Features Whats the latest re The Rodders Journal?

You are spot on though that if Social Media is such an important part of reaching their customers (which I totally believe) then do more than just keep saying email us. No offense to Ron, because it's not his call, but when all he is doing is posting that over and over again what is it actually acomplishing? Pretty sure you could set up an automated reply to do the same thing. It just ends up being lying by omission when you don't actually provide information on things like international shipping hasn't happened on these platforms that reach so many of their followers.

 

If TRJ thinks the best way to reach their target demographic is via facebook, I think they have misread a large portion of their audience.

 

@Hot Rod Ron

A few observations from messages seen here over the past couple of weeks: YMMV

I don't believe that the biggest fire TRJ have to attend to is Social Media and email - it is persuading buyers and advertisers to part with their money in exchange for either a physical magazine delivered to them or the exposure of hot rod related products to an audience of potential customers who have managed to recieve a magazine.

Are vendors of automotive products going to continue to pay for advertisments in a publication that is only printed every 12 - 18 months, isn't available on news-stands, isn't mailed out to every subscriber and is criticised online for all of those failings?

The Social Media and email issue is only now important because of the failure to achieve the objective above. People turn to Social Media because of many reasons, but none of them generate a revenue stream for a publishing company. Those dollars are from purchases and advertisers.

I'm watching the slow walkback regarding international shipping - the information from TRJ's representative on this message board is the ONLY recent acknowledgement that there actually IS an issue.

We've gone from "I'm told the issue is resolved" through "the issue is being resolved" and ended up at "we have issues with our international shipping licence". I'm sure that the international subscribers would appreciate being told the genuine, non-sugar-coated truth and then we can stop checking our mailboxes until another announcement confirming shipping is made.

Bearing in mind the above, it's strange that bulk vendors in Australia can obtain copies for re-sale - yet individual pre-paid subscribers can't get their magazines.

A brief look on Facebook suggests that the goodwill towards TRJ is fast evaporating - as others have stated, requesting MORE emails and messages will further swamp the TRJ staff!

Lastly, I'm always pleased to read Hot Rod Ron's updates but I'll make the observation that Steve ****an has a profile on here and his lack of personal involvement does him and his business no favours. It only takes a few minutes to engage with a keyboard and scotch all the rumours.

 

My self sent several email threw out 2025 , just few day's ago I received a response to one of last Email I sent
@ end of November 2025 .
@Hot Rod Ron
By chance do you have a estimate of how many subscribers & lifetime members there is ?

 

I wanted the latest issue, so ordered direct via their website, paid for overseas shipping, there was no mention of 'issues'. Needless to say, its not arrived..yet..

 

I AM ALMOST AS HAPPY AS YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What year?

 

Still trying to unserstand, how these magazines get mailed. Delivery to varying addresses is all over the map, hmm, maybe that's where that saying came from. International subscribers have been getting them, and US ones have been delivered for over 2 months. Do they all go out from one location, or boxes shipped to several distribution centers?

 

I believe the printer sends them to a mailing house, the mailing house is responsible to sort the addressed envelopes by Zip Code and places them in USPS bins which are then delivered to a postal service depot that gets those bins to their respective areas. That would be the procedure for the Bulk Mail rate for periodicals, etc.
I have no idea how foreign mailings might be handled.

 

The publisher gets the magazine layout done and sends it to the printer. The printer produces the print and offers a "check copy" to the publisher to verify colors.... a monitor is not always true color and a color can not be the true car color. After printing, the pages may go to a binder who ***embles the magazine. Done magazines go to a company that packages them and applies the label to the package. Just because your next door neighbor also subscribes does not mean that the two are sent at the same batch/pallet, etc. Usually, the pallets of magazines are delivered to a postal location for distribution. For quan***ies printed summary, see the disclosure published in the magazine.

 

Hey @mike in tucson , can you shed any light on the "international postal shipping license" that was mentioned in post #718? What exactly is it? As far as I can see there is no license required to ship magazines internationally from the US.

 

summary you can find if you Google
"how international mail works"
use the quotes to keep the phrase intact

 

Ron mentioned

Here's the USPS page for shipping international. https://www.usps.com/international/
It is complex and probably benefits from an agent who can dot all the Is and cross all the Ts.

As for why a store gets them first, I'd guess that it's one big box, not many big envelopes that require more sorting and shipping in-country. Probably taxed different, too.

 

Not ever having been a subscriber I don’t know whether I have a right to an opinion on the matter although I do have a lot of copies or if I can include a less “heated or p***ionate” take on the situation because I am not a disgruntled customer.

as I read it, it seems Facebook & other social media is the forefront of a lot of the traffic you are responding too but is splitting your time significantly, would it not be a better option to purely have your social media posts set without the ability to comment back which I believe is possible. By all means keep using it to update the status of the magazine and situation’s but by turning off the ability to respond you are already not cutting yourself in half having to answer people in several places instead forward them only onto your email system everyone has one of those wether they are on social media or not.

Again emails if alot of your problems are happening with international orders, previous subscribers, lost issues, then set up email address’s solely for these channels, keep everyone in the loop and in their departments because simply having the subject line “where’s my stuff” feeding into an inbox just isn’t good enough. Each avenue then can be kept up to date even with a blanket reply to all until you are in a position to actually respond in a case by case situation. If you clearly state this situation on your website and social media then whoever isn’t following the instruction then it’s their own fault not yours.

it seems individual shipping overseas is an issue but selling to dealers isn’t? As has been stated people have seen them in stores but aren’t receiving them personally. Then stop to having ability to purchase copy’s with this option until you have rectified the problem. Or point these customers in the direction of your approved international distributors who are actually receiving their stock and go from there. Even your previous subscribers who are waiting their orders. Stop sending them if you know there’s a big chance they aren’t getting received what is the point of that? Point them in the direction of your stockists that’s what they are there for. Until you’re in a position where you know you can stand behind your actions 100% and actually provide the items you are selling.

running my own shop and ordering parts fairly regularly from the US yes there has been changes in shipping but it certainly isn’t impossible as it is seeming.

