Magazines will be getting less from newsstand sales starting in February when U.S. commissaries overseas stop carrying magazines and most newspapers because of declining sales and rising costs to ship the publications, notes Grumpy Editor.
Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), a Defense Department unit, operates a worldwide chain of 284 commissaries that provide groceries --- and publications --- to military personnel, retirees and their families.
Sales of the Stars and Stripes newspaper in commissaries in Europe and the Pacific will not be affected. That’s because the newspaper is published overseas and not shipped from the U.S.
Also not affected are periodical sales at Army and Air Force exchanges, military versions of department and drug stores.
The halt of magazines to commissaries is being blamed on budget cuts facing the Defense Department.
DeCA in fiscal 2011 spent about $670,000 to airlift magazines to commissaries in Europe and the Pacific.
Some customers point out that much of the reading material is available online.
Another factor: lofty cover prices. Some examples:
Money magazine, $3.99
Entertainment Weekly, $3.95
Cosmopolitan, $4.99
Glamour, $3.99
Popular Science, $4.99
National Geographic, $5.99
Brides, $5.99
Motor Trend, $4.99
Popular Mechanics, $4.50
Consumer Reports, $5.99
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