I just subscribed to Country Home. Not even a month ago.....

I wonder why they couldn't be guilty of fraud?

Janie

Ginny - if you used a credit card, call their customer service. In the case of a bankrupcy, they will usually reverse a charge!!

Nancy.

I suspect we will be seeing lots of print media, including newspapers doing bankrupt or shutting down.

Sad and scary times.

Most magazines which have "gone under" will offer a subscription to another magazine. If it is not one you like you may be able to ask for, and get, a refund. I've heard some people have done this.

Just a sign of the times but I wonder if shelter mags will ever become as they were or are a thing of the past. Sad.

My Country Home mag. was up for renewal too but luckily for me I saw on a another site that it was ending. This is the fourth magazine of mine to go belly up in three months. Another magazine that went under sent me Martha Stewart Living, which I hated. I wrote them a letter and Thursday they wrote telling me a refund was on the way. That's the same day I received the refund from Launchcast radio, a subscription service on the internet. Now the only subscriptions I have are TV Guide and Better Homes and Garden. I'm saving lots of money just in time for my DH to take a major cut in hours on his job Monday. With forty percent less money I won't be decorating any time soon anyway.

While I do love to sit and look at a magazine in my leisure time I have found there is so much out here on the internet that it is making magazines and newspapers outdated - kinda a sign of the times we live in both economically and tech wise. I can literally spend the entire evening going from one garden blog to another looking at pictures and reading stories. I have several bookmarked that I really enjoy. The same with decorating sites especially shabby chic decorating which seems to go hand in hand with cottage gardening. ......

Lynne

I did pay by credit card--and after they had evidently announced they were ending the magazine. But that must have been a pretty secret announcement as they were still sending me renewals. Not a word yet on any substitute magazine, tho I have never been happy with these in the past.

The company is Better Homes and Gardens. You would think they would be more trustworthy.

My Country Home letter said my subscription would be replaced with Family Circle. Not sure if it's the same for everyone. Since it's a BH&G magazine, you may be able to look up your account on their website (bhg.com) & cancel a subscription you don't want.

There was a piece of paper that was on the front of the magazine that was wrapped in plastic. It said my remaining supscription would be transferred to Better Homes and Gardens ( which I don't like). I too am sad to see this magazine stop printing ! Sounds like more and more magazines are folding these days, even the websites cease to exist ! Sigh...

I got nofication too that my remaining subscription would be transferred over to Better Homes and Gardens magazine as well. It was in an envelope inside the plastic.
I too will miss this magazine. I hope 'Country Living' doesn't go out of business too. I also love that one.

Mindy

I got a magazine, and a notice inside the plastic wrapper that informed me that I would be getting Family Circle from now on. I don't want Family Circle. I need to see if I can contact them. Grrrrr.

Janie

I didn't notice anything inside the plastic wrapper but maybe I missed it...maybe. Guess I'll wait to be surprised. Still can't believe they were sending renewal reminders AFTER they had announced to the business world they were out of business. One more sign of these times, I guess.

Be proactive. !!!!
Nancy.

This is probably just the beginning. There will be a lot more mags and papers going under. I was looking at a report of the print ad statistics for many magazines. I don't want to name those here, but many have lost 30-40% of their advertisers in 2008 over 2007. The stats were run before this latest economic crisis, so I believe the damage is much worse.

On the other hand, I'm getting a lot of freelance contract options right now because they are laying off their staff. Freelance writers don't get offices, equipment, insurance, retirement, etc. We get paid on a contract basis. Much cheaper for publications and online media.

Several of my favorite mags have folded. i have tuned in to blogs to make up for it, but it is just not the same. I have even noticed my professional journals are really "skinny" with fewer ads and less content.

Its not just magazines, the newspapers are practically going under too. We used to have a nice paper (Ft.Worth Star-Telegram) and it had regular garden articles and reminders about things to do with your lawn or vegetables, etc. Since our growing conditions and soil are pretty lousy it was nice to hear of plants that would be successful in our area. Now, it has been bought out and is just a few pages of drivel....Is there a listing somewhere of good garden websites to read/links etc.? I try to put things on my favorites tab if they look interesting but I'm sure I'm missing some sites that are good and I just haven't found them.

