ValueMags.com: Good deals if you know how to work it.
Written: Aug 13 '03 (Updated Dec 20 '04)
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I have an addiction to magazines. So, of course, I am always looking for cheap ways to fund my habit. That is how I happened upon ValueMags.com.
MERCHANDISE
This site sells only magazines. While they have a lot of the popular magazines, they don't have a huge overall selection. You might not find everything you are looking for.
WEB SITE
The web site is not very pretty. It also doesn't offer much information about each individual magazine so you have to know what you are looking for. There are no customer comments or reviews.
The web site did load fast although there were not many pictures so that should be the case. The search function was easy to use and the magazines are grouped into categories.
One nice feature of the site is that, once you sign in, you can get to a page that will keep track of your orders so you can see when your subscriptions will expire. You can also add in other magazine subscriptions that you did not get at that site.
CHECK OUT
Check out was very easy. You have to chose a username and password. You also have to enter your shipping and billing information. The whole process took only about 2 minutes.
PRICE
I though the prices were just okay. They were on the cheaper side of things but were not the best ever. If you add in the little promotions I mention below, you get more value for your money.
STEALS AND DEALS
The first thing you should do is create an account. When I created an account, I received notice of a promotion that gave me one free subscription for ordering a subscription. The deal wasn't explained very well. For example, I ordered two magazines and only got one free subscription. Also, I could choose my free subscription from a very small list (I got a 2 year subscription to Island as my free one).
The other thing to know is that there are coupon codes to be found. I found one on the internet for $3 off a $20 order (the code was pmx3). Just type "valuemags coupon code" into a search engine and see what you come up with.
ANOTHER COUPLE OF GENERAL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MAGAZINE WEB SITES:
(1) First of all, some take your credit card information and offer you the "service" of renewing your magazine. This means they will charge your credit card again when your subscription runs out. Valuemags.com does not automatically renew your subscriptions.
(2) Kickbacks from magazine sites to referral sites are common. On Valuemags.com, there is a page that says you can enter their referral program. If you are an affiliate of the site and customers click over from your site, you get 30% of whatever they order. Now, some affiliate sites actually return this money to the purchaser. For a while, Valuemags.com was affiliated with Upromise.com. If you shopped through Upromise, Upromise would deposit 25% of your purchase price into your account. If you want to get subscriptions very cheaply, try to seek out an affiliate site that will return some of their kickback to you.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I got an automatic email summarizing my order.
SHIPPING
My magazines showed up about 5 weeks after I placed my order. Although this seems like a long time, it is pretty typical when you order a new subscription.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I thought this was a pretty good site. The prices are decent but I don't like how hard you have to work to find the deals. The customer service and delivery were fine.
DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP ON THE INTERNET? HERE ARE SOME MORE REVIEWS OF WEB STORES:
Clothing and Accessories: Talbots; The Gap; CWD Kids; Hanna Andersson; J. Jill; Tote Le Monde ; Blu Pyxie ; Miniboden; One Hanes Place; Nordstrom; Gymboree; Simple Shoes; Sierra Blue; Ebags.
Clothing and Home Goods: Lands End; Bluefly; Soft Surroundings; Garnet Hill; Sundance; L.L. Bean.
Home and Garden: Smith & Noble; Restoration Hardware; Gardeners Supply Company; Unicahome; Homeclick; FaucetDirect; Gardens Alive; West Elm; Crate & Barrel; MyKnobs; CB2.
Books and Magazines: Amazon.com; Magazine Values; Dover Publications.
Office Supplies, Furniture and Services: Staples; Officemax; Topdeq; Efax.
Electronics: HP Shopping; Buy.com; ABT Electronics.
Travel: Amtrak; Hotwire; Orbitz; Hotels.com.
Discount: Overstock.com; Target.
Photo Developing: Shutterfly; Snapfish.
Baby Stuff: Babystyle; Babys Here Birth Announcements; Baby Universe; SoZo; Baby Center; Baby Age.
Miscellaneous: 1-800 contacts; Movie Tickets.com; Drugstore.com.
Rebate Sites: Upromise; Ebates.
Before you start shopping, check out my tips on how to save money by shopping on the internet . I have also included some coupon codes and plan to add more as I find them.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? 2 magazine subscriptions
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