magazines, what to do....

trust · Aug 10, 2010

OK, I'll admit it, I have a problem, I can't seem to throw anything of remotely potential value away, so I now find that I have about 30 years worth of old 4x4 magazines accumulated and filed by year in several file cabinet and file boxes. Most of the major ones, several of the minor and no longer in print ones starting in the mid 1970s.

What the heck do I do with them? I still have subscriptions to most of them so the problem is getting worse, not better. I don't even read most of the new ones, I mean, how many ways are there to build a hemied TJ or JK? and why do I care when I have a CJ? I seldom use the old ones although they did come in handy for some others on their projects I guess.

suggestions? I hate the idea of a couple of weeks worth of recycling but the garage is small enough and it, sadly, is the only thing in the house not growing....

shotgunfatcat · Aug 10, 2010

My dad has boxes of magazines, I feel your pain. Because of one article in a magazine from 20 years ago, he feel he needs to keep it. He won't even remember what the article was, but still keeps em.

csp · Aug 10, 2010

Send your recently read versions to Iraq and Afghanistan. Those guys love getting them.

As for the oldies, do you really think you'll remember that one article you saved them for? I have the same problem and my conclusion is even if they are valuable someday, most likely they will end up as a hassle for my family. I've been sending mine to the recycle bin.

PaulR · Aug 10, 2010

trust said:
OK, I'll admit it, I have a problem, I can't seem to throw anything of remotely potential value away, so I now find that I have about 30 years worth of old 4x4 magazines accumulated and filed by year in several file cabinet and file boxes. Most of the major ones, several of the minor and no longer in print ones starting in the mid 1970s.

What the heck do I do with them? I still have subscriptions to most of them so the problem is getting worse, not better. I don't even read most of the new ones, I mean, how many ways are there to build a hemied TJ or JK? and why do I care when I have a CJ? I seldom use the old ones although they did come in handy for some others on their projects I guess.

suggestions? I hate the idea of a couple of weeks worth of recycling but the garage is small enough and it, sadly, is the only thing in the house not growing....

Ditto on all counts. When you find a solution please PM me. LOLOL

dcovey · Aug 10, 2010

trust said:
OK, I'll admit it, I have a problem, I can't seem to throw anything of remotely potential value away, so I now find that I have about 30 years worth of old 4x4 magazines accumulated and filed by year in several file cabinet and file boxes. Most of the major ones, several of the minor and no longer in print ones starting in the mid 1970s.

What the heck do I do with them? I still have subscriptions to most of them so the problem is getting worse, not better. I don't even read most of the new ones, I mean, how many ways are there to build a hemied TJ or JK? and why do I care when I have a CJ? I seldom use the old ones although they did come in handy for some others on their projects I guess.

suggestions? I hate the idea of a couple of weeks worth of recycling but the garage is small enough and it, sadly, is the only thing in the house not growing....

Put them on ebay, as comlete sets and list the incomplete sets as such.. Someone may want them and it would be better than recycling them.. A lot of different collectors out there.

Dave

rwhite692 · Aug 10, 2010

I used to save them, but I rarely do anymore. If there is a worthwhile technical article, I'll make a photocopy of those pages, and stuff that into a binder...

Otherwise, without any index or search capability, it's highly unlikely that you are actually going to be able to go back and find something of interest later on.

Torq'er · Aug 10, 2010

I used to keep them for future reference, but now all the info is available online for the most part.
I've been selling off/giving away most of it lately.
Down to about half a box, but still gonna sell of some issues of CARtoons magazine that I haven't looked through in a long time, and I'll be done.

JC23 · Aug 10, 2010

Like rwhite said, make a copy of the articles you want to keep. You can even put all the articles into some kinda file or even a three ring binder.

As for the complete magazines you want to keep, check out the cardboard magazine files/boxes they sell at the office supply places. They usually come in packages of three or so. Now that they've been out for a while, the plasitc versions of those files are seen at flea markets and garage sales a lot cheaper. I just snagged two for a whopping 50 cents last week.

Look ahead to what you wanna keep and where. I don't know where you live but if mold is a problem, don't leave 'em in the garage or an unfinished basement.

