Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Rick Lester started it. I have had YEARS of trouble with National Dragster and their poor delivery, so I have kept track for nearly one year. Anyone else with the same results as I?

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

i have the same problem. went to the post office and reported it thinking it was a mail problem. nothing changes. i guess getting it late is better than not getting it at all.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

The guy at my post office said they deliver bulk rate mail when they feel like it.
Bulk rate is not high on their list.

Hammer

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

I have four words for anybody thinking about calling NHRA about why your issues show up 2-3 weeks after the cover date, dont show up at all, show up in shreads, show up with just the address label in a USPS envolope with a note reading that your mag. was damaged in the USPS system, ECT ECT ECT.

They are


DONT WASTE YOUR TIME

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

My brother worked at the local post office for 20 years, during which I had a subscri[tion to Nat'l DRAGSTER the whole time.. When it was delivered "late" (which was about 80-percent of the time), I'd call him and complain.

His ultimate response was, "If you saw how the Post Office is run, you'd be glad you get it AT ALL!!!!"

TV Guide doesn't get that kind of treatment, nor Time and Newsweek magazines. They are delivered on the day they are scheduled.

Maybe someone who works for the Post Office and is on this board can explain why National DRAGSTER gets the red-headed stepchild treatment, year after year..

Anybody???? Does NHRA pay a lessser rate than TV Guide?

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sick of it........

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Next time you go to the post office go to the postmaster himself, show him the deliver by date, then tell him you are going to come every week and seek him out. Also the problem may not be your PO, the digger goes out in bundles, where they are split open for distribution has more affect on when you get it. I bitched twice and now get mine either Wednesday or Thursday. If there is a holiday in that week its Fri or Sat. Its not NHRA its the PO system which is in ruin.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

I got issue 47 2 days ago

Hows that for on time delivery

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

It's not the post office..it's the printer who sends out the ND.They are the reason why it goes out a different days,and why you get it different days.Your ND and other mail is not held,read or delivered when the carrier decides to give it to you..

And yes, I do work for the post office.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Back before Racingjunk and craiglist, the classified section was great to find some used items. And I remember many people complained that due to the way the ND was mailed out that a lot of racers had no real shot at contacting the seller before most items were sold. Back in the 70's ND was a great read and source for info and I looked forward to each and every issue. Now I only save issues for friends that need extra copies for their scrape books. I used to have a gearhead for my postman and would come home to find him sitting on my front steps reading my ND. Now my mailman wears a turbin and I don't know where he is from but he doesn't read my ND.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Chris, is it true that ND is third class mail, same as your Piggly Wiggly sales flier, and that ,if the carrier has a heavy day, he doesn't have to take it all?

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Mark,
Not sure what class mail the ND is,it doesnt get "held up" as it's a periodical....but all mail has to go out every day,there is no deciding what gets delivered and what doesn't.

I work in vehicle maintenence as a mechanic,my job is that I go to different post offices around the city and repair vehicles,but I have always asked how the mail gets delivered and what everyone does,plus I attended classes on that stuff.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Thanks for the good info, Chris. I wonder all the time why mine is delivered several days after a friend in town gets his.

Wade O

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I have been in contact with Paula Gewertz at NHRA for quite a while and we were even able to meet at Indy this year. I am posting one, of what I think, was the most significant thing to help in our deliveries that she sent to me near the end of October this year.

"The lead we are chasing now is that National DRAGSTER isn’t being processed consistently when it enters the mail in Chicago. USPS picks it up from the printer in Wisconsin and brings it to Chicago, but if the Periodicals dock in Chicago is backed up, USPS directs their drivers to drop their trailer to be unloaded later, or sometimes they are directed to the Standard Mail dock to drop. What happens then is that the folks at the dock end up processing ND as Standard Mail instead of Periodicals, which results in the kind of erratic delivery you have experienced. When it’s mistakenly processed as Standard it’s very late because Standard is a slower class of mail, and that’s how you end up with no issue one week and two the next.

Getting Chicago to consistently do it right with the volume of mail that goes through there is a significant challenge. The distribution manager at the printer is working on it not only for ND but for all the magazines they distribute."


She also states that we should contact the Consumer Affairs division of the Postal Service with our concerns. I will try to find my number and post it if someone else doesn't post it before me. I am just tired of the members getting our magazines AFTER the freebies are given out to everybody at the National Events. Makes me feel second rate, I know get used to it right.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

I used to get worked up about my ND showing up late,but anymore once I finally go check my mail to see if it`s in my PO box,I`ll thumb through it once and toss it in the trash. After being a member since `82,it isn`t all that high on the importance list for me anymore.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

It's rare that mine even get read anymore. They come in, and most times immediately go into the magazine rack without even being looked at. Unless I'm traveling and looking for something to read on the plane, most then get sent to the recycle bin without ever being opened.

Supposedly ND is one of the reasons why the cost of the NHRA membership is so high. Personally, I would rather go without ND, and save the money. Of course, I shouldn't give NHRA any ideas, as hearing this they'll most likely take away ND and leave the membership cost the same knowing that we all MUST have a membership.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Jason,

When I discussed this with Paula from ND, I told her that if ND went to an on-line magazine(I don't want it to I am old skool) it would be the fault of the post office for pushing it that way.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

I must be the exception to the rule, because I usually receive my ND 3 or 4 days before the cover date, and never later than the cover date. I have been an NHRA member for longer than I care to remember and it has always been this way.

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

Well Bill, of course you are the exception to the rule. And the reason you get your ND on time is very obvious, to me at least.



You're Superfan 1!!

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

When I first started to subscribe in late 1969, if a national event was completed on Sunday, I would get the new issue on Friday, just days late, if it was late it came Saturday, sometimes it would come as early as Thursday. As the years clicked by it got later and later. Then when they changed printers to some joint in Wisconsin (I think) it really got late. Most times nearly 2 weeks after an event. I got frustrated then I just threw in the towel and resigned myself that whenever the thing shows up, whatever. I still enjoy it and like the new size and color, it just comes so far after the fact. The sportsman writeups seem to not get here till a month after the race.



SuperStocks@LionsDragStrip

Re: Speaking of subscriptions.....
 

I have always received mine really late.
When I complained to the local postmaster he did check it out and called me to let me know it was due to the way NHRA paid for bulk shipping to the USPS distribution centers.
When the distribution center gets the bulk package it sometimes sits there days before breaking it out to put it in the regular mail. He claimed that the distribution centers just use the bulk mail distribution work as filler as needed when all the other regular mail is distributed.
He said that just the way the Post Office does business.
I guess some distribution centers get it out quicker than others as some have said they get theirs on time. It all depends on where you live.
I am not sure the Government can run anything efficiently.
Just My 2 Cents
Rick Cates