ME production problems, delivery problems or Canada post?

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Either this site is out of date – ME 4574 is shown as the latest issue at the top of the page, or ME has stopped publishing, or Canada Post service has degenerated from barely 3rd world to non-existent.

Not having received any issues of ME since January 19th when I received issue 4575 my money is on Canada post being the problem. I have filed a complaint with Canada post but don't hold out much hope.
Are there any other Canadian subscribers not receiving their magazines?

Thanks,
Clive

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Canada post up to its old tricks

[Donald HillParticipant @donaldhill68830]

Still waiting for MEW, February issue in Toronto.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Yes, it seems that ME delivery is going through another slow time, although I did get one last week – I think the first one this year? (maybe one during the Xmas/New Years timeframe)

If I was really worried, I'd be going on-line for the digital edition. They'll likely show up sometime. (I hope!)

[John PurdyParticipant @johnpurdy78347]

Clive

Here in Comox my latest ME is 4576 22 Dec-5 Jan and MEW #263 Jan 18. I'm missing some too.

John Purdy

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

International subscription issues of our magazines are sent to distributor at the same as UK issues are snet to subscribers.

May I suggest you all make individual queries using the contacts HERE?

Four people reporting delays in Canada should make it clear tehre's some sort of problem.

Neil

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Thanks Neill,
There definitely seems to be delivery problems for a number of Canadian subscribers.
I will give it another few days before querying via the link you posted as I think that the problem is with Canada Post itself, not the UK distributors.
Clive

[Donald HillParticipant @donaldhill68830]

MEW 264 finally arrived in Toronto today!

Seeing that MEW 263 reached Comox, British Columbia, 2200 miles west of Toronto, on Jan 18 before arriving here on Feb 06, I suspect the problem is with Canada Post.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All, FWIW there have been a spate of long / late delivereies to Canada for our EBay items lately, up to 5 weeks for AIRMAIL. It would seem that both USPS and Canada Post arbitrarily send some item surface mail and do not tell the sender.

This leads to us refunding, then item finally arrives etc, guess how often the buyer lets us know and repays?….

Grrrrr!

Martin

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

The problem is Canada post without a doubt.

Martin 5 weeks by airmail is apparently the new standard of excellence. For example I was sent an envelope by registered priority mail from Israel on the 15th January. Tracking via the Israeli post web site showed that it was handed over to Canada Post in Toronto on the 18th of January.

Unfortunately, unlike almost every first world and most third world countries, Canada Post is unable to track foreign registered mail once it arrives in Canada so my item just disappeared into the void. YESTERDAY it eventually arrived on my doorstep more than TWO months after landing in Canada.

That sort of service is now the new Canada Post norm. I have still not received any issues of ME since issue 4575 on the 19th of January. Eventually I contacted secureorder as suggested by Neil above. They immediately offered to send out replacement issues for which I feel a bit bad as the problem is Canada Post's not theirs.

Donald, Only 80 miles east of Comox I received MEW 263 on Feb 02, only four days before you. So I guess that the first 80 miles is the slowest
and although I have yet to receive MEW 264 I am expecting it any MONTH now!

Clive

[Barry Solomon 2Participant @barrysolomon2]

I'm In Winnipeg Canada. The last subscription copy of Model Engineer that I received was 4576. There has been nothing since Christmas. A phone call and two emails to secureorder has resulted in them sending one special replacement issue.

MEW 264 just arrived – several days after it was for sale in a local bookstore. It used to be that subscription copies were received at least 2 to 4 weeks before they appeared in the store.

In the latest email from secureorder they indicate that my subscriptions have been placed on "brown envelope service" (whatever that means) to improve delivery.

My Model Boats magazines are arriving with no apparent delay.

It seems that there is a major problem getting the magazines delivered to or in Canada.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Barry Solomon 2 on 26/03/2018 20:14:22:

In the latest email from secureorder they indicate that my subscriptions have been placed on "brown envelope service" (whatever that means) to improve delivery.

Our last resort when it appears someone's magazines may have been repeatedly stolen in the post.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Barry Solomon 2 on 26/03/2018 20:14:22:

In the latest email from secureorder they indicate that my subscriptions have been placed on "brown envelope service" (whatever that means) to improve delivery.

Our last resort when it appears someone's magazines may have been repeatedly stolen in the post.

Neil

[Donald HillParticipant @donaldhill68830]

The delivery story, at Toronto, so far; MEW 264 arrived on 22 March and 266 arrived today!

No 265 yet. Disappointing!

[David Taylor 4Participant @davidtaylor4]

I live in Trail, BC.

So far this year I have received issues 4576 and 4580 all the others are AWOL. Yes it is Canada Post, an incompetent organization. Itinerant opera singers would provide a better service.

Montreal seems to be the sticking point. Mail from the US coming through Vancouver is still almost delivered when it should be.

An order from a UK supplier took 12 weeks to reach me, being sent first week of January reaching me at the end of March.

Dave Taylor

[John PurdyParticipant @johnpurdy78347]

Just for info I received MEW #466 in this AMs mail here in Comox. Still haven't seen #464 or 465! Have only received ME #s 4279 and 80 since issue 4266 in Dec. I have subscriptions to 4 other mags including ones from the US and the UK and they all arrive within a reasonable time of their issue date. I feel the problem is not with Canada Post,  but with My Time Media's Canadian distributor ( not that I have any love for Canada Post!! )

John

Edited By John Purdy on 04/04/2018 19:39:27

Edited By John Purdy on 04/04/2018 19:41:07

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

John,

I am convinced that the problem is with Canada Post. The last MEW I received was #263 on Feb 2nd. ME I received issue #4575 on Jan 19 and Engineering in Miniature from a different publisher was last received on January 3rd.