I purged my magazine subs a couple of years ago, including BH&G which I'd had for a decade or more. Then I get a mass email w/an offer hard to resist and I took the bait. I re-upped w/BH&G - short $$ and I really do miss the reading/pretty pics.

Anyway, just a week ago while looking at the website, I noticed subscription hype for "Country Living" - the one that is going down. As all have reported here, CL is defunct, but they're still soliticing subscriptions (I followed the click and it would have taken my info and $$). That is just so not right.

Oops, did I make a boo-boo? I think the "Country xxxxx" magazine I referenced is the same under discussion here - I may well have goofed on the title. Sorry if I did.

Wonder how Victoria is doing? I just got the March/April issue a couple of weeks ago and had renewed my subscription in December.

I got both Country Home--the one we are talking about here--and Country Living, which is another publisher and still in business--I hope! They appealed to the same audience and have been very successful. They were also competitors and I thought Country Home was doing better, judging by the number of ads it had. But they got their plug pulled first.

Can't help but wonder how the no advert, subs $ only mags are doing. I have back issues of Garden Gate and a couple of the Reiman (now Readers Digest acquisitions)garden/yard types, but no active subscriptions at this time.

Just yesterday I got a note with my Backyard Living magazine saying that this was the last month they would publish, but were substituting the remainder of my subscription to Birds & Blooms. Like someone already said, I don't think I will be subscribing to any more magazines. Birds & Blooms is ok I guess, but it's not one I would've chosen.
Vicki

Another Country Home subscriber here. I've been notified I'll be getting BHG. Not my first choice but I only have a few months left. Aw well.

I got Country Living for many years and then it turned into a white slipcover, minimalist, not so country deco mag (to my eye anyway). So I switched to Country Home. They've pretty much gone the same way so I won't miss it too much.

I spend a lot of time on the internet but I still like to look through real magazines while I'm curled up in my chair or sitting on the deck. I'll have to happy with National Geo, Living Bird and Audubon I guess.

Wow, I came on here just in time, I too just ordered the Counrty Home Magizine from my great nephews school. Oh well, I'll have to wait and see what they give me.

Another Country Home unsubscriber here. I got the last issue and will now be getting Family Circle.

I wasn't happy when I got my March 2009 issue (in Feb) and found out that Country Homes was discontinued and I would be getting Better Homes & Gardens. Here it is June and I haven't seen any issues of BHG. I e-mailed them- they couldn't answer my e-mail (?) so I called them today (6/15). I was told I would get my first issue in OCTOBER! That is 7 months after my last issue of Country Home. Their "customer service" rep told it is was because they didn't have enough magazines yet for all the Country Home subscribers. And then she told me they were extending my subcription until 10/10- two months after my Country Homes subcription would have expired. How is that extending my subcription when you give me 2 extra months but I have to wait 7 months to get the 1st issue. I told them NO THANKS-even though it wasn't a big amount of money I told them send it back and keep your magazine,

It's strange that they didn't have enough magazines for the 'substitutions'. They surely knew how many County Homes subscribers there were and how many to magazines to print out!
I have been getting my Family Circle substitution for some time now. I won't be renewing it, as it's just not what I wanted. I have thought about subscribing to more magazines, but have held off because of the fear of not getting what I paid for. The only subscription I now have (besides FC sub), is Traditional Home, and I worry about it, too. They send me emails to 'renew' my subscription and send money - but I've 'renewed' my subscription so many times I'm paid up three years in advance!
Now when I want to subscribe to a magazine, I buy a book instead.

I am sorry to hear about Country Living.

My favorite - Cottage Living - went out of business too. I saved the old magazines (such a pack rat) and leaf through them.

The internet has good information but nothing like curling up with a cup of coffee and a stack of magazines. Plus-I can chase my husband around the house with a magazine sayng look at this! we can do this! in one weekend! Can't do that with a computer.....

As the OP, here's what happened to me. During our discussion this winter, i emailed Country Home and complained about them soliciting my subscription when they had already decided to close.

I told them the only magazine I could use was Traditional Home. I got an email back from them saying they would send that magazine--and they have. But I am getting notices to renew when it is many months before my subscription runs out.

I won't renew til I'm sure they are in business. But I too love magazines. You can carry them anywhere and rip out great photos and articles. The computer is great but print fills a valuable place.