{"id":3030,"date":"2023-12-02T01:16:56","date_gmt":"2023-12-02T01:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3030"},"modified":"2023-12-02T01:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-02T01:19:23","slug":"ftv-selling-mags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3030","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Selling Mags"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0Once upon a time, not that long ago, I was introduced to the art of selling magazines.\u00a0 Having never been in love with fundraising (particularly the kind done to fund school projects), I was a little dismayed when a colleague of mine dropped a box of paperwork on my desk and said, \u201cHere, it is your turn to run the magazine sale.\u201d\u00a0 With no further instructions coming, I muddled through that first year, made a hash out of the accounting, and vowed there would have to be changes made or this whole fundraising thing was going to make me lose my mind.\u00a0 Before we get too far into the nitty-gritty, we need to examine why we got involved in magazine sales to begin with.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Back in the dark ages (okay, maybe I am exaggerating – it was the late 1970s), our Jr High Student Council had a school store and a vending machine at the \u2018old school\u2019 on Greenland Road.\u00a0 Both projects were the brainchild of band director \/ history teacher Bruce Johanson.\u00a0 Bruce and I split the student council \/ class advisor duties back then and we found these enterprises were a good way to fund the field trips and other activities we were doing with the seventh and eighth graders.\u00a0 I helped where I could but mostly was along for the ride when it came to the buying and selling.\u00a0 It only took a couple of years for the school store to take wings and we found ourselves with a nice nest egg that hovered about $2000 to the good even after we had funded a year\u2019s worth of activities.\u00a0 We invested some of the excess profits in educational materials requested by the teachers in grades K-8 and in donations like the one we gave to fund a new scoreboard in the gym.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It all came to a screeching halt the summer of 1982.\u00a0 We returned to school in the fall of 1982 with a laundry list of our usual activities only to find our war chest was empty.\u00a0 The JH principal at the time had purchased a lot of Gladiator logo school supplies the year before.\u00a0 They were going to sell them out of the school office but they didn\u2019t go over as well as he had hoped.\u00a0 When the bill came due, he unilaterally decided it would be okay for him to use the $2000 we had in our account to get the company he had dealt with off his back.\u00a0 Naturally, we were a little upset and the conversation started with, \u201cSo you are telling us we have \u2018zero\u2019 in our account.\u00a0 How are we expected to fund our activities and trips?\u00a0 How do you propose to pay us back?\u201d\u00a0 Maybe it made sense in his own mind, but we were a little dumbfounded when he said, \u201cOh, just act like you still have $2000 on hand and we will eventually pay you back.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was an interesting (yet confusing) concept, so we did just that.\u00a0 We made sure that we spent ourselves $2000 in the hole by the end of that year.\u00a0 To make sure we had enough funds, we ended up charging students who wanted to go on outings (those who did not want to pay stayed in school) and this debt remained with us for a decade.\u00a0 Several principals and superintendents came and went and each time they questioned our persistent deficit (one even called it a \u2018monetary black hole\u2019), we explained the source.\u00a0 For ten years, we offered the same solution:\u00a0 \u201cCall us even (in other words, \u2018show us the money\u2019) and we will start fresh and never spend ourselves into the negative again.\u201d\u00a0 Some promised action but the deal was never completed – for ten years we operated around our \u2018monetary black hole\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A solution finally came when our newest 7-12 principal (circa 1993-94) heard our sad tale and proposed an action to correct the problem.\u00a0 We had lost the school store when we moved the Jr High students to the High School building 1983-84 and our meager vending machine sales were not exactly overfilling our coffers. \u00a0 The new principal said, \u201cI have a contact who will set us up to do a yearly magazine sale.\u00a0 It will pull you out of the hole and provide you with the funding you will need going forward.\u201d\u00a0 It turned out the contact was Bill Laurich from Marquette.\u00a0 I had worked with Bill\u2019s seventh grade science classes when I did my student teaching at Bothwell Middle School in the spring of 1975.\u00a0 Bill wasn\u2019t my supervising teacher (they had placed me in 8th grade social studies for some reason) but working with Bill got me involved in the spring camp program BMS ran at the Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay each May.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As the OASD 7th and 8th grade class advisor, my job was to guide them (the original magazine sale was a 7-12 affair) but I was not in charge of overseeing the whole operation.\u00a0 That all changed when my colleague dropped the whole package on my desk several years later.\u00a0 As the person charged with collating the final order, I thought it would be a piece of cake as long as the other 9-12 class advisors did their part.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they had a different idea and simply handed over their collection packets stuffed with checks, money, and orders.\u00a0 With 80 percent of the sales coming in from the 7th and 8th grade students, the first change was to cut off the high school classes.\u00a0 They were not that interested yet they accounted for a great deal of work when it came to processing six classes worth of orders.\u00a0 I thought limiting the sale to only grades 7 and 8 might set off a firestorm of complaints, but it didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By my third year in charge, it was apparent that diligent accounting was the key to saving a lot of extra work.