HOTFR8 · Aug 10, 2010

I have my own libary in my works. I intend to expand it soon and have a dedicated area built with in the building.

anyheck · Aug 10, 2010

If it's the info that you really want, then you need something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/QCM-QCM-1200E-Stack-Paper-Cutter/dp/B00083AUBI/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

and this:

http://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSnap-Instant-Sheet-Fed-Scanner/dp/B001V9LQH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1281481997&sr=1-1

and a few DVDs to save it all to. :thumbup:

Torque1st · Aug 10, 2010

Recycling works. I have a few that I keep with articles marked with labeled yellow post-it notes. Much of the info can be found online. Many of the articles are "recycled" every few years and reprinted with different advertiser's names. Most of the articles are actually thinly disguised ads for products.

imok · Aug 10, 2010

I started cutting out the articles that I thought I might need sometime in the future and sending the rest to the recycler. I now just have one large envelope containing articles that I will probably never read again, to throw away someday.

PurdueSD · Aug 10, 2010

I've been looking for a small sliding glass front wall cabinet to hang over my shop desk for manuals and some of my favorite r&c mags. I wish my dad still had cool mags from the 60s. I will for my kid!

7echo · Aug 10, 2010

As already mentioned-
Send them to the soldiers. Contact some one at a local base, there is usually a cheap way to ship stuff to the guys in the field.
Ebay them, and fund some new tools.

Contact a local 4wd club or shop, they may want them. And you might make some new shop friends.

nate379 · Aug 10, 2010

I don't buy magazines but the freebie stuff that comes in the mail I usually toss before reading even.

jay50 · Aug 10, 2010

the only magazines I seem to keep forever are the dirty magazines....LOL

Wanna Ride · Aug 10, 2010

Send them to the troops! But before you do... scan the articles you want to keep, throw them on an external hard drive, and you'll have thousands of pages before you fill up the drive, all in about the space it takes for a pack of cigarettes.

Oh yeah... be sure to clip out the Harbor Freight coupons too!

Call me the Breeze · Aug 10, 2010

I was thinking of cutting my name off a few of mine and bringing them with me to my wifes doctor officewhile I wait for hours and "accidently" leave them there. God knows there are other guys in the waiting room looking for something better to read than people magazine.

Boyd · Aug 10, 2010

I subscribe to about 8 different magazines. They accumulate in a stack next to my bed and every few months I get "the stare" from SWMBO and I know it's time to weed some out. I go through the stack and keep the ones that I feel have helpful/new information and recycle the rest. The ones I keep, I place either in the garage or in a large cedar chest in my closet.

I don't have a solution for storing your 30 year + collection but I say keep them. Magazines, (along with newspapers, books, and most other print) will eventually go the way of the dodo bird. That doesn't guarantee they'll be worth anything but how cool will it be to show your great grand children a printed magazine?

Buford T. Justice · Aug 10, 2010

Man, do I know what you are dealing with. I did the same thing with hunting and fishing mags. I had file cabinets and a huge old dresser stuffed with them. I debated every which way to keep or get rid of them. One day after downing a shitload of beer, I decided to burn them all in a huge hole I had dug and burned an old wood building and a bunch of other junk on my place. Guess what? I don't miss them a bit now that they are gone and Im using the new space for alot better things. I justt simply came to the realization that even if I wanted to find and article back it would have been impossible. I almost felt like I was becoming a miniature hoarder.

trust · Aug 11, 2010

Thanks guys I appreciate the input, I have been pretty lucky finding the stuff I've looked for but I don't know whats in there unless someone says 'hey I'm building a gaucho and could use some old articles' then bingo I find it, otherwise, naw.... The main thing of value is all of the old Granville King articles which are not online anywhere that I know of.

Good ideas, especially on the troops, at least the last few years worth

mmhouse · Aug 11, 2010

I save just one magazine and I've only been getting it for a few years so not nearly your situation. However, I purchased some of the cardboard magazine sleeves like these....

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IC40/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I can fit about 20 magazines in a sleeve. With a long shelf and lots of these sleeves you could store a lot of your magazines.

That said, my vote would be:
1. Send them to the troops.
2. Sell them on ebay or craigslist except for those that you really know will be useful.

TheGrooveking · Aug 11, 2010

Keep buying magazines, I work in the print industry and we need the work.

TheGrooveking

dlc · Aug 11, 2010

dcovey said:
Put them on ebay, as comlete sets and list the incomplete sets as such.. Someone may want them and it would be better than recycling them.. A lot of different collectors out there.

Dave

I agree with putting them on ebay but I wouldn't list them as complete sets. I would list them individually being specific about what each magazine contains. I made a good living off of selling old car/motorcycle magazines on ebay for a year or two. I had stacks and stacks of old Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Cycle, Motorcyclist, etc. that sometimes sold for $20-30 each. If you find someone with an old bike/car that they want original road tests of, these old magazines are gold. Something else that sells really well is old dealer brochures. I remember selling an original Kawasaki gpz750 Turbo brochure that several people got into a bidding war over that ended up going for over $50

hmbemis · Aug 11, 2010

trust said:
OK, I'll admit it, I have a problem, I can't seem to throw anything of remotely potential value away, so I now find that I have about 30 years worth of old 4x4 magazines accumulated and filed by year in several file cabinet and file boxes. Most of the major ones, several of the minor and no longer in print ones starting in the mid 1970s.

