Art & Inspiration What in the world do I do with all these MAGAZINES?

I started buying on 1972 and had a shitload of magazines. sold them all on ebay in 2008. I sold them by year, except for a box of 50's stuff I had. the older ones seem to go good as singles. 70's HOT RODs only look good as a group for the most part.

if you have a bunch you don't want find a guy at the next swap meetand give them to him.

 

Had the same problem with car mags and guitar mags. Sorted thru them all, kept the ones with info specific to the cars I have. Put the rest of them on kijiji, guy came along bought a load. The rest of the car mags and the guitar mags I gave to kids. They went crazy over them. Didn't want to think about how much money I spent on all of those over the years (magazines have a special higher price for us Canucks to boot- oh well most of my higher education came from car/guitar mags).

 

Im another one with boxes and boxes of the old magazines. My old magazines have a "smell" to them and my honey doesn't really like them in the house lol. I tried giving away a bunch but no one really seems to want them any more. And financially it just isnt in the cards for me to send boxes and boxes of these over seas. Im keeping 75 and older for now.

Ive gone through several hundred of the 76 and newer ones, boy that takes a long time, because next thing you know instead of taking a quick look see you are sitting on an old chassis reading the darn things. Ive saved a few, but the rest of the newer ones have been recycled. I still have boxes and boxes to go through. I buy almost no magazines now, so they aren't building up any more.

 

Someone in a similar discussion on magazines in the past said he takes a
few oldies with him when going to the doctor's or dentist's office, or a
hospital (where they usually have mags in waiting rooms)......and leaves
them.

I have done that......hopefully some other guys enjoyed them more than
an old "People" or "U S News". I know I would. I do remove or mark out
my name and address.

How about a Salvation Army place or a homeless shelter?
Maybe some of those folks would like them.

 

I gave a bunch of mine to different car clubs in the area. Some of the younger members get ideas out of them on how to build before store bought existed..Promotes our hobby.

 

I guess I`m a hoarder. I`ve got 15 shelving units full(about 2500, just a guess). all organized by name, month and year. I make notes of interesting articles and features in a catolog form. I post the articles that people are looking for on the computer. I don`t have cable TV, so I spend a couple hours a day reading. I always buy a box full whenever I run across them. As for what you should do, Try all of the above and see what gives you the most satisfaction and what gets the best results.

 

I have donated mine to the troops nowhere near what you have, but I did it through our church they take in donations and send them to the troops every so often.

 

I donated 1,200 1971-2010 mags to the troops.

 

I took them to the old folks home,the guys were real happy.
Russ

 

I think you may be more of a Librarian than a Horder

 

Drop mine at local police dept. for guys doing time to read saw them at recycle center getting reading material magazines for inmates. Just drop them off my copies are clean just cut my name off subscription sqare on covers so trouble makers dont get my address thinking I have garage full of valuables.Any time I've had buddies in hospital I drop a handful for them to read while layed up.

 

This thread has given me some good ideas to get rid of mine. So far, I have been giving them to my oldest boy that is now 7. He loves reading them and especially likes the Rodder's Journal.

 

Take them to local hospitals, leave them in the waiting rooms for cancer treatments and such.

 

I donate mine to the retirement home, where my sister in law works, after I read them. She says they get plenty of women's mags, nothing for the old men. She says they really like them

 

I've been taking a milk crate full to each swapmeet. I put it out with a "free" sign.
What doesn't get taken, usually not too many, are left in the crate for the next swapmeet.
My buds are giving me a hard time because I give them away. Doesn't seem right to charge for them.

 

I've been taking my, and my wife's, current magazine to the local hospital where 2 of my grandchildren were born and my mother-in-law was saved. They have volunteers who run the Gift Shop and they take any books, hardback or paperback, and magazines and distribute them amongst the paitients and waiting rooms. Every now and then I find car magazines at thrift stores and buy them for the men who wait in the hospitals and never have anything to read. I also buy hunting and fishing mags when I see them and take them there.
I too have boxes and boxes of old car mags but haven't yet been able to cut them loose.

 

Interesting responses and I am motivated to go at this from multiple angles. Looks like a good "feel good" project when sadly watching them go!

I do know that around here, none of the medical groups or hospitals allow ANY magazines in the waiting areas because they are said to spread disease.

I do like the idea of the veterans home and promoting hot rods to kids. And, of course there are some I won't be able to part with.

Any other ideas out there!!??!!

 

If you are in Chicago, I'd love to borrow some and read them and return them.

 

WRONG
your local PO has FPO FLAT RATE BOXES which is CHEAPER than the medium US flat rate box, cost about $11 to ship to any FPO/APO address (i.e. overseas soldiers). You can pack a lot of magazines in them, weight doesn't count. Use the large customs form and just state "used magazines", no value needs to be stated.

You will need an address (I don't think you can address "any soldier"), I have a grandson in the Marines in Afghanistan if you need an address pm me, he can pass them out.

 

Wow, I wish I woulda known that!! I have spent over a hundred bucks sending boxes to various people that I know or their friends/family over there! $11 bucks woulda been MUCH nicer!! LOL

 

Okay, where does that scissors lift go to...?

 

It is a motorcycle lift. I guess just so he can put a display bike(s) in the media room.

The main floor also includes a turntable to turn the cars around so they can get out his tight driveway more easily.

Here are a couple more shots...

 

I send mine to the troops overseas

 

I have been haulin them around so long, I just keep doing it. I to have a lot. I have beed saving them since the 80's. I was thinking of having a garage sale and selling them for a buck a piece. I think I would keep my faves though.

 

I am in the same boat here, Boxes and Containers full. I thinned a few out over the years, sold some older ones, dumped some non interesting ones, gave a bunch away and still seem to have a bunch.

The biggest thing you need to do is make the time to sort out the keepers and the ones that gotta go, and realize you probably won't reread them ever again. That's my biggest problem, I think someday I will buy something and need that magazine for the info

 

The troops is a good idea. We also send TONS of them over to the troops each year in care package shipments.

 

I have several large filing cabinets in a spare bedroom. I refer to them all the time. Throw them out??!! No self-respecting car guy would EVER pitch out old car magazines. Maybe the last 3-4 issues of Hot Rod, yea, ok, but OLD magazines??!! You gotta be kidding!

 

I have a bunch, a lot of titles including Hot Rod Mechanix , about 600 magazines or so in total.
Street Roddder ,Rod Action, Rodders Digest and all the other rags produced during that period.

I too have decided I really don't need them and would like to sell them.

I have tried, and it's not like I want a lot of money for them.

Good luck ! No one wants them. And it is a shame really, they are like a piece of history.

They contain a lot of stuff you will never find on the internet even if it survives another 100 years.

Not sure what to do with mine

 

I've got it bad, too...

Here's my current solution. I built new shelves in my garage over the last couple of years. Put all the magazines in plastic storage boxes - sorted by year, title and month. Counted the number in one box for an estimate... I figure there are over 4,500 of 'em there, a few going back into the '50s.

I'd guess that I've got $100 in the shelves and $200 in the storage boxes. That's probably too much to spend, but it certainly makes it nice when I'm hunting for a road test or an article that I remember.

 

good idea..last week i was looking for the july 1969 hot rod magazine.i emaild a friend that has a stack and he had it..sweet