How to Get a Good Deal on a Magazine Subscription

The cost of magazine subscriptions can creep up on you: $15 here, another $40 there and pretty soon you're spending hundreds of dollars annually. Be a smart consumer and save money while you get the magazines you want.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Resist pitches from telemarketers, solicitors, Web sites and junk mail. There are usually hidden costs, and selling subscriptions is a popular ploy used by scam artists.

2. Order directly from the publisher. Check the price listed on the magazine's Web site and on insert cards in the magazine.

3. Call the publisher's customer service line to confirm that you have the lowest rate. Ask, "Do you have a special rate for firsttime subscribers?" Such rates are often unadvertised. Ask if there is a special rate for students and/or professional educators, if applicable.

4. Make sure you know the annual rate; some weekly magazines advertise a per-issue price that sounds cheap but adds up quickly.

5. Find out the cancellation policy before you subscribe to any special offer.

6. Order a two-year subscription if you know that you'll want it. You'll save a few dollars and lock in the current rate.

7. Request that you be billed for the magazine; don't provide your credit card number. If they have your credit card number, some magazines will automatically renew your subscription unless you call to cancel it. Magazines encourage credit-card payments because it puts inertia on their side. People often wait months or years to cancel subscriptions they no longer want.

8. Be immediately suspicious of telemarketers offering "free introductory offers" or subscriptions for "pennies a day." Magazine subscription scams are common and costly.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find a magazine's subscription phone number online and in the small print near the magazine's table of contents or masthead.
• Third-party subscription services rarely offer better deals than the publisher. The few dollars you save won't be worth the deluge of spam, junk mail and telemarketing calls that will come.

[misseymouse]

on 8/5/2007 i was able to get cosmo, redbook, country living, house beautiful and who knows what other mags from HEARST magazines for $5. sign up for the emails and it usually comes out around christmas time