Of the nine non-magazine items mailed to me from Europe and the UK during January and February, all from different senders, only three items have arrived, two of which were sent registered priority mail.

One of the registered priority items was posted in Israel on the Jan 15th, tracking information shows that it was handed over to Canada Post in Canada on Jan 18th and it eventually arrived in my post box on March 21st over two months after arriving in Canada.

On the other hand mail from the US does eventually get here, however it is far slower than it was a few years ago, it now often takes 2 to 3 weeks. I believe that Dave Taylor is correct in that US originated mail comes in via a different sorting office to that from Europe and the UK.

This level of service is completely unacceptable yet we can't seem to do anything about it. Complaints to Canada post are literally shrugged off with "we will investigate" but nothing is actually done.

Clive

 

 

Edited By clivel on 04/04/2018 21:31:34

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by John Purdy on 04/04/2018 19:35:23:

I feel the problem is not with Canada Post, but with My Time Media's Canadian distributor ( not that I have any love for Canada Post!! )

Do they still have one? I thought they were sending direct from the UK these days.

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

The ME mags I get from my local bookstore are distributed out of Montreal PQ by a firm called Disticor. Bookstore owner says this firm are prone to just dropping titles of mags they carry, unannounced, and don't respond as if they care when he calls them to complain. They do not act like a customer service business.

Maybe Disticor are handling the remailing to Canadian customers too, and take a similar attitude to it.

Canada Post are iffy at best. Sometimes I get mail from Toronto 100 km away in one or two days. I got a letter last week from a town 8 km from my house, and it was in the mail 3 weeks before I got it. No accountability of staff at Canada Post.

Pink Floyd had it right – "Welcome, welcome, to the machine"

[John PurdyParticipant @johnpurdy78347]

To address Bandersnatch's comment I just checked the post mark on the envelope from the MEW (#266) I got yesterday and it is from Finland on the paper inner sheet and a label stuck on the plastic bag has a post mark from Belgium!! Checked some of the paper sheets from past MEs and the post mark on the last few are from Budapest Hungary and a while back it was from Prague. So it would appear that there isn't a Canadian distributor and maybe the problem is with Canada Post, but it doesn't explain why there is no problem with getting any of my other mags. As an example on Tues i got the May issue of Scientific American.

John

[John PurdyParticipant @johnpurdy78347]

To correct my last it was the May issue of Sky and Telescope I got on Tues. I got the April issue of Scientific American last week.

John

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

I just got issue 4583!

Clear plastic envelope, mailing "stamp" says Belgium on it.

[Barry Solomon 2Participant @barrysolomon2]

I don't think the problem is all with Canada Post. I just received MEW 266. I still haven't received 265. I talked to a friend yesterday and he has missed 264 and 265 but just received 266.

The last subscription copy of ME that I received was 4576. As I indicated previously I have had email and telephone contact with secureorder. This has resulted in them sending some but not all of the replacement issues that I need. In spite of very clear emails to them they sent an issue that I already had but not others that were promised.

My last MEW was posted from Belgium but the inner mailer label was from Czech Republic. In the past mailing has been from several locations in a Europe.

It appears to me that the publishers are shopping around for the cheapest way to mail their magazines but service is suffering and in some cases is non-existent. Unless service improves I think subscriptions will fall off dramatically. Trying to save a few pennies on delivery costs may result in many lost subscribers.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Sounds familiar. So I don't think it's Canada Post (I'm in Oz.) Secureorder didn't mail me a renewal notice as in previous years, so was a week or so late renewing. But they assured me there would be no gap in delivery. Sure enough, issue 263 never arrived. Multiple, multiple emails and three months later, they had sent me duplicate copies of issues 262 and then 264 in two failed attempts to send the requested issue 263. By then, they got to the stage of, "Oh sorry sir, we are all out of issue 263". To their credit, they said they added two free issues onto the end of my subscription to make up for it.

But really, how hard can it be? In the end they seemed to be confused about what month was issue 263 for and had to ask me for that information. Like they were unable to look that up on their computer and figure it out. (And it's printed right there on the front page of the mag, both issue and month, for goodness' sake. In the end I sent them a net image of the front page of the mag I wanted them to send me!)

Luckily the local news agent shop here runs about three or four months behind with their display issues so will probably pick one up there. Hope so, as I want to build Graham Meek's Myford dog clutch and need the second installment of his series!

Not sure how widespread this sort of problem is. But if I were circulation manager, I'd be a bit concerned I reckon.

 

 

Edited By Hopper on 06/04/2018 02:46:42

Edited By Hopper on 06/04/2018 02:48:56

[David Taylor 4Participant @davidtaylor4]

It seems that Ritetime publishing has subcontracted out all the services needed to deliver the magazines to the readership in a timely manner. UK incompetence on top of Canada Post incompetence?

Time to think carefully about renewing my subscription? Lack of response to this thread by senior Ritetime management indicates a lack of interest in solving the problem which is reflected by the subcontractor's staff we have to deal with. Lots of fluffy words no action.

Dave Taylor.

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