I really think there needs to a deep look in the mirror on this.

Stop making new issues & stop selling items if you can’t guarantee it will be fulfilled it’s fraud.

I really hope it can be rectified but on this current course I don’t know.

you want the only feedback to be the content you are creating not fighting the fact it even exists in the first place.

 

When I used to subscribe to Collectible Automobile it came promptly to me here in Oz, before the cover Month, then after 10yrs or so it started to not turn up until the month after the cover month, nearly 2 months after it used to arrive.......various emails & phone calls to the contacts in the editorial/publication offices did not give an answer to the delay.....then I started to get copies, still 2-3 mths late in bags with ROYAL MAIL stampings.with London, United Kingdom postal codes........I wondered how Texas USA became part of the UK.........lol..........more emails & phone calls finally were answered when I was told the "New Improved International Mail System" was being used to facilitate an improved service ...........needless to say I no longer have a subscription to Collectible Automobile magazine.........still buy it from the local newsagent, mostly within the cover date............maybe this type of "improvement" is involved in the "international postal shipping licence"........lol..........
..........as an aside I just this week received both Trent Sherrills new book Speed And Kulture and the Ohio George Montgomery G***er King book.......both posted separately from the USA since Xmas..........lol........the plot thickens.......Andy Douglas.

 

. missed this before. congrats. thought that there would have giant fireworks symbols about this. others still waiting in Northern Calif, and more

 

It's very much looking like a conscious decision to not mail out individual international subscription copies. I would guess that there isn't sufficient cashflow to pay for delivery.

Once again, if a truthful explanation was offered then the rumour mill would grind to a halt.

@TRJ should be able to shed some light on the subject.

 

"Should" being the operative word here.

 

I have no horse in this race as I have gotten screwed by other magazines in the past, and will not subscribe to any more magazines. After reading all the posts in the entire thread, to me, this sounds like a big ponszi scheme. How much does it cost to buy a booth at the GNRS? Get money from new subscribers, so you can fill the orders for most of the old subscribers, because you have already spent their money. Screw the people in the other countries who have no recourse, and keep coming up with excuses of why people didn't get what they paid for. The check is in the mail, and I promise I won't *** in your mouth.
The above is just my opinion based on nothing but reading this thread.

 

I realise that Facebook isn't (and shouldn't be) anyone's primary go-to, but it seems like it's the ONLY thing that's up-to-date from The Rodder's Journal.

I have emailed them 4 times since November 2025 and as yet zero response.

@Hot Rod Ron @TRJ - is it because I'm an overseas subscriber that my emails just vanish into a void?

 

I wouldn't renew my subscription (which has at least 6 issues to go) for all the coffee in Brazil.

I had considered buying a 2 year subscription for a good friend's birthday last year when #86 was still fairly recent. Thank the Lord I saw sense and bought him a set of Pat Ganahl's books from Amazon instead......

 

If it is a Ponzi scheme, it's not a very good one.

 

I don't know - they've played me for a re-up a couple of years ago which I didn't actually need and then pretended I don't exist.

 

I'd be happy to be told that although good money has been paid for a subscription on my behalf that due to the increase in postal costs, the position of the Moon in the sky and the weather, that being overseas means I won't get anything direct from TRJ.........well, I wouldn't really be happy but at least TRJ would have had the courtesy and common decency to reply to the emails I've sent..........just really a sad situation......Andy Douglas

 

I've followed this thread for quite a while . . . lots of solid points related to customer service, communication (or lack thereof), etc.. I hope that TRJ sorts itself out, that it continues to produce a great product and can deliver it on time and to the people who have paid for it.

I wish the whole TRJ crew the best and that they succeed going forward.

I received #87 about a month or so ago - it is a quality piece as always . . .

 

Ponzi scheme.....yes, it is. OPM is also used here at TRJ. (Other People's Money)

 

lots of good points, I recieved here in Australia my 'back issues' IE my subscriptions that never came within a month of sorting the problem out (which took some time) & #87 which is being sent with the rest of the current subs is still on the slow boat 3 months later. I'm comforted by the fact the other mags found their way to my place, so 87 will too. TRJ is at the top of the pile for our type of Hot Rod Magazines.
Incidentally Hop Up aren't sending mag's overseas at the moment due to freight issues.

 

So many magazines have failed over the last two years citing rising costs etc. Not just automotive mags but others as well. If somebody can produce a quality mag like RJ they deserve all the credit and help for so doing.

 

It's gone very quiet on the "social media and digital ****ytics" front.

Are @Hot Rod Ron and @TRJ just a busted flush?

 

Hey, he's got a half a million social media followers to interact with!

Oh wait, that's the combined number at FB and insta, which still has no further updates since he was here. 3 weeks on FB, 45 weeks on insta. No visible change to the TRJ website.

Guess he's still working on ****ytics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/****ytics

He mentioned this is a part time gig because he's doing other clients too. Don't know how much time is spent on TRJ, but his efforts sure aren't visible on 'social media' including here. He posted in this thread a week ago on the 18th. He was here Monday the 23rd, but didn't post here.
As I said before, I want the business to succeed. Has there been any change in the week since he was here and interacted with us? Communication or more HAMBers getting their product?