Magpile Store is closing down
It’s not easy taking offline something that you spent countless hours building and then watch hundreds of publishers use to improve their businesses. But in the light of day — and with other plans coming soon to Magpile.com — this is the best decision for the Store.
Below is the email that was sent to Store sellers this morning.
Hello Magpile Store seller.
Hope things are well!
I have taken the decision to close the Magpile Store after five years online. It’s not an easy decision but let me explain why.
The Store was started to offer a new sales channel to publishers, to make it easy to reach new readers and sell more magazines. I’m a huge fan of magazine and print, and it made sense to create a way for publishers to increase their reach. People browsing Magpile and finding new magazines could order with just a few clicks. The early promise it showed was exciting but it was never used as much as I’d expected.
I’m about to revamp the main Magpile product and in the process I’m removing features that aren’t used much. The idea is to strip Magpile to its core and build it back up; some of the code running now is still from 2012.
For the Store, this means the end. Its low usage (and, though I didn’t build it for the money, low revenue) doesn’t justify a re-write alongside the rest of Magpile.com. Instead, I have another idea for online magazine selling that may come online in the next year or so.
The Store is scheduled to close in three weeks, on July 18th. You will be able to accept orders as well as log in and view your Store account until that date.
You’ll receive another email reminder before the closing date.
Please let me know by replying to this email if you want an export of your orders. I’d also be happy to help recommend another e-commerce platform if you use Magpile as your sole online shop.
If you’re looking for a subscription system for your magazine, I recommend checking out Subsail, my other magazine startup.
As ever, if you have thoughts, comments or questions, just email or DM me.
Cheers, and thank you so much for being part of the Magpile Store story! ❤️
-Dan Rowden
