This is the time of year where the mailbox gets flooded with offerings of every shape, size, and color. Initially I felt compelled to shred or recycle a lot of these offers. Credit card companies are suddenly begging for attention, magazines are guilting subscribers into hanging on for one more year, and magazines/publications are soliciting for a new subscription. If you were to take up each offer, you would find yourself in debt with a lot of reading material at your disposal.
Well, in previous blog posts, I have encouraged you to take advantage of some “free” offers when they come your way. Right now, I’m looking at 2 such offers from Interweave Knits and Stringing. These two offers are coming from the same publisher. Obviously my name and address is on a list for people who subscribe to crafting magazines, so this fishing expedition is hoping to make a big catch. The offers “give” me one free issue with an option to subscribe. After the “free” issue arrives, I can expect an invoice. If I want the subscription, I pay the invoice and move on. If I want to opt out of the deal, I need to write “cancel” onto the invoice and return it. The opt out transaction will cost me a stamp. Oddly enough, I was sent on the same day as the “free” offers another offer for Beadwork which is from the same publisher. The 3rd offer is for a reduced subscription price for their magazine. Sounds tempting, but my bookshelves are already full of other magazines.
If you find yourself a recipient of a free trial issue, take advantage of it. If it’s a magazine you have seen and wanted to evaluate it without committing to buying it, then this kind of trial offer is made for you. Just remember that there is a catch to the “free” issue. Communicating on an invoice that you are cancelling the subscription is required. I’m sure some people will say the first magazine was free so you don’t have to do anything. Well, that is not true. To get the “free” magazine, you have to communicate with the publisher that you’re going into business with them by accepting the “free” magazine. Accepting the magazine is also accepting a tentative contract with the publisher to subscribe.
So have a happy new year! Indulge yourself with “free” offers. Remember that free is not always free and you should handle your business accordingly.
