4WD Magazines

Submitted: Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
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Anyone got any advice on which 4WD publication is a good one to subscribe to? My 4wd Monthly subscription is almost up and to bve honest I am sick of their "bumperiIssue"claims that are based on an ever increasing advertisement content. I'm looking for an alternate subscription - my better half will only allow one - so its an important decision. Any advice appreciated. Moggs
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Reply By: wazza - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Might be a personal preference thing, but I bought Decembers 4x4 Australia and Australian 4wd Monthly and I think 4wd Monthly is by far better presented and laid out. Seems to take a lot longer to read as well. Maybe I am procrastinating over all those ads and wondering where the hell am I going to get the $$ for all this ...... anyway, sent the subscription form to mum and that will be my xmas present this year.

Wazza.
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Follow Up By: Moggs - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
I know what you mean about the $$$. My wife currenty gives me enough time to read the articles then removes the 4wd Monthly from the coffee table before I get a chance to tell her how much I need (read: must have instead of eating this week) something that catches my attention in the ads. I agree - choice is a personal issue - just interested if anyone has a decent view on why they would subscribe to any mag. Moggs
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Reply By: Savvas - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Moggs ... Personal preference really.

I don't subscribe to any, prefering to have a quick browse at the newsagents and then if there is an article that interests me, I'll buy it. 4x4 mag and Bushdriver are both good and 4wd monthly is ok.

Overlander I find to be tedious sometime, especially when you finish reading an article that didn't go anywhere and drew no conclusions. Admittedly I haven't bought an Overlander in a long time and it may well have improved since.

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Reply By: rodeoowner - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Yep agree... personal preference. I have just started my subscription to 4WD Monthly and reckon I'll subscribe to 4x4 Aus as well. I find that 4WD Monthly is more hard core 4wdriving whereas 4x4 is more touring etc. Overlander isn't real flash at all in my opinion. I haven't seen a copy of Bushdriver for ages, thought thay must have shut up shop.
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Reply By: OziExplorer - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
I look at them in the newsagents and buy which one I think is the best for the month. Sometimes I ended up buying none.
4WD Monthly I think is absolute garbage, with their so called articles being paid advertorials, which border on fraud.
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Reply By: Truckster - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Totally honest?

None are worth subscribing to.

You buy the issue in the newsagents that interests you ... Thats my opinion..

Bumper Issues, BIGGEST EVER, 4WDOTY etc, all crap and more and more ads V useful information....
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Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Truckster, you are 100% correct.

Trouble is with garbage like 4WD Monthly, their supposedly useful information is paid for advertorials and are basically fraud as they are not factual or the truth. Hiclones, truth and 4WD Monthly in one sentence is an oxymoron.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
God I love this thread, sounds like the internet (ExplorOz anyway) is really competiting with those mags, which I always knew we could.

In fact, our stats report more user sessions per month, than buyers of mags, so I'm surprised that the advertisers haven't caught on to that yet and done the big swing - probably because we have NO salesforce at all!! and they have a full team of the smickest salespeople to do the pushing.

The mags only make their money out of advertisers so no advertisers = no mag. It's not entirely the same equation for ExplorOz, because we run the Adventure Shop and the Membership Program and we have deep pockets.

We do want the advertisers money, but at the same time we want the advertising to be something you would find interesting to read. That's why we've been trialling various feature campagins etc to find what works. One thing the internet has over the mags is that our content builds up every day, rather than a mag being totally republished each month, so there's simply more on ExplorOz than in a mag. But I can always do with more content being supplied - eg. more trek notes.

So I'm all for it if you stop buying mags :-) grin

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Follow Up By: Savvas - Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
I find this forum much more useful than many mags. If I do buy a mag, it will be because an article interests me and I want to put it away. Usually it will be a specific travel article or trek notes. After reading the mag, I'll cut out what I want put in a binder and put the rest of the mag in the recycling bin.

You can usually get most of the info you need right here.

Now I'm feeling guilty that I haven't become a member. I'll do that very soon.
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Follow Up By: Derek - Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 at 01:00

Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 at 01:00
Michelle. I totally agree with your comments. I have never put much faith in what I've read in 4x4 magazines as they are 'advertiser driven'. I'm waiting for the day when I read an article which actually condemns a vehicle or product. I prefer Exploroz as I place more trust in the personal comments made by its contributors. I don't always agree with their opinions but that's what free speech is all about and it's refreshing to get honest first hand opinions.
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Follow Up By: Old Soldier - Tuesday, Dec 17, 2002 at 01:00

Tuesday, Dec 17, 2002 at 01:00
G'day Michelle,

I'm for Exploroz, and like a few of the other posters, only buy the very occasional 4WD mag if there is an article of some interest to me.

Most of them are self opinionated rubbish, and major "advertorials".

I believe the info found on this site is far better for serious 4wd trip planning than anything you can find in the mags, and I believe that [with some exceptions] the level of intelligent comment found on this forum far outweighs all the other Australian 4wd online forums put together.

Keep up the good work, and have a Merry Christmas.

