Is it me? Magazines in plastic bags.

[Nick]

I don't think the bags/wrapping strips are simply a question of stopping the "library" reader just for the sake of doing so. They are also an attempt to ensure that the magazines remain undamaged for sale and stay as a complete package with all supplements, etc.. I once had a member of Sainsbury's staff positively wrest a magazine from my hand because it wasn't in good condition - one corner was a tad bent.  He was going round with a trolley, weeding less than perfect copies of magazines off the shelves. He wouldn't let me buy the damaged one, even though there wasn't another copy...

Why this problem doesn't afflict magazines in the US, Oz and the Land of the Long White Cloud, I have no idea. Another symptom of how the UK is going to the dogs, presumably.

Also, even if the magazine isn't giving away something the readers want, like a DVD or some super supplement on how to model King's Cross using two cereal boxes, three matchsticks and an effigy of Valerie Singleton, a lot of them are stuffed with advertising flyers nowadays, which someone has paid for, with the intention of them getting into the readers' hands. Admittedly, when they get into this reader's hands it's only a brief interlude on the way to the waste bin, but presumably the advertising managers want their pride and joy to stay in the magazine!

(As the saying goes, half of advertising expenditure is always wasted. The trick is to know which half... )

But as a consumer, I agree. Personally speaking, a magazine that I don't buy pretty regularly is going to have an uphill struggle for my hard-earned if I can't even skim it before purchase.

[ParkeNd]

What Nick above says is a very balanced version of what I feel.

Even if you can't flick through the pages there are well known times not to buy the magazines anyway :-

1.  Special Christmas double editions  Twice the price and only 50% more editorial.

2.  First edition after Christmas - put together by the poor malleable new kids who can be forced to work when everyone else is on holiday.

3.  Annual Awards edition - pages and pages of advertising pictures wrapped up in Gold Award, Silver Award, and Bronze Award logos.

4.  Summer Holiday edition - put together by the same crew who were forced to work around Christmas.

[Kipper]

Recently bought a motorcycle mag (wrapped), that headlined a road test of a new bike. When got home and opened bag, just magazine inside, but article was not a road test, just a description of bike and an interview with the bike manufacturer's chairman. If I could have flipped through mag in shop, I would have seen what was inside and not bought it.
Interestingly, the latest US railway mag is plastic wrapped with a booklet inside.

[BobB]

I wish more magazines had plastic covers. Its not only getting rid the readers, it's also the damage, missing inserts etc.

I don't know why retailers allow extensive reading before or instead of purchase.

The responsible magazine publishers could bag the product and put an accurate description of content on the front or back cover. If the contents description is not accurate (as in the motorbike road test earlier) then return the magazine as not being as advertised. That should solve that problem.

I'm at the stage where magazine adverts are not useful because of the time delay getting them down here, and secondly a forum like this is far more useful and reliable. So, now I rarely purchase printed magazines; maybe electronic versions could become worthwhile but the excessive prices need sorting first.