Amazon stops selling subscriptions

[RainCaster]

I got an email from Amazon today saying that they are not selling magazine or newspaper subscriptions any more. My WaPo will be ending soon because of that.
big whoop

[hlthe2b]

1. Yeah. The only thing that concerns me is they turn everything back to the publishers BEFORE

the end of the subscription. I anticipate headaches ahead in making sure I don't get charged $$$$ for an extension of those subscriptions (I bought several 1-year magazine subscriptions for Christmas gifts for friends/family this year but the deal was you have to cancel the automatic renewal before the year is up. If they turn it back to the publishers before then, this may well turn into a disaster).

[jimfields33]

2. Newspaper and magazines are going way of horse and buggy.

Can’t happen soon enough. Enough killing trees. Don’t care if they are recycled or that they plant a tree to replace. Going online is the best method.

[hlthe2b]

5. I'm talking digital subscriptions. Every one of mine. Yes, some offerings include paper format, but

you shouldn't assume-- as when I had a WAPO subscription through Amazon, it was digital only too (not sure if that is the case for the OP).

[jimfields33]

6. Good luck. Hope it works out.

[former9thward]

8. Newspapers can't support themselves online.

So they will go away also. Too many ways to get the articles for free. Free is fine for you but newspapers can't exist on free. Without a paper industry whole forests will disappear. They only exist to supply paper. No one will replace them or do the support it takes to maintain them.

[LisaM]

12. Well, you told us.

I am guessing you don't do crossword puzzles or read book reviews or do any of the things that make a print version far more satisfying.

For the record, electricity and batteries aren't that great for the environment either. If your electric source is coal, you're burning coal every time you plug in your computer.

[allegorical oracle]

17. Get your point, but it could explain why so many of these rural rubes who live around me are so

ignorant. Internet access is really hard to come by. Lucked out because one company decided to run fiber optic down my side of the road. But with no competition, it's expensive and slow. A few have satellite internet but it goes out with every heavy rainstorm I'm told. They used to, as did I, subscribe to a big city newspaper but that paper stopped circulating in our area.

[iemanja]

3. You can subscribe directly on the WaPo site.

[Ms. Toad]

19. Aside from the initial year -

or special discounts, it is substantially more expensive.

But the next year is cheaper if you start a new account.

So as a "new" subscriber AND a student I get it for $1/4 weeks for a year. After that it goes to $7/4 weeks. I'm paying $8/month through Amazon.

If I were merely a "new" subscriber (with no special discounts), it would be $3/4 weeks for a year (or $40 for the entire year). After that it goes to $120/year if you pay for a full year in advance (so more than $9/month if paid in advance, and more if you pay by the month - $21/4 weeks if the student math holds).

[iemanja]

21. My rate

I now pay $12 a month, and I pay per month.

[Ms. Toad]

22. Through Amazon it has been $7.99/month.

So your regular subscription is 50% more expensive than I've been paying through Amazon. (And way more than I'm now paying for a student subscription.)

[Midnight Writer]

4. Have you checked out Magzter?

I pay $33 per year (introductory offer- it will increase to $100 per year in two years) and get access to 7000 magazines and newspapers from around the world at no additional cost.

Not every big name periodical is included (Washington Post is not, but The Guardian is), but if you are a magazine junkie like I am then this is quite a treasure trove.

To be clear, these are digital versions of the publications. They call themselves the Netflix of magazines.

[pamdb]

7. WaPo

I have the digital only subscription to the Post. I had been paying $70 a year, last I called them and I told them, senior citizen here on a fixed budget and they dropped it to $60. I don't think that's a bad deal. Plus I get I think 10 gift subscriptions every month to send articles to friends. My husband rides on it and he pays $10 a month the New York Times (teacher) and I can ride on his subscription.

[Ms. Toad]

20. If you feel like jumping around -

The academic subscription to WaPo is currently $1/4 weeks. (After that it goes to $7/4 weeks. So it would take careful management to switch to your husband and back to your senior discount after a year. Since we had to switch anyway, I just signed up for the academic subscription for a year.)

[Brother Buzz]

11. My Podunk Carnegie library offers all that, and more, online for free

You should check out your library, girl.

[SheltieLover]

13. Same here, Bro Buzz!

Cripes, I read, on average, a book per day.

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. That's where my Washington Post online subscription comes from.

And, at a very good price. No more, I guess.

[Sogo]

10. I just cancelled my Amazon Prime membership two days ago.

I don't order that often, and it was not paying for itself.

I know this is off topic with the OP but came to mind at the mention of Amazon....

P.S. My local small town library just announced that online NYT and WSJ will be free to all through them.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

15. Received the same e-mail

[Ms. Toad]

18. ATM, you can get cheaper subscriptions from WaPo for a year . . .

I'm a student, so I can get it for $1 every 4 weeks, rather than $8, and since I had about a half a month left, cancelling today pays for almost a quarter of a year. (It changes to $7/week after a year . . . which is still cheaper than through Amazon.)

So - they actually did me a favor!

Non-student subscriptions are a bit more expensive for the first year, but still cheaper than Amazon).

Glad you posted this! (My notices come to an account I rarely check . . . so it would have been quite a while before I noticed it.)

[Sympthsical]

23. Being a student is so useful

One of the neater little things about returning to school is all the subscriptions that have student discounts. Including Amazon Prime at $70/year. I don't care what it looks like for someone my age to throw down a student ID - I am all over it.

But one of the side things I've come to appreciate is all the newspaper subscriptions we get for free through the school's library program. WaPo, NYT, etc. I have tons of free newspaper accounts through 2024. It's pretty great.

Although I am crazy partial to the database access. I'll spend hours skimming through databases out of boredom. I think I spend more time in there than Reddit these days. And CQ? Love it. Where has that been all my life.

(Edit: I forgot about the free Astronomy magazine sub!)

[Ms. Toad]

24. Thanks for the reminder!

I forgot that I could switch to the student price for Amazon Prime! I need to do that!

We initially joined when my daughter was a student - then lost the discount when she was no longer a student. I'll have to see about switching back, since that's about 50% off the price.

Senior + student increases the number of discounts I get tremendously!