Editor’s Note: Please note that this publication, Scrapbook Update, is a privately-owned website that is not affiliated in any way with Meredith Corp or Scrapbooks Etc. We are simply reporting on a news story affecting the scrapbook industry and are not affiliated in any way with the companies that we are reporting on.
Meredith Corporation announced today that Scrapbooks Etc magazine will be ceasing publication after its August 2012 issue. The move has shocked industry observers, as the magazine’s circulation numbers have been the strongest in the industry over the past several years, based partially on its leveraging of strong newstand placement.
The announcement was made via a post by editor Michelle Rubin to the magazine’s blog. The blog posting said the closing decision by Meredith was made because “due to the longer term business forecast for the franchise and the industry, the corporation has chosen to cease publishing within this marketplace.”
The final issue of Scrapbooks Etc, August 2012, will go on sale June 19th and be available through August 14th. The magazine’s website will continue to offer content through that time period in support of the print issue.
There is no word from Meredith at this time regarding the fate of unfulfilled issues on subscriptions, but it is standard industry practice in magazine publishing that a publisher will either sell the subscriptions to a rival magazine title to be filled, or fill the remaining issues of subscriptions with another title from their own portfolio.
Meredith stressed their continuing support for the crafts market in the announcement by plugging their upcoming publication “Make It Yourself” that is launching this fall and also their selection of quilting titles.
Rubin addressed the magazine’s readers in the announcement on behalf of the entire staff:
On a personal note from the editorial staff, we are grateful for your support through the years. We could not have asked for better readers, and we have loved seeing your scrapbook pages and craft projects in our inboxes, on our website, and on our Facebook page. You inspired us in our mission to give you the ideas and information you wanted to preserve your memories and express yourselves creatively, and we hope that we in turn inspired you to create great pages and projects.
This announcement now leaves the Creative Crafts Group titles – Creating Keepsakes and Paper Crafts Magazine – as the sole “newsstand” class of magazines in the scrapbooking & papercrafts industry, an outcome that seemed highly unlikely only a few years ago when CK Media owned them and teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before the sale to New Track Media and the formation of Creative Crafts Group.
The Creative Crafts Group titles still have competition from the specialty titles from Northridge Publishing (which publishes Scrapbook Trends, Cards, Cricut Magazine, Signature Series, and a host of other titles) and Stampington (which publishes Somerset Memories, Somerset Studio, Stamper’s Sampler, Where Women Create, and Art Journaling, among others). These titles sell for prices that rival books for each issue (averaging around $14.95/issue), and thus operate under a totally different business model than the $5-$6/issue newsstand magazines.
Update: Creating Keepsakes Editor-In-Chief Jennafer Martin shared her thoughts with Scrapbook Update about the industry’s loss of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine:
We at Creating Keepsakes magazine are saddened by the closure of Scrapbooks, Etc.. It is a fantastic publication, and its quality has challenged CK to be better in order to stay competitive. We’ll miss it, and we tip our hats to the editorial staff there for years of inspiring, quality publications. Creating Keepsakes will continue to work hard to provide content that connects with and inspires scrapbookers to preserve their memories creatively.
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About Nancy Nally
What a shock!
Figures….I just renewed it in March – 2 year special deal.
Oh man, how annoying for you!
Me too – and this is VERY frustrating – I’m not a quilter – so I hope that’s not how they fulfill my nearly 3 years left on my subscription – and I already subscribe to Creating Keepsakes and Papercrafts….it’s just sad to see industry favorites pass by the wayside – I know the economy is hurting, but that was one little bright spot in my mail box every month.
Any chance this is just an extremely poorly timed April Fool’s joke?
No it’s very real Kellie. I confirmed it with a source at Scrapbooks Etc yesterday.
The article does mention they’re coming out with a new publication called “Make It Yourself,” so maybe that will be a decent “filler” for the remainder of our subscriptions. I’m so bummed about this news.
Yes, this is a real shock! They will certainly be missed. I hope that we see more of Michelle Rubin and others on their staff who we have come to know through social media. I will certainly keep every copy of Scrapbooks, Etc. that I have!
I now suspect this is why my renewal was canceled (through the fulfillment company)
Really? Sad. I’ll miss it.
Wow that is so sad!!! It’s the only scrapbooking mag I subscribe to. The best one out there. I wish they had asked us first. LOL Booo!!!
I still have 1 1/2 years on my subscrip too.
Wow, I am stunned.
Well that’s total bummer. Another of my favorite magazines bites the dust. This is not making me happy.
Thanks for the Update.
