New digital mag.

[Ericbsc]

I waited a few years to reup after the last bomb of the mag. Lost a years worth of subscription. I now see that it is going strictly digital starting next month. I paid for a paper edition. No matter how many digital months I get, The end result is the same!!! No magazine archive when I am looking for something. I even won a $50.00 gift card to the mag. Haven't even used it !!!! Not a happy camper. I feel better now!! LOL

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Eric,

BCM went all digital last month because 92% of our subscribers are now reading the digital edition.  It was no longer cost effective to print the magazine for the limited number of subscribers that were still receiving the magazine in print because the cost per copy goes way up when we print fewer magazines and bottom line; we were losing money.  And lets face it, fewer and fewer people are converting buses these days for several reasons so we do not have the circulation we once had.  

So we had a choice, either shut down the magazine and the Forum or convert to all digital format and we chose the second option because many folks love to read what others have done with their buses. The digital edition has may advantages as listed below. You no longer need to carry all 300 magazines in your bus wherever you go.  All issues now are just a click away.

Not only that, but at the beginning of this month we started uploading all magazines from 1992 to current for all subscribers to read anytime they want. We are uploading them at the rate of one per day and so far we have 20 magazines available for viewing.  We also update the Back Issue Article List every time we start uploading another years worth of magazines. To view the list of articles in the magazines we have uploaded so far, you can see the list at https://www.busconversionmagazine.com/ and choose the Members button then choose Back Issue Article List.

To read these back issues, choose the Members button and then choose Read Back Issues.

So if you are missing any issues, you will be able to read them and all other back issues there.  Since we started the option of making all back issues available for every subscriber to read, subscriptions have increased and we expect them to increase even more after we finish uploading all 300 back issues because of all of the valuable information in the 26 years of BCM magazine.  

If you are missing any print issues, please call the office and we will send you all back print issues you are missing.  Some folks have had problems getting all of their magazines thru the mail but if they contact us, we always take care of it immediately.  We want all subscribers to be satisfied and we will do what it takes to make sure they receive every magazine they paid for.

BTW, the magazine is what supports this Forum.  Without the magazine, unfortunately this Forum would not exist.

Here are just some advantages of the Digital Edition of the Magazine...

• The dog will not eat it.
• It will not get lost in the mail.
• It takes up much less space in your bus.
• It will not get wet when it is raining outside.
• It will not get buried when it is snowing outside.
• It will not get stained with coffee, beer, or wine.
• The Tree Huggers will not be giving you the evil eye.
• You can zoom in to make the text larger and easier to read.
• You will not incur forwarding fees when you are on the road.
• It will not turn yellow, get musty, dusty, and mildewed or fade.
• It will not get torn up or crushed if you back over it with your bus.
• You will not have to go out in the rain, sleet, hail, or snow to retrieve it.
• It can be read on any computer, iPad, smart phone, or other compatible device.
• By clicking on any ad, a hotlink will take you directly to the advertiser's website.
• It will not be stolen by your mailman or your neighbor who also may be into buses.
• It contains additional pages of photos from articles that would not fit in the print issue.
And best of all...
• If your computer is lost, damaged, or stolen, you will have access to all Digital Editions for free.

Gary Hatt

P.S. Glad you are feeling better now Eric.  

[Jeremy]

I'm a retailer of hobby magazines and the issue of titles needing to either go all-digital, or to cease publication altogether, is a familiar one. There are print-on-demand alternatives for magazines (and indeed specialist books) where customers absolutely refuse to read on a screen, but most ultimately most people get over their hang-ups about using the digital versions fairly quickly if it's handled right.

The issue of long-term storage of digital back issues is a valid one, and any solution where the subscriber has to rely on the publisher continuing to host (and continuing to allow access to) the back-issue archive in future years isn't ideal. Far better (and I don't know whether BCM does this) is to allow the subscriber to store their copies of their digital issues themselves, and preferably in a non-propitiatory format that can be opened on any device without needing special apps etc. Supplying back issues in the form of PDF files that are watermarked with the subscriber's contact details makes life very easy for the subscriber, and the publisher can be pretty confident that those files aren't going to be further duplicated and distributed to anyone else

Jeremy

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Jeremy is right.  These small specialty magazines are hard to continue in print format (if at all as many periodicals have just shut the doors) because the market is so limited.  We do not have a large staff like National Geographic like many people think, we work out of a $500/month office and everyone who works here is part time except me and I can guarantee you nobody is getting rich. I have owned this magazine since 2012 and have not yet turned a profit and I do not pay myself even 1 cent and this is not that unusual in the small magazine business.  I do it because I like to help others out and the thanks I get now and then make it all worth while.

