Where can I get the best prices for magazine subscriptions?

December 17, 2003 4:46 PM

I'd like to order some magazine subscriptions for Christmas gifts. Where can I get the best prices?
posted by blueshammer to media & arts (8 comments total)

Nothing beats Amazon for simplicity and ease, though their prices are about what the standard subscription prices should be. If you want to save the most money, go into a bookstore and pull the inserts out of magazines themselves, as those are usually the biggest discounts.

The bummer about magazines as gifts is that there is generally a two-month lag period between when you send off a check and when a magazine arrives at someone's door.
posted by mathowie at 5:14 PM on December 17, 2003

eBay. Search for "subscriptions" and you will see tons of people selling them for outrageous prices like "4 years for 5.99". They are subscription resellers, and they all seem to be competing with each other for the lowest prices.

I did this recently but haven't received the mags yet -- too soon. I expect some to start rolling in next month.
posted by litlnemo at 5:35 PM on December 17, 2003

also when you give the gift, I usually buy one copy of the magazine to wrap under the tree or whatever with an IOU attached for the subscription. of course, buying one copy at face value tends to nullify savings on subscriptions but does give you something to wrap.
posted by jessamyn at 5:51 PM on December 17, 2003

If you are a cheap bastard, try the FatWallet.com forum for "free stuff". I get most of my magizines through promotions listed here, including bicycling, national geographic, outside, maxim, stuff, CIO, and at one point playboy.

Try entering "magazine" in the search box at the top of the page.

Unfortunately you often cant tell when they are coming or even if your subscription has gone through.
posted by phatboy at 10:47 PM on December 17, 2003

A caveat about the eBay subscriptions - they're a tremendously good deal when you get them. I've ordered about 25 different subscriptions from eBay and the subsequent offers you get from sellers when you bid on one. Of those, I've received 20, some within just a few weeks, others as long as four months. For personal magazine shopping, great. For gifts, I'd go with something a bit more reliable.
posted by ferociouskitty at 6:13 AM on December 18, 2003

Overstock.com has very cheap subscriptions. Course I haven't actually gotten any of the ones I recently ordered yet, but hey...
posted by gottabefunky at 9:23 AM on December 18, 2003

I had major problems with Amazon and its completely unhelpful customer service when my dad gave me a subscription to the Atlantic Monthly a year or so ago. It took forever to show (which I can understand), but Amazon lost the order at least twice, and at one point told my dad to order it two more times (and they'd cancel the ones that were extra), just to make sure it "went through." Riiiiiight.
posted by Vidiot at 9:42 AM on December 18, 2003

Chiming in on the eBay love. The prices are amazing--like $4 for 4 years from some major major name magazines. I just turned a friend on to it and he paid $20 total for a year of three magazines -- MacWorld, MacHome and MacAddict.
posted by GaelFC at 4:47 PM on December 18, 2003