Thread: Do you have a subscription to FWW magazine?

Taunton's: " ... We have received your email and have forwarded your inquiry to the appropriate department. You will be contacted directly by them if necessary.... "

Suspect that the sender "Alleo" is actually an algorithm.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Just received the subscription renewal notification tonight. Still haven't received a reply to my question about missing editions so at this stage I will be advising them that the subscription will not be renewed. We will see what happens then.

Be very careful that they don't just keep taking payments anyway, which happened to me until I gave up and cancelled the credit card they were charging to.

All emails requesting subscription to be cancelled were just ignored. They are spectacularly incompetent.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Be very careful that they don't just keep taking payments anyway, which happened to me until I gave up and cancelled the credit card they were charging to.

All emails requesting subscription to be cancelled were just ignored. They are spectacularly incompetent.

As scammers, I think they are very competent. They have your money, you have nothing.

I did log in and remove the tick from the "Auto renew" box. I have just checked the emails and got a reply this time stating, as they have for everyone else, that the subscription will be extended until Sept/Oct 2022 to compensate for the missing issues. The also sent the mailing address in the email asking to verify that it is correct as they have no control over the magazine once it has left their facility. The address is the same as it has been for the past few years so I don't think that is any part of the problem.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

If so, have you been receiving a copy if Fine Woodworking magazine over the past year? That is, is delivery being made?

I ask because I renewed my magazine subscription in February 2021 (it is now August 2021). I have not yet received a copy in all this time!

Originally Posted by ian

Since Covid struck and the Canadian-US border was closed, it appears to take two or so months for the magazine to get from the US into Canada.
I received Issue #290 about 3 weeks ago (mid-July) although the issue seems to have been available on US bookshelves in mid May.

Originally Posted by ian

Alberta is more than 12,000 km closer to Connecticut that Tasmania is and I'm still waiting on delivery of my September/October issue.

My copy of Fine Woodworking Issue #291 arrived today -- 22 September 2021.

Note that I am in Alberta, Canada -- approximately 12,000km closer to Connecticut than is Tasmania. For Derek in Perth I'm not so sure -- Should I be measuring the distance across the Indian or Pacific oceans?


The return address is shown as:

Taunton Direct, Inc
C/O Worldwide Mailers
2835 Kew Drive
Windsor, Ontario, N8T 3B7

other details

Subscription number, date subscription expires
126/4/5 xxT14(Z)
my current address in Alberta

0001
8203

hopefully the above is of some use for those in Australia waiting on their "missing" issues

Ian, thanks for your comments.

What appears to be happening is that FWW is not sending out magazines. Instead, if you contact and state that you have not received an edition, they extend your subscription. Mine has been extended three times so far, and I shall no doubt have it extended again after the latest edition is clearly not delivered.

The only up-side to this is that the on-line download is available for longer.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Lappa

As scammers, I think they are very competent. They have your money, you have nothing.

ala - Readers Digest - back in the day!


COVID has changed everything. I sent three AP Express Parcel Satchels simultaneously at 4 pm,

one to a Brisbane address (WWF member) arrived the very next day,

the other two to a near Metro VIC - 9 days, and Wonthaggi VIC - 8 days.

Originally Posted by ian

My copy of Fine Woodworking Issue #291 arrived today -- 22 September 2021.

Note that I am in Alberta, Canada --

Taunton promised that my #291 would arrive before 1 September; It didn't, and #289 and #290 also have still not arrived.

And my pre-2021 FWW's have come from the Netherlands or Channel Islands, not USA or Canada.

Originally Posted by DerekCohen

... What appears to be happening is that FWW is not sending out magazines. Instead, if you contact and state that you have not received an edition, they extend your subscription. Mine has been extended three times so far, and I shall no doubt have it extended again after the latest edition is clearly not delivered. ...

My fear, also; we will end up with an infinite subscription to a non-delivered magazine.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

... COVID has changed everything....

Not so sure on that, MT.

Over the past year we have received quite a few of parcels from Ireland (family), UK (esp Axminster and Book Depository), Germany (Dieter Schmidt) and NZ. We have been surprised that delivery times have remained consistent - commonly 6-7 days. USPS and China Mail have always been less reliable.

Since sending magazines around the world is clearly beyond them, why don't they just forget about it and go online only?? Put some time and $$$ into getting decent search/indexing facilities on their webpage to make it easy to find what you are looking for. They'd save a lot of $$$ by doing this, online subscriptions could be cheaper, and they'd get more people signing up (including me). At the moment it isn't clear to me whether you can even get an "online only" subscription without the printed magazine?

