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Brett Johnson Says:

Years ago, one of the high-end photography mags I subscribed to aggressively promoted a discount renewal price for a 3 year subscription.  I really enjoyed the publication - large format, high quality paper and printing, excellent photographic reproductions, and good articles on process and darkroom techniques.  So I bit on the 3-year renewal to the tune of $100+.  The mag shut down a couple of months later.  I got one more issue [still on the previous subscription, IIRC], and never saw a cent of refund for the unfulfilled subscription.

Posted on July 29, 2006

Pismo900 Says:

Well, after reading that article, I went to their website to find their phone number and called it.  It’s still active and you can leave messages for different departments, so it appears someone is still at headquarters.  I’m sure they would’ve taken those voicemail and extensions offline had they shut down, or at least, the phone company would have deactivated their phone number.  Maybe something else is up with the publication?

Posted on July 29, 2006

Benton Says:

Thank you for the attribution.

Posted on July 30, 2006

Rocko Says:

Of all the Mac mags, I liked this one the best.
The other 2 were full of useless info to me, endless reports of programs I never use.

Machome at least had some articles I found revlevent, a home user who does little more than surf the web, sends mail, and plays some games. To bad.

Posted on July 30, 2006

Gslusher Says:

The “Free Issue” and “Subscribe” links don’t work, which would make sense if they have gone belly-up. They wouldn’t want anyone trying to subscribe.

As for current subscribers, it’s problematic whether we’ll get any money back. If they go into bankruptcy, we’d probably be way down the list of creditors after the IRS, their employees, their suppliers, and holders of their debt.

Posted on July 31, 2006

Benton Says:

How can a mac event such as macHOME magazine discontinue publishing without comment from any mainstream mac news outlet. Don’t the movers and shakers have any contacts within the mac publishing industry who can and will report what happened and how will subscribers be treated. I’m unaware of any employees posting any where online. Don’t you think they might be disgruntled and willing to vent their unemployment frustrations? Why is publisher Kevin Octavio such an unknown and invisible persona? Didn’t he circulate at all in the mac publishing world? How dare Kevin Octavio disregard subscribers without any notification and why are the advertisers mute? Hear us advertisers? Tens of thousands of subscribers deserve an explanation.

Posted on August 01, 2006

John Cataldo Says:

I emailed the contact link on July 21 and it was returned as undeliverable. Calling the tool-free number today yielded no answer (after 10 rings). My bank statement shows they cashed my check for a 2 year subscription on June 16. Is there really no hope for me to recover the money?

Posted on August 06, 2006

Peter Petito Says:

I first started calling at the beginning of July when I did not receive my July issue. The toll-free number went unanswered. E-mail got only a canned response that the problem would be taken care of. I left messages in circulation and even with Kevin Octavio but no response. Until this article, I was unable to find ANY mention of this on the Internet.

I even contacted the Bay Area BBB. They said the magazine had until yesterday to get back to them so I guess that will be a dead-end also. Frustrating! I re-upped again in December for 2 more years because I really liked the magazine. Apparently over 10 years of loyalty doesn’t mean all that much.

Posted on August 06, 2006

David Topper Says:

Well, it looks like I’m in good company here. I too went for the two year extended subscription in January 2006. My last issue was the July 2006 issue. I’m really a bit surprised and (a bit pissed) that there was no communication about the apparent shutdown. This was one of my favorites. I will miss my subscription and my $49.95!

Posted on August 07, 2006

Geoffrey Steel Says:

Also very unhappy that the magazine appears to have folded without comment.  While the phone numbers are active they are not being answered nor can you leave a message.

The reprint company and I guest other vendors I found out after web searching.  My solution is to file a BBB complaint ... may not bet my money back but will put some pressure on Kevin O!

Posted on August 15, 2006

Michael Says:

I’ve been a suscriber to MacHome for years and had paid for another 2 years subscription too.  Their phone is still ringing indeed, but ringing is all it does. Not even the courtesy of a notification, what a great way for Octavio to show his appreciation to all the readers.
But why should we expect any better from this douche bag?  The corporate and political big wigs of this country have long showed us that honesty and accountability are concepts that only apply to suckers like you and me.

