Horse and Hound magazine - where's it gone??

[tootsietoo]

For about three weeks now I haven't been able to find H&H very easily. Usually I will pick it up when I'm out and about on Thursday or Friday, so I would normally pop in to the farm shop, the co-op in the next village, the garage or the small Tesco in the nearest town. Just recently it hasn't been in any of those places and I've had to make a special trip to the big Sainsburys to find it. Several of those places have told me that their news supplier has stopped sending it and they don't know why (especially as all the small places are surrounded by horsey people!).

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a nationwide thing I wonder - is the publisher trying to get us all to subscribe online?

 

[Polar Bear9]

I work in a small shop and we don't stock it any more. We only put out what we get from the magazine people. If you buy it every week why not subscribe and get it delivered?

 

[stormox]

I cant get it any more either, unless I drive to a big newsagents

 

[WelshD]

I haven't been able to easily find it this last month either. I thought that was just one of those things, perhaps not!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Not been in our local papershop for around 6 weeks now and they will only get in to advance order from regular customers.

Mind you, was in main town last week on Friday & WHSmith had none on the shelf, on asking they said they only have a dozen or so copies & all are sold on the Thursday.

I only buy it on random occasions (gone are the days of dashing to the papershop on a Friday morning around 6am for my copy, thats in the old days when it came out on the Friday - and had something worth reading every week in it)

 

[whizzer]

I got tired of trawling around looking for it so a few years ago went back to subscribing, think it's cheaper as well subscribing as well as saving me time & petrol!

 

[LittleRooketRider]

Can't even find it in sainsbury's or smiths!

 

[Bede]

I subscribe- mine didn't arrive today

 

[Honey08]

I don't want it every week, so don't want to subscribe. It used to be in all the local shops, motorway services and supermarkets. Now it's not been in local shops for over six months, is no longer at the motorway services I use (and I use several) and is only in one supermarket. It's hopeless.

I think they just want subscribers or online subscribers. They don't seem interested in the occasional shopper ( I probably buy an average of one a month over a year, mainly for previews/reviews of big events). It seems silly though, even only buying one a month still means I was spending £150 a year on it, now I'm not..

 

[cobgoblin]

I don't buy it very often now, I find it's become rather boring. Did look for it in tescos last week though - not there!
I can't see how they will increase their subscription numbers if nobody can buy the flippin thing.

 

[frostyfingers]

I subscribe and have done for years but from now until just after Christmas delivery is very erratic. Quite often it doesn't come until Friday, occasionally Saturday and it's really annoying. I've phoned and complained and H&H blame the deliverers, the deliverers blame H&H. The attitude is a tad complacent and if they're not stocking it in the bigger places then they have no hope of selling it......maybe that's the point though!

 

[tootsietoo]

So it isn't just me then.

I prefer to buy it - I have found that subscription magazines are sometimes late and I hate seeing it in the shop and not having it myself! If it's not in the shops though then I guess subscription is the only option. I probably would subscribe online. Maybe I will give it a go, see how I like it. I think it might be a deliberate strategy to encourage subscriptions.

 

[horsebenny]

I posted about this a while ago - yep I have terrible trouble getting it. I wonder if it's part of a strategy to drive more of us to take it digitally? Won't work with me...I actually bought an alternative monthly equestrian magazine instead and was pleasantly surprised so probably won't bother trying to get H&H anymore...