Paper magazines are going the way of the dinosaur, about time FWW got with the program IMHO.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Not so sure on that, MT.

Over the past year we have received quite a few of parcels from Ireland (family), UK (esp Axminster and Book Depository), Germany (Dieter Schmidt) and NZ. We have been surprised that delivery times have remained consistent - commonly 6-7 days. USPS and China Mail have always been less reliable.

Certainly, a few have really got their act together, others are a bit hit and miss, and some are down right incompetent. One courier franchise up this way has an appalling track record, so much so that I refuse to deal with any company who uses their "services."

I have given up on some subscriptions due to their stance of paper or paper+digital only. I had that discussion with Mark Baker (RIP) editor of UK Woodturning mag over breakfast at Turnfest and the potential enhancements to GMC's website, search engine, digital library etc. Mark agreed with my suggestions, but lamented that it was not his decision to make and that getting approval for the investment in website enhancements / redesign etc was not easy. In general I think we are lucky that some of the smaller niche magazines survive at all.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Since sending magazines around the world is clearly beyond them, why don't they just forget about it and go online only?? ... .

But they had no difficulty in sending magazines around the world from 1975 through 2020 - 46 years - including the first six months of Covid when transport services were disrupted.

I cancelled my online subscription two years ago, because, bluntly, it was crap. Shambolic website and hopeless search engine.

And I much prefer to read paper!

Earlier this week, I received an email from FWW, "signed" by Michael Pekovich no less , outlining some of the content in the forthcoming issue of the magazine.

I answered his email as follows:

"Hello Michael,

Thank you for telling me about the content of the forthcoming FWW issue.
Unfortunately, the last issue I received was FWW #288. I would appreciate receiving the last three issues.

I happen to follow a woodworking forum here in Australia and quite a number of forumites have reported not receiving their FWW magazine issues either. etc etc"

And received the following answer:

"...Thank you for contacting Taunton Store.

We are sending a replacement for the #289, #290, and #291 issues and apologize for any inconvenience.

Plase allow 2-3 weeks for delivery

If we can be of further assistance, please let us know. To ensure your future concerns are handled in a timely fashion, please include all previous e-mail correspondence.

Thank you,
Michael
Taunton Store Customer Service
[email protected]

For all your subscription service needs, visit Taunton Press - Customer Service
the quick, easy and safe way to manage your account and answer any questions you may have in one convenient place..."

I am waiting with great anticipation!!!

Cheers,
Yvan

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

At the moment it isn't clear to me whether you can even get an "online only" subscription without the printed magazine?

I'm puzzled by this, as when I "signed up" a few years ago, I had to specifically *add* print copy to International address to the "Unlimited" subscription. The Unlimited subscription is USD$99.00, and is purely online only, giving you access to the magazine as it's published, all guides, plans, and the archive of all back issues.

I'd be tempted to write them an email, explaining you'd like to drop the print subscription, and move to Unlimited only.

I've never found a problem in getting good, timely and accurate customer service when writing them an email, though that was a couple years ago that I last needed to.

Originally Posted by yvan

Earlier this week, I received an email from FWW, "signed" by Michael Pekovich no less , outlining some of the content in the forthcoming issue of the magazine.

I answered his email as follows:

"Hello Michael,

Thank you for telling me about the content of the forthcoming FWW issue.
Unfortunately, the last issue I received was FWW #288. I would appreciate receiving the last three issues.

snip

And received the following answer:

"...Thank you for contacting Taunton Store.

We are sending a replacement for the #289, #290, and #291 issues and apologize for any inconvenience.

Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery

If we can be of further assistance, please let us know. To ensure your future concerns are handled in a timely fashion, please include all previous e-mail correspondence.

Thank you,
Michael
Taunton Store Customer Service

I am waiting with great anticipation!!!

Cheers,
Yvan

Hi Yvan
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you

2 to 3 weeks for delivery might be the delivery standard for the US, but for deliveries via Canada Post the time is more like 2 months, and most of that "delay" appears to be getting the issues across the US-Canadian border. For delivery to Australia I'd describe the estimated 2 to 3 weeks as beyond wildly optimistic.

Post Covid, air mail from Australia to Canada is typically taking 4 weeks -- items seem to spend about a week in Sydney waiting for a flight and a further week in Vancouver (undergoing quarantine ??) before Canada Post picks them up for delivery.
Pre Covid air mail out of Australia would typically arrive within about a week.


If I were you, I'd really only start worrying about the issues you've been promised if it's February and you're still waiting.