Uh, not so cool. So what I suggest is this: Do sign up for free-trials whenever you want, but set yourself an alert/reminder on your phone, computer or other device (or a paper calendar) so you don't forget to undo the membership. If there's an auto-upgrade feature, turn it off. If they ask "are you really really really sure you want to turn off auto-upgrade" just say "yes I'm very very very sure."
So why sign up for these free trials if you will anyway cancel them? Two reasons:
- You get a taste of that premium service (e.g. free two-day shipping, access to more features, unlimited whatevers).
- Once you're in their system, you're more likely to receive more promotions. Now read below to see what happened to me.
Last year I was buying college textbooks on borders.com because they usually have excellent coupons that work on textbooks (most bookstores have coupons, but very few allow theirs to work on textbooks). My order was below the minimum required to receive free shipping, but I noticed a green running-man icon with a message on the side: Receive free 2-day shipping. Learn more! I click it and discover something called ShopRunner, which is a service that offers you free 2-day shipping for several stores, but you pay some huge amount each year for it ($79 -- which is still wayyyy more than the price of all my orders per year shipped). They do offer a 30-day free trial, so I signed up. I made sure to cancel before I was charged.
A few weeks ago I got an email from ShopRunner saying something like "Oh, we miss you, come back back for a free full year on us!" I never would have received that had I not done the 30-day trial first! So now my freinds, family members and I are happily using ShopRunner (free 2-day shipping) at all sorts of stores like Toys R Us, American Eagle, Borders, etc.
What's so cool about ShopRunner besides for the free shipping aspect? Many times, if you have a promotional code, it works for EITHER free shipping or a percentage/dollar amount off. Not both. But if you have ShopRunner, and the promo is for 40% off, you can get the best of both worlds.
I've got caught a few times with "free" subscriptions to magazines and newspapers: you get three months of the journal free, and if you forget to cancel your subscription in time, you're in for a whole year. And if you forget again, you're in for another year etc.
ReplyDeleteSo although I still do "test" such offers, the first thing I do after signing up is to cancel my subscription. The firms still send me stuff for the test period, since the mailing and the bookkeeping departments never seem to communicate with one another.
As far as journals are concerned, I'd like to praise the way Scientific American treat their subscribers -- I used to be one. About 3 months before the end of my (paid) subscription time, they sent me a reminder, saying that I ought to renew my subscription. And the same again for the next two months. And then another with the last copy of the magazine. And that was the last I heard of them -- no automatic renewal.
That sounds like the Home and Garden magazine. I don't think I have ever subscribed but somehow I have gotten it for the past 5 years or so, and with each issue came a dire warning that it was my last one.
ReplyDeleteIs there an option to refer someone to ShopRunner? So I can get a free trial too (through you)?
Michael, I don't know if that would always work (cancelling right after signing up), especially with websites where a bookkeeping department doesn't have to consult with any other departments. Since it's totally automated in most cases, you probably need to be an active signed-up member to receive the benefit.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of old-fashioned media like newspapers. These firms have departments who don't communicate, so you can subscribe and cancel your subscription on one single day.
ReplyDeleteBTW, if you know how I could get a free subscription for Scientific American, I'd be tickled pink. Last time, I think I paid about $170 (okay, for three years, but it's still quite a lot to shell out in one go).
I don't know where you subscribed but on the scientific american website, for international subscribers, it's $44 for 12 months. 36 months would be $132. Which is still a lot. If you're looking for any article in particular, I'll be happy to give you a PDF of it (my student access still works as of five minutes ago!).
ReplyDelete