Help zone

Q: I placed my order three days ago, why haven't I received my magazines yet?

A: Orders going to Southern California in particular are usually received pretty quickly, but

we ask that you please allow 10 business days for website orders to get to you. ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THE U.S. OR HAVE PAID BY MAIL.

We make every effort to get orders to you as quickly as possible.

Q: How are these orders shipped?

A: Our orders are shipped out via US post office, using different classes, depending on the size of your order. Single copies of some magazines are shipped first class. Any order larger than that probably will be shipped book rate. All orders outside the U.S. are shipped via Air Mail, Global Priority or Global Express.

Q: I placed an order on the website yesterday, but the charge hasn't appeared on my credit card. Did you receive my order?

A: Your credit card is billed when your order ships, not automatically at the time the order placed. This protects you from fraud and errors because each order and charge is checked by a real human being for fraud and errors before being filled. It takes a little more effort on our part, but we feel this is better than having a computer automatically place a charge on your card.

Q: Why isn't there a cheaper option for shipping on orders shipped outside the U.S.?

A: We can only ship outside the U.S. via air mail.

Sending orders via surface puts your package on a boat, train, etc. and is much cheaper, but the transit time for the shipping alone is 6 to 8 weeks, once we get it in the mail. Our experience has shown that because of the longer time in transit, the likelihood of an order getting lost or damaged is much higher than via air mail. We would like to be able to get orders to overseas readers at a lower price, but we can't take the risk of sending orders via surface mail. International shipping is expensive and the rates are not determined by us.

Q: How do I know ordering from your website is secure?

A: On the page where you enter your billing information, you will notice that the web address (or URL) will start with "https" instead of just "http." That extra "s" on the end means the page is secure, encrypted with SSL (secure socket layers) with 128-bit encryption.

On most browsers, in the lower left corner, you will also see an icon of a closed lock on "https" pages, which also lets you know the connection is secure.

Please note: Only the page where you enter credit card information is "https," not our entire catalog. This is normal, as you don't need 128-bit encryption while you are browsing our products.

If you have any questions about this, please contact our technical support under "Contact us" in the menu to the left.

Q: Can you send me a catalog in the mail?

A: Sorry. Due to the rare nature and limited print runs of the magazines we sell, a printed catalog would be outdated by the time we finished putting it together! This website is our catalog.

Q: I want to buy a copy of a certain back issue of a certain magazine. I saw it on your newsstand before, but it's not there now. Do you have copies of that back issue?

A: If you don't see a back issue on the site, we don't have it or can't get it anymore. Most of the items we sell are independently produced and sell out or go out of print after a short run, so get 'em while you can. If we have any back issues for sale, they will be on the site.

Q: Can I buy a subscription to the other magazines you sell, besides Barracuda through this site?

A: Sorry. We can only sell subscriptions to Barracuda since it is the only magazine we publish ourselves.

Q: I own a store. Can I get all of these magazines from you wholesale?

A: Sorry. The only magazine we wholesale is Barracuda because that is the only magazine that we publish ourselves.

If you are interested in wholesale rates for Barracuda, simply send us an email. Our Kustom Newsstand is a retail business.

Q: I saw the new issue of Barracuda on sale at a store or the website says it went onsale on such and such date. I am a subscriber, such and such date was two weeks ago and I haven't received my issue yet. Did you forget about me?

A: The onsale date for any issue of Barracuda is the date the magazine is scheduled to appear in stores, which, unfortunately, is sooner than it will appear in a subscriber's mailbox.

The magazine is shipped right out to distributors as soon as we get it back from the printer. Sometimes, it can get to some of the stores we deal direct with within a day or two of coming back from the printer's.

However, the subscriber issues have to be prepared for bulk mailing -- a complicated, tedious and time-consuming process that usually takes about 2 days just to prepare after we get distributor copies shipped. Once subscriber copies are mailed, they will take somewhere between 10 days to 4 weeks to get to you, depending on where you are located geographically.

The in-transit mailing time for subscribers outside the U.S. is about the same.

It is very difficult for us to give a specific date for when any one subscriber will be receiving their issue because so many factors (weather, Xmas mail slow-downs, the number of issues being mailed to your geographic area) affect the in-transit time of your issue.

We are not slackers and we are very well-organized. We didn't forget about ya!

Q: Can you send me a free sample copy of Barracuda so I can check out the magazine before ordering a subscription?

A: Sorry. That's what the website is for -- to provide you with a sampling of what the magazine is all about. You can order a single copy with a minimal outlay of cash or you can go thumb thru the mag at your local bookstore or newsstand.

Q: Can't you just send me a bill with my order?

A: Sorry. You have to pre-pay with before we can fill your order.

Q: Do you offer any alternative shipping methods, like UPS overnite or FedEx?

A: Sorry, we do not. There has been very little demand for expedited shipping.

Q: What is your location? I want to stop by your newsstand and browse.

A: Sorry. We do not have a retail storefront.

Q: Who owns and runs this newsstand?

A: The Kustom Newsstand is owned and operated by the folks who publish Barracuda Magazine. It started out as a single order page which was set up so people could order Barracuda online. We started adding similar-minded magazines published by our friends to the page. As we made more friends and discovered more great magazines, the order page became full, so it was decided to make a larger ordering area to offer up these kool mags and other stuff to our readers. And so the Kustom Newsstand was born.

We are proud to be in business this way with our fellow indie pubishers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only place on the whole internet where you can click and buy this selection of underground magazines.

Q: I have a collection of old/vintage car mags. Are you interested in buying them from me?

A: Sorry. That's not QUITE what we do here. Your best bet would be to get a booth at a car show or swap meet.