Oh nooooooo……… I LOVE that magazine. Crap!
I am so disturbed to hear this! I really like SBE because it is different from the CK mags! This is awful news.
Very sad to see what is happening in publishing. Hopefully not what will happen to dear old CK. It was shocking to see that most of the ads in ghe last CK were their own ads for conventions, special issues, website, etc……that’s a bad sign isn’t it??
so bummed. I’ve been subscribing through amazon/kindle and loving having that option — and continuing to love the content.
Noooooo-I love that mag-I have subbed for years!!
CRAP! I just subscribed to Scrapbooks, etc. I haven’t even received my first copy of it. I love that magazine.
It is sad that another magazine goes the way of the dodo! HOWEVER…. you did not mention, Scrapbook and Cards Today who are still going strong and with an unusal but very successful business model FREE from participating stores. They also have a subscription option if your local store does not carry it or runs out of their free copies ,also all issues are available on line. I have heard that some of the first issue on line are still getting hits with over 1 million or more todate. Now thats valuable to any advertiser. This magazine is a work of art itself, beautifully produced, high quality grafics. They also do very successful events in Canada. Please don’t over look this magazine, it may not be the usual business model, but it is an awesome magazine. check it out at http://www.scrapbookandcards.com/
Very disappointed! I actually quite like the Stampington magazines, but the pricing model is so totally different that there’s no way I could justify a subscription…:(
Another one bites the dust. Sad. I’ve never subscribed to a craft magazine only becuase my foucs is so limited (I only do scrapbook layouts) and magazines tend to be more broad catering to card makers, home decor items and such. Still it’s sad when you hear about an industry member calling it quits.
I just renewed too. I find it exteremely annoying that they continued to send out renewal offers when they had to know this was coming. The exact same thing happened when Memory Makers (?) magazine went out of business. I hated their substitute for my unfulfilled subscription. I just want my money back.
This is such disappointing news. I wonder what the “the longer term business forecast” is for the scrapbook industry, and how our numbers compare with the number of, say, quilters. I hope this doesn’t mean that scrapbook chains like Archivers are in trouble, too!
I will miss the magazine. I never really looked at ads because I bought the mag for the layout ideas and articles. Unfortunately the internet has caused anything to be printed fail. What I have seen more lately is that since advertising is “cheaper” via the internet, I am constantly bombarded with everything, where as the magazine everything was right there. Instead of getting a magazine that has 100 pages, I am not getting 100 emails, facebook statuses etc. Emails, newsletters, blogs, facebook, (thank goodness I don’t have twitter) and everything else, as I understand the social media I am tired of getting so much. How do you (everyone in general) keep up with everything. I am so overwhelmed with information that everything gets ignored because everyone has something to sell or say. I can’t imagine being in the business and having to keep up with everything. I need one place to connect with the world, not 100. Thanks for everything. I will miss Scrapbook Etc. ~Ann
Guess I am old school. I like the internet for many things, but I prefer print for several reasons. I can have a page open in front of me when following craft instructions. And with the price of toner, it is more economical to subscribe to a magazine that to print the same instructions from the internet using a color printer. Also like to take magazines on car trips for inspiration when I cannot work at the craft table. The first craft magazine I subscribed to was Simple Scrapbooks and now, too, Scrapbooks, Etc bites the dust.
I hope that CK will pick up some readership and stay around awhile. And remind me to cancel my other Meredith magazines.
This says more about the state of print publications than scrapbooking. Sad news. I agree with Debbie; great content. Where will all that talent go? Ella?
Darn I just subscribed…ugh!!
Is the scrapbooking industry really in that much trouble? Can you address that in a post sometime soon?
Watch for a post from me later today about what this reflects about the wider industries the magazine was a part of….but in a nutshell, Veronica is right: this reflects more on publishing than on scrapbooking.
Nancy…you can also refer people to lain Ehmans blog. She did a great job of explaining why the mag may have had to close.
This makes me so sad – Scrapbooks, Etc., is my absolute favorite scrapbooking magazine because it always showcases layouts and ideas that are more in tune with my scrapbooking style and isn’t so full of ads that you just can’t enjoy it. There’s actually been times when I was having a bad day and then my magazine would arrive in the mail and it would totally change my whole mood. I really, really, hate to hear this.
What a shame…
Sadly, I am not surprised to see print mags closing up shop. I *am* surprised that it was SBE and not CK though.
I stopped subscribing NOT because I wanted electronic mags instead (I prefer a real magazine). I stopped subscribing because the magazines weren’t filling my needs anymore – I was no longer their target audience (I buy Stampington mags and european mags instead now)
Wow! I’m sad to hear that! I’ve really enjoyed that magazine!
