When do these magazines hit your mailbox?

March 29, 2008 7:09 PM

When do you get your copy of the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books or the Atlantic? I'm considering subscribing to the print edition of one or more of these magazines, however, for my own reasons, my decision will be affected by when the magazines will hit my mailbox.

For example, the New Yorker is always posted online late Sunday or early morning Monday of each week. The New York Review varies, but the most recent edition was posted online this past Thursday. The Atlantic is trickier, since it's a monthly.

Any info you could give me, like, "By the 5th of every month" or "Usually on a Thursday" or even "Three or four days after it appears online" would help. Also, if anonymity isn't an issue, I'd appreciate to know what region you're in. I'm in the midwest, so anybody who lives there, I'd especially appreciate your input.

posted by odragul to media & arts (23 answers total)

I live in California and I subscribe to all three. I'm a (failed) librarian, and, as such, I like to track such things. Strange things happen with NYer and NYR.

-New Yorker- sometimes I won't get an issue for two to three weeks, then I'll get three issues three days in a row. There has been no consistent delivery day.

-New York Review- same situation. Strange, indeed.

-Atlantic- This one is much more regular; I get it every month. No weird delivery issues.
posted by HotPatatta at 7:20 PM on March 29, 2008

Madison, WI. I used to always get the New Yorker on Thursday, living in various places around town. Now I get it Friday, Sat or sometimes even Monday. I believe this is due to my current neighborhood, and if I lived in some other place in Madison I might still get it on Thursdays.
posted by sulaine at 7:21 PM on March 29, 2008

I subscribe to the New Yorker.
Excellent magazine.
Would that the delivery were half as good.
I SHOULD get it on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest.
3 out of 4 weeks it comes on Thursday.
I have complained, cajoled, begged and bartered.
I've talked to my mail carrier, his boss, the circ. dept. of the magazine.
So annoying!
I live just outside of Boston, fer pete's sake.
But the online edition is hard to curl up with in bed...
posted by Dizzy at 7:24 PM on March 29, 2008

I usually get The New Yorker on the Wednesday before the publication date (which is always a Monday); e.g., this past Wednesday (3/26) I received the issue coverdated March 31.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:26 PM on March 29, 2008

Oh, and I'm in the Washington DC area.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:27 PM on March 29, 2008

I also live in Madison, WI and I get my New Yorker on Thursdays. I live in a downtown apartment.
posted by Madamina at 7:44 PM on March 29, 2008

I've been subscribing to The New Yorker for about five years now and I've consistently received it before the publication date, usually on Thursday or Friday. I'm quite pleased with it! I live in the Bay Area, by the way.
posted by blithely at 7:52 PM on March 29, 2008

I live in New York. I usually get the NYer on Tuesday, but often on Monday, and occasionally on Wednesday. This week was a Tuesday.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 7:53 PM on March 29, 2008

Thanks to everybody who responded. I think I have a good enough feel for the New Yorker, but I'm still interested in hearing about the NYRB and the Atlantic. Thanks!
posted by odragul at 8:13 PM on March 29, 2008

Similar complaints with the New Yorker (I live in Brooklyn, NY).

I always thought it would be a cool idea if you could get a subscription where the magazine gives you vouchers that you can use at any newstand to buy the mag - so you get the benefits of the magazines hitting the newstands first, and the price of a mail subscription.

Everyone could win, right?
posted by extrabox at 8:19 PM on March 29, 2008 [1 favorite]

I live in New York. The New Yorker usually arrives on Tuesday (on rare occasions, Wednesday).
posted by oaf at 8:24 PM on March 29, 2008

I live in Austin and I usually get the NYROB a week before the publication date. I'd recommend it. I can't stand The Atlantic anymore.
posted by mattbucher at 8:24 PM on March 29, 2008

I'm in Portland, OR, and I usually get the New Yorker on Fridays.
posted by pdb at 8:30 PM on March 29, 2008

@mattbucher: I agree. The Atlantic has lost it's luster. I hardly read it when it comes. The New York Review is consistently good and the New Yorker is totally original.

You should check Ebay for subscription deals. I get all my subscriptions from Ebay because I find amazing deals there. I got 3 years of the NYer for $15 total. Just type in the name of the magazine plus "subscription".
posted by HotPatatta at 8:37 PM on March 29, 2008 [2 favorites]

Depends on where you live. My boyfriend's father lives in Chicago, IL and he gets his New Yorker a few days earlier than we do, and we live about 150 miles south of Chicago, in Urbana, IL. He gets it on Wednesdays or Thursdays, and we usually get it on Saturday or, on occasion, the following Monday.
posted by k8lin at 8:37 PM on March 29, 2008

PS - student or academic subscriptions are always discounted. Ask on the phone. Sometimes they'll give you the rate even if it doesn't technically apply to you; just ask.
posted by k8lin at 8:39 PM on March 29, 2008

3 years of The Atlantic for $20.
posted by HotPatatta at 8:54 PM on March 29, 2008

I'm in Chicago, and I usually get the one-month issues of Atlantic on the first Monday of the month preceding the "cover date". The two-month issues (January/February and July/August) tend to arrive during the first week of the first month printed on the cover, but it's somewhat more variable.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:42 PM on March 29, 2008

I live in Manhattan and usually get the new issue of the New Yorker on Monday afternoons (grin). I know. I'm spoiled.

Be advised that if you choose not to subscribe, a good amount of content never makes it online. And what is posted online often comes in dribbles over the course of the week
posted by kathryn at 10:22 PM on March 29, 2008

And also everyone should understand that the "Publication Date" is like the "Expiration Date"-- it is the last day before the NEW issue comes out-- if you're receiving your New Yorker on 1-15, say, and it says 1-16 on the cover, you're not getting a new magazine 1 day early; you're getting a stale one 6 days late...
posted by Dizzy at 3:42 AM on March 30, 2008

Chicago. Atlantic delivery all over the map, including skipping months and then getting two in one month. At any rate, it is almost ALWAYS out on newstands before I receive it.
posted by nax at 5:36 AM on March 30, 2008

I live in the Midwest and receive my Atlantic often one to two weeks after the first of the month. It usually arrives late in the week on Friday or Saturday. Though, like previous posters have stated, the Atlantic's quality has diminished since I first began subscribing and I don't get excited like I used to when it arrives.
posted by Coyote at the Dog Show at 8:37 AM on March 30, 2008

Just a word of caution about those ebay subscriptions. I got some great deals on there (gotta love three years for 15 bucks) but also got scammed twice. Check the feedback of magazine sub sellers very carefully. Because all such sellers, legit or not, tell you the first issue won't come for eight (ish) weeks, you will be out of the window to complain when you realize it hasn't arrived. Then again, there are great deals too. Just be careful.
On topic, my NYer arrives Mon or Tues but I'm in Manhattan. I get the NYRB free at work and read the Atlantic online, now that it's free.
posted by CunningLinguist at 9:09 AM on March 30, 2008