BassPlayer Mag trying to screw subscribers?

keyboardguy · #1 11-20-2007, 11:15 PM

Hi all,

I have been subscribing to Bass Player magazine for about 3 years now. My subscription is due in February, and I'm starting to get those renewal letters from them ( usually 9 months before your subscription runs out, but hey, all magazines do this)

Anyway I open the latest and they want a 1 year renewal for $29.99 !!!

Huh?

Their website, and the replay cards that come with your monthly magazine, are $18.99 per year !!!

Can someone explain why they want to screw a LOYAL subscriber?

Or do they take us as stupid?

Sorry for the rant, but their marketing types should re-evaluate this.

Mike

Eric Moesle · #2 11-20-2007, 11:27 PM

Discounting the possibility that it was a typo?

keyboardguy · #3 11-20-2007, 11:40 PM

""Discounting the possibility that it was a typo?""

Nope.

It says "save over 58% off the $71.88 newsstand price".
42% of $71.88 is $30.18........

bradjonesbass · #4 11-21-2007, 03:38 AM

I know they've had trouble with scam subscription renewal services. Call them directly to renew.

kobass · #5 11-21-2007, 05:46 AM

Bill Leigh, the Editor-In-Chief is a TBer. PM him.
(User name "Bill Leigh")

brianrost · #6 11-21-2007, 06:25 AM

I just got a renewal letter, $19.00

bassbully · #7 11-21-2007, 06:34 AM

I agree, i like the mag and get renewal letters all the time even thou im paid up.I never thought there might be bogus subcription companys out there.

I once got a renewal letter and got ready to mail it when looking at the mag the renewal card in it was a dollar cheaper then the renewal amount was in the letter? Yea its only a buck but ...what?

dancehallclasher · #8 11-21-2007, 06:58 AM

Are you sure you didn't misread it, and that's the price for two years?

Mr. Gone · #9 11-21-2007, 07:11 AM

Make sure the renewal notice is legit. I just got one for $19.00 for year from a place called Rapid Magazine Collection in Kansas. I called Bass Player and they told me it was bogus. The girl on the phone told me any renewal they send out would say Bass Player from Cupertino, CA and that the 1 year (12 issues) rate was $18.99.

keyboardguy · #10 11-21-2007, 10:11 PM

""I know they've had trouble with scam subscription renewal services. ""

Well, the postage-paid envelope says:

Bass Player
PO Box 469069
Escondido, CA

The name on the flyer was from circulation director Phil Semler

I just checked my mag and that's their address.

I'll just wait till the $18.99 offer comes in the mail....

Just wanted to alert you folks to not pay the high subscription rate.

Mike

keyboardguy · #11 12-04-2007, 09:59 PM

Here we go, round #2.....

Now I get in the mail an offer to renew for TEN issues for $19.99.

If you get a new subscription, it's TWELVE issues for $18.99.

So I go the the bassplayer website, go into my account, and they're STILL offering me 10 issues for $19.99

I paid $19.99 last year for the year....

Folks I'm not cheap or expect something for nothing, just quit trying to screw a loyal subscriber.

I will forward this thread to Bill Leigh...

Mike

JimK · #12 12-05-2007, 04:19 AM

Yeah, I saw that $18.99 offer in the Cetera issue...got me thinking about becoming a subscriber...once again.

My question to those that receive BP in the mail-
Are the issues arriving "intact"?
3 times prior, I had to cancel my subscription on account the covers were "not intact".

kobass · #13 12-05-2007, 06:07 AM

I haven't had any problems with receiving mine in the mail.

Cheers,
Kevin

KJung · #14 12-05-2007, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keyboardguy

Here we go, round #2.....

Now I get in the mail an offer to renew for TEN issues for $19.99.

If you get a new subscription, it's TWELVE issues for $18.99.

So I go the the bassplayer website, go into my account, and they're STILL offering me 10 issues for $19.99

I paid $19.99 last year for the year....

Folks I'm not cheap or expect something for nothing, just quit trying to screw a loyal subscriber.

I will forward this thread to Bill Leigh...

Mike

Virtually every magazine offers a lower 'first time subscription rate' than a 'renew rate'. There is nothing unusual about this.

Baryonyx · #15 12-05-2007, 06:32 AM

I think you get screwed every time you buy that magazine.

lefty007 · #16 12-05-2007, 07:13 AM

In the past, I have let my subscription expire and then send on of those $18.99 card for new subscribers. It has worked everytime.

Subscriptions are often managed by outside companies (or departments that do not keep in touch with editorial), and they don't keep record or mind how you paid before, how long you've been a customer, etc. It's just mass mailing.

Bill Leigh · #17 12-05-2007, 11:59 AM

Hi folks,

(OP thanks for PM.) No, our circulation folks are not trying to screw anyone. Yes, like nearly every other magazine, we do offer introductory subscription rates that lower than the regular renewal rate. $30 is still much lower than the $72 it would cost to buy a year of mags on the newsstand (not to mention tax and gas to get to the store these days).

And yes, we used to have a problem of frequent damaged issues, but we've since changed printers and started using a heavier cover stock, which seems to have taken care of the problem.

For what it's worth, we've also been packing more into the magazines, with monthly full-song transcriptions, more features, and tie-ins with bassplayer.com and bassplayer.tv. If you work through the lessons, read through the transcription, dig into all the reviews, and digest all the interviews, I think you'll find each issue is a pretty good deal at $2.50 or so each. That's a lot cheaper than a lesson or a music book, and most of what we do each month you can't get anywhere else.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Bill Leigh · #18 12-05-2007, 12:50 PM

I showed this thread to my colleague Jimmy Kaltreider, who does Bass Player's subscription marketing. He, being a smart guy who understands things so much more clearly than I do, had this to say:

"Any single issue is $5.99 at the newsstand. All of the subscription rates are massive discounts from that single copy rate. The discount offered to new subscribers -- quoted on our web site and on newsstand insert cards -- is indeed even lower than the (already huge) discounts offered in the renewal series [That's circulation jargon for the mail we send you.--BL].

"That's because it's a trial offer for new subscribers. The price is set lower so that it's that much easier for people to take a chance and find out whether they like Bass Player. We want as many bassists as possible to be able to try the magazine. Renewal orders from the loyal subscribers who, after a trial, get to know Bass Player and think it's worth supporting are the ones who make it possible for us to keep publishing."

So there you have it. Hope that clears things up.

Thanks,

Bill

keyboardguy · #19 12-05-2007, 11:19 PM

Thank you Bill Leigh for responding in an honest manner; much appreciated.

Mike

markjazzbassist · #20 12-06-2007, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keyboardguy

Thank you Bill Leigh for responding in an honest manner; much appreciated.

Mike

+1

Thanks Bill. I have gotten a couple of bogus notices, and will wait for a valid one to re-up.

OP - Thanks for the heads up on the bogus notices. I almost sent one in, and would have been out some cash. I'll make sure to check next time.