New member introduction and some questions
TuscaloosaJohnny
Posts: 25
Hi. This is my first post here on the forum. I'm relatively new to this hobby and I am the brother of frequent poster Silver Dreams. Our father and uncle are also hobbyists so it runs in the family you might say.
I'm doing a little research on something and was wondering if you might participate in a brief survey. You can just reply on here to answer these questions or email me at jkampis@hotmail.com. Anyway, on with the survey:
Do you subscribe to any magazines about metal detecting? If so, please list all.
List the things you like best about the magazine(s) you read.
List the things you like least about the magazine(s) you read.
What features would you like to see in W&E Treasures or other metal detecting magazines that are not currently contained within them?
Thank you very much for your participation.
The New Guy,
"Tuscaloosa" Johnny
I'm doing a little research on something and was wondering if you might participate in a brief survey. You can just reply on here to answer these questions or email me at jkampis@hotmail.com. Anyway, on with the survey:
Do you subscribe to any magazines about metal detecting? If so, please list all.
List the things you like best about the magazine(s) you read.
List the things you like least about the magazine(s) you read.
What features would you like to see in W&E Treasures or other metal detecting magazines that are not currently contained within them?
Thank you very much for your participation.
The New Guy,
"Tuscaloosa" Johnny
Who lusts for silver? I lust for gold.
0
Comments
It mostly has stories about fabled lost treasures of the past but I notice that any current finds listed in stories are very vague as to location and such which is to be expected.
I'd like to see a magazine dedicated specifically to metal detecting which offered not only information on other's successes but tips and hints on the hobby. A "Metal Detecting for Dummies" approach would be neat, Cause I is one
Edited to add: Welcome to the forum!!
I suggest you attend an organized Treasure hunt in your area and meet some of people there. Just be prepared to listen to some stories and see some finds, especially if you mention relic or water hunting. These folks are rabid about their specialty. Treasure Week (July 7 to July 14, 2007) held in north central Ohio is a great event if it doesn't rain 8 in. in one day like it did last year.
These forums have a lot of folks that can and will answer questions you have. I have learned a lot and printed some nice pics. from the U.S. Coin forum.
Good luck
<< <i>American Digger magazine. >>
My choice as well.
I like the fact that indian relics are included in their mag as well.
When I first saw you were from Alabama and then saw your last name, I had a hunch.
Good to see you here!
Not only is it nice to have another Southerner around, it's also good to see a family dynasty of diggers!
PS- in answer to your actual question, I am a past subscriber to W&ET and think it's a fine publication. I don't read the magazines much now that I have the internet, though. Most of my TH-story reading outside of this site now goes on over on their treasurenet site.
The others mentioned American Digger and I had not heard of it until fairly recently. Another forum member sent me a copy and I must say I was quite impressed. I will be checking that one out and possibly subscribing and/or submitting some stories later, maybe.
Lost Treasure is good but I am more interested in reading about found treasures- real-life stories of real stuff that was found. The problem I see with Lost Treasure and many other treasure-hunting-related publications is that they spend too much time discussing what I call "pie-in-the-sky" treasures, like the Lost Dutchman Mine or the Oak Island Money pit. Interesting stuff to read about and muse over, to be sure, but a lot of it is semi-mythical "pie-in-the-sky" stuff and nothing more than daydreams, in my opinion. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with daydreams of treasure- everybody has them. And nothing wrong with reading about pie in the sky, either. I just prefer a little more down to earth (literally!) approach to treasure hunting.
<< <i>I would like to see a magazine that explores more of the how to of detecting with useful tips for novices and experts alike. >>
I agree.
I've read a couple magazines, but I'd rather be out finding, instead of reading about other's finds.
Welcome to the forum.
Book/detector/accesory reviews
Hunt of the Month (one, maybe two, first-hand accounts of interesting individual digs)
One story of lost treasure
History of a specific coin (the story of the Morgan quarter or the Mercury dime, for example)
Top 5 tips for someting (digging, getting permission, research, etc.)
Finds of the month (list and pictures with brief description, maybe 5 of these)
Listing of treasure type shows on TV (Cash & Treasures, etc.)
One article a month on hunting other stuff (arrowheads, fossils, meteorites, etc.)
And other feature articles on topics as varied as the best informative metal detecting websites to discrimination settings to how to preserve your collection to keeping a journal to how to hunt "hunted out" property....you get the idea.
What if said magazine featured all color pages and nice design (in other words, more like a modern magazine designed on a computer and not hand assembled ala W&E Treasures and Lost Treasure)?
