Sport Z Mag. Closing Down

[SteveJ]

Perhaps the honorable thing for Sport Z Magazine to do is to refund the unpublished prorated subscription fee to each subscriber and allow the subscriber the privilege to decide what magazines he/she prefers to patronize. I am certain an ethical person wants to feel that they are stealing money from people who purchased a 1,2 or 3 year subscription.

Keith

The ethics would depend upon how the business is set up. They would not be based upon your wishes. If the magazine has been losing money as stated, there are more debts than assets. With the closure of the business, the magazine would need to liquidate assets and pay debts according to the laws that govern it. The magazine owes subscribers like it owes the businesses it used to publish the magazine. There are also people who worked for the magazine that may be owed wages. Should the employees and other businesses be deprived of the money they LEGALLY deserve just to refund your subscription?

Let's consider it this way. Which would you prefer: pennies on the dollar (at most) for your subscription or another publication honoring your subscription?

[Fun_in_my_z]

While the issue of subscriptions has been addressed, I have to take issue with your post. SportZ was an enthusiast magazine. The guys working on the magazine are enthusiasts wanting to improve the community.

Which scenario do you think is more accurate?

1. They were trying to defraud you of your subscription money.

2. They were doing everything they could to keep the publication afloat, but they finally realized they could not go on with the losses.

It was the principle of the matter. Say i leased you a new truck, And then i decided you wernt getting that truck, but a totally different one.

How would you feel about that? Not happy im sure.

Now im not bashing, i am only stating my feelings. I most likly will keep a subscription to the new mag as well.

But i would have liked a little notice before i paid the subscription

[jmark]

The ethics would depend upon how the business is set up. They would not be based upon your wishes. If the magazine has been losing money as stated, there are more debts than assets. With the closure of the business, the magazine would need to liquidate assets and pay debts according to the laws that govern it. The magazine owes subscribers like it owes the businesses it used to publish the magazine. There are also people who worked for the magazine that may be owed wages. Should the employees and other businesses be deprived of the money they LEGALLY deserve just to refund your subscription?

Let's consider it this way. Which would you prefer: pennies on the dollar (at most) for your subscription or another publication honoring your subscription?

Are worse nothing at all.........These guys could have walked away and didn't.

[texasz]

SportZ,

I just went to the old site and all links indicate that it's closing up. What I was looking for is if there are any back issues available for purchase? Please let me know ASAP as I'm certain that things will be moving very quickly at this point as far as people moving and office space being vacated etc.

[SteveJ]

It was the principle of the matter. Say i leased you a new truck, And then i decided you wernt getting that truck, but a totally different one.

How ywou you feel about that? Not happy im sure.

Now im not bashing, i am only stating my feelings. I most likly will keep a subscription to the new mag as well.

But i would have liked a little notice before i paid the subscription

As for the example of a lease: apples and oranges. If you're going to compare things, make sure there is a valid comparison. It's more like this: You pay Spic And Span Carpet Cleaners in advance for their carpet cleaning service for a year. The rise in fuel prices drives Spic and Span out of business. Sure Clean buys Spic and Span's customer list and offers to cover the rest of the year, but Sure Clean doesn't use Spic and Span's patented cleaning method. Are you going to turn down Sure Clean's offer and get nothing? (Apparently not, since you're going to take the new magazine.)

Most magazines fail. Some are able to sell their subscription list to reduce their losses. As for warning you, did you expect them to publish financial statements online?

[zed2]

The ethics would not "depend upon how the business is set up".

The ethical and moral code of the business owner is the guiding principal. As a CPA, I deal with many businesses that are undercapitalized or poorly operated. Unfortunately, too many individuals take funds that are not their own, either employee wages, vendor funds, IRS tax monies, sales tax monies, or customers monies, and use these funds to sustain a business operation or personal lifestyle. At the end of the business lifecycle, some business owners do not satisfy all their financial obligations and society as a whole has unwittingly subsidized the business operation or (even worse) personal lifestyle. In some instances, legal requirements force the business owner to make all parties whole. In other instances the ethic of the business owner place a moral obligation on him/her to make all parties whole.

I do not know specifics of Sport Z Magazine financial situation, but only can look to the final financial satisfaction of their subscriber base to demonstrate the ethics of the business owner.

[RAZ1]

TexasZ, you can still get SZM back issues. Just go to www.nissansportmag.com and go to the order page.

[26th-Z]

I'm having a hard time reading this thread. Perhaps I'm confused. SportZ magazine is changing names, modifying their format a bit, will take a little time to put out their next issue, and there is a discussion about getting your money back? Excuse me?

[SteveJ]

I'm having a hard time reading this thread. Perhaps I'm confused. SportZ magazine is changing names, modifying their format a bit, will take a little time to put out their next issue, and there is a discussion about getting your money back? Excuse me?

SportZ is ending publication. Some of the staff members have scraped together some financing to start a new publication. They will honor the old SportZ subscriptions, though. The new publication has a larger scope than just Z cars, expanding to cover the Nissan line.

[240ZX]

Sad news about Sport Z magazine. I did subscribe for a year but, based on the content of the magazine I decided to discontinue my subscription. To me, most of the content was best suited for the newbie who has little or no knowledge about the Z car. For those who have been involved with the Z car for some time, there was little offered that wasn't already common knowledge.

Now, the actual effort the magazine staff put toward the magazine is certainly commendable and should be praised! But with internet access and websites like this one, Hybridz, and technical sites related, one would be hard pressed to compete with a magazine. Also, since the Z car crowd is essentially a very small niche in the world of car enthusists, the expected level of subscribers is also likely to be very small.

Sometimes things just don't work out no matter how well planned or exicuted. Anyway, I wish the staff the best on their new endeavor.

[Montezuma]

Funny story about Sport Z; ever since November it has caused a problem with our local Z club. If every member of the the Z club whould have subscribtion the club would get its name listed on the club page. A few select clubs accomplished the goal by adding in the cost of the magazine to the yearly club dues. Our president wanted to do the same but was hit by strong opposition from one peticular club member who used the "by-laws" as a way avoiding having to pay for the subscription. The rift ruined 2 or 3 monthly meetings, the funny part is that we actually wasted 2 or 3 meeting and chased away a few good Z guys for NOTHING!!!! Damn that Sport Z....

[26th-Z]

You missed my point, Steve. Let me a little more blunt. You got cheap and you got low-class cheapskates. Which one is it?

Quite frankly, SportZ was pretty close to the sharp end of the Z car world. In case you all haven't noticed, the number of S30s out there is dwindling rapidly, the S32 crowd is probably the dominant crowd at the moment and the Z33 crowd is very well about to take over. Z car events are geared to the Z32 / Z33 crowd and the S30 guys who have held the backbone of the Z world for so many years are simply not around anymore. Young kids are spending on their Z33s money that equals my complete restoration and magazines catering to any specific marques spend most of their copy space on what is new in the market. Pick up a copy of Roundel and show me all the space devoted to the 02, for instance.

I applaud Nissan Sport. Look forward to their new venture and wish them all the best of good fortune.