Variation In Delivery Speed for ACD and MBN Subscriptions

We include our mail dates on our Customer Care page, and at the end of each edition of our monthly e-newsletter Monthly Slice. Often our subscribers wonder why it takes 10 days for the magazine to reach a friend in Georgia, while it takes more than three weeks to arrive in their own mailbox in central Michigan.

The answer lies in the delivery procedure at the Postal Service. Magazines, such as American Cake Decorating and Mailbox News, are sent by Second Class Mail. Once wrapped and addressed, the magazines are stacked on a pallet and wheeled into our printer's in-house post office, where they are loaded onto trucks destined for the nearest central station.

At the station they are separated into pallets bound for all parts of the country. As each truck is loaded, any First-Class mail is put in first. Other classes of mail (most notably Second Class and Bulk) have a time limit that they can remain at each depot. Mail that has reached this limit goes on second. Any space remaining is filled with Second Class mail, and then Bulk mail.

This process is repeated for each station the mail passes through. As you can see, the potential for variation in delivery dates is great—it all depends upon how many stations your magazine must pass through to reach you.

Typically, it takes 7–10 days for a magazine mailed from our printer in New Richmond, Wis., to reach a reader in Hudson, just 15 miles away. Most readers receive their magazines within 14 days, but there are parts of the country that often require 24–26 days.

By comparing the day you receive your magazine to the release date posted on our website, you can develop a good feel for when your magazine will arrive.