As for downloading magazines, we allow folks to download the current issue and the back two issues.  This allows anyone on vacation to download an issue they may not have caught in time.  This has been our M.O. since we started offering a digital edition in 2008.  So anyone can download each copy and keep it on their computer for years to come.

The back issues are not downloadable as someone could sign up for a month subscription and download all 300 issues and sell them on eBay or something so we protect our intellectual property by offering the back issue in read-only format.

Thanks for your comment Jeremy.

[richard5933]

For anyone with Amazon Kindle, it is possible to push the PDF version of the magazine to your Kindle account and read it through your favorite Kindle device. Just another option for making it easy to read.

[windtrader]

Unless there is a fair use restriction, one can always print the PDF file. Some would argue that basically means the subscription has just gone up in price.

[luvrbus]

Gary used high quality paper and printing I wondered how long he could keep doing that,unlike the previous owner that used recycled paper if you were lucky   

[lvmci]

Hi Gary, we all appreciate you keeping bus conversions alive. I am one of those people who give away  old BCM magazines when someone wants to know about bus converting. Given the choice we would all do the same, good luck to you to keep the digital magazine going, send me a one page logo carrying subscription flyer to give out with lots of pictures on it, Tom, lvmci...

[David Anderson]

Thanks Gary,

for keeping this going.  I subscribed for a long time, but quit a few years after I finished my coach.  I really appreciate your work.

David

[Slug]

Love the Digital Mag, open mine in IBooks and save each edition to a year folder
The big PLUS I get mine the same day as all you guys and I live in Australia 

[edvanland]

Gary you became a millionaire with this magazine and you know it course you stared with 2 million pretty soon if you had not changed it you would have been a pauper. Didn't like the digital but must admit get a lot more info from it. Yes it is hard to teach some old dogs new tricks.
Many thanks for what you do and your time and effort.
ED  o

[eagle19952]

I waited a few years to reup after the last bomb of the mag. Lost a years worth of subscription. I now see that it is going strictly digital starting next month. I paid for a paper edition. No matter how many digital months I get, The end result is the same!!! No magazine archive when I am looking for something. I even won a $50.00 gift card to the mag. Haven't even used it !!!! Not a happy camper. I feel better now!! LOL

boohoo 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Gary you became a millionaire with this magazine and you know it course you stared with 2 million pretty soon if you had not changed it you would have been a pauper. Didn't like the digital but must admit get a lot more info from it. Yes it is hard to teach some old dogs new tricks.
Many thanks for what you do and your time and effort.
ED  o

I used to have a lot of money before I bought the magazine Ed and I plan to keep the magazine going until it is all gone. 

If everyone on this board contributed an article like you did Ed, I would be able to sleep better at night. Thankfully I became a pretty good beggar when I took this over.  Thanks to all of you out there that either purchased a subscription or submitted an article.  Without you, there would be no BCM.  Keep those articles coming.

No problem on the time, I grew up on a farm where I learned to work 12 hour days 7 days a week with very little pay so I was properly trained to take over this magazine.   

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I waited a few years to reup after the last bomb of the mag. Lost a years worth of subscription. I now see that it is going strictly digital starting next month. I paid for a paper edition. No matter how many digital months I get, The end result is the same!!! No magazine archive when I am looking for something. I even won a $50.00 gift card to the mag. Haven't even used it !!!! Not a happy camper. I feel better now!! LOL

If anyone else has had a problem receiving their magazine, everyone that knows me knows that I take care of my customers and try to go way beyond that.   So if you are/were a subscriber and are missing ANY magazines, we cannot do anything about it unless you contact us either via our Contact Us tab or email me or call the office.  If you do, we will definitely send you any back print issues you missed until they are all gone so call now. 

Gary Hatt 

[Dave5Cs]

And if we order now do we get a potato peeler, and not one but two left-handed muffler bearing replacing tools?... respectfully with every issue?