How can Elle cost £5.99?

[Iamthewombat]

£5.99 for this month’s Elle magazine! How? They can’t be expecting to sell many copies for that price, surely?

I haven’t bought Elle in years. I sometimes buy Vogue when it is on special offer for £3. I must be out of touch with the terrifying cost of fashion magazines.

They are full of adverts and ‘partnership content’ (ie sponsored by advertisers) anyway. Actually I can’t say for sure with this month’s Elle because it was sealed in a plastic bag with a tiny tube of Elemis moisturiser allegedly worth £15 or something.

Does anyone think that £5.99 is worth it?

Haven’t read the answers but have you tried Readly, OP? It’s an online subscription app you can use on your phone/tablet/desktop (not good if you’re trying to get downtime).

They have six weeks free unlimited reading of popular magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, etc if you’re a new subscriber (or haven’t used the app in ages and they want you to come back ) otherwise it’s £7.99. There’s no limit on how many magazines you can read either so it really is good value if you enjoy reading magazines! It’s also available to read offline if you’re somewhere with no internet connection.

I miss magazines & went to look for one in the shop but couldn't find a fashion one except Vogue which I didn't want.

I like Hello Fashion and it only costs £1.

I like this but find it hard to find.

@rarat

I like Hello Fashion and it only costs £1.

I like this but find it hard to find.

Tesco usually have it.

Thanks

@JaneJeffer

If you're a library member you can read it for free on RB Digital.

Thanks so much @JaneJeffer, I've just tried this with my library account and there's so much free access to loads of magazines!

You're welcome @SophieGiroux. I'm in Ireland and they have notified me they're changing to Libby shortly. I'm not sure if that also applies to U.K. but just in case it disappears on you!

I used to love Glamour, Red, Grazia, Marie Clare, Tatler etc. but they crumbled under the weight of Pinterest and Instagram and all the thousands of fashion blogs that sprung up about ten years ago.

There's just no point buying them now but I still fo occasionally.

This month's Red for example is choc full of adverts, bad fashion and 'how to fix yourself' articles. I feel as if nobody has anything new or interesting to offer. Ive seen it all a million times before.

It was about £4, last time I bought it, 20 years or so ago.

I stopped buying fashion/women’s mags years ago. I like to flick through them, but the cost became ridiculous. Then last year, I discovered the app Readly. I love it. For £7.99 per month, I can read (flick through) all of them, plus loads of other mags on most/all subjects and Newspapers too! It can also be shared with family members, so they can save and enjoy their own favourites.

Slightly off topic, I bought a Gardener's World last week (for the 'free' seeds) and must admit I baulked at the price but to be fair it was packed with really useful content. Yes there were adverts (mainly aimed at those who are retired) however they didn't seem to overpower the magazine the way they do in fashion magazines

They're all shit with recycled articles - look out for the beach ready/tanning articles coming soon!

I get Pressreader free with my library card. Thousands of worldwide magazines and newspapers. It's fantastic!

I honestly don't know how most magazines are still going. They must have deep pockets.

I used to live the articles in Vogue but since the new editor started it has become political and woke as fuck. Awful.

@JaneJeffer

You're welcome *@SophieGiroux*. I'm in Ireland and they have notified me they're changing to Libby shortly. I'm not sure if that also applies to U.K. but just in case it disappears on you!

@JaneJeffer Yes it did automatically change to Libby after I googled RB but seems to work the same. Reading Glamour now, haven't read it for years! Always liked the September issue with discount vouchers for all the high street stores and would go out and buy my A/W wardrobe with them. Happy days 

@SardineJam
I read Gardeners World through my Libby app from the library, they also have Amateur Gardening which is a good mag with lots of tips.
Under the fashion category I can see Vanity Fair, British Vogue, Fashion Details, Harpers Bizarre, Glamour, Tatler, Elle...
I miss picking up a magazine and flicking through, but they are dear to buy, I looked at buying via subscription to reduce the cost but didn't want to be tied in.

I miss the magazines because I don't like instagram or bloggers any more. Does anyone else find a trend tends to get so overused before it has the chance to translate into real life that it kills it? I'm already sick of oversized collars but I've not seen one in the wild.

I also don't even know where to shop anymore since losing so many high street brands. Well I do, Matches & NAP but obviously ££££ but I've no interest in New Look, PLT, Boohoo, In the style etc.

As others have said if you have access to Overdrive/ Libby or RB Digital and /or Press Reader free through your library you can read for free.

Librarian here! As mentioned up thread RBdigital has loads of free magazines but it has been bought by Overdrive (their app is called Libby) and a ton of services have this, so check out your local service to see.

PressReader is one to look out for too. Someone mentioned they pay for it but if your library has it then it is free.

There’s no limit to the numbers of magazines you can have, no fines, no fees and the issues count for our statistics too

I take up the odd subscription offer to knitting or sewing magazines, then cancel before the full price kicks in, which is £8-10. This is particularly good value with the sewing magazine as you get two or three paper patterns, the equivalent of which would cost far more than the magazine.

It's a long time since I bought a fashion magazine, but I loved them a couple of decades ago and can see the appeal of holding the physical paper magazine in your hand over the digital version. I do have the odd browse through digital magazines, but I still find myself getting pissed off at the number of ads, even though the magazine is free!

I loved magazines when I was a kid because I was naive and living in the most boring town in England. My first proper job was in the magazine industry and it took me ten months to get out having become totally disillusioned. I haven't bought a women's magazine since.

I will definitely check out the digital mags but the magazines themselves eg content are different now imo plus I miss the physical side.

Another vote for Readly! All magazines on my phone for £7.99!

@PermanentTemporary

I loved magazines when I was a kid because I was naive and living in the most boring town in England. My first proper job was in the magazine industry and it took me ten months to get out having become totally disillusioned. I haven't bought a women's magazine since.

You should do an AMA thread!

You get two magazines Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.

I love and have kept copies of my older ("vintage") fashion magazines and used to buy them even as a poor student. These days they just put my teeth on edge - all content is sponsored or just garbage.

I wonder whether they (& the journos) will survive if everyone subscribes for 100 mags for a pound or whatever, though.

The real problem is instagram/blogging and that no-one is prepared to pay for quality high fashion articles and print (and the bigwigs of the publishing world know it). Same as quality fashion itself, a dying breed. We have art/culture magazines where I live that publish quality and have somehow survived but it's not the same.

I got that edition! I sometimes get a mag (then wonder why!!). None of them speak to 'me'. If they did they would only sell 1 copy!

As a youngster, after my paper round I would buy Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. I especially loved when Vogue did their beauty magazines. I think I am now more of a Good Housekeeping or Woman and Home type now (the recipes!).