The case of the disappearing railway magazines!

[davido39]

Hi there.
It's been a while since I posted a comment on UKrailforums. However, I have a little experience that made me laugh yesterday.

I visited the local WHSmiths in Kilmarnock yesterday to purchase a couple of railway magazines (traction, Today's Railways UK.) As I have used this store before, I automatically go to the section that is reserved for all things railway. Imagine my surprise to find absolutely zero monthly procedurals on the shelves! My initial thoughts were, had WHSmiths decided that railway related magazines were no longer a viable option in their portfolio? So my next move was to ask someone at the checkout.

Now this is where I had to laugh. Railway related magazines had been moved to behind the counter. When enquiring why this is the case, and making a light-hearted remark that I'd hardly think they were valuable enough to steel. The checkout operator remarked that YES there has been a recent phenomenon of individuals STEELING railway related magazines!

Both the checkout operator and I had to laugh. What is the world coming to when individuals are stealing railway magazines

 

[Islineclear3_1]

It's a lottery amongst WH stores IMO. Some stock a decent range whilst other stock virtually none. Places that I would expect to stock a good range don't whilst other places where I wouldn't expect a good range do. And of course rail mags are more expensive than in years gone by.

Of course, many (like myself) like to read the mags but don't necessarily buy unless there are one or two specific topics of interest. Perhaps your local store is trying to discourage such people?

 

[Ash Bridge]

It's a lottery amongst WH stores IMO. Some stock a decent range whilst other stock virtually none. Places that I would expect to stock a good range don't whilst other places where I wouldn't expect a good range do. And of course rail mags are more expensive than in years gone by.

Whilst passing through Manchester Airport last year, on visiting the WH Smith branch there I noticed the rail magazine titles were as much in evidence as the aviation mags.

 

[RichmondCommu]

In my experience the Tesco Extra stores tend to be very good for railway magazines. If you don't find what you are looking for ask your local newsagent!

 

[bradford758]

Not really been out much recently, but I think Asda and Morrison's do Rail and Railway only.
The (old) branch of WH Smith in Bradford decided to move railway mags from the transport section to the hobbies section!

Sent from my 4009X using Tapatalk

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Back in the days of Metro Enterprises being a competitor to Platform 5 in the spotting books market one of their forewords suggested enthusiasts should boycott WHSmith as they were apparently unreceptive to approaches by Metro Enterprises regarding the stocking of their books. In the end it seemed that individual store managers had a certain amount of say in exactly what their store did or didn't stock.

Of course publishing has moved on considerably since then but whilst railway periodicals seem to still be quite widely stocked, albeit inconsistently across national retailers, the same can't be said for railway books. It's no surprise that Ian Allan is down to just 2 stores. Essentially it's a case of use it or lose it.

 

[sprinterguy]

Of course, many (like myself) like to read the mags but don't necessarily buy unless there are one or two specific topics of interest. Perhaps your local store is trying to discourage such people?

From what I have perceived it does seem that the railway magazines are more frequently thumbed through in the shop, without a purchase being made, than other topics. I would imagine that this effect is magnified at some railway station outlets, and I know of at least one branch of WH Smiths that sought to discourage this sort of activity.

 

[davido39]

Great comments from all of you. Regarding the comments on those who thumb through the monthlies. This actually sounds more plausible than stealing titles.

If this is the case, then WH Smith are obviously clamping down on the "browsers!" Although there is an argument on buying the title once thumbing through it. Isn't this move counter productive? As far as I'm aware, scanning through a magazine would have more benefits on purchasing a title than to just being forced to purchase the title?

 

[Greenback]

I'm sure it's down to the store management as to what is displayed behind the counter, plus what magazines and how many are in stock.

Swansea's store has a much wider range of titles than Llanelli, but it's much bigger so that makes sense anyway.

 

[Spekejunction]

Our local WHS has been putting Rail Mag behind the counter for past nine months ,they couldn't catch the thief ...

 

[Greenback]

I'd expect any store to try and safeguard stock that seems to be prone to theft.

