Magazine Subscriptions - Why does it take so long to get first issue?

Question

Also, why do they always send older copy, e.g. send you July issue if August issues are already on sale

Answer 1

You  would think they would have fixed this now...but no they still use the same equipment they have used for years.

Basically your subscription purchase has to go through several departments for processing then all subscriptions are printed once a month one to two months out. The whole process for a weekly magazine it is usually faster.

For example it's currently July, they are currently printing September's subscription addresses right now. Remember that August's printing is already out on the shelves. If your subscription purchase doesn't come in before they finish their September batch, you'll have to wait longer and your first subscrition will start in October. The wait can be even longer if the magazine is only printed bi-monthly, irregular, or quarterly.

Some companies do late address printings, where your order was processed after the normal batch printing dates, and this is the situation where you receive the July issue when August is already on sale.

Weekly magazines like People, Newsweek, Time, etc...are usually better about getting you your first issue. They do more address printings and have a faster circulation process.