That’s too bad. I’ve enjoyed this magazine & have subscribed for years. I’ve been burned in the past when a magazine went under. I think that they should just issue refunds.
Well that is so sad! And now I am really mad – I just renewed in March for two years. I thought they were the best magazine out there and I would be safe renewing. Plus I paid for a year subscription for my daughter.
The same thing happened to me with Memory Makers – two year renewal and then poof – their gone. The online substitute magazine was a pain to get to and my entire subscription didn’t move over – I only received one year. So – no more subscriptions for me! I am going to let my Creating Keepsakes and Paper Crafts subscriptions run out!
i dont subscribe to any scrapbooking mag anymore because I have an AC Moore and Joannsa dn i can use 505 off coupons in the store for the mag. Michaels does not let you use coupons. That way I can look and see if there is enough in each issue that i want to save. It has worked well for me.
This is sad; it was the only craft magazine to which I had ever bothered to subscribe. Although I occasionally pick up issues of CK & Stampington. I even got my hands on a few Scrap 365 issues. Personally I wonder if all scrapbooking magazines will have to cease to exist before consumers are really willing to pay for the content online, at what seem to me to be inflated prices thus far. But then again when online is the only remaining option, I am sure those prices will be driven down too. Still, I think papercrafters will always prefer something they can hold in their hands – we like tactile, don’t we?
This bites big time. What a loss.
My husband worked in the print industry for over 20 years and got canned in 2002 after the family business struggled for years with the changes that technology and the march of time brings. We shouldn’t be surprised that the magazine folded – environmental issues, postage, labor and paper costs, advertising revenues, limited reader base to support an ever increasing cost side and the constant slugging off to online reading with newer and more technology choices.
Nothing is forever. Think of all the other industries in the recent and not-so-recent past that are just references in a history book because we have cars not horses.
If you value a resource, encourage it as long as you can, as long as it makes sense to your wallet and your other values. Similar to comments re: online content. I am willing to pay for them – just because they don’t come bound and printed doesn’t mean they should be free.
Looking forward Nancy to future article(s) on this topic.
Boo hoo hoo. I am so bummed. I love SB, Etc.
Creating Keepsakes has become so bad in the last few years, but I still subscribed so I’d have something. SBE has become amazing and I am so so disappointed they are ceasing to publish it. What a loss for the industry. Meredith puts out several quilt magazines and I’ve been getting back into quilting, so if that’s an offer, I’ll do that.
Such a bummer!
Sad to see another magazine stop publication.
That stinks.
… I hate hearing of another mag leaving the newsstand. What am I going to read now when I go to Barnes and Noble for my weekly coffee/cake/magazine fix? …
…. And therein lies the problem. We aren’t buying these magazines. We are reading them perhaps, but not buying. Sad, but true.
Wow what a shock. I love Scrapbooks etc
So very sorry to hear of this. I have subscribed to this magazine for years and love it. Bad move Meridith.
This is SO sad!!!!
I’m very sad to hear this news. As a long-time (current) subscriber, I have always enjoyed the magazine and having an alternative to the others I subcribe to.
I believe we will continue to see companies consolidate, and go by the wayside, as well as see businesses attempt to broaden their scope (just as Meredith is doing by offering a more broadened DIY publication). Bottom line, if there isn’t enough revenue in it for the businesses, they have to make the changes, as hard as those might be. Advertising is way down and this is likely a major contributing factor to the demise of many publications, not just those in our industry.
I wish the entire SBE staff much success in their future endeavors.
Steph
So sorry to learn that SBE will cease publication. I am dumbfounded, however, at what I consider less than honorable business practices. Just last week they cashed my check for a two-year renewal and I have received no response to my inquiry about this action. I for one will think twice about plunking down hard earned money to anyone for a subscription to anything — online or print — in the future.
I like many want a refund. I do not want another magazine. We paid our money, we deserve a refund.
I agree. I recently renewed my subscription and even had a friend sign up not long ago. I just found out when I read the Editors note and saw the P.S. Very disappointing. Again…a company being dishonest, taking customers money when they clearly knew in May that they were discontinuing their magazine. Is that even legal? I do not subscribe to magazines generally because I am not interested in much of the content, this was something I truly enjoyed. This has left a bad taste in my mouth and I know longer feel the same way about them. In this economy…they had an obligation to be honest. Regardless of how much money it was. I don’t care if the magazine subscription cost $1.00 or $100. Terrible business practice and I can’t imagine how they can consider themselves decent.
