There was a time when the convenience store check out counter was hidden behind a barricade of cigarette display cases. The cigarette display cases would hang from the ceiling down to about the 7 foot mark from the floor. Those were the glory days of cigarettes and cigarette advertising. Then the tobacco lawsuits killed the cigarette advertising and stores scrambled to fill the space with something… anything as long is it wasn’t white space or empty space.
The solution in 99% of the stores I’ve been in is to place borderline obscene magazines with totally sex filled covers just below the check out counter. Somehow this drops your eyes below the check out counter so you don’t even have to look the clerk in the eye and you really don’t miss that massive tobacco ad hovering over the head. As long I can look at tits and ass in the check out line, I don’t care what’s going on.
The problem… and my biggest complaint about these things, is that all of this borderline obscenity and soft porn that I love so much is at kids eye level.
I can’t take my kid in the 7-Eleven to get a slurpee without having to hustle the kid through the check out line or do some kind of jedi mind trick on them like “Look over there… a baby wolf in the parking lot.”
I know these magazines bring every 7-Eleven across the country… oh, maybe at least 20 bucks a day. Yep, at least. What? You think it’s more? The racks are almost always full and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen someone buy a mag out of them.
So 7-Eleven is making 20 bucks a day and causing a major hassle when I take my kid in the store for a treat.
Here’s an idea for you 7-Eleven - move the saucy magazines or I won’t take my kid in the store. No, I’m not dumb enough to leave them in the car so that means I won’t be going in the store either. Now your 20 bucks a day on the magazines is offset by my 5 bucks a day that you won’t get on coffee and slurpees or other delicious oversized drinks or cylinder meat. That means only 3 other parents have to agree and then you’re not making any money off of the mags.
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Here in Chicagoland, WhiteHen was bought by 7-11,so they are in process of changing over.
I have not seen the magazine rack move to the checkout counter. Actually my W/H - 7-11 does not carry anything more racy than Hooters Magazine.
Ours has CANDY galore at the checkout. I find that annoying because you want to figure out what you want…something look good today…but you cannot because someone is checking out. Otherwise you are staring at their behind trying to find your candy bar.
I completely agree and have though about this myself! Quick-check, 7-11, etc. They are all the same. I do not think Wawa has magazines though, so they are in the clear.
You are obviously NOT from the NYC area. At Hudson News (which has got to be the largest periodical store in the US) they have actual porn mags (straight and gay) at an older kids level, with a piece of black on the rack that covers the photos. My almost 9 year old can read the words JUGS, BIG FAT BLACK MAMAS, TITS and ASS. I caught him checking it out once, and was like “woah! look at that army guy’s gun over there”. We were in Penn Station and thankfully there is always miltary with their M-16’s or whatever they are, walking around.
While I personally don’t enjoy those mags, I absolutely understand how some do, especially guys. But geez, do these stores have to start the kids so young?
Susan on January 9th, 2008 at 8:22 am | Link
TO dw17:
You would rather point out an instrument of death–a high-powered machine gun–than have them read a few words?
What kind of message is that?
Rod on June 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pm | Link
I agree with Rod. This would be a good time to say “society should respect women more than use them to adorn magazine covers.” Teach the kid a lesson. And then suggest what it would look like with Mommy on the cover. Kids laughs, pressure’s off, have a nice day.
Rod:
Dude, it was Susan talking about guns buddy.
dw17