Does this sound like something you would subscribe to forum readers?
I think it sounds cool but I gotta tell you I was really impressed when I read a sample copy of American Digger. One can only subscribe to so many magazines, and right now, I don't subscribe to any. I do all my reading about TH-ing right here or over on Treasurenet.
It's gotta be hard for print magazines to compete with the Internet in today's world, particularly as websites are free to visit.
Would I subscribe to such a publication? I rather doubt it, though I know I would enjoy reading it.
Would I contribute to such a publication? Yeah, probably, if they wanted me to.
Ad revenue is something else a magazine has to think of.
<< <i>What if there was a magazine that featured the following monthly columns:
Book/detector/accesory reviews
Hunt of the Month (one, maybe two, first-hand accounts of interesting individual digs)
One story of lost treasure
History of a specific coin (the story of the Morgan quarter or the Mercury dime, for example)
Top 5 tips for someting (digging, getting permission, research, etc.)
Finds of the month (list and pictures with brief description, maybe 5 of these)
Listing of treasure type shows on TV (Cash & Treasures, etc.)
One article a month on hunting other stuff (arrowheads, fossils, meteorites, etc.)
And other feature articles on topics as varied as the best informative metal detecting websites to discrimination settings to how to preserve your collection to keeping a journal to how to hunt "hunted out" property....you get the idea.
What if said magazine featured all color pages and nice design (in other words, more like a modern magazine designed on a computer and not hand assembled ala W&E Treasures and Lost Treasure)?
Does this sound like something you would subscribe to forum readers? >>
Sounds alot like American Digger.
Book/detector/accesory reviews......1 each issue.
Hunt of the Month (one, maybe two, first-hand accounts of interesting individual digs).....2-3 each issue
Top 5 tips for someting (digging, getting permission, research, etc.)......Almost every issue.
Finds of the month (list and pictures with brief description, maybe 5 of these)..........About 20 pics and info on each. Every issue.
One article a month on hunting other stuff (arrowheads, fossils, meteorites, etc.).......They cover it all.
What if said magazine featured all color pages and nice design ........AD is high gloss, quality paper with several color pages.
All this and more...
Ric Savage just started a column about Detecting fake relics.
Letters to the editor, a comic, clasified ads and more.
http://www.americandigger.com/index.htm
Sounds like a line straight out of "Sales 101" lol Are you selling this publication?
Mary
revenue.
I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of American Digger to browse it.
$30 for 6 issues is mighty steep!
You make a very valid point about people preferring to look at free
online message boards and websites these days. I guess I'm one of those
in the minority who would much prefer to hold a printed copy of
something in my hand that I can read anywhere I choose and flip through
easily. Looking at the computer screen for hours makes my head ache.
It sounds like American Digger is a quality mag. I wonder how much of
the detecting market they've been able to squirrel away from W&E
Treasures? I suppose in most markets there's room for someone to come
in and take their fair share of the market share if they can produce a
product that is better and more desirable, but it sounds like this may
be a tough market to do that...and perhaps too expensive to try. We
shall see.
I found American Digger refreshing because of its niche: relics. It seems to be a mag for the relic hunter. W&ET covers the other arenas, and Ed Fedory's relic hunting column in W&ET is terrific, but it is nice to see a relic hunter's mag. Fedory's relic hunting column was usually the first thing I'd turn to when I got a copy of W&ET. Then I would read H. Glenn Carson's column at the back, because Carson, the author of "Coinshooting" (and perhaps the coiner of that term), is THE man when it comes to TH writing. I have been reading him since the 1970s.
They're all good. If I had the money, I'd subscribe to them all. But I am just as happy to read stuff online.
Know what you mean about having something printed, though. It's nice to have on the bus or in your briefcase or whatever. And I think the market can (maybe) support more detector mags. But it will be a tough sell. If I were going to do it, I would find a niche, like AD seems to do with relics. (You can cover everything generally but have a specific, closer focus on your niche).
advantage due to its name and longevity. I've been snooping around
American Digger and found that they have a circulation of 1,500 an
issue. They are only sold through some subscriptions and detecting
retail outlets. (No clue what the circulation of W&ET is, which I
imagine is sold the same way and not using a distributor.) Not sure if
AD is turning a profit yet, but it seems to be making it OK for now
with a small circulation. As long as you've got that advertising money
coming in I guess a magazine will do ok.
Any clues or knowledge as to how many hobbists there are out there?
Any idea where to research that info? There isn't a a national MD
association or anything like that is there?