Posted on August 18, 2006

Jason Says:

Watch your mouth. We can keep it professional and still voice opinions.

Posted on August 18, 2006

Charles Munoz Says:

Subscribers, even to magazines that have folded, are of a certain value to the mag’s competitors. It’s typical of the industry to let subscribers of the folding magazine to transfer to other mags in the field. It would be odd not to let this happen: there’s money in it for the mag that’s folding.

Posted on August 20, 2006

Benton Says:

I include a link to the Bay Area BBB for those who’d like to file a complaint, as I did
.
http://www.oakland.bbb.org/complaintsearch.html

This MacHome information is needed to start the process.
macHOME
200 Folsom Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105

Phone: 415-957-1911
Fax: 415-882-9502
URL: http://www.machome.com

Posted on August 21, 2006

Gavin Says:

Is it possible that they are re-organizing and will put the magazine out again.  I really liked the way it was written.  Very basic yet a very easy read for a long airplane ride or road trip.

Posted on August 21, 2006

Richard Mansfield Says:

Shame on MacHome and all who have published there. This has to be criminal. There are still web pages out there soliciting subscriptions. I have also lost my recently mailed check. Shame..Shame on all those people that promoted that magazine .... and still took the money. What happens to the little guy now?  I will file a formal complaint.

Posted on August 23, 2006

John Says:

Over the weekend I picked up the very last copy on the stand at my local Borders, with June as the cover date (it must have become hidden among some other titles and never removed, because it only appeared as I was digging pretty deep to try—as a prospective “returner” to the Mac after 10+ awful years away—to see as much as I could of what I had to choose from).  I thought it looked good, so it came home with me along with a few appealing UK Mac titles (MacFormat, etc.).

I encountered the same broken links Gslusher described when I surfed over to their site over the weekend.  Today, however, the site appears to be completely defunct.

Too bad!  As someone who isn’t very familiar with all-things-Mac anymore (though I still remember fondly the Mac+ I used in my undergrad days), it looked like just the thing to accompany me back and maybe help me figure out which of the new models I ought to pick for my return, learn what’s new with Mac OS over the past decade or so (I assume it’s only, like, everything!), etc.  Looks like I’m on my own now…

Posted on August 23, 2006

Steele Says:

I just received from USPS Mail Recovery Center a photostat of the MacHome subscription check I mailed July 21 and a cover letter stating it was undeliverable and unreturnable. The latter I suppose because I didn’t put my return address on the envelope; the former must be because MacHome has indeed shut down.  I always put off resubscribing to most magazines; I had surmised that the check lost its envelope and USPS had only my address on the check to go by. I also surmised my subscription had lapsed and thus I had no subscription renewal notices on the table so I went to the MacHome website where my browser was not able to access the subscribe page.  It was then that I went on down the Google results and found this site. Since my check never made it there I’m out just a few issues.
I’ll miss MacHome; it was useful and informative for someone like me who remembers when TVs had horizontal hold dials and computers filled up basements of large buildings.

Posted on August 25, 2006

Art Says:

The magazine searched for its niche, was “rescued” a couple of times with new owners and editorial teams, and cash infusions but apparently couldn’t make it. Even thoiugh the Mac base is growing as is the number of Mac products, ad pages were dropping. The overall economy is not good, and has been heading down for the last five or six years.
It’s not uncommon for a failing and flailing magazine to do a long term subscription special when cash flow dries up in the hope of keeping things going until things get better. All cash goes to keeping the enterprise afloat rather than sending out refunds or notifications, etc.  It’s a form of corporate denial I suppose. Octavio didn’t appear to be the owner so probably had little to do with the decision to pull the plug or determining how it was pulled.
I liked the magazine a lot. It was practical, not geeky. In its final days it tried to reinvent itself again, latching on to the ipod, but by that point its subscription base was probably too low, ad pages too few, and its new niche had both too much competition and was too new to itself to have time to catch on.

Posted on August 27, 2006

FLIGHT DOC Says:

I called the web designer of MacHome and his only response to my questions was:  “I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to comment on this”.

