ShopNotes has been discontinued.

[dennis thompson]

I wonder why they didn't try to accept advertising rather than shut down. While I find advertising on TV objectionable, (particularly during football games which I now record and watch after the game is almost over) in a magazine you can just ignore it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I wonder why they didn't try to accept advertising rather than shut down. While I find advertising on TV objectionable, (particularly during football games which I now record and watch after the game is almost over) in a magazine you can just ignore it.

It was their business plan not to accept advertising. As for skipping commercials, you are making advertisers not want to advertise, which shrinks programing choices and content. Look at both FHB, and FWW and how they have shrunk. Not everybody enjoys a monopoly like cable / Direct, or Dish, where I'm forced to buy a bunch of channels that I will never watch. Last year, when recovering from knee replacement, most days there were at any given time a dozen stations telling me how to have a "Brazilian Butt." Like I really need it, but had to pay for those channels.

[dennis thompson]

It was their business plan not to accept advertising. As for skipping commercials, you are making advertisers not want to advertise, which shrinks programing choices and content. Look at both FHB, and FWW and how they have shrunk. Not everybody enjoys a monopoly like cable / Direct, or Dish, where I'm forced to buy a bunch of channels that I will never watch. Last year, when recovering from knee replacement, most days there were at any given time a dozen stations telling me how to have a "Brazilian Butt." Like I really need it, but had to pay for those channels.

While "it was their business plan not to accept advertising" their plan is obviously failing, why not try something else?

[Matt Meiser]

Because then they'll be just another shrinking magazine with advertising? Magazines that accept advertising aren't doing well either.

[Myk Rian]

I sent a comment at the Shopnotes website to transfer my remaining issues to Woodsmith.
They ask for a 10 digit account number, but there are only 9.
We shall see what happens.

Got an email today. Woodsmith is good to go until July 2015.

[Mark Patoka]

Too bad to hear but understandable. It's really hard to even find many of the print magazines for sale as many of the big box stores (blue and orange) have minimized their magazine selections. Hopefully combining both SN and Woodsmith into one will keep it a viable operation. I'll admit when I have seen SN the past few years, I just haven't found the jigs something I needed or wanted to build but I really do like the quality of their projects and the publications.

[john davey]

What really is weird is they refunded me the difference for my subscription and cancelled it. But that made them dissapear from my ipad. I have the online subscription which uses Kindle reader. Once the subscription was cancelled they ones I purchased were removed from the reader. They did not refund the whole amount so it only would seem fair that I keep the ones I had??? Kinda sucks...

[Bob Coughter]

Just wanted to mention I called Shop Notes after finding this thread. I had just sent a renewal payment earlier this month. They said they will be sending out mailers to people who have paid for renewals, or have credit left on their subscription, with options on how to apply those balances towards other publications or products within August Home. She said they are still working out some details on how to hande that, but it sounds like people with outstanding money in it aren't hung out to dry. I liked SN, nice tips and I want to build several of the projects, but I do remember thumbing trough Woodsmith in the book store and noticing a lot of similarities. Maybe I'll go with that.

[Ted Reischl]

I have most of the magazines except for the last year or so. For a while there they seemed to be getting a bit redundant. The other day I took a look at the website and purchased the CD with all 138 magazines for $99 I believe. That is an incredible bargain at .72 an issue. The reason I bought it even though I have most of the issues is that it is easier to find something and I like to browse while my better half watches cooking shows. I used to carry a stack of them over by my chair to flip thru them. Now I can just do that on the computer and even zoom in when I want to see up close detail.

Just looked at the latest issue and it has a great solution for my new workshop!

[Brett Luna]

I received an e-mail from Barnes & Noble the other day notifying me that the mag is discontinued, that my subscription was canceled, and that the issues I have will remain in my library. I'm gonna miss the mag.

[Talbert McMullin]

I was a charter subscriber to ShopNotes, but dropped my subscriptions to both WoodSmith and ShopNotes several years ago because they were starting to take up some serious space in our new "downsized" house. Why did ShopNotes fold? They ran out of ideas! What the folks at August Home gave us is a comprehensive library on setting up your shop! It took them over 20 years to build this library, but where else can the beginning (or even advanced) woodworker turn to for ideas and plans to boot?

It's a badly needed addition to the world of woodworking and will serve woodworkers everywhere for many years to come. I hope August Home continues to offer the CD and the library. As they say, "It's not the destination, it's the journey". And what a journey it has been!

[Brian Tymchak]

I called ShopNotes when I saw this thread start. They confirmed they were folding up shop. They gave me the option of a refund since I had just re-upped for 2 years, or to take the balance in Woodsmith subscription. I took the refund and they were very prompt in getting it out to me. The customer rep told me they were (or might be) planning to add pages to Woodsmith to carry some of the ShopNotes style content.