Mine arrived today.. It is Monday, Wednesday and Friday week up here for mail deliveries - parcels are every day...

Waiting and waiting and waiting for my Insider pack 01/2021 !! It always takes ages to reach me.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Oh, I havn't been an insider member since before the big crash and recession. I still have all the isuues, plus many of the Magazines. Prehistoric digital stuff by now, but pkenty of members nice layouts and photos.
The last presentation book catalogue I have is also from 2006, but they date back to 1984. My first dealer gave me those through 1995 when they retired.
That is not an inexpensive thing anymore to publish full color catalogues, but it give professional photographers work. I admire that. Many are online PDF files now exclusively.
I recieved a very nice Roco catalogue last week with an order via post. A Faller new items brochure also with my 5 bay central fire station kit.

We Canadians must be the lowest in the pecking order! I received the 06/2020 issue on March 1st and 01/2021 today (March 19th).

Harold.

Hopefully we California members will receive ours soon!

You get your mail delivered on a Saturday??

Saturday postal delivery is still a thing here... for how long, who knows? There has been talk over the years of doing away with it, but somehow it manages to hang on.

1/21 hard copies received a few days ago here in California. I really like the magazines. I wait instead of looking at them online!

I agree with you and find it unacceptable that we receive these mailings essentially out of date. That is really not acceptable. It is also not "due to COVID". Is it due to the fact that Marklin doesn't care? Maybe not, they did add an extension to some cut off dates this year. I haven't been in the club long enough to know if it will always be like this. That said, I enjoy the member benefits, videos, hard copy, and free car. I like the club. And the late postings do not keep us in the states from participating. Simply go online once a month or so and see what's cooking. Forms can be accessed and as a club member you will have a specific dealer that can take care of you if you want to reserve a club model or make a reservation. Our US dealers like Z Scale Hobo and Marklin USA have gone out of their way to make sure I didn't miss out on anything. I did miss the cutoff date to be entered in the free model raffle for early Club model orders. So I need to practice what I preach. That was a long shot anyway.
It is also a shame that your starter set is not working properly! It would be so much better if your first experience was a positive one. As a relatively new train modeler I have been surprised by how much there is to this hobby. It can be challenging but also rewarding. Glad to see you here on the forum (support group?). At least know that we are all in this together and for most of us it is worth it in the end!