\u00a0 When an order came in, the first order of business was to make sure the money included matched the magazine order.\u00a0 Tracking the number of orders was critical because the number of sales each student made were tied to prizes they could win.\u00a0 Selling more subscriptions allowed them to earnr more (and better) prize incentives.\u00a0 We got into a yearly rhythm.\u00a0 Bill would pay us a visit in the early fall to explain the magazine sale to the kids.\u00a0 The sales period was usually two to four weeks and by the end of November, the prizes would arrive for distribution.\u00a0 Sometime near the end of the school year, the sales coordinator from Stevens Point, Wisconsin would drop by to see if we were going to participate again the next fall.\u00a0 Greg (the coordinator) and Bill were always a great team to work with.\u00a0 Some classes were more enthusiastic about the sale than others.\u00a0 As long as one of the two Jr High classes went all out, we would make enough to help keep the cost students paid for trips at a reasonable level.\u00a0 If we had a particularly bad year, the kids would have to chip in more if they wanted to take part in field trips and the annual Winter Recreation Day held at the Porkies Ski Hill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Magazines began losing ground to digital media so the last couple of years we ran the sales, the revenue was down.\u00a0 It was still worth doing, but the subscription numbers were definitely trending downward.\u00a0 By the time I retired in 2018, nobody on staff was interested in taking over the project and it simply disappeared.\u00a0 Yes, it was a little added work for the advisor, but it was also an opportunity for students to shine. \u00a0 Paying for things they wanted to do was always one of those life lessons that Jr High students needed to learn sooner than later.\u00a0 When the prizes were distributed, I would point out, \u201cThis many students raised this much money to help fund EVERYONE\u2019s field trips and special programs.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t seem fair, does it?\u00a0 Not everybody helps.\u00a0 Oddly enough, those who wouldn\u2019t lift a finger to help raise funds are always there to sign up for every activity.\u201d\u00a0 It seemed counter-productive to shame those who didn\u2019t sell so it became my habit to praise those who did.\u00a0 I actually grew to enjoy selling magazines.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Back in 2018, we featured the sad end (and then joyous resurrection) of <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>FTV:\u00a0 The Power of Print 5-30-18<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 The company that had purchased the magazine had gone into receivership and just prior to Christmas of 2016.\u00a0 The employees of <\/span>CRM <\/span><\/i>had been told they were about to be unemployed.\u00a0 In what could pass as a modern day version of the Jimmy Stewart holiday classic <\/span>It<\/span><\/i>\u2019<\/span>s A Wonderful Life<\/span><\/i>, a group of dedicated fans got involved. \u00a0 Orange Goblin singer Ben Ward and his partner Sandie decided to pitch in and raise enough funds to ensure the pink-slipped staffers would at least be able to enjoy the Christmas Season.\u00a0 When all seemed lost, the former owners of the <\/span>CRM <\/span><\/i>brand repurchased the publication.\u00a0 The remaining skeleton staff were pressed into service to put out th<\/span>e <\/span><\/i>next couple of issues while the legalities were being resolved and, poof, the magazine rose from the ashes like a Phoenix.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This was a remarkable story in itself.\u00a0 I had resolved to get a subscription to the magazine when the brick and mortar bookstore I used to purchase my monthly copy went out of business in 2016.\u00a0 Once the company was out of receivership, I finally got around to getting my own subscription started.\u00a0 Sure, it was a little expensive and the costs kept rising, but it reminded me of a story Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielson told about his early days as a wanna-be-a-rockstar.\u00a0 Rick always loved English bands so back in the day, he forked over a princely sum to subscribe to the granddaddy of the English music trade papers, <\/span>The New Musical Express<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 He would eagerly await the latest <\/span>NME <\/span><\/i>to show up in his mailbox so he could be up on what was happening on that side of the pond.\u00a0 To me, getting <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> was worth the postage because it had a lot of information about my era, now deemed \u2018classic rock\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fate wasn\u2019t quite through with <\/span>CMR, <\/span><\/i>however.\u00a0 When the COVID 19 Pandemic hit, their overseas distribution network went into the dumpster.\u00a0 Without functioning airlines to carry their goods around the world, the publishers had to settle for good old fashioned surface transport – in other words, shipping by ship.\u00a0 The company sent out numerous letters and emails to keep readers up on when to expect their next magazine.\u00a0 Sometimes they would arrive out of order with the December issue landing in the mailbox before November.\u00a0 Through it all, they never missed an issue and eventually, the restoration of air travel got things pretty much back to normal.\u00a0 No one was happier than this old magazine sales coordinator at least until the day my subscription lapsed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Having gotten used to the wonky delivery schedule during the earliest wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, it just didn\u2019t dawn on me that I hadn\u2019t received an issue in a couple of months.\u00a0 The first thing they instruct subscribers to do if there is a problem is to contact them via their web address.\u00a0 I began by filling in the requested information only to be told, \u201cSorry, there is no record of a subscription under your name.