The idea behind the decision was to provide readers with all the best articles in a single source and save them the cost of buying a range of newspapers, periodicals or magazines. However no publisher was ready to take up the task, following which the Wallaces set themselves to the task and launched RD.

Wallaces adopted the direct mail marketing system to sell the magazine. They sought $3 as the initial subscription (for one year/12 issues) and promised a complete refund if the subscriber was not satisfied with the first issue. The first issue of the magazine was launched in 1922 and became an instant success...

Much to RDA's chagrin, many RD lovers, who had been patronizing the magazine since the past few decades, expressed their dissatisfaction over the changes in the magazine's design and content. According to them, the quality of content had come down drastically. For example, the February 2002 issue carried a picture of film actress Meg Ryan on the cover page and a 10 page interview with her. The back cover featured a picture of 'Alaska's all-girl rescue squad' and a related story, which reportedly looked 'nothing less than an inferior article on feminism.'...