Can The 'Net Do This?

[SoSueMe]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

 

[lantaur]

I'm not saying this is going to happen, but if said newspaper's circulation trickles down and down and down and down ... will those advertisers still be spending $$ on those inserts?

 

[Nathan Scott Phillips]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

But you didn't read any of them. Eventually that might start to annoy advertisers. At least internet ads could be a potentially tailored directly to the reader.

 

[SoSueMe]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

But you didn't read any of them. Eventually that might start to annoy advertisers. At least internet ads could be a potentially tailored directly to the reader.

No, I read lots of them actually.
All the tech store ones (I'm lookin for an iPod)
All the home improvement ones (I'm shopping for dad for Xmas)
All the athletic store ones (lookin for shoes)

 

[Almost_Famous]

bud, if you want an IPOD, you go to cnet, read the reviews, and buy one.

only because i got a few gift cards did i end up at best buy. got a nice camera on the cheap. but im done with those stores. big flat screen coming next year, and i'll def be buying offline.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

We don't make a lot on the inserts compared with the ads that appear within the paper. Almost never do we print them, we just deliver, and more cheaply than the Post Office. We do it only because a little revenue is better than no revenue. For a long time The New York Times refused to do inserts, but I see now there are a few.

 

[heyabbott]

SHOES? go to Zappos.com. AMAZING customer service besides the prices and selection.
Hate to sound like a commercial, but they are the Amazon of shoes

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

SHOES? go to Zappos.com. AMAZING customer service besides the prices and selection.
Hate to sound like a commercial, but they are the Amazon of shoes

That may be, but shoes are one thing I prefer to try on before I buy. Sure I could return them, but that's a hassle.

 

[heyabbott]

SHOES? go to Zappos.com. AMAZING customer service besides the prices and selection.
Hate to sound like a commercial, but they are the Amazon of shoes

That may be, but shoes are one thing I prefer to try on before I buy. Sure I could return them, but that's a hassle.

I know, but I hate shoe shopping. I'll buy 3 pair try them on and return 2. Free shipping, print the label and send it back in the box it came in. And if you know what siz you wear in certain brands, like Timberland and Johnston and Murphy, it's great.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

SHOES? go to Zappos.com. AMAZING customer service besides the prices and selection.
Hate to sound like a commercial, but they are the Amazon of shoes

That may be, but shoes are one thing I prefer to try on before I buy. Sure I could return them, but that's a hassle.

I know, but I hate shoe shopping. I'll buy 3 pair try them on and return 2. Free shipping, print the label and send it back in the box it came in. And if you know what siz you wear in certain brands, like Timberland and Johnston and Murphy, it's great.

I don't know if that's the case with Timberland and J&M, but many shoemakers, such as Allen-Edmonds and Alden, use a handful of lasts when making the shoes, so the fit will vary from model to model. I can take a B width on some Allen-Edmonds and a D on others.

 

[da man]

My wife buys the Sunday paper specifically for the ads and inserts. And we both prefer shopping and actually seeing something (and trying it on if necessary) to shopping on the Internet.

 

[SoSueMe]

bud, if you want an IPOD, you go to cnet, read the reviews, and buy one.

only because i got a few gift cards did i end up at best buy. got a nice camera on the cheap. but im done with those stores. big flat screen coming next year, and i'll def be buying offline.

I wasn't reading an ad to "review" the nuances and intricacies of an iPod. I was reading them to compare prices.

SHOES? go to Zappos.com. AMAZING customer service besides the prices and selection.
Hate to sound like a commercial, but they are the Amazon of shoes

If you don't have size 15 feet, like I do, that might be the way to buy shoes - especially if you buy from the same company every time and they fit the same, every time. But I was looking for shoes, on sale, in stores in my city.

 

[SF_Express]

I'm pretty sure -- I might be wrong, but don't think so -- that I haven't set foot in a department or retail store this year -- Home Depot is as close as I came.

And for the second consecutive year, every Christmas present was bought online, mostly Amazon, which has been great for me.

And there are coupons and discounts on the 'Net, too.

And understand, I read the print newspaper every day. Just never been a coupon guy.

 

[dooley_womack1]

There's a difference between Web sites that have cache as go-to places to buy, and ads on the Net that try to get you to visit a business. Ads on Web pages are ignored, pop-up ads are nuisances that are quickly x-ed out or blocked, and adware makes people hate Internet advertising. Those are things that the Internet isn't going to overcome anytime soon.

 

[SoSueMe]

There's a difference between Web sites that have cache as go-to places to buy, and ads on the Net that try to get you to visit a business. Ads on Web pages are ignored, pop-up ads are nuisances that are quickly x-ed out or blocked, and adware makes people hate Internet advertising. Those are things that the Internet isn't going to overcome anytime soon.

Couldn't agree more dooley.

It just kills me that advertisers don't understand this. I think they continue to advertise on the net 'cause it's cheap.

 

[statrat]

Why don't advertisers simply put their stuff in .pdf form on the newspaper website? I know some already let you download the weekly newspaper ad from their own website. Make it a perk for subscribers with a "Download this week's ads" banner. Subcribers can download it and then print of the ads they want without having to sort through the stack of paper on Sundays. Plus the cost of printing is transfered to the consumer.

 

[SoSueMe]

Plus the cost of printing is transfered to the consumer.

That's the reason I would NEVER print a PDF ad/flyer. I'm not paying to print an ad and then spending money in the store after that.

 

[Bruce_Shoebottom]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

I've actually heard people say that the piles of paper they've accumulated and not necessarily read but have to be disposed has been a factor in deciding to cancel subscriptions.

 

[statrat]

Plus the cost of printing is transfered to the consumer.

That's the reason I would NEVER print a PDF ad/flyer. I'm not paying to print an ad and then spending money in the store after that.

Even if you don't it print it, you have still looked it, and have not has to wade through piles of ads to find it. It doesn't matter whether youchoose to print it or not, as long as you look it at. However, for those who do chose to print the ads, the cost is passed on to them.

 

[da man]

I was away for a week and the fiancee just piled the five days' worth of newspapers on the end table in the spare room.

So, I was filing them away, taking out the flyer inserts as I went.

In six days, there were 33 flyers inserted into the paper and the total weight was 2.5 pounds. I'm not sure of the page count, but it's easily in the hundreds.

When the net can find a way to distribute that kind - and that much - advertising, it will win.

Until then, I cannot see how my newspaper is not making money, and lots of it, off these flyers and inserts.

I've actually heard people say that the piles of paper they've accumulated and not necessarily read but have to be disposed has been a factor in deciding to cancel subscriptions.

I'd have to say they are in the minority. Most people want the ads/coupons. In fact, they are a big selling point for Sunday papers. Many papers have signs/cards promoting the fact that you can save $50 (or whatever) with the coupons in the Sunday paper. In fact, one of the papers around here will sell you the regular Sunday paper packaged with the early Sunday edition. People buy it because that way they get twice the ads/coupons -- God knows there is little to nothing worth reading in most of those early Sunday bulldog editions.