posted on August 13, 2001 12:36:07 PM
I have given up on subscribing to magazines.
There are several I like but they all do the same thing I can't stand!
They start within 2 or 3 months of your subscription pestering you to renew for two or three more years. I would be happy to get one notice that my sub. was running out and I would renew, but these people send constant notices neglecting to mention when your current one runs out, and would be happy if you renewed for the next twenty years.
Once a magazine does that to me it is the kiss of death - I never renew and go back to the newsstand issue. Is there anyone bright enough to figure out that this in your face marketing sometimes backfires?
So far I have dropped Analog and Wired. I wonder if all of them do this now?
[ edited by gravid on Aug 13, 2001 12:37 PM ]
posted on August 13, 2001 01:17:46 PM
Gravid, the problem rests not only with their need for your dollars, but everytime that you renew or send in one of their little cards, they sell that marketing and personal info to as many junk mailers as possible. I fnally got my mother to stop sending any cards to any magazine or contest, because she would always complain about the mountains of junk mail that she was receiving. It's not worth it to subscribe to any magainze or newspaper if you don't want to stoke your fireplace with the unwanted advertisements.
posted on August 13, 2001 03:47:36 PM
We've pared down our subscriptions over the years. You're complaint, Gravid, is one of the reasons why. Popular Mechanics was the worst.
I kept Traditional Home and my husband kept Montana Outdoors.
I've even dropped all but two of the antique trade papers I use to get. Pared those down to Maine Antiques Digest and AntiqueWeek.
posted on August 14, 2001 03:04:48 PM
Of all the magazines that are an aggravation due to adds and mailing lists...Readers Digest has to top the list...first of all better than half of their magazine is ads.
The first thing I do is pull out all the card
stock inserts and the pages that are back to back ads. Makes for a much lighter magazine..then of course they send all that junk contest material...I think I finally got through to someone and am only getting a piece of that a few times a year instead of 2 times a week.
posted on August 14, 2001 03:36:20 PMSo far I have dropped Analog and Wired...
I finally subscribed to Wired a year ago because they sent me a $1/issue subscription card. Well they of course bombarded me a few months ago with a new offer of $78.00 (? or so) sub rate. Of course NOT.
My last issue had the usual 5 or 6 cards falling out of it when it was opened. One was for, again, the $1/issue sub rate. I don't think it was a "new subscribers only" thing so I'll re-up.
posted on August 17, 2001 02:53:20 AM
Then there is the magazine junk mail offering you a free issue to check out before you subscribe. The propaganda will say "If you don't like the magazine, just write 'cancel' on the bill." The problem is you always receive the bill two weeks before you get the free magazine.
We used to subscribe to two homeowners magazines. Both subscriptions ended around the same time. The one I didn't like keeps sending us junk mail and free issues. The other one, the one that I would like to renew seems to have dropped off of the face of the earth.
Oh, well.
