Magazine Back Issues

As a major collector for many years I have become wiser in terms of where I can get magazine back issues - and not least: Get the magazine at the right price. Depending on what you collect, you can find magazines in different places. If you are sensible and collect everything that is published, one can obtain copies almost anywhere. The supermarket, used-store, family, via newspaper, Internet, friends and enemies. The list could be considerably longer. Of course, the limitations are greater the less the area of collection you have. If you collect Playboy magazines, you can hardly find anything from your grandmother. On the other hand, your grandmother might have Life Magazine Back Issues from the "good old days".

What you can get - and where, depends largely on what you are willing to pay. The more you are willing to give for a magazine, the more opportunities there are - of course. Are you too cheap you will not get your hands on hard-to-find magazine back issues unless you are very lucky. In other words: Do not be stingy - you will surely regret it later. For my own part, I have virtually never regretted the purchase I have done, but I may be annoyed by the magazine back issues I have decided not to buy!

Then of course the question: What is the correct price? This is individual, but both Amazon
and eBay have reasonable prices. eBay is much better at separating rare publications, etc., so maybe the prices are the best with them. I would definitely recommend Amazon for collectors. Remember that others are not going to decide what price you are willing to pay. Do not get hung up in a price that is set at $20 when it is the last hard-to-get issue you are missing - either pay the $40 that is required and get the magazine out of the world. And then the opposite: Do not listen to your friend when he says that he would pay two thousand dollars for a 3/1/1941 Saturday Evening Post Magazine Back Issue.

Now, back to where you can find back issues of magazines. Everyone knows that we can buy new magazines at supermarkets and the like, but not all magazines are sold here. Sometimes we go to our local newspaper retail location or similar places that have a wide and good selection. In smaller towns, we do not get all the magazines that are released, not even from the major publishers. In particular, new editions and re-releases go only to selected department stores and kiosks. You can usually order directly from the magazine's publisher, but be quick as even fairly new magazines will be sold out from time to time.

Now over to what is difficult to obtain: Magazines that have gone out of print and no longer is in sale. Most magazines from the last 10-20 years, depending on the type, is possible to obtain at a used store, an antique shop or similar. Most magazine back issues are priced at about half of what similar or the same magazine costs new today. But, and it is a big but, many magazines are highly sought after and priced accordingly. In any case, you can usually get magazines from this time period for any given price. It is significantly worse with the magazines that are older than this, and mostly it will be even worse for every year we go back.

Magazine back issues from before 1975 are both expensive and generally difficult to obtain. Moreover, they are often in a very poor quality. These magazines you mostly buy through specialist shops or from collectors, usually via the Internet - something that has become more and more common. You may also be lucky enough to get hold of older magazines from family or friends. An ad in the local newspaper may also pay off. Here you can get the magazines you collect at a much lower price than you would pay at the expensive antique shops. Often you get additional magazines that you do not collect that can finance the purchase in whole or in part. It is also much more exciting to be able to buy back issues of magazines without knowing exactly what you get in the bargain, especially for those of us who collect everything.

I would recommend eBay's auction pages. Here you can often find a good selection of magazines. You can also sell magazines here, and mostly at good prices. The pages are completely free to use. I use the site extensively and are generally very satisfied. It is not meant to "white paint" the whole thing, but basically the website is working well. The only drawback is the few dishonest people who use the site. These people you may have to look out for! Refer to the feedback to see if they have been "good boys or girls."

Remember that there probably are other collectors who may have an extra edition of the magazine you are looking for. Therefore, you must get in touch with other collectors, large and small. Other collectors may have a completely different collecting area than yourself, so it can be profitable, both financially and for your collection.

Finally: Be proud that you collect old magazines. Tell everyone you know, family and colleagues at work or school. Then the chances are much greater that you get the magazine back issues without having to pay too much for them.