Posted on September 03, 2006

Michael M. Says:

I recently renewed my subscription and began to suspect something was up when the August issue never materialized in my mailbox or on the news racks.  My emails & calls weren’t returned.  The credit card company made good on the subscription price, so I’m out nothing, except a magazine that I enjoyed.  Also, it’s kind of a tough time to be looking for a job in publishing, so I’m sorry for the people who worked there.

Posted on September 04, 2006

Joel Kamer Says:

I’m in the same boat as many of you, having renewed for 2 years in May.  I’ve lodged a complaint with my state’s attorney general as he would have more clout than I in getting after either MacHome or its owners.  I suggest others consider doing the same.  As Charles stated above, the shame here is that often bankrupt magazines will arrange for a transfer of subscribers to a similar magazine, but in this case all MacHome did was to pocket our renewal money.

Posted on September 06, 2006

DennisG Says:

I’ve been a MacHome subscriber since the beginning—not because I ever thought it was a fabulous magazine (it wasn’t), but because it at least attempted to fill a niche that wasn’t being properly addressed by other magazines.  As a writer, it’s always been my opinion that MaHome was one of the most amateurishly written and poorly edited of the many magazines I read—and I told Kevin Octavio that in an email conversation I had with him when he took over the magazine.  I was very specific with him about ways the magazine could be improved.  He agreed with my assessment, seemed grateful to get the feedback, and promised that I would like the changes he was about to make.  When he hired Cheryl Englund (who edited MacAddict in its glory days), I thought he was off to a very good start.  But she left after a few months, a sure sign that something was very wrong.  In the following months and years, while the magazine always delivered useful how-to information, the quality of the writing returned to a shockingly pedestrian level and typos were rampant.  It was as if no one could be bothered to proofread the thing.

MacHome has failed because, when all is said and done, not enough readers thought it represented a good value.  That’s too bad.  But Mr. Octavio has to have been kidding himself to think that he could buy a failing magazine, do little to change it, operate it on the cheap, and wind up with anything other than a failing magazine.

He owned the beginners niche in Mac magazines, and still couldn’t find a way to make a go of it.  That’s a pity, and I feel sorry for him.  I also feel sorry for the folks who invested their hard-earned dollars in subscriptions.  But mostly I feel sorry for the MacHome employees who must surely have been underpaid, underappreciated, and overworked—yet were more than willing to jump into the foxhole with a leader who ultimately made one bad decision after another.

Posted on October 03, 2006

Michael Duffy Says:

I just found out today about MacHome’s demise. I am not upset about my subscription money. What I’ll miss is the magazine itself. It was written at my level. Of the other two Mac magazines, on is a little too geeky, the other a little flighty and geared to kids.  I found MacHome useful, practical and understandable. I hope someone sees an opportunity, and begins a new publication aimed at the average Mac user like me, and fills the void left by the sadly departed MacHome.

Posted on October 03, 2006

Jane Bluestein Says:

I’ve been spinning my wheels for weeks trying to track down issues I paid for and never received. I, too, subscribe to the other Mac mags and while I find both useful, MacHome always seemed to have the most information of particular use and relevance to me. I wish I had found this page before investing the time I spent trying to call (their corporate numbers have been disconnected and several of their Web pages disabled). I’ll write off my renewal fee, but am most sorry about the loss of a really great magazine.

Posted on October 23, 2006

Bobk Says:

Another 2 year subscriber in the same boat. The publisher should post a notice on the home page either that the shop is closed, or that he has some future plans.

Posted on November 04, 2006

Jim Thompson Says:

Y’all are lucky. I (a subscriber since we bought our first Mac, a Performa 6100 in 1995) renewed in Jan 05 for THREE years at $70.
I just tried the (800) # and got several minutes worth of rings. My e-mail got bounced. I’m surprised the website is still there.
I’m very disappointed, even though the defects noted (mis-spellings, etc.) have been distracting.
I don’t expect to see the money again, though it would be nice. Even nicer would have been some notice that this was happening.
The good news: We have an Apple Store in Albuquerque now!

Posted on November 07, 2006

Westbrook Says:

Does any one have a recommendation for a Mac magazine to replace MacHome?

