Magazine subscriptions on Amazon

[disneysteve]

Who knew? It was time to renew my Money magazine subscription. The offer from the company was $24.95 for 1 year or $45.90 for 2 years.

I checked on Amazon.
$10 for 1 year with auto-renewal.
$16.95 for 1 year
$29.90 for 2 years

I picked 2 years as I don't like the auto-renewal thing even though it's cheaper. So I saved $16 by doing it through Amazon.

[FLA]

check out discountmags.com, I've been using them since the 90s. Magazines are often only $5 or they are more but then they have a sale all the time. I get the weekly magazine, New York, for $5 every year, that baffles me as to who can possibly be profiting from that subscription. There is absolutely no auto renewal on your credit card. I rarely find them cheaper anywhere else. During sales, they make nice gifts.

http://www.discountmags.com

[FLA]

also the discount website Choxi, sells all kinds of stuff inexpensively. With every order you get a free magazine, like I have gotten 6mos of Entertainment Weekly. Sign up for their emails and you constantly get $10 off $30, free ship and the free magazine.

[disneysteve]

I get the weekly magazine, New York, for $5 every year, that baffles me as to who can possibly be profiting from that subscription.

I've taken advantage of deals like that before. I'm sure nobody is making a profit. That's one of those "loss leader" type of items that they put out there knowing most people will buy other things too.

Heck, even the $10/year Money subscription on Amazon can't be very profitable, if at all. That's 83 cents an issue. Printing and mailing costs have to be that much or more. Plus Amazon must be making something on the deal.

[kork13]

I've taken advantage of deals like that before. I'm sure nobody is making a profit. That's one of those "loss leader" type of items that they put out there knowing most people will buy other things too.

Heck, even the $10/year Money subscription on Amazon can't be very profitable, if at all. That's 83 cents an issue. Printing and mailing costs have to be that much or more. Plus Amazon must be making something on the deal.

Publishing is an interesting industry. By and large, your money is made NOT in the sales of the publication, but in the advertising. Realistically, publication sales is merely a means of attracting more advertising. Wider publication distribution means companies will pay more for advertising space within their pages, because more readers will see the ads. Publication sales isn't actually the income stream... It's the cost of making money in advertising sales.

[FLA]

*smacks head*, didn't even think about that

[disneysteve]

Publishing is an interesting industry. By and large, your money is made NOT in the sales of the publication, but in the advertising.

I realize that. It's just such a strange business model in my mind. Of course, almost every free website - like this one - works exactly the same way. The people who run this site aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They're making money through advertising.

The ads don't bother me and they have zero effect on me, so I'm happy to pay little to nothing to be able to read a magazine I enjoy and let the advertisers pay the bill.

[bjl584]

Publishing is an interesting industry. By and large, your money is made NOT in the sales of the publication, but in the advertising. Realistically, publication sales is merely a means of attracting more advertising. Wider publication distribution means companies will pay more for advertising space within their pages, because more readers will see the ads. Publication sales isn't actually the income stream... It's the cost of making money in advertising sales.

Except for a publication like Consumer Reports. I have no idea how they stay profitable.

[disneysteve]

Except for a publication like Consumer Reports. I have no idea how they stay profitable.

Consumer Reports is a non-profit organization. They receive various grant money. I'm guessing their non-profit status also affords them certain tax benefits. There is no advertising in the magazine but there is on the website, and much of the content on the website is for paid subscribers only.

All of that said, I've read that their financials have been in decline in recent years as the public becomes less dependent on the data they supply. I think more and more people look for online reviews at places like Amazon and elsewhere to make purchasing decisions, so CR's business model may be outdated.

[msomnipotent]

I buy all of my subscriptions on Black Friday on discountmags.com or magazines.com. Between the coupon codes and the ebates rebate for magazines.com, I get all of them for crazy stupid cheap. I'm going to have to knock it off for a while, because a large part of my clutter is getting to be magazines.