# Who the Hell Even Buys Playgirl, Anyway?? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647 "2005-03-21T23:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 27
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647/27 "2005-03-22T02:57:39Z")
A factual answer to the OP’s question, of sorts. _Playgirl_’s circulation was around [500,000](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100965) copies in the late 1990s. By 2002, however, that number had dropped to [350,000](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/enron/1579949). In contrast, _Playboy_’s circulation is a bit over [3 million](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1421585) in the US and around [4.5 million](http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/2733) worldwide, and is described as “stable” (all links are work-safe). I don’t know how rigorously checked these numbers are or how long Ms. Zipp has held her post at _Playgirl_, but it’s plausible to argue that she was sacked for lack of performance rather than political leanings. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-the-hell-even-buys-playgirl-anyway/295647)._