Posted on November 12, 2006

Dave Merten Says:

MacAddict or Macworld

Posted on November 12, 2006

Nansy Says:

I’m glad I found this site doing a search for MacHome.  I renewed for two
years and haven’t gotten anything for months. Had some problems and
a lot of periodicals never read. Started catching up and noticed no magazines after June.  Went to the site, made numerous calls to sub. dept.
and the offices and no answers or messages.  I loved this magazine! I’m new to the world of computers and the articles were very readable and
informative for me.  I hate losing the $$ but hate more losing this magazine.  Tried MacAddict but it wasn’t for me.

Posted on November 13, 2006

Bob Says:

Let’s say 50,000 subscribers lost $20 to Octavio. That’s a cool million he stole from us. Why isn’t this guy in jail? This country needs to change bankruptsy laws that protect these jerks. Maybe we each could put a lien on his house:-)

Posted on November 15, 2006

Andrew Says:

A few more things to point out:

1) The copyright date on the website is from 2002 - 2005. One would expect this would be from 2002 - 2006.

2) The subscribe link does appear to work, if you click on the one way at the bottom of the page (http://www.machome.com/subscribe/index.lasso). When I did, I was actually able to place an order. I was directed to a page that said this:

“Thank You for your order

If you have any questions regarding your subscription, please call 1 800 800 6542 or email . We hope you enjoy reading our magazine!

You will also receive e-mail confirmation of your subscription.”

Someone may want to try that email.

3) It may be worth watching the “Tip of the Day” section to see if it updates. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s automated, but it’s something to watch anyway.

Lastly, as an (unfortunately) accurate reminder of the magazine, the word I have to type in to confirm I’m human is “dead.”

Posted on November 19, 2006

Lynn D. Says:

I’m so glad I found this while trying to Google something about MacHome subscription renewals.  My 8 year old son asked me last night why we hadn’t received our MacHome subscription for a few months, and I realized I had probably not renewed (expired Oct ‘06).  But now I see it’s not just my oversight - what a bummer, the other Mac-related magazines are too techie for me (they bore me, quite frankly) and my whole family loved MacHome’s relevance and easy reading.

Posted on November 20, 2006

Joe Says:

The magazine is indeed out of business. Mr. Octavio not only ripped-off thousands of subscribers, but he has failed to pay writers and other people he owed thousands of dollars to. It’s a shame, considering how hard people worked to get the magazine published, not to mention the fact that he led them to believe that it would all work out.

Posted on November 28, 2006

Bob Y. Says:

If you want your money back from MacHome then contact Kevin Octavio at his home.
The yellow pages lists him at:
37 Park Ter
Mill Valley, CA 94941-2949
(415) 383-6032
I can see us peasants decending on his castle with torches in hand:-)

Posted on November 30, 2006

KR Steinberg Says:

Hs anyone actually followed Bob Y.’s suggestion to contact Octavio at his home? Or had any success with other legal resources? I filed with Golden Gate BBB, only to confirm that MacHome is out of business.

Posted on December 23, 2006

John P. Hayden Says:

I’m in the same boat as the rest of you.  I really liked MacHome and had wondered after a month or so after the June issue why I had not received the July.  I did look around on the Internet to find out what had happened, and so today I Googled Octavio’s name to see if anything new had been posted.  This site came up and with it some answers I have been looking for.  Unfortunately, MacHome remains kaputt.

Posted on December 30, 2006

Blaine Wollan Says:

Just got around to realizing that my machome magazine hadn’t been arriving of late (guess I have been busier than I thought). So I Googled it and sure enough found your article. What a shame. In my opinion it was a great magazine with many worthwhile articles and tips. I gave up on MacAddict after many years, so now I guess I am stuck with MacWorld, which in my opinion is less than a stellar publication, but it does work and better than nothing for Mac users. I concur with most comments and that is shame on MacHome for screwing many of us long term subscribers.

Posted on January 01, 2007

Ralph Says:

Yet another 2-year renewer here; don’t remember when I did do an extended renewal (early 2006). I will miss the magazine but I can’t help but wonder if this is one of the reasons MacAddict is renewing itself as Mac|Life magazine next month.

