Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-12
Hecht & Company,
sI2-sIs Seventh Street
THE MAGAZINE FIELD.
Wonderful Changes Which Have
Taken Place Within Five Years.

Taken Place Within Five Years.
A Star reporter, in company with dealer
in periodicals and magazines, stood near
the stationery counter of one of our large
department stores yesterday.
A lady had purchased a popular maya
zne handing the clerk a 1O-cent piece and
receiving . cents in change.
THAT magazine said the dealer, was
sold for precisely cost prica, and, there
fore, there was no profit in the sale. These
stores, however, do not calculate upon max
ing profits on such sales, and sell under
the retail price to attract customers within
their doors.
1.-The change in the field of magazines
within the last five years has been most re-
markable. Old favorites have been dis
placed by new. Prices have been lowered,
and but one magazine devoted to popular
reading maintains its original price of 80
cents. One of the Oldest magazines was re-
Gently cut to p cents. Several former %
cent magazines have been down to 10 cents
for some time. The scientific and deep
thought magazines, still keep up to their
old figures. Their circulation. however, is
so limited that they cannot be considered
factors in the matter. Ten cents Is the pop
ular price, and several magazines at a
nickel sell well.
Zone of the interesting phases of this
question to the dealers and the reading pub
lie is the invasion of this country by the
English magazine selling at 10 cents. We
all recall the invasion of Great Britain by
the American magazine some years ago, it's
success, and the cutlery 1t occasioned
abroad. l have not observed any special
comment on the turn of the tables. These
magazines are called reprints and are, in
fact with cer.ain notifications reprints of
their prototypes some with different covers,
others identical all through. There are five
of these magazines of the first class-quite
tt \, r,,1
close rivals to their American cousins.
THE magazine reading public is very
tickle. One month a certain magazine will
sell big. The next month it is of another
kind, the first dropping off heavily. Soma
magazines sell well when a popular serial
is running and then fall off upon its con-
clusion We never know how the cat is go
ing to jump, and often find ourselves short
or stuck as the case may be, as the public
fancy has that month willed. Two or three
of the popular 1O-cent magazines have
monthly a great sale, yet even these will
occasionally drop off, only to pick up again.
The question of knowing how many to or
der ahead is the worry of our lives.
The magazines ara returnable, but at a
loss that is. If We pay cents apiece for
one, wholesale, We may turn 1t back If I'M
sold at Z cents. Since We make but cents
on each magazine, If we are Stuck on
many our entire profits may be wiped out.
On these 'returnabies' we try not to order
more than we need, yet to have enough to
meet the demand and not to lose sale.
One Of the popular monthlies with large
circulation is not returnable. 1t used to be,
but the publishers changed the rule. We
pay cents and sell it for TO- If we have
even one copy unsold we lose the profits
on four sales SO. instead of ordering 100
copies as formerly we order but twenty
five. which we are sure to sell, and often
could sell sixty or seventy, but the loss of
profit on unsold copies is so great that we
are afraid to handle it freely. The same
principle applies to all other periodicals. be-
cause our business, Of all businesses, is es-
sentially of small. very small, profits-the
pennies.
What have said about magazines holds
good as to the big weekly illustrated papers
which sell for 10 cents. Their circulation
has dropped off immensely. The war with
Spain and the present trouble in the Trans
vaal, however, has pulled them up. One
reason for this lapse in circulation is, I
think, that people found that they could
get so much more reading and Illustrated
matter in the 10-cent magazines that they
did not care to pay the same price for the
weekles."