Dennis N
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Follow Up By: Patski - Friday, Dec 20, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 20, 2002 at 01:00
Michelle,

It's interesting to note that despite your negativity towards buying magazines, you opt to take out full-page colour advertisements in Australian 4WD Monthly. Which just goes to prove that you need magazines advertise your website. Without magazines, you could be doing a fabulous job and no-one would know about it.
And another innacuracy: "The mags only make their money out of advertisers, so no advertisers = no mag." Do you honestly think that at $7.99 per copy, magazines make no money out of copy sales? Not likely.
And as for "smickest salespeople" on magazines - aren't you a former advertising rep?
I think the bottom line here is that both magazines and websites have their place in the market. Bagging either medium does nothing for the future growth of the Australian 4WD industry - which is what you should be concerned about.
Keep the shiny side up!
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Follow Up By: Michelle Jacka - Friday, Dec 20, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 20, 2002 at 01:00
I don't mind being challenged, however you've got a few things incorrect - firstly, you state "Without magazines, you could be doing a fabulous job and no-one would know about it", what about all the search engines, the word of mouth, the trade show advertising, the flyers in 5000 desert parks passes per year etc. Not just all our readership comes from magazine adverting, in fact the real reason I choose to advertise in the magazines is to demonstrate to the equipment manufacturers and other "prospects" that we are serious about our business. It also helps the small operators who list on ExplorOz but can't afford to advertise in mags, by us advertsing then they indirectly get to advertise to magazine readers. It is a fact that the majority of equipment manufacturers still prefer the traditional print medium so if I can't beat them, I'll join them to prove my point

Re: cost of mags - its not just all profit. I know from talking to my sales rep that they have to produce a certain number of pages in each issue to cover publication costs.

And no, I've never been an advertising sales rep - I was an Ad Production Manager, which means I ran a Pre-Press department where graphic artists composed the layout of the advertisements. Our "sales" our done online, with a few followup done by me and David. I just don't have a sales force, but wish I did!!
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Reply By: rojac - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
baised crap paid for by the advertisers. promote a product whether its good or bad based on the $$$ that they get for advertising that product.
nowdays i dont bother buying 4x4mags as i find most of the info i need on the net, might be time consuming but better than paying towards some trinket some editor might get for promoting some trashy product.
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Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Rojac the largest visible demise of mags since the Internet popularity has increasded has been in computer magazines.
ZD used to have at least four more magazines than they currently have and the ones they do are struggling. As for Australian magazones, I have no idea, I have not bought one for so long.
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Reply By: Steve - Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00

Thursday, Dec 12, 2002 at 01:00
Moggs: IMHO none are worth my dough... they are all a bunch of Johnny Laws.. paid to write what is required ...cash for comment .. even the Dinky Di's have been sucked in ... not the least by Land Rovers and their 'products' ...

That's not to say that their ads are all bad, but a quick visit to the local library ( or Newso) will give you that quick fix !!


Don't forget you only have to ask OZIEXPLORER for the only answer !!

Cheers ...Steve
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Reply By: Goran - Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
All 4WD magazines currently available can't mach quality of information on this forum. Some other forums come pretty close as well, but magazines....no way. I read 4WD MONTHLY mainly because of the articles about the custom trucks and alike. They value true off road capability of the vehicle and i find them spot on when it comes to new vehicle reports. Ovelander may as well be marketing brochure , not the magazine. 4x4 Australia is centered around touring rigs and such.
Mind you that article in 4WD monthly about Hiclones is pure crap.
No magazine can replace direct help and detailed assistance on this forum.
Thank you all for being here. :-)
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Reply By: Member - Bob - Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
I often buy all the mags and read the articles about the vehicles for a good laugh. They are so predictable, and the so-called comparos are weighted by the number of pages of advertising for the given vehicle. Let's face it you aren't going to bag Toyota if you are running eight full pages of advertising paid for by them. If you want more reliable comparos you would go to the motorist association mags- like the recent RACV/NRMA analysis. However, having said that, I find travel articles very entertaining, and sometimes useful for trip planning. There seem to fewer of these lately. They have been replaced by 'the 100 things you really must buy' type of article (more advertising revenue). So I buy the mags (they are tax-deductible) but I am very cynical about their content.
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Follow Up By: Truckster - Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
can I have them when your finished? :)
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Reply By: StephenF - Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00

Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
I agree with Goran. Forums like this beat the magazines hands down. You get the benefit of the experience of people who have actually "been there and one that".

A couple of years ago I made the decision to retire next year (2003) and decided that we (wife and I) would buy a 4WD to do some touring and towing and exploring. Having been out of the 4WD scene for 25 years I started buying all the magazines to get up to speed on what was available and what would be suitable for us. They were useful at first, but after a while I found that I was learning nothing new so I dropped them and now get most of my info from places like this.

Stephen.
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Follow Up By: Exploroz Team - Michelle - Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 at 01:00

Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 at 01:00
I would certainly agree that the mags do serve a purpose, such as you have described. To initially get up to speed with whats available, new concepts and the major brand names, the magazines are wonderful.

However in terms of reading an unbiased product review, you can't believe what you read that has been published based on payment. Forums have totally replaced that in terms of asking for opinions, but again the range of response will be biased but of a different type (based on personal usage/ownership of the reporter). What you need to look for in responses, is a trend across a wide cross-section of product users. With a forum, such as this one, where readership is widespread across the country and also with input from international users, you are more certain of an accurate majority opinion (and you'll even get the minorities just to balance out both sides of the argument, if there is one).
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