Posted on January 02, 2007

KR Steinberg Says:

Didn’t know about MacAddict’s rebirth as Mac/Life. Thanks, Ralph - I am going to try it. Ill cancel, though, if Octavio’s name appears as one of the editors!

Posted on January 03, 2007

Brian Says:

HOW CAN THE MAN SLEEP AT NIGHT?? OCTAVIO SHOULD BE SITTING IN PRISON RIGHT NOW. LET’S ALL SEND EMAIL AND WRITE LETTERS TO MACWORLD AND MAC|LIFE (FORMERLY MACADDICT) AND SEE IF THEY CAN FIND OUT ANY INFO OR DO A STORY ON THIS. WE CAN’T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS! I WASN’T A SUBSCRIBER, BUT I ALWAYS BOUGHT IT AT BORDERS AND LIKED IT. NOW I THINK I’LL STICK WITH MACWORLD AND MACLIFE, THOSE ARE TWO GREAT MAGAZINES, BUT MACWORLD AT LEAST WE KNOW HAS BEEN AROUND FOR AGES AND WILL NEVER GO OUT OF BUSINESS (MACWORLD EXPO, ETC.)

LET’S GET OUR REVENGE! (OR AT LEAST YOUR MONEY BACK!)

-B-

Posted on January 11, 2007

Jim Richardson Says:

BBB is ineffective as an enforcement arm--they can, if they choose, only advise if an organization has a bad record. The Consumer Protection Agency of your State’s Attorney General’s Office is the place to file a complaint. It’s a simple matter over the net. Question to you legal minds: Since funds are being moved accross State lines, does that make this scam a Federal matter?

Posted on January 16, 2007

Dick Sherman Says:

I tried four times to renew MacHome, but was frustrated nothing happened. Guess I was lucky; my subscription ran out last July. I think their demise is a sad day for the average Apple customer, and that there definitely is a niche for this once-popular publication. At the least, I think you can expect that with less competition, the survivors will inch up their subscription rates. It’s the law of the jungle, apparently.

Posted on January 18, 2007

former employee Says:

The magazine closed doors in June 2006. The advertisers could not support the magazine and even Apple had not run an ad in the magazine for maybe two or three years before its close. The employees were asked to keep things quiet as there was a possibility an outside publishing company was going to buy and continue the magazine but it fell through.

A couple months after Kevin purchased the magazine the advertising started to decline in all the Mac pubs and it never really came back for us. There were staff layoffs at the end of 2002 and a skeleton crew of two editors and one art person put out the magazine for three more years on a ridiculous shoe-string budget. We had hoped that Apple’s success would mean greater ad revenue as well as new subscribers. But alas, our labor of love which received multiple national and regaional awards still failed in the end. Just not enough to support it even though there were many loyal and satisfied readers. It was and is heartbreaking for all involved.

Employees were given no severance and no notice, the doors just closed. It seems that many subscribers lost their money and freelancers who were friends probably never got paid but this is the way things go when a single magazine publisher goes belly-up I suppose. We have all moved on and Kevin has disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Anyway I was surprised to find this link and that people are still talking and wondering about the magazine so I thought I’d pass on some closure. Thanks to all of you that did support the magazine, it certainly meant the world to us.

Posted on January 22, 2007

KR Steinberg Says:

Thanks to “former employee” for confirming what we all sort of knew anyway. I too am sorry for the employees of MacHome who took the direct hit. I did file a complaint with the Califormia Attorney General’s office, but don’t expect anything to come of that. This whole experience has cured me of renewing magazines for more than one year at a time!

Posted on January 23, 2007

DennisG Says:

With all due respect to “former employee,” there are about a jillion awards handed out to magazines on a yearly basis.  The fact that MacHome won some of them doesn’t imply that it was a magazine of consistently high quality.

On the contrary, the articles were laughably superficial, the writing amateurish, and the proofreading practically non-existent.  (I once counted 16 typos in a single issue—two of them in the first paragraph of Kevin Octavio’s note to readers.)

There is only one reason MacHome failed:  in a world where timely Mac news is available only a mouse click away, the reading public found no compelling reason to buy a flawed magazine.  That even Apple chose not to advertise in it is an indictment of the most obvious kind.

Posted on January 23, 2007