24.6.12 Big Issue

To my surprise (and perhaps associated shame) I was unaware of the price of The Big Issue magazine, until I bought one last week.  The chap calling out 'Big Issue' was near the supermarket, and I thought 'why not'.  This wasn't so much any act of charity on my part (which is probably a reasonable view because otherwise people may as well simply stand and ask for money) but an interest in reading an edition of The Big Issue, linked with some knowledge that I was probably doing some good at a very low level by buying one.

"How much?" I said to the bloke, and I was amazed when he said "Two pounds fifty".  Why on earth had I expected it to be either a pound, or perhaps one-fifty?  He was pleased and said, "At last, a sale" and I went off to Morrisons with my magazine.  I suspect that the £2.50 cost of the 48-page paper magazine makes it a challenge for sellers to make much.  In the past, when it was a quid, there was some relativity between the cost, the product and the whole process that led to people doing something to make some money.  Whatever the effects of inflation, they do not warrant a jump to £2.50 for a publication that I found to be rather poor.  I am not at all bemoaning what I got for my money on this particular occasion - just observing that it has brought me up-to-date.  I suspect that those selling The Big Issue are now struggling more than ever (evidenced by the chap's comment of "At last a sale") and that many who do buy it will be less than impressed.  My own view is that I'd have been better off (literally!) giving the chap a pound coin for nothing, and walking on.  He'd have got a pound, I'd have saved one pound and fifty pence, and I'd not have felt disapponted with what I got for £2.50.

All this proves that the concept is now slightly flawed.  I will not now want to buy another edition of The Big Issue from any seller.  That does not mean I wouldn't give the seller a pound, but that in effect means I'm paying a pound not to read what he/she is selling, and it's a halfway stance that gives a mixed message.  What does a seller make per sale at £2.50?  I don't actaully know.  It's sad that what is being sold is of such little value and interest that it's now too expensive to be seen as a proper purchase.  So, there is as a result no real difference between someone selling The Big Issue and someone asking for money for the sake of it, and this is completely contrary to the aims of the creator.  If the idea is to help people not resort to begging or busking, but to attach a worthwhileness to their efforts, then it's gone wrong. 

"A hand up not a hand out" is printed on the issue for the week commencing 18th June.  I beg to differ (forgive the pun) but I would rather a hand out if the pretence of a sale and a hand-up is only maintained through an unworthy £2.50 price tag to a publication that warrants about £1.50.  The upshot of all this is that henceforth, any cries for 'Big Issue' will lead me to consider a £1 donation and no purchase.  Instead, I'll buy a newspaper for 30p.  The seller gets a pound and keeps the magazine, I get a better read and save £1.20, and the only loser is the publisher who has overpriced the product. 

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