Sail Magazine - Subscription Tactics Alert!
I have enjoyed Sail magazine for many years. However, in recent years, they have bombarded me with subscription renewal notices trying to get me to renew for several years in advance. This annoyed me.
In the past few months I started getting phone calls at dinner time asking for my Sail mag renewal. A month ago I told them to stop calling or they will lose a subscriber.
Last night I get a call offering me 4 years at 19.95 per year which included a "free" new magazine (Sailing?) Please note that my regular subscription price has been 29.95/year. I told them I would consider 2 years at 19.95 and the guy said his supervisor would call back. Two minutes later his supervisor calls and says OK. I told him to mail me an invoice and he says I can only get this deal "electronically". I asked what that meant and he said I needed to pay now by giving him my credit card info. At that point I gave him a few choice words and hung up. HE CALLS ME AND WANTS MY CC INFO! No, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck.
Today I called Sail magazine direct to wage a complaint about their tactics and threaten cancellation. They tell me they don't make calls. They said it is "other" subscription organizations who sell for them? My subscription is paid up through all of 2010 and I told them if I get one more call/solicitation I will cancel.
Frankly, at this point, I wonder how long they are going to stay in business since they seem so hard up for cash so I would never subscribe longer than one year. The magazine is really good but their subscription practices are not.
I am curious if any other Sail subscribers have been bothered by these tactics.
Cheers, Gil
PS/ Carole and I saw Morning Light last year at the Ritz in Philly, and it is worth seeing! (I might even see it again nest week!) You will get a better deal at next week's showing in Sellersville. BTW, Roy Disney recently passed away. He was an AVID sailor.
Ken,
Thank you for your comments. As mentioned in my original post, I did call Sail Magazine and they did tell me about third party subscription services they use. I know that many magazines use these, but, in my opinion, the publisher still is responsible for who represents them which is why I wanted Sail to know.
Last week I get an invoice in the mail from this subscription service asking me for the $39.90 for another 2 year subscription. I never heard of the company, could not find them on the Internet and the invoice looked like something a kid could generate on their home computer. Since my current subscription is paid through next December, I threw this invoice out.
Sail is a great magazine and I plan on keeping my subscription, but directly with them.
Nuff said on this topic!
Regardss Gil
http://cgi.ebay.com/SAIL-MAGAZINE-48-issues-4yr-GIFT-CERTIFICATE_W0QQite...
http://cgi.ebay.com/SAIL-MAGAZINE-3-YEARS-36-ISSUES-GIFT-CERTIFICATE_W0Q...
or 3 years for 16.99
I love ebay
It did get me my boat
and I did my my subscription this way
Brownie
I too actually found my current boat on Ebay. I sell more than I buy on Ebay, mostly electronics, but never thought about magazine subscriptions . . . Hmmmm . . . worth checking out. At least there is some buyer protection built into the system.
Thanks for the link, Gil
Gil,
I'm not sure you should be so hard on Sail Magazine. I've experienced this with several other respected publications. The problem is they turn over their subscription handling to third party companies, who hire some salespeople, who work on commission and have very little to lose by pissing you off. Complaining to the person that called you probably won't help. I suggest instead you write a letter to the editors of Sail Magazine - it might get to some people who care about the magazine instead of a disinterested third party.
But in any case, whether you get a satisfactory reply or not, if you're otherwise happy with the magazine I wouldn't recommend cancelling your subscription over it. It's happening all over.
Ken Van Camp