alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) (11/25/87)
Macworld's latest issue's cover article is about problems with
mail-order firms. It names names and gives readers advice about
who to buy from (and who *not* to). A full-page box lists
Icon Review horror stories.
The interesting thing is that Icon Review has a two-page color ad
in the same issue. That's right, they actually ran negative news
about an advertiser. This makes me feel good about Macworld.
--
Fred Wamsley {dual,hplabs}!well!alcmist;well!alcmist@lll-crg.arpa;
CIS 72247,3130; GEnie FKWAMSLEY;ATT Mail fwamsley; USPS - why bother?
"Captain's log, stardate 41253.37. We have just received a subspace message
from Microsoft informing us that Presentation Manager will ship early"esf00@amdahl.amdahl.com (Elliott S. Frank) (11/25/87)
In article <4529@well.UUCP> alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) writes: >Macworld's latest issue's cover article is about problems with >mail-order firms. It names names and gives readers advice about >who to buy from (and who *not* to). A full-page box lists >Icon Review horror stories. > >The interesting thing is that Icon Review has a two-page color ad >in the same issue. That's right, they actually ran negative news >about an advertiser. This makes me feel good about Macworld. You missed the best part -- subscribers got the current Icon Review catalog in the same plastic bag mailer. -- Elliott Frank ...!{hplabs,ames,sun}!amdahl!esf00 (408) 746-6384 or ....!{bnrmtv,drivax,hoptoad}!amdahl!esf00 [the above opinions are strictly mine, if anyone's.] [the above signature may or may not be repeated, depending upon some inscrutable property of the mailer-of-the-week.]
drc@dbase.UUCP (Dennis Cohen) (11/26/87)
In article <4529@well.UUCP>, alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) writes: > Macworld's latest issue's cover article is about problems with > mail-order firms. It names names and gives readers advice about > who to buy from (and who *not* to). A full-page box lists > Icon Review horror stories. > > The interesting thing is that Icon Review has a two-page color ad > in the same issue. That's right, they actually ran negative news > about an advertiser. This makes me feel good about Macworld. It was even more than that. There was an Icon Review catalog in the same plastic wrap as my issue of MacWorld. My opinion is probably a little biased since I now write for them on occasion, but I wouldn't have started if I didn't think that they were cleaning up their act. I used to rag them about being "MacFluff", as did a lot of other people -- they took notice and changed their direction quite a bit in the last year and a half or so. I would also like to see even more "techie" material and if they get enough requests for it, I'll probably get more. They have to cater to a broad audience and people that program the Mac are a distinct, albeit vocal, minority. Dennis Cohen
paulm@nikhefk.UUCP (Paul Molenaar) (11/30/87)
In article <272@dbase.UUCP> drc@dbase.UUCP (Dennis Cohen) writes: >In article <4529@well.UUCP>, alcmist@well.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) writes: >> Macworld's latest issue's cover article is about problems with >> mail-order firms. It names names and gives readers advice about >> who to buy from (and who *not* to). A full-page box lists >> Icon Review horror stories. >> >> The interesting thing is that Icon Review has a two-page color ad >> in the same issue. > >It was even more than that. There was an Icon Review catalog in the same >plastic wrap as my issue of MacWorld. Agreed, it is a matter of independent journalism to be able to criticize (sp?) your advertizers. But in the magazine business it's not considered good ethics to have your advertisement-sellers sell pages to a company that is criticized in that same issue. This doesn't apply if it's a bad review of a particular product made by that company, but does when the entire company gets bad publicity. The money spent on advertising by that company is purely wasted ofcourse. Even when the company is the worst in its kind, it's not considered highly ethical. Thought I'd sharpen the edges ;) Paul Molenaar "Just checking the walls" - Basil Fawlty - -- Paul Molenaar "Just checking the walls" - Basil Fawlty -
mkg@lzsc.UUCP (12/01/87)
The usual lead time for a article in a monthly magazine is 3-4 months so that the problems depicted are at least that old (or older). The sad part of all this is that Icon Review has reportedly cleaned up their act and has adopted the kinds of policies that should be standard in the business (credit cards aren't charged until shipment, honest about out of stock items, etc.) Marsh Gosnell
flowers@CS.UCLA.EDU (12/02/87)
In article <1109@lzsc.ATT.COM> mkg@lzsc.ATT.COM (Marsh Gosnell) writes: >... The sad part >of all this is that Icon Review has reportedly cleaned up their act and has >adopted the kinds of policies that should be standard in the business >(credit cards aren't charged until shipment, honest about out of stock >items, etc.) I wonder how recently those standards were supposed to take effect? Two weeks ago, I had one of their sales people tell me that Word Finder was in stock. He sounded like such a sleeze used-car salesman type that I didn't want to order from him for fears of having the order messed up ("Sure it's in stock. Now, let me look, what was it you were interested in again?"). So I hung up and called up again, the next person told me it was out of stock and there was a waiting list. Of course maybe the second was wrong and the first was correct, but ... One difference between mail order places which are honest and reliable and those which aren't might be the issue of commission. The first sleaze salesman was so insistant on my knowing his name (which I'm including in a letter I'm sending them) made me suspect that they worked on commission. The second one confirmed that they did when I asked him. By contrast, the person I spoke to most recently at MacConnection told me they did NOT work on commission and seemed surprised at even the idea. Margot Flowers Flowers@CS.UCLA.EDU ...!{ucbvax|ihnp4}!ucla-cs!flowers