Climbing Mag doesn't pay up ?

john strand wrote:Still nothing ???? I know you monitor this site... man up pay your bills

Really...you expect things to happen because you post on MP about it? You should consider this a learning experience instead of trying to bully a big corporation into paying up by whining about it on the net! You are ruining your name for future publications by doing it this way.

how does one, "go taco"?

Climbing is hardly a big publication. I really don't care about he money.. I just think that companies should honor contracts ?? problem ?

Does posting up here make honoring a contract invalid ? I don't thin so

If you had something published.. would you not expect to be paid

Jon Zucco wrote:how does one, "go taco"?

"Taco"?. Is that a east coast thing? Like "going loco"?

And that's why I self publish instead of chasing a hollow dream, John!

I'm surprised and disappointed to see John's repeated posts on this topic because I contacted him less than half an hour after his original post, on behalf of Climbing. Although I no longer work full-time for the magazine, I do help out with contributor relations with the accounting department, and I explained to John that the company was closed for the holiday week, but that I would contact accounting first thing on Monday morning to plead his case. He replied that this sounded reasonable to him, and so I was surprised to see him claiming no one had responded. I do understand the frustration. I can assure you that it's a source of great frustration and anxiety to the editors who work there, as well, because they understand how increidbly important the contributors are. Indeed, many of them are close friends. They wish they could change the situation, but it's out of their hands. It is true that the magazine's payments have been very slow, but I can say this: Everyone does get paid. Meanwhile, I will be following up on John's behalf on Monday.

Dougald MacDonald wrote:I'm surprised and disappointed to see John's repeated posts on this topic because I contacted him less than half an hour after his original post, on behalf of Climbing. Although I no longer work full-time for the magazine, I do help out with contributor relations with the accounting department, and I explained to John that the company was closed for the holiday week, but that I would contact accounting first thing on Monday morning to plead his case. He replied that this sounded reasonable to him, and so I was surprised to see him claiming no one had responded. I do understand the frustration. I can assure you that it's a source of great frustration and anxiety to the editors who work there, as well, because they understand how increidbly important the contributors are. Indeed, many of them are close friends. They wish they could change the situation, but it's out of their hands. It is true that the magazine's payments have been very slow, but I can say this: Everyone does get paid. Meanwhile, I will be following up on John's behalf on Monday.

For you to come on here and say that you are disappointed to see John posting on this issue after you contacted him is, at best, complete bullshit. Until John gets paid, he has every right to continue to post on this thread. In fact, even after he gets paid, he is well within the boundaries of ethical behavior to out climbing magazine for its shady payment practices. You told him you would look into it after 5 months. I am going to bet he has heard that before. I am not saying that you are being disingenuous, but you admit that AP is out of your control. Why should he believe you and expect that he will get paid now. Why should he stop talking about this. Until he gets paid, Climbing Magazine is screwing him, not the other way around.

What you should be disappointed in is the fact that the editors and staff at Climbing Magazine continue to enter into agreements with contributors when they know that the payment terms will not be met. I get that it is a tough spot for the editors and you to be in; AP is out of your control and you still have to solicit content. However, if you don't let folks like John know up front that you will pay in "net whenever," you are 100% complicit in the fraud that this organization is committing and part of the problem.

Full disclosure - I don't know John and have never worked with Climbing. I do own a business and see shady business practices like this regularly.

I had a problem with Climbing Mag a few years ago too. I had posted a trip report and a few photos on the Cascade Climbers forum about a new route we had done on University Peak. A few days later Dougal MacDonald sent me an email wanting to know if it was ok for him to put my stuff on Climbing Mags website. Problem was it was already there before I was asked. It turned a little heated with MacDonald arguing that he could put it on there without my permission if he felt like it. He took it down soon after. I'm still a little pissed about it. Climbing Magazine sucks.

youtube.com/watch?v=ctRVz6c…

Jonas Salk wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctRVz6c7PGI

Dr. Salk,

On behalf of mankind, thank you for your vaccine. The soundtrack video was good, too.

john strand wrote:There was short story about me in the August 2012 issue, with a couple of photos. Still have not been paid for the photo use. Anybody else have this problem ?? It's not a bit sum, but over 4 months seems a bit much

Sure have!

WHERE THE HELLS MY MONEY!!!!!

what a great song... now pay the man.

Great question: how much does a photo cost from you guys? How much for multiple photos, say a spread?

What if you're the climber (but not the photographer)? Do you get paid?

The Stoned Master wrote:Great question: how much does a photo cost from you guys? How much for multiple photos, say a spread? What if you're the climber (but not the photographer)? Do you get paid?

Their website probably has all that info, at least it used to.

The original issue of this thread aside, how does the mag justify having a bad administration? From what I've read here its obvious that this isn't a temporary problem. If you know the payments are lagging and you're losing contributors and reputation due to the fact, how come you're not taking action? If its internal, someone needs to be sacked (or hired), if its external, you need a new subcontractor for the finances. Going on like this is unprofessional and not a valid excuse for consistently paying too late.
The only possible explanations are
a) The mag isn't professional. (well, its actually a possibility in the climbing industry)
b) Shenanigans.

Obviously the magazine doesn't run the money.

Can you say class action?

NC Rock Climber wrote: For you to come on here and say that you are disappointed to see John posting on this issue after you contacted him is, at best, complete bullshit. Until John gets paid, he has every right to continue to post on this thread...

Even through New Years while the office is still closed? Kind of barking at the front door when the Jehovah's Witness people are already gone.

TheBirdman wrote:Can you say class action?

I hear Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer is available. What about Harvey Birdman, esq? You know him, right?

You're entitled to your own opinions (X amount of time being too long of a wait for you to handle) but you are not entitled to your own facts, so here are a few to clarify:

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The publisher of climbing, which handles the accounting, handles the payments for all the magazines they own. Climbing is owned by a publisher, not the other way around, and can't just "fire someone."

I've contributed numerous pieces over the years and always gotten paid, though always after a few months or more. If you are living hand-to-mouth and need the money within a few months, don't bother working with Climbing.

I have never once signed a contract that indicated I would be paid within a set number of days or any faster than I have been. Of the photographers that I have worked with, none has received a 30 or 60-day guarantee either. And the staff has always been honest and upfront about the delays in having contributors paid.

When payment has come my way, I've been contacted by employees several months after the contribution, as a friendly courtesy to remind me that I had a check in the mail and to thank me for the work.
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Do you actually have a signed contract that promised payment within a set amount of time?

If some contract was not fulfilled, it would make you much more credible to post that here. As it is, the major source of unprofessionalism on display are your repeated diatribes swearing about a problem best handled privately, and your false claims that you had no response when in fact the editor-in-chief (emeritus) emailed you within 30 minutes of your initial post.

As a general of thumb, if you're trying to get money from someone, your odds of success won't improve by calling them "fuckers".

I think you should all go taco on them. But probably should wait until after the holiday season. No one likes getting tacoed while they're with their families.