Single-Copy Combination Sale Rule Update

Effective Jan 1, 2008, issues

Combination sales are defined as two or more magazines sold in combination, and the amount paid by the purchaser is less than the amount if the publications were purchased separately.

At the ABC board’s July 2007 meeting the following modifications to the requirements for qualification of two magazines sold in a single-copy combination sales were made. These modifications are effective with Jan 1, 2008, issues and forward. They include the following:

1. Issues sold in combination must be current issue available within the newsstand marketplace.
2. Magazines included in the package must have editorial affinity (homogeneous in content) consistent with the guidelines of “Transfer of Publications.”
3. The minimum price to be collected for the combination package must be 100 percent of the highest priced magazines and 25 percent of the other magazine.
4. A maximum of some percent (possibly 50 percent) of the draw of the magazine with the smallest newsstand draw may be offered in combination.
5. Full disclosure in the ABC Publisher’s Statement will be made including identification of the publication sold in combination, issue sold, quantity sold, and combination price.
6. ABC must receive advance notice of the publisher’s plan for a combination sale for pre-evaluation and the publisher must commit to providing ABC full access to details of results of the combination sale test for reporting back to the ABC board.

This updated qualification requirement does not require that “three stacks” be made available at any location where the combination sale occurs.

The ABC board plans to make a review of the use of this updated rule at their November 2008 meeting.

For adherence to the above criteria and as noted in item #6 above, publications interested in pursuing a single-copy combination sale of two magazines, completion and submission of the “pre-evaluation for single-copy sales” is required. Please submit this form to your Publisher Relations manager in advance of the on-sale date for review.

Publications interested in exploring this new rule opportunity need to contact their Publisher Relations Manager to ensure compliance once the board takes final action to make rules effective.

Publications interested in pursuing single-copy combinations wherein sale includes more than two magazines or a magazine and a business publication, farm publication or newspaper are reminded that the “three-stack” requirement continues to exist. This policy requires that for single-copy combination sales to qualify as paid circulation, each publication involved in the combination sale must also be available separately at the point of purchase where the combination sale is offered.

Updated 08/07/07