My grandfather had a collection of Popular Mechanics dating back in 1938... when he passed away my aunt put them on the curb... I just a kid at the time, to this day my dad is still upset that he didn't save them.

I weed through my stuff and toss the junk--as you say, how many articles on 4x4 builds could you possibly ever want? To that end I tossed about 5 years worth of "Car Craft", "Hot Rod" and "4Wheelin" from the mid-90s, but I hang on to my Popular Mechanics, and a few other subscriptions, that I feel might have some actual interest/value to me or someone else in 30 years.

Though I know it makes no sense as unlike the 1938 Popular Mechanics it's unlikely that periodicals today will be "lost" because they are stored electronically (and even available for purchase).

Iroc-Z · Aug 11, 2010

I use to save all my Hot Rod, Super Chevy, and Car Craft mags. I just couldn't throw them away. Then I got Married.......

LocoCoco · Aug 11, 2010

To me, the most valuable part of old magazines are the old ads of products you still have. I'm a Jeeper too and everything I own is nearly ancient so right now full-page ads and feature articles on brand new Jeeps don't appeal to me. Down the road, I'll pick up a 10-year old Jeep that's in today's magazines and I'll be glad to have hung onto a few.

But I know the feeling. I just came across of box of boat and sled magazines from circa 2000 and had a hard time chucking them. So I got drunk, kept a few and tossed the rest...

LC.

Stuart in MN · Aug 11, 2010

hmbemis said:
Though I know it makes no sense as unlike the 1938 Popular Mechanics it's unlikely that periodicals today will be "lost" because they are stored electronically (and even available for purchase).

The cool thing is Google Books has virtually every single issue of Popular Mechanics (and Popular Science) available for reading online.

Art From De Leon · Aug 11, 2010

LocoCoco said:
To me, the most valuable part of old magazines are the old ads of products you still have. LC.

That is the best part, I like to read Popular Science and, to a lesser extent, Popular Mechanics from the 40's and 50's, and you get to see that a lot of the 'new' ideas, aren't really that new, that people were worried about 'climate change' and running out of oil and natural resources, 60 or 70 years ago.

The 'craft' projects, for the most part, look odd and chintzy. Why would people have some of this kitsch in their home? But they did not insult the readers intelligence by catering to the clueless, *****, metrosexual, citidot, that these magazines target today.

But the best part, is, as you say, the advertising, and REMEMBER, ALL THESE PRODUCTS WERE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, and probably the majority of the manufacturers are no longer around.

chopperman1 · Aug 11, 2010

If anyone wants to ship them over to Iraq I would be more than willing to disperse them to my buddies over here!

jktruck150 · Aug 11, 2010

I've got the same problem. 4x4, tuner car (from my early car years), and hot rod mags. I ended up sitting down one day and throwing out about 50 magazines, and kept about a dozen that had 'significant' articles (ideas mainly from the pictures, design aspects I want to use when I get that kind of vehicle, engine swaps, etc.) Really, I would just copy some of the more important articles, and then cut out the pictures that have some sort of inspiration, and make a 3rd grade collage project on the shop wall.

Donate the rest to a worthy cause, nursing homes, the troops, female oriented Dr. offices (for the husbands), etc. Don't be a pack-rat, it makes spring cleaning ****, if you ever get that far!

Boiler · Aug 11, 2010

Depending on the cost of shipping, sending them to overseas soldiers is a great idea. I'm one that is constantly battling clutter & a wife that fights to not throw anything away. Stale crackers? She can't tell. 30 people magazines? Her mom might want to read them. Clothes my sister gave us for our kids, that her kids grew out of, that now OUR kids have grown out of? She'll want those back. So, every closet we have is packed, as is our laundry room (piled "totes"). This would be fine, but now there is nowhere to put anything we aquire, so it piles up and we're constatly fighting the piles on the kitchen counter, computer desks, and my workbench in the garage.

Life is easier when you've got room to organize things well and have places to walk. After having clutter forced on me in a small amount (we're not climbing through tunnels and never will be) I take great pleasure in throwing out junk. Oh I might need that 50 cent item in 3 years? So what.

Sounds like you need to get with DLC and have him help you ebay them.

magazines, what to do....

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