Several months ago Amos Press combined the Scott Stamp Monthly and Linn’s Stamp News. Linn’s had always been a weekly magazine and the Scott Stamp Monthly (SSM) was a monthly glossy. Now, three times a month they issue a traditional Linn’s (which has light philatelic news and commentary, but which mainly serves as an advertising vehicle) and once a month they combine a traditional Linn’s with the SSM (which includes listings of new issues along with their new Scott catalog numbers). This was a clever attempt to extend the shelf life of two declining publications. Linn’s subscriber base is less than a third of its peak and SSM was even less. The result is a pretty decent magazine, regular Linn’s most of the time and then a bit more spice once a month when they picture the new issues and do additional market commentary. I suggest that you take a look at it, and do it quickly, for it is not clear how long the new publication will be around. The economics of this kind of traditional publication are not good. Costs are high and the Internet is very low priced competition. Younger people are growing up with little loyalty to staple publications and get all of their news and information on line. Look at the Yellow Pages. Once a tome it is now little more than a pamphlet (and all those words for different publication sizes will soon become archaic as well). There will always be stamp collecting but the portals to collectors have changed and are continuing to change.
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