Unusual But Great Magazine Racks

You can probably tell by reading my posts that I like unusual stuff.  In fact, I have a blog about how to do weird stuff.  Anyway, I have located some very unusual magazine holders and will probably be purchasing some of them.  The first is a chrome plated steel one that looks like a mini wine bottle holder but in the shape of a question mark.  It does not sit up by itself, you have to roll up magazines and put them in the holes, with half the magazine out each side of the rings for it to work.  It is at j-me, a Canadian website and sells for $32 but it is out of stock.  I will try to find it elsewhere and post about it if I do – it would be a great gift!  I found another one which resembles a wine bottler holder I own called The Tube Magazine Rack.  It is not available in the US and is out of stock at A Place for Everything, a Canadian online store.  It sells for $98 and if you really need to see it you can at printfetish.com.

The next really unusual one is a 16″ x 56″ wall mountable zebra made out of sculpted metal.  Made by Paynani, it is $97 at shop.com.  Wouldn’t probably own this one, but it would be great for children.  The over the tank magazine rack for the toilet is probably the wackiest one ever!  I apologize if you own one and all 3 of my sons would probably love it.  If you have a son or grandson who needs one buy it at magazineracks.com for $24.98 to $29.99, depending on which finish you choose.  For $260.78, down from $510, you can have an ornate red Tibetan magazine holder with painted Chinese dragon design from AsiaExp at buy.com.  I have family members who decorate with a lot of Oriental furniture and this beautiful piece would add to that decor.  For all you eBay shoppers, visit now to buy a Leopard print faux fur one with fuchsia boa fur trim.  It is new in a sealed package and is a “Buy it Now” item priced at $11.99 plus shipping of $7.99 (only ships to the United States).  Amazon.com also has a plush leopard print one without the boa for $12.99.

And since it is the beginning of a new year and we are all going to get in shape, the reading rack/book holder/magazine holder for exercise equipment is a must and is available at Amazon.com for $10.99.

Magazine Racks For Your Business

Your type of business and available space will of course dictate what type of magazine display rack you will need.  A carpet store will need a different type than a doctor’s office and so forth.  I have researched and found many different types and prices and will try to help you sort it all out here.

Sam’s Club has a steel rotary 14″ x 68″ magazine stand which it says is great for reception areas or waiting rooms and retails for $392 (includes shipping).  This four-sided rack rotates 360 degrees and has 92 pockets.  You will have to own or buy a lot of magazines.  If you need a smaller, sit on the floor magazine rack, the W-shaped one at displasy2go.com is a great idea for  a lounge, office or any waiting area.  Made of “quality materials” (what, it doesn’t say), and comes in a couple different colors of wood grain finishes.  The dimensions are 28.5″ x 17.5″ x 15″, it weighs about 12 pounds and the sale price is $26.45.  At this same website, there are literally too many items for me to put on this page – but they are bound to have what you need!

If you need or want a wall mounted style for your business there are many at magazineracks.com.  Numerous sizes are available and you can choose from wood, sturdy acrylic, steel or wire models.  Prices for these wall mount styles range from $24.98 to $279.99.  Need to move your magazines around a lot?  There are several styles with wheels at officezone.com and the five I compared ranged in price from $166 to $851.  The most expensive one looks like something you see at the library.

For someone whose business involves traveling to trade shows, magazineracks.us.com has a “huge selection” of magazine racks designed for trade show display.  They are specifically designed to work with a trade show booth.  The corrugated cardboard holders are under $10 and the collapsible four-pocket design with “indestructible pockets” which comes with a bag for storing and carrying, is $323.49 if you buy one, or $305.15 if you buy a minimum of 8.  The picture for this one shows a rather large man hitting the front of the stand with something (a crowbar or is it in umbrella?) so if you ever feel like doing this you will still have an unbroken trade show display and will not have to miss work!   This foldable unit allows you to leave your literature in the pockets when folded and stored away.  I guess if I ever need a rack for trade show display I will choose this one – I always break everything and need help with organization – just leaving the magazines in the rack would work for me.

Electronic Magazine Racks – Even at Target

We should have known – an electronic way to view your magazines – the cost of the magazines seem relatively low and you don’t have to store them all over your house.  See more about this at americanwest.com/mags., zmags.com and even at Target.  Target had to enter the market  to compete with online retailers like Amazon.com.  In October of 2009, Target  launched its online digital newsstand after it partnered with San Francisco’s Zinio LLC, and sells its subscriptions for a 15% discount over Zinio’s regular prices.  The virtual newsstand is now in the “New at Target” section of Target.com.

Amazon launched the Kindle in November of 2007 and although many beforehand had predicted it would be a flop, by August of 2008 the forecasts were that Amazon’s sales of hardware and software associated with the Kindle would be a billion dollar business by 2010.  Has it happened?  Amazon boasted its Kindle ebook reader as this year (2009) being the most gifted item ever in Amazon’s history.  But who really knows since Amazon has remained quiet and even coy about the real sales numbers of the Kindle.  Many dislike the lack of disclosure on their actual numbers, but some site Amazon’s fight to protect its hold on the fast-growing e-book’s market as a reason to keep the specific data secret.  We shall see…

A little more about the Kindle – you will be able to tell that as I learn more about “it” I am leaning toward helping improve Amazon’s sales even more by purchasing one.  I say the best thing about it is that you can carry nearly a whole library with you wherever you go.  It fits in any handbag I carry and will end my having to read whatever the desk clerk has when we get stuck in a hotel in the rain.  Books range in price from $6 to $10 and although you own them once you buy them, I always keep all my books anyway.  If all your friends buy one and you all get different books for them, you can trade around just like you do with your physical books.  How often do you get on the dreaded flight without your favorite newspaper or magazine?  Especially since we have  to take less and less and travel becomes more and more of a hassle.  You can subscribe to almost any national newspaper from The New York Times to The Irish Times, and choose from 40+ magazines.  I could probably save enough to pay the monthly fee for a couple of these by not buying the last-minute magazine/newspaper/book at the airport terminal every time I travel.