave

I agree.

[davefoxx]

Heh, just my luck.  I just resubscribed to MR and Classic Trains, partly because I wanted to have access to the website again.

DFF

[ljudice]

Well, free sites aren't really giving anything away if they have advertising - but they know their site and subscriber base better than I do, and I totally respect their decision to paywall the site.

Several years ago I was experimenting with Google ads for a client and put them up on a silly little parody site about my former employer (HP). Well the next week it's CEO resigned and my site went viral and I think I ended up making about $15k from those google ads in about 2 weeks (over 1 million views).  But keeping millions of viewers coming to a site isn't easy - and MR is surely not seeing that kind of traffic.  On top of that, for Google ads at least, ads are bid for based upon the value of the keywords used to find them or display them. And the kinds of ads that might show up on their site are not the super high value ones other sites can count on.  The difference is price can be from 5 cents a click to $2 a click.

I've anted up for years over at Trainorders - but I doubt if I will renew next time since my favorite feature - the cameras are mostly down and unfortunately probably not coming back.  Again I appreciate their situation, but it doesn't mean it's a site I want to pay for anymore.

- Lou

[Catt]

Businesses are supposed to make money. You don't make money by giving everything away.

At $5.95 a month I don't think Kalmbach is giving me anything.(no I don't subscribe because it's one more excuse to hit the LHS  )

[davefoxx]

At $5.95 a month I don't think Kalmbach is giving me anything.(no I don't subscribe because it's one more excuse to hit the LHS  )

You won't pay $5.95 per issue if you subscribe, but good for you for supporting your LHS.

DFF

[Puddington]

Me thinks someone is trying to drum up good will and interest in a coming set of very expensive CD's.....

[jmlaboda]

I understand the need for Kalmbach to make a buck... I have never had a problem about that.  But as a purchaser and reader of MR for 40 years it hardly seems right that buying the magazine from a news stand or a hobby shop should keep me from being able to access the material that they so freely mention in each issue... available to subscribers only.

The attitude of screwing the customers who do not or can not subscribe (scary thought that there are those in the hobby who can't spend a whole lot in any given month but we are here and we buy... and pay a higher price for the same products as well) is a poor attitude, especially so since many of those same customers not all that long ago had the very access that they are now denied. 

Pay more?  Simply put, now that I am on disability because of my heart attack back in February... I simply can not!

I look forward to see what sort of resources will be available and hope that there are some things that will be of interest to me.  Ironically, I have considerably more access to a vast wealth of information that fits so many aspects of my modeling through Model Railroad Hobbiest's website, and that at no cost to me at all.  Funny how they are managing to put out a quality product, along with value added content separate from the eZine, and it don't cost me a dime.  Seems to me that its time for Kalmbach and others to consider what MRH is doing right and how they might be able to do the same thing, while still making money.

Sorry... bad week... lot of pain... but it is how I feel.

[Puddington]

Jerry; no need to be sorry; you are spot on.

[Blazeman]

"You can't please all the people all the time."

 Truer words were never spoken, especially here.

It's a marketing strategy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they get a dozen or so to subscribe, then it's a success. They really don't lose anything by doing this.

The video "exclusives" are in my equation as to renew. That and the very good offer they sent me the other month that brought the per issue price on a three year sign up to less than $2.50 per issue. That's the same as two sodas a month from the vending machine. And no calories.

[diezmon]

Received an email this afternoon that Model Railroader is opening up their site for the weekend, so this is a good opportunity to review track plans and video content.

gotta find that wget script I used last time    thanks for letting us know!