Dulwich Life Magazine In Receivership

[vikhibby]

So I found out the hard way. Paid my ?50 for an advertisement to go into the September issue.... chasing my contact for the last couple of weeks, and last night finally got a response from him that Dulwich Life was in Receivership and he was "sorry"! If he still has my cheque he will return it... what are the chances.

Has anyone else paid up front for an advert that is not now going to appear..?(6)

[lozzyloz]

Find out who the receiver is and make a claim. Slim chance (takes a while) that you might get a few pence in the pound back depending on priority creditors though I doubt they've assets of any value.

[citizenED]

Sorry to hear about your personal circumstances vic - a similar thing happened to us with another publication a few years back. But sad to see the demise of Dulwich Life.

[Rubby Chuckers]

Can I ask, did anyone see a copy of Dulwich Life since the June issue?

[Louisa]

Did anyone actually read Dulwich Life? hmmm

[eccentric]

would you like a saucer of milk Louisa?

[SeanMacGabhann]

Louisa has been away for a while... I think the least we can accept now is a little cattiness ;-)

[AnotherPaul]

I'm sure it's a shame for those who've lost out but I won't miss Dulwich Life for a second. With so many of it's 'stories' being feebly constructed advertorials, laughably praising some quite undeserving local businesses. Easy, I won't go there Mr Admin.

It's no surprise it didn't survive, publications do need to be about more than feeble middle class angst, oneness classes and where the clueless might eat next Saturday night.

Does this mean we can be rid of unLiving South too? Please oh please publishing Gods, smite them with declining readership and becoming favoured as arse wipe material.

Also, on a more constructive note, I can't help thinking this forum might have made DL an irrelevance.

ap

[Ultraconsultancy]

Wrong side of bed AP? Have a look [if you can force yourself] at the inside cover of Living South. They have about a dozen 'magazines', all minimal on the editorial and rammed with ads for estate agents awash with cash, and hypnotherapists.

I used to joke with Mrs UC that there was a constantly re-run article on 'Victorian graveyards of South London'. Opened the last issue of LS and there it was, a parody of itself. Darwinism clearly not applying in glossy publishing here, then.

UC

[AnotherPaul]

My bed has two perfectly functioning sides thank you.

I must admit I do have history on this issue. I was a magazine designer so am very opinionated. Also I've have placed ads in unLiving South. Before I did so I asked around and through my ad-hoc market research discovered that no-one really looks at it beyond the property section. But I wanted to test it, after all my research was loose and I was hopeful.

The return was pathetic. It could be that the ads were no good but I honestly don't think that was the case.

To make matters worse there was absolutely no after-sales-care from Archant the owning company. It's my understanding that publishers nurture advertisers so as to ensure future spending - unless the publisher knows that advertiser won't want to come back. This is why I think mags like that could go under quite easily. Once advertisers realise they're wasting money they stop and if enough of them do so at roughly the same time it reaches a tipping point et viola! End of magazine.

ap

[JoeChuff]

i'm surprised they've gone under, to be honest - i work in mags and it seems pretty clear that the business model of Living South, DL etc would be based almost wholly on income from the property sections, with any additional revenue from local traders ads just a bonus. what does it say about the housing market that one of these folds?

[SeanMacGabhann]

It says the housing market moves too quickly for a potentially weeks old publication to be of much use IMO

Living South used to at least try to pretent to provide editorial content but since the current editor took over I would rather read the free Sky magazine*

* A lie. Obviously. But Living South remains next to useless

[JoeChuff]

yes you're probably right, or perhaps ED houses are basically selling themselves, so estate agents don't need to advertise so much.

i'm reluctant to criticise the journalists involved, i imagine that must be one of the most demoralising mags you can write for!

[Keef]

Why was anyone having a go at Louisa there? Seemed a perfectly fair question to me! ;-)

[SeanMacGabhann]

Were we? I've had a quick re-read... hmmm. Ok it was a little teasing on my part but I was just glad to have her back. She has been quiet of late

[vikhibby]

Well after all of that I got my cheque returned yesterday... so I have to now say i'm sorry to see DL go! But given that no one actually read it i'm glad my ad never ran... I shall now be looking for a new forum to advertise in... maybe this forum is the way to go :))

[Ted Max]

Good for you Vikhibby.

Before you spend up with the Forum, please consider my new venture. I'm launching "Living Life in SE22" magazine soon.

My USP is that I've set up a web front-end where restaurant owners, beauty therapists and children's party organisers can write their own reviews, then print off the review under my masthead, for posting in the window of their enterprise. My charges really only cover my costs - I've very low overheads as the only writers I ever have cause to use are my friends' children looking for work experience, and people willing to provide unhesitatingly critical articles about HIPs.

Another idea I've had is to run a "Best restaurant" competition, with the awards weighted towards heavy advertising schedules in LLiSE22 and free meals for me and my friends at the restaurant in question.

[*Bob*]

Personally I'm in favour of these local magazines. How else would I find out how much my house has gone-up in value - from the comfort of the armchair?

The universal practice of looking in estate agent's windows on the street (a.k.a. Pretending To Be A Buyer Whilst Really Just Wanting To See How Much Your Own House Might Be Worth This Week) is just so.. vulgar.

[JoeChuff]

it is, rather, isn't it? those mags are basically just house pornography!

i have a friend who believes that all this obsession with house prices is a real cancer of the British psyche... people trying to get rich without actually having to work for it... a bit extreme maybe but he's got a point.

Ted Max - are you looking for an equity partner? ;)

[Domitianus]

JoeChuff Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> it is, rather, isn't it? those mags are basically

> just house pornography!

>

> i have a friend who believes that all this

> obsession with house prices is a real cancer of

> the British psyche... people trying to get rich

> without actually having to work for it... a bit

> extreme maybe but he's got a point.

>

> Ted Max - are you looking for an equity partner?

> ;)

I completely agree. If I never hear another person waffling on about property prices and the housing ladder I will be a happy man. There seems to be this popular misconception that house prices go one way - up, and we never hear the end of people who have bought a house, had it re-valued a month later and find out that they have made x thousands of pounds. As we have seen recently, however, there are significant signs of instability in the housing markets (America, Spain and Ireland are taking a kicking), there has been a drop last month in house prices in London, there is the sub-prime fiasco and a distinct possibility of a further increase in interest rates. I think some of these smug characters who mistake genius for a bull market may end up with an awful lot of egg on their faces!

[*Bob*]

Is your gaff still on the way up, then, Dom?

[AnotherPaul]

I'm setting up a magazine advertising absolutely nothing to estate gannets, restaurant owners, beauty therapists and childrens party organisers in the hope that I put their brains so for out of whack that they melt.

But before I do that, does anyone know what the actual circulation of LS is? Last time I checked they said 55K could that include the huge piles stacked up in agents offices?

ap

[Domitianus]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Is your gaff still on the way up, then, Dom?

I rent, I don't own and whatever arguements there may be in favour of owning instead of renting there is absolutely no way I would buy property in London at the moment.

[*Bob*]

Domitianus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

If I never hear another person waffling on about property prices and the housing ladder I will be a happy man.

Domitianus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

I rent, I don't own

Ahh.. I understand now.

[DG]

Well, I must say I picked up SE22 magazine today, and it seems to have descended into drivel. Nothing of interest in there at all, except some brownnosing to this forum, which is presumably why it has found favour over Dulwich Life.