The Sewing Place

Sew Today reduces frequency of publication

HenriettaMaria

Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« on: February 05, 2019, 22:05:24 PM »
My subscription copy of Sew Today came through the other day.  They're reducing the frequency of publication from 10 a year to 8 and increasing the cover price to £5.75 and reducing quarterly DD from £8 to £7.

I recall when it was Vogue Pattern Magazine it was 6 issues a year and they increased it to 10 to ensure they got on the news-stands.  Apparently the likes of WHS wouldn't take them if they published infrequently.  Maybe they are relying on subscriptions nowadays?

I'm actually considering cancelling my subscription.  I don't do enough sewing of that nature to get the benefit of the in-mag pattern offers and the how-to articles seem to be recycled from previous editions, which doesn't seem like value either.


Efemera

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2019, 22:07:37 PM »
Im going to cancel mine too... there’s never much in it.

Greybird

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2019, 22:36:01 PM »
Me too. The website is unusable and this is the last straw.

Tamnymore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2019, 22:50:33 PM »
I cancelled my sub years ago as.it was no longer good value. Have you noticed that we no longer get buy one get one free flash sales too? There's a Butterick 40% off offer at the mo but the latest release of Butterick patterns which have been on the US website for weeks have still not arrived in the UK.
I'm not surprised they don't sell many in newsagents as you only get the cheaper patterns with the sub (except when they are on nationwide special offer).
« Last Edit: February 05, 2019, 22:54:40 PM by Tamnymore »
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Gernella

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2019, 10:09:43 AM »
Me too. The website is unusable and this is the last straw.

I sent emails to them, many, with no replies so I've done the same.  I cancelled my mandate in December and on Saturday received the latest magazine.  The only reason I joined in the first place was for cheaper patterns and I am going to miss them, especially as there is one I want right now V1595.

It's been a shambles from start to finish, and I hope somebody got a  rocket up their backsides.  I noticed they had reduced the cost on the attachment that came with the magazine but I hadn't  noticed they had reduced the number of issues.  It would be really funny if I got the next magazine.
Stash extension 2024- 6.1 meters
Left at the end of 2023 - 66 meters now (includes fabric found hidden out of sight)  Lining fabric not included

Greybird

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2019, 10:24:41 AM »
I cancelled mine yesterday.

Gernella

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2019, 10:42:45 AM »
Actually I got myself motivated and found the pattern I wanted on Etsy for just over £10 including postage so bought.  At least if I have to pay the full price I will be a bit more selective when choosing patterns and not just because I like the look of it on the model and finish up with patterns I will be unlikely to use.
Stash extension 2024- 6.1 meters
Left at the end of 2023 - 66 meters now (includes fabric found hidden out of sight)  Lining fabric not included

Tamnymore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2019, 10:44:47 AM »
I know I've mentioned this before but if you join Club BMV on the US  site (for $9.99 pa) and you buy 3 Vogue patterns at a time in one of their frequent sales with the reduction for club membership and including postage it works out at about £8.50 per pattern. You don't pay tax as you are under the £15 limit. The parcel takes about 10 days to arrive. I know this won't suit everyone as you don't always want 3 patterns and it is a bit more expensive than it used to be as the pound has dropped in value but I have bought loads this way. With postage costs it isn't so cost effective for Butterick and McCall.
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Tamnymore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2019, 14:27:14 PM »
Not to put you off, Fran, but I think it's not quite so cost effective with MCalls and Buttericks. In one of their sales McCalls are $3.99 which would be $3.20 for BMV members. So if you buy 3 and pay $15 for postage that makes it about £19 for 3 patterns in total if I have done my sums correctly (not factoring in the BMV member cost but that soon pays for itself over a year if you are buying regularly). Hmm it is still a fair bit cheaper than full price UK though. Definitely worth thinking about if you buy patterns regularly.
Apart from a hiccup last autumn when they changed systems and were a little bit slower I've always found them to arrive reliably in 10 days. In fact I can see a little parcel waiting to leave Chicago for me now!  :D
The one thing to be aware of is customs charges. Keep your patterns cost below £15 and you should not be charged tax. The only time I've ever paid tax was the first time I cheerfully loaded up my shopping basket with well over £15 worth before I understood the system. After that I stuck to the limit and it was fine.
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

crafter

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2019, 15:03:58 PM »
Well I am going to stand up for Sew Today.  I love it and only last night was browsing through back copies.

sewmuchmore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2019, 17:11:40 PM »
When the website changed they lost all my details so had to start again. Signed up for the newsletter and got a discount code. Never had a newsletter but I have used the discount code quite a few times, even on sale patterns. BUT please don't tell on me as I am sure the code was only ever meant to be used once, it's not my fault it keeps getting accepted.  :)
It's not easy being this perfekt

Janet

Tamnymore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2019, 17:28:36 PM »
@Francesca go for it then! But do wait for a sale- these turn up very frequently. They usually have one a week or so after the new pattern release.
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Tamnymore

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2019, 16:52:46 PM »
Although this doesn't seem quite the right place given that I originally compared buying Vogue patterns from the US website to buying them from Sew Direct I'll report back here. I've now received my order of 3 new Vogue patterns from the USA. I have to say that they are taking somewhat longer to arrive than they used to. This order took 21 days and the order before that took 20 days. They used to arrive in 10 days. I can only assume they are using a different shipping method. They are still much cheaper than the UK price and the patterns will take some time yet to appear on the Sew Direct site. Still a good buy. Just have to find a bit of time to use them!
'One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.' Oscar Wilde

Greybird

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2019, 14:08:40 PM »
I haven't got my letter any more either but I thought that they were reducing the frequency but keeping the price the same? After the dreadful deterioration of the website, it was the last straw for me and   cancelled my subscription.

Greybird

Re: Sew Today reduces frequency of publication
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2019, 14:51:32 PM »
Oh well at least that compensates to some extent.