SkyMall files for bankruptcy

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CHamilton

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And Amtrak's "Travel Mall..."

No more Bigfoot garden statues?!? SkyMall files for bankruptcy

The 25-year old in-flight catalog’s revenue has dipped recently thanks to the prevalence of mobile devices and WiFi on airplanes.

The parent company of in-flight shopping catalog SkyMall has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing an increased prevalence of mobile devices on planes as the primary reason for the company’s flagging sales.

Xhibit Corp. XBTC and several of its affiliates, including SkyMall, have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix to supervise a sale of their collective assets, the company announced on Friday.
 
RIP

:(

Maybe if they put in RailMall in the rest of the Amtrak fleet that doesn't have WiFi yet - they can hang on for a couple more years - maybe with a delivery promise that their purchase will get home before they do!
 
I've never understood who bought from these people in the first place. Yet another business whose continued existence defied all logic. Apparently Radio Shack remains in business due to influence from judicial rulings over market manipulations between creditors and speculators. Kind of like the financial equivalent of a boxer being told by his owners to "go down in the fourth" only to be accidentally saved by the referee. Or really more like a boxer who is secretly drugged but fails to fall down when expected due to a diluted dose of poison.
 
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Good. Now I'll have more room in the seat pocket.

Although, given the number of dirty diapers people stuff in those things, I'm hesitant to use it from now on. <_<
 
I never touch the seat pocket or anything in it since I read that it is the most germ laden location on the aircraft - and I never even thought of diapers!!!

I'm with DA too - I have wondered many times who would order anything from Skymall and why. But I don't see what difference mobile devices make. Just that now people can direct their boredom elsewhere? But you couldn't make inflight purchases so I don't see how that applies really.
 
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I always read Sky Mall for amusement, checking out the various electronics they offered. Prices were always outrageous. You could always find better prices in stores,if they carried the item and Amazon always had the same or similar items for a lot less. Who bought stuff through them anyway? What a rip off!
 
Wonder when the Bean Counters will want to Axe " Arrive" since I've never seen anyone actually reading one aboard Acela, just thumbing thru it in a Lounge?

Do the ads pay for it or is it a Money Loser for Amtrak?
 
I'll agree that some of their stuff is kind of ridiculous, but will say that I am pleased with the wire art work resembling a tree bare of leaves in winter, which looks great in my guest room. I have only bought a few things from Sky Mall but felt this was a good value.
 
Wonder when the Bean Counters will want to Axe " Arrive" since I've never seen anyone actually reading one aboard Acela, just thumbing thru it in a Lounge?

Do the ads pay for it or is it a Money Loser for Amtrak?
I always read Arrive while on the train. Unless I've already read that month's issue. Sometimes it even gives me new ideas of activities in NEC cities.

I also love reading Skymall. I always wanted one of those Harry Potter wands....
 
The only time I've ever enjoyed the Skymall mag was when traveling in a large group on a long haul flight and we'd get into a group activity to find the most silly thing, the most pricey thing, the cheapest thing, etc. We'd be flipping through it laughing our heads off like some sort of crazed scavenger hunt.
 
Wonder when the Bean Counters will want to Axe " Arrive" since I've never seen anyone actually reading one aboard Acela, just thumbing thru it in a Lounge?

Do the ads pay for it or is it a Money Loser for Amtrak?
The ads may pay for the Arrive magazine, but I wouldn't be surprised if ad revenue is declining if surveys show fewer people are reading the magazine in favor of sticking with reading, texting, watching videos on their smartphones, tablets, or e-readers (reading only of course).

As for Sky Mall, I had never thought the effect of the latest technologies on their business model. But I can see how in-flight (or on-train) catalogs are another victim of the new age of smartphones, tablet computers, the internet with WiFi and 3G/4G communications. This is a very rough time for the printed catalog and magazine business.
 
I'll have to snag a copy out off my flight tomorrow. Never actually made a skymall purchase, but I remember when I was much younger they had a pretty neat lego set that never showed up in the Lego catalog. Otherwise my favorite thing was the stuff they made for pets that ranged from practical to ridiculous.
 
Nobody buys things from Skymall. They just make fun reading when you have nothing else to do. Or you tear out a description of an item and when you get home you search the internet for the Chinese company that sells it for 1/4 of the price.
 
Nobody buys things from Skymall. They just make fun reading when you have nothing else to do. Or you tear out a description of an item and when you get home you search the internet for the Chinese company that sells it for 1/4 of the price.
BINGO! How do you think I found a better price on the 12 foot long Articulated Lawn Dragon :help: :p
 
Nobody buys things from Skymall. They just make fun reading when you have nothing else to do. Or you tear out a description of an item and when you get home you search the internet for the Chinese company that sells it for 1/4 of the price.
Sky Mall would not have had $33.7 million in revenue in 2013 if some people had not actually ordered the stuff shown in the catalog (as stated in the article). That down from previous years. Since the Sky Mall catalog was in business for 25 years, people did indeed buy stuff from the catalog. Now with the internet and smartphones, one can order all sorts of crap from anywhere at anytime. Progress!
 
Wonder when the Bean Counters will want to Axe " Arrive" since I've never seen anyone actually reading one aboard Acela, just thumbing thru it in a Lounge?

Do the ads pay for it or is it a Money Loser for Amtrak?
I do wonder about that. Marketing efforts are often hard to quantify. Granted, the mag is supposed to be drumming up additional leisure travel on Amtrak but it could always fall into airline magazine syndrome, which is to flatter the egos of the C-suite and also pimp transparently false travel reporting that a supermarket aisle women's mag would be embarrassed to print. Of course the real purpose are the page after page of ads for expensive restaurants for business travelers near major business travel airports. Back to Arrive I just kind of question who buys Amtrak tickets because they run a canned item about a film festival in Philadelphia or Sail Boston. Really, really bored trustafarians? I mean who just buys travel to something they never heard of before because a carrier's magazine mentioned it? Maybe Amtrak's money would be better spent on advertorials in a real travel magazine like Conde Nast.

The acid test is, would you read Arrive on the internet, that is, you're not stuck in a steel tube with no reading material, rather you have a choice. And the answer is a big no. But I would and do read Amtrak.Ink. Both are probably back end produced with the same marketing/comm employees but Arrive probably costs more since they have freelancer's articles and print licensed images.

Last time I had my hands on a copy of Arrive I was allergic to all the articles but I do think I was filling out some sudoku or something. I know, I know, I should buy my own puzzle books.
 
This is a very rough time for the printed magazine and catalog business.
Not to mention newspaper's and books....

Amazingly, I heard recently that JC Penney was going to bring back their catalogs. I remember when receiving the old Sears, Roebuck, and Company catalog was an anticipated event. Especially for those in rural areas..... :)
 
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I recall that on some flights, you could actually purchase and receive certain items right on board from the flight attendants....not sure if that was thru the Sky Mall or directly from the airline.....I purchased a unique pen with a built in light..... :)
 
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