\u201d\u00a0 Ding, round two.\u00a0 I sent an email to their customer service address and asked if someone could look into the matter.\u00a0 The reply was equally unhelpful:\u00a0 \u201cThere is no record of payment on your account, your subscription has lapsed.\u201d\u00a0 Having sent a check for a full year renewal at the end of the year, I dug out my checkbook to confirm that I had indeed sent a check.\u00a0 The next step was to inquire at the bank if said check had been cashed – it had not cleared their books.\u00a0 Now my annoyance had become a puzzle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fully four months after my renewal check had been sent, the envelope returned to my mailbox with a stamp from the Royal Postal Service that said, \u201cAddressee has gone away.\u201d\u00a0 Sure enough, there was my check.\u00a0 Back to the internet and a second request to help me with my problem.\u00a0 I included the address printed on the invoice I had mailed in with my check to verify I had the right information.\u00a0 Apparently the business address had changed and they helpfully sent me the new mailing address.\u00a0 After writing a quick note of explanation, the check (it hadn\u2019t been cashed so why write a new one, right?) and the old invoice with the new address added was on its way.\u00a0 The date was written down in our calendar to remind me to check up sooner than I had the last time.\u00a0 Two months passed and no new issues arrived so I started the process again.\u00a0 Still no record of a subscription under my name.\u00a0 Back to seeking help at their internet address.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By now frustration was setting.\u00a0 When they finally contacted me, they confirmed that they had NOT received my check (again) and asked if I would like to pay online.\u00a0 \u201cWould I want to send you my credit card information if you can\u2019t seem to handle cashing a check?\u201d I asked.\u00a0 \u201cSir, your bank may have some restrictions on handling overseas transactions,\u201d came the less than helpful reply.\u00a0 I had done my homework on that one already:\u00a0 \u201cI checked and they have no such restrictions, plus I have been subscribing for a number of years and it was never an issue until now.\u00a0 I’ll tell you what.\u00a0 If you find my check, renew my subscription.\u00a0 If you do not find it, then I will regretfully let it go.\u201d\u00a0 That is the last communication we had on the topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Flash forward to the fall of 2023.\u00a0 The WOAS West Coast Bureau in Oregon decided they could crack the code and get me a new <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> subscription for my birthday.\u00a0 The first go around, the website would not let them process an online payment.\u00a0 Elizabeth even took the time to call their office in spite of the nine hour time difference between London and Eugene.\u00a0 When they got no traction, Todd worked the internet until he finally figured it out and placed the order.\u00a0 I got the nicest birthday card in September announcing my gift was in the works.\u00a0 October and November arrived with no magazine in sight.\u00a0 The WCB checked the activity on their credit card and found the fee had never been processed.\u00a0 I got a second card and a book in place of the subscription that never came (which they didn\u2019t have to do, but then again, I didn\u2019t send it back, either).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I took the opportunity to send one last email to <\/span>CRM <\/span><\/i>with a synopsis of both failed attempts to subscribe.\u00a0 It was a good thing I wasn\u2019t expecting an answer (because I didn\u2019t get one), but I had to ask:\u00a0 \u201cHow do you stay in business when signing up a new subscription seems to be an impossible task?\u201d\u00a0 I thanked the WCB for their thoughtfulness and we had another good laugh about both of our subscription failures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is there such a thing as a Thanksgiving miracle?\u00a0 On Monday, November 13, Issue No. 320 for November 2023 showed up in my mailbox.\u00a0 I sent a quick photo of the cover to the WCB and got the exact reaction I was expecting:\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 Just to make sure it was no fluke, I went to the <\/span>CRM <\/span><\/i>website and signed up for their online portal.\u00a0 They even confirmed that Todd was the \u2018payer\u2019 and I was the \u2018receiver\u2019 so apparently this time they actually do have a record of my subscription.\u00a0 When this information was shared with the \u2018payer\u2019, the WCB had a good laugh – the cost still had not been\u00a0 charged to their credit card.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The information on my new \u2018membership account\u2019 noted that this is a five month subscription.\u00a0 I will be sure to let you know if they actually let me renew when March rolls around.\u00a0 In the meantime, I am going to enjoy reading the mag again after a two year drought.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you to everyone who supported our JH mag sales for all those years – I hope we were better organized than the folks at <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i>!<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Okay, Genesis isn’t selling magazines, but back in his weird headgear days, Peter Gabriel was\u00a0Selling England by the Pound<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0Once upon a time, not that long ago, I was introduced to the art of selling magazines.\u00a0 Having never been in love with fundraising (particularly the kind done to fund school projects), I was a little dismayed when a colleague of mine dropped a box of paperwork on my desk and said, \u201cHere, it is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,12,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-humor","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3030"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3033,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030\/revisions\/3033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}