Here comes the Bride!

It seems that the latest hook in magazine subscription sales is to send out a complementary subscription. The notion is, that after a while, people will get hooked on your publication and when the free subscription is up and the notice comes in the mail, people will pay to renew with glee.

I have received several complimentary subscriptions lately; Details, GQ and Condé Nast Traveler—all free. None of them I would actually want to pay for, but getting them comped is fine by me. That said, I am not opposed to paying for a subscription. I currently pay for 18 different subscriptions. So after shelling out for all of my “must have pubs” a few freebies are great!

Now, here’s where it gets weird…

I’m not totally sure how “they” determine which free magazine titles they send to who. In my case, the men’s fashion rags and the travel glossy were cool but when my very own copy of “Brides” showed up in my mail slot, I was thrown for a bit of a loop. Fashionista and world traveler—yes, but blushing bride? What sort of demographic model was I matched up on? Which of my publicly recorded behavior or shopping patterns alerted the powers that be that a free subscription of “Brides” magazine would be something I would love?? Really, I’m dying to know. It’s not even like I have a sexually ambiguous name. If I were Pat, Chris or even Billy then maybe—but what gives here?

And for those of you who have seen “Brides” it is no small pub either. A single issue is about 3 inches thick and weighs about 5 pounds. The sheer waste in terms of paper, postage and the resources and energy associated with that makes the whole mis-guided transaction seem almost criminal. In addition, I think they are bi-monthly. In just 2 months, I’ve already gotten 3 issues.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an easy opt-out. I guess I’ll just have to wait for my renewal slip to arrive. I just wish I knew a real bride I could pass them off to.

Posted by: TAWD on March 15, 2010

2 responses to “Here comes the Bride!”

1. Yet another “free” magazine arrived today; Forbes! Apparently, when I’m not busy picking out my wedding gown, I am counting my enormous piles of cash. Oh, what a life I lead!

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2. I once subscribed to a magazine years ago [forget which one] that evidently read my name wrong on the form I sent them. Instead of Mike they put my first name as “Kike” which I thought was weird…who has ever been named “Kike?” When I found out that’s also a very very bad word for a Jewish person I was even more surprised that the idiots would put that. Ever since, I have taken great care that my capital K's don't look too much like my capital M's. You know how people confuse K's and M's all the time. Well, gotta go. Minda late.

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