The good and the bad of Robb Report.

I have subscribed to the Robb Report magazine for many years. Robb Report is a magazine designed for 'the affluent lifestyle'. The magazine is designed to be purchased by millionaires who are looking for expensive automobilies, homes, vacations, watches, jewlery, etc. I must admit that I am not even close to being a millionare, but I do love to read the magazine because it does have interesting articles and I like to think that one day I will be successful enough to buy some of the things I see featured in the magazine.

This magazine does center on vintage and luxury automobiles fairly heavily. Watches and jewlery are another of its heavy features. For example, one issue featured the Bugatti Venyron, which is a $500,000 automobile. Another featured watches that were in the price range of $30,000 - $150,000. The articles on these things usually feature reviews and descriptions of the product as well as a little story about the company that produces it.

They also usually feature a house or apartment in each issue and give a little tour of the design. This includes an interview with the architect and/or interior designer. A recent article I read showed off a Tug Boat which was purchased by a husband and wife who hired an interior decorator to customize the interior to that of a luxury yacht. It was interesting, but mentioned many details such as furniture that costs as much as some people's homes do.

There is one issue per year called the 'Robb Report Ultimate Home Tour'. This includes different rooms from different luxury home featured to make up a dream house. It is interesting reading, and it really gives you a good idea of design, which you can actually use for your own home using less expensive furniture.

The magazine is very heavy with advertising. However, the Robb Report is known for making beautiful advertising. Many people buy the magazine as much for the beautiful design of the ads as for the content of the magazine itself. Their design team is very good and many of the advertisements look like works of art themselves. I guess this is a necessity when you are selling $15,000 pens or $138,000 watches.

Even if you are not into luxury goods, there are articles on things such as wineries, travel destinations and different manufacturers. It is usually an interesting read, although I will admit that one issue does read very similar to the next if you are not actually very into cars or luxury homes. If you are a person who knows their cars and appreciates luxury homes, you will enjoy the magazine much more.

A subscription to the magazine is fairly expensive. For one year of the Robb Report, you could probably subscribe to 3 or 4 other magazines. However, it is beautiful in terms of its design and pictures. Every page feels to be as quality as the cover on most other magazines. It is obvious by the price of the magazine which group it is geared towards.

One annoying thing about subscribing to this magazine is that I do receive a lot of junk mail from luxury advertisers. I get invitations to check out penthouse apartments and premium travel services sent to my address. It seems obvious that Robb Report may be selling the name of its subscribers to select advertisers, unless the company from which I subscribed (it was a magazine service) is doing it. I will say that I did get some invitations to some swanky clubs, charity balls and fashion shows in my area. However, I also get stuff from anti-aging doctors and catalogs from luxury stationary companies and jewlery producers.

I must admit, this year I am not keeping my subscription to the Robb Report. Although I love reading about all the things I cannot afford but would love to have ... and of course feeling like I am part of a select group of readers, it is getting to be a bit much. I have subscribed for over 5 years, so all the cars and the homes are starting to blend together. I think if I take a break for a year and re-subscribe in a year or two, it will be more interesting.

I would strongly recommend you subscribe to this magazine if you have a large income or just dream about the day you one day will have a large income. Be aware that this is a heavy advertiser based publication but the ads are fun to look at. It has many good articles as well but it is very consumer driven. You won't find articles about current events, politics, fiction or human interest stories. If you want those, subscribe to GQ or Vanity Fair. Robb Report is all about consumerism for a luxury market.