Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!boulder!ccncsu!ncr-fc!aberdeen!jonu
From: jonu@aberdeen.FtCollins.NCR.com (Jon Udell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: MacWorld's Phony Offers
Keywords: MacWorld
Message-ID: <448@ncr-fc.FtCollins.NCR.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 90 16:34:10 GMT
References: <2505@manta.cme.nbs.gov> <34335@mips.mips.COM>
Sender: news@ncr-fc.FtCollins.NCR.COM
Reply-To: jonu%cad@MCC.COM (Jon Udell)
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Organization: NCR MED, FT. Collins, CO. 80525  (303) 223-5100
Lines: 18

In article <34335@mips.mips.COM> seiter@mips.COM (Dave Seiter) writes:

>I was getting the one free copy and then canceling every time they sent me
>a trial offer. (slightly unethical I suppose, but it's hard to turn down
>anything free).

Most of these offers give you one "free" issue, then charge you the full
subscription price for the remaining 11 if you decide to subscribe.  Thus
the issue is only free if you don't subscribe.  Hence I don't see anything
unethical about cancelling.  I used to make it a policy to accept these
offers with the intention of cancelling just because I felt they were
trying to insult my intelligence.  When I received a bill, I would hold on
to it until the magazine and/or gift arrived, then return it marked
"cancel".  I never had any problem with collection agencies, and due to
lack of communication between the publisher and the billing service I
usually received two to three free issues per offer.

--Jon