Where do I find the cheap magazines?

July 16, 2008 3:28 AM

Where do I find the legit and cheap magazine subscriptions?

I am interested in subscribing to a few magazines. I know its absurd to subscribe directly through the various websites of the actual magazines because it's easy enough to find highly discounted magazine subscriptions. For example, I recently subscribed to a year of Rolling Stone Issues (30 issues) for about 10 dollars.

Where can I find a place to subscribe to magazines like Scientific American, New Yorker, FastCompany, etc... on the cheap/so that I don't have to wait months for my first issue to start? Amazon seems fairly cheap, but it does say The first issue should arrive in 4-6 weeks. Any way to avoid this?

As a bonus, any superexcellent magazines to subscribe to in a similar vein to the ones above?

posted by jourman2 to shopping (15 comments total)

I've had good luck with mags4cheap.com. The nice thing is they offer discounts on renewals as well as new subscriptions, which the publishers certainly don't do.

As far as the 4-6 week wait, I think that is pretty standard. It just takes that long for the publishers to manage their databases.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:29 AM on July 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

eBay...You will have to wait 4-6 weeks regardless of where you order. Find a good seller with lots of good feedback and subscribe. If you really need issues immediately, you can always get them at the newsstand/bookstore or your library until the subscription kicks in. just ideas...
posted by nineRED at 5:54 AM on July 16, 2008

You can also check your frequent flyer program if you have any miles. If you have 1000 or so laying around that you'll never turn into a ticket you can frequently use them for a subscription.
posted by true at 5:55 AM on July 16, 2008

Does anyone know where I can get The Economist for cheap? Amazon has it at $186, which is still too much for me (I know it's a really good magazine and is probably worth that much, I just can't afford it; I wish they offered a biweekly subscription for half the cost).
posted by bluefly at 6:38 AM on July 16, 2008

http://www.bestdealmagazines.com/

Although I don't subscribe to paper mags anymore, I had very good luck with these folks when I did.
posted by dzot at 6:40 AM on July 16, 2008

Just a warning: I bought two subscriptions through bestdealmagazines.com. One of them came, one of them did not. Their customer service department never replied to my emails and I couldn't get my money back because too much time had elapsed (they tell you it can take up to 8 weeks for your mags to arrive, so by the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late to file a claim).
posted by kitty teeth at 7:35 AM on July 16, 2008

bluefly: For the Economist, find a friend who already has a subscription. They frequently have good deals for giving a subscription as a gift.
posted by qvtqht at 8:45 AM on July 16, 2008

Seconding a problem with BestDeal - I ordered two magazines, one came, the other folded shortly after I signed up for it. They never offered me a replacement or gave me my money back despite a slew of emails.

You did ask for cheap. And you get what you paid for.
posted by HeyAllie at 9:39 AM on July 16, 2008

I had similarly bad experience with magsforless.com. I ordered a subscription, they said allow 8 to 12 weeks for the first issue to arrive. It didn't. I e-mailed them and they responded saying they re-submitted the order, and to wait another 12 weeks. I did. It's now six months since I submitted the order, and they no longer reply to e-mails. And it's way too late to do a chargeback on my credit card. Google magsforless (I wish I had) and you'll find similar bad experiences.

I would avoid eBay for the same reason. You're supposed to wait many weeks for your first issue to arrive, and by that time, if it doesn't arrive, it's too late to complain.
posted by Dec One at 10:06 AM on July 16, 2008

Don't forget to check the subscription cards in the newsstand copies of magazines. Sometimes they offer really great deals. I got Vanity Fair, National Geographic and Smithsonian, each for only $1 an issue simply by replying to the offers on the subscription cards.
posted by amyms at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2008

Ebay. I have found so many cheap mags there. I have a ton of subscriptions thanks to Ebay. Time=$6 for 5 years, Harper's=$12 for 3 years, Atlantic Monthly=$9 for 4 years, American Prospect=$6 for 3 years. I only got scammed once and I've bought about 50 subscriptions over the past 5 years.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:56 AM on July 16, 2008

Oh, I also bought a multiyear sub to the New Yorker on Ebay for less than $10 a couple of years ago. All mags take at least 4 weeks to get started.

Rolling Stone used to offer a lifetime subscription for $99. Call customer service to check it out at [phone].
posted by HotPatatta at 11:01 AM on July 16, 2008

Ebay doesn't allow magazine subscriptions anymore, which is quite lame because it was the only source I used and it was quite good. You can also try the discount student magazine companies like MagazineLine or University Subscription Service. I don't think they actually check if you're a student/faculty member or not, but I used it only when I was a student. There is also a discount subscription comparison service at amagarea.com.

For the Economist, I would strongly suggest finding a student and asking if they would use their credentials to order a subscription for you. I think it's 50% off with access to their online archives.
posted by calistasm at 2:27 PM on July 16, 2008

If searching for a specific magazine, I've used

www.magazinepricesearch.com

which monitors several different places to find the best deal.

And yes, it's a shame ebay doesn't allow mag subscriptions before; I have had good luck with them.
posted by texas_blissful at 3:00 PM on July 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

www.StudentMags.com . The Economist is $77/year.
posted by Wet Spot at 7:30 PM on July 16, 2008