This is not a practice that is isolated to Meredith…it is common practice in the publishing industry that when a publisher closes a title they will transfer the remaining subscriptions on it to another title, or even sell the remaining subscriber list to another publisher.
I agree that this is done in the industry. That is why I never subscribe or renew ahead anymore like I usedI wait until the last month. I have lost another scrapbooking mag like that already and my Readers Digest. Who would have thught that Readers Digest woukd fold like that. Right now Etc owes me 8 months of magazines.
I thing that on that farewell letter, they should have let us know what is going to happen to our reminder subscriptions. What they will be sending us instead. )-: Not happy at all. This hurts all existing magazine subscriptions because people like me will stop subscribing. I don’t trust the industry anymore.
Might has well just go online for everything and they have no one else to blame but themselves.
I am getting a complete runaround about my refund. I have egistered a complaint with the Audit Bureau of Circulations and will contact my state attorney general. I urge all of you that do not consider Better Homes and Gardens as an adequate subsitiute for Scrapbooks Etc. to do the same.
I continue to be outraged by the manner in which loyal magazine subscribers are being treated. The apparent “accepted business practice” to just substitute one magazine for another is ridiculous. I once subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens and dropped it because it had no real value to me. Why would I want it now? These corporations had better realize that their shell game effectively turns customers off to any and all magazine subscriptions; and frankly, it does not bode well for digital subscriptions either.
I had noticed that the magazine has been getting smaller. I really loved reading this one. Sorry to see it go.
First and formost is I would like to thank the staff for sbe. I have enjoyed the magazine for many years now and always looked forward to receiving it in the mail. So sorry for the lost jobs , and wish you all the best for the future.
I received the magazine as a gift and know I have at least another year of magazines left. I sure hope I receive something of interest in its place.
Iam very disappointed on how I found out. I received my Aug. magazine and read under the editors note PS this was the last copy. WOW couldn’t you send me a note in the mail? Very shocked
Exactly how i found out. shocked that i didn’t hear anything in the mail either. Bad customer service. If they knew they were closing in May they had time to get info out to its customers and give us the heads up and tell us what they will do with our subscription.
I agree with Faye. So tasteless to let us know in a PS!
A letter would have been the proffesional thing to do AND let us know at the same time what if going to happen with or subscrition and refunbd our money if we don’t like the substitution.
I requested my refund for my subscription of ScrapbooksEtc today as I had just renewed for 2 years. They replied that they would not issue a refund: “Unfortunately, Scrapbooks etc has made the decision to cease publication, and the remaining issues will be transferred to Better Homes & Gardens.
When the first issue is received by mail, please contact us at that time to process your magazine transfer or cancellation and refund request.”
I do not want BHG as “my hair salon provides Better Homes and Gardens to its customers to read for free and I still don’t read it.”
BHG is trying to up their subscription rate to BHG so that they can increase their advertising rates at the expense of ScrapbooksEtc readership. Shame on Meredith Publications and I will never buy any of their magazines again.
I am so disappointed to see SBE end – it was the best scrap mag offered. I do NOT want BH&G as a substitute. No comparison. I expect a refund – no other offer will be acceptable!!
I am very upset to have found out about SBE. I have subscrription untilApril of 2014. I do not want B&H, I have looked at it before and I am not interested, at all. I am requestng a refund !!!
My mother [name deleted by editor], just received her notice by receiving a Better Homes and Garden, along with a letter stating , SBE was no longer going to be published. I had just subscribed it as a gift subscription a few months ago for her. She is also upset and does not want the BHG .
She called me upset about it, that is how I found out also.
Please send our refunds for remaining subscription.
Sincerely,
[names deleted by editor]
The BEST SCRAPBOOKING MAGAZINE ON THE MARKET and it ceases publication? Where the heck is the sense in that?!!! To whomever it was who made this decision: DUMB MOVE!! DUMB, DUMB MOVE!!!
Okay, then I WANT MY REFUND!!! WHEN SHOULD I BE EXPECTING IT??? I PAID ENOUGH OF MY HARD EARNED MONEY, ALONG WITH THE MONEY I PUT OUT TO ALL THE ADS AND INSORSEMENTS THEY HAD IN THEIR MAGZINE!!! SO WHEN SHOULD I EXPECT MY REFUND!!
I AM SORRY THIS, IS B.S.!!!!!!
Please note that you are venting your anger in the wrong place. This website is not associated with Meredith Corp or Scrapbooks Etc. in any way.