Every month we have one or two people come into our office on a Wednesday looking for an early copy of the newspaper. Unfortunately it is always a wasted trip because we will not give or sell the paper before publication date, Thursday.
This can be frustrating for folks because they know we do have copies available. The paper is
inserted into the mail system Tuesday/Wednesday to try to ensure it gets to most subscribers by Friday. Sometimes the post office is so efficient that some subscribers do receive the paper in their mailboxes Wednesday. Then there are the retail sellers who may get their copies out early as well.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
If we know there is a chance some readers will receive the paper on Wednesday, why do we refuse to sell it out of our own office?
Some years ago we were faced with a phenomenon that was harmful to our paying subscribers. Some people would buy the paper on a Wednesday from our office, scour the classified ads and take advantage of the best deals before our subscribers had even received the paper. This is fairly serious
because some of the deals in the classifieds can be worth thousands of dollars.
So, it comes down to controlling those things we can control. We cannot control the distribution
logistics of wholesalers who deal through retailers and we cannot have significant influence on the workflow through the postal
distribution facilities. But we can refuse to sell the paper ourselves.
You’ll note that we don’t post the classified section to our website until Friday. This ensures that more than 90% of our subscribers will already have had the paper for a day. We have had complaints about that too. The fact is, we do not charge for access to the website and it is our view that those who pay our wages by sending in a subscription fee deserve the highest priority we can give.
Winners
Speaking of the web site, you might want to log on to www.producer.com and have a look at our winners list on the Free Stuff page. It has become quite long with representation from all over the world. While you are there, enter one or more of the draws. The big one is the Equipment Dealer of the Year award. You can complete a nomination online. The draw won’t be made until next February, but it’s not too early to get your nomination in. The prize is $1,000.
