Idea : International Advertising Art

Don't purchase subscriptions from Amazon or Magazine Express.

The following are my experiences with a subscription to Hiragana Times from Amazon.

What this page doesn't tell you is that the Japanese magazines subscribed to on Amazon are filled by a company called Magazine Express and are shipped SEAMAIL from Japan which mean you'll recieve every issue 8 to 10 after it's released.

I placed my order in January and, to date, have not recieved a single issue. After several phone calls, the Magazine Express people (who fill the Amazon subscriptions) said they had to restart my subscription for the May issues which will take 8-10 weeks due to shipping issues. So after ordering in January, I will not receive a single issue of this uncancelable magazine until possibly in late July. Very poor service.

This is unacceptable for a magazine that most US Japanese bookstores (fujisan is one) can get within a week or that you can order directly from the publisher for only a few dollars more. If I had known the shipping policy I would not have ordered and the magazine supplier, Magazine Express will not cancel the subscrition.

I advise avoiding ALL Amazon magazine subsriptions due to their poorly stated policies.

**Update, I wrote this review in June. It is now July 8th and I've just been informed I must wait until August 15th to see if an issue arrives. I ordered the magazine on January 9th and I have had no resolution from either Magazine Express or Amazon who provides no way to contact anyone within Amazon about magazine orders. I reiterate, buying magazines from Amazon if a poor idea.

This is by far the best design magazine anywhere. The price might be daunting but, beyond being on the bleeding edge content-wise, issues are typically loaded with custom papers, finishes, a fold out poster, postcards, and other generally inspiring material. If you are tired of yuppie design rags and are looking for great work that spans an incredible range (every month), this is it. Not for "8 ways to better drop shadows" types. This is the real deal.

Buy Idea : International Advertising Art Now

I have read this mag thru and thru, and for some 20 + years now it has continued to be at the top of the crop. It is the most superbly laid out and designed magazine with excellant content,that I have ever seen. To be totally honest, I would much rather read and browse this any day over "Print" magazine. This is almost like a graphic design book, that just gets published every 2 months where the best designers in the world are given each about 30 pages to just go nuts on. I found it deep in the stacks of the university library one day and have been hooked ever since...also for those of you who can read/write japanese, german, and english you can have your pick while reading...

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