 

[yorksrob]

From what I have perceived it does seem that the railway magazines are more frequently thumbed through in the shop, without a purchase being made, than other topics. I would imagine that this effect is magnified at some railway station outlets, and I know of at least one branch of WH Smiths that sought to discourage this sort of activity.

For me, thumbing through is what sometimes leads to an impulse buy. Certainly can't afford all of them all of the time (although there are a couple of titles that I buy regularly).

 

[theblackwatch]

Back in the days of Metro Enterprises being a competitor to Platform 5 in the spotting books market one of their forewords suggested enthusiasts should boycott WHSmith as they were apparently unreceptive to approaches by Metro Enterprises regarding the stocking of their books. In the end it seemed that individual store managers had a certain amount of say in exactly what their store did or didn't stock.

Neil didn't mince his words - I actually thought his wording was more along the lines of his books wouldn't be stocked there owing to them wanting 50% of the cover price, perhaps he mentioned both at different times. I'm sure he also referred to 'greedy banks' on one occasion.

 

[PeterC]

I have noticed that Modern Railways seems to have vanished from the Smiths branches at Welcome Break services although other titles are still on the shelves. I was starting to wonder if it has ceased publication when I found a copy on sale at a High Street branch.

 

[yorksrob]

WHSmith seems to be becoming more ropey in general when it comes to stocking railway magazines. Used to be you were more or less guaranteed finding the current edition of what you were looking for. Now it's a case of blink and you'll miss it.

No doubt some trendy management technique from America (probably).

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

WHSmith seems to be becoming more ropey in general when it comes to stocking railway magazines. Used to be you were more or less guaranteed finding the current edition of what you were looking for. Now it's a case of blink and you'll miss it.

No doubt some trendy management technique from America (probably).

Or perhaps tightening margins is leading to WHS taking fewer copies and so selling out of some issues.

 

[yorksrob]

Or perhaps tightening margins is leading to WHS taking fewer copies and so selling out of some issues.

Well, probably true, but makes it more difficult for me and my memory !

 

[Railops]

My local WH Smiths hasn't had Modern Railways or Steam World for ages.
Always have several copies of the Great Western Railway Journal which always puzzles me as it's quite a specific interest.

 

[Bevan Price]

WHSmith seems to be becoming more ropey in general when it comes to stocking railway magazines. Used to be you were more or less guaranteed finding the current edition of what you were looking for. Now it's a case of blink and you'll miss it.

No doubt some trendy management technique from America (probably).

Some of their outlets seem to be more interested in selling snacks & refreshments than printed materials.

 

[Kite159]

Some of their outlets seem to be more interested in selling snacks & refreshments than printed materials.

Which I dare say is a lot more profitable for them than magazines

 

[PeterC]

Or perhaps tightening margins is leading to WHS taking fewer copies and so selling out of some issues.

WHS don't care, they only pay for what they sell. More likely it is the publishers not being able to stand that level of returns as advertising revenues decline.

 

[davido39]

Which I dare say is a lot more profitable for them than magazines

Considering the price they charge for said snacks and drinks I can see why it would be profitable! Their extortionate.

 

[Busaholic]

Our local WHS has been putting Rail Mag behind the counter for past nine months ,they couldn't catch the thief ...

I wonder whether they have a self-service machine: in my local branch the one machine is so unreliable that, if you are buying more than item, may well not scan an item (but allow you to add it to the pile without demur) or, alternatively, to charge you twice even though you only scanned once. Hence someone may have inadvertently not been charged on one occasion and decided to exploit the situation on further visits. My branch has, I've noticed, cut down from having 12-15 copies of Rail to about 5 at most.

 

[alexl92]

I find that WHS is the only place I can get a decent choice of magazines now. I can't find any other retailer that stocks Railways Illustrated, my preferred title. Steam Railway, Rail and The Railway Magazine seem to be the ones that the big retailers stock.

Even then though, it often takes me ages to find the railway magazines. They seem to love hiding them.

 

[RichmondCommu]

I can't find any other retailer that stocks Railways Illustrated, my preferred title.

The larger Tesco stores do.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Both the checkout operator and I had to laugh. What is the world coming to when individuals are stealing railway magazines ????????????

I suppose it could be customers taking the W H Smith "self service" ethos a tad too far...