Why should I purchase an E-magazine when I can get the print version for less?

[Science_man]

I just received a mailer from National Geographics offering me a one year subscription for $12   plus a "free" map (whoohoo!)

Barnes and Nobles sells the electronic version of National Geographics for $2/month

So much for enticing me to purchase e-magazines!

E-magazines should be cheaper than print versions since there's no paper,  printing, storage, or shipping cost.   I could understand if they removed all the adds, but that's not even the case.

[BanjoBen]

I agree that some of the subscription prices are high on the nook color, but keep in mind that the $12 national geographic offer goes up to closer to $30 after the first year (if I recall correctly...it's been a while).  Also, with the Nook, it's month-to-month, so you have that added flexibility.

I too, feel that they need to work on the pricing but maybe that'll come with time.

[Jinnah]

Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.  I'm trying out a few of the free subscriptions, but I probably won't keep the ones that are $2/month unless I REALLY like them.  I will keep the $1/month subscriptions, but I don't think there are many. 

I am a little weary of the "free subscriptions", though, because I cancelled one (I hated the magazine) and wound up getting another download from the cancelled magazine... a week+ after I had cancelled it!  I had to call B&N, and it had not been cancelled from what she could tell, even though I cancelled it a week earlier. 

[withfeeling]

Just like eBook pricing, eMagazine pricing is going to be all over the map until the publishers figure out how, or whether, they can make money at it. Printed magazines (and newspapers) are really struggling with how to compete with the internet and all its free content.

[CasperAZ]

From experience, there is no such thing as something for free, so, I'm hesitant to take up a "free subscription" offer.  There has to be a catch somewhere. 

[withfeeling]

 The catch seems to be the difficulty people are having in turning the subscriptions off.

[MiniMischief]

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Science_man wrote:

I just received a mailer from National Geographics offering me a one year subscription for $12   plus a "free" map (whoohoo!)

Barnes and Nobles sells the electronic version of National Geographics for $2/month

So much for enticing me to purchase e-magazines!

E-magazines should be cheaper than print versions since there's no paper,  printing, storage, or shipping cost.   I could understand if they removed all the adds, but that's not even the case.

---

I hear you on the pricing, but as withfeeling said, it's all new right now.  The big enticement to me is to not have the paper magazines lying around.  It's amazing how much space magazines take up, and I never quite feel like I'm done with them. . . .

[phoneboy]

Thats easy..

1.  You get to read it on your cool new Nook color

2.  You dont have to wait for it to show up in the mail

3.  you wont be adding to the stacks of old magazines you wont throw away cause there is some article you may want to refer to sometime even though your chances of remembering what mag/month it is in are slim to none. (well maybe this one is just me)

4. Its on your really cool Nook color along with all your other mags and books. Much easier to carry around.

JMHO 

[geertm]

If you take a look at the product details you will see that magazines are sold by the publisher, not by B&N. Just as with the agency 5 books the publisher sets the price for the magazines. And we all know what happens when the publisher is allowed to set the price

[withfeeling]

Publishers have to make a living. Otherwise nothing will get published. You always have a choice whether you want to pay for it or not.

Maybe self-publishing on the internet will be all that's left in the future, who knows? But for now, if you value what they've got, either buy it or don't buy it. Remember that they are struggling to figure out what works too.

[fnpaulie]

Barnes & Noble are a little high with the prices on some but for the most part are on target with price.  Just need to keep the list growing...

Not too bad for only about a month though. 

I'm really very happy to have my stack of magazines decreasing too.  Keeping them on my Nook Color is terrific.

[jeanniepep]

I know a lot of people feel like the publisher should charge less for ebooks & emagazines because they don't incur the physical costs (though I'm sure they're replaced by different costs). To me it's more about what I'm willing to pay than what it costs the manufacturer...I like the convenience and fun of the NookColor; I like the way things look and I like not having more books & magazines cluttering up the house. So for most items, I'm willing to pay a little bit more if I have to.

The same as with DTB's (or anything else), it's a matter of how much I want the particular thing and how much it's worth to me. Some things I'm willing to pay more than others!

Oh and I hear that BN is having a bit of trouble with the subscription cancellations lately. It's not a "catch" like they're trying to trick you, it just isn't working right. I did the free trial on a few before Christmas and the cancellations went through instantly with no problems.

[tjacker31]

I agree that "publishers have to make a living". Whether it's a digital or physical subscription, they still need to cover there overhead costs. If ereaders, like the NC, bring them more subscriptions, then we should see the price come down.

Frankly, I don't mind paying a little more for the convenience if the digital experience was more rewarding then if currently is on the NC. Navigating in an emagazine is clumsy and sometimes frustrating. Even the photos in some emagazines are of low quality and look poor when zoomed in. If publishers and B&N invest more in the development and add some interactive features, I would find the pricing more acceptable.

What I would like to see is something like the Zinio application/functionality (not to mention the selection) for the NC.

[rerose1975]

I had trouble cancelling a subscription and CS was very helpful.  I don't think it is a trick, I think it is their website being slow or buggy.

I had a little bit of a problem with the pricing.  Then I thought about how nice it would be to travel with a bunch of magazines in such a small amount of space... it sold me!  Also, to always have them with me... since I always have my NC.

R

[withfeeling]

B&N certainly isn't trying to trick anyone.

At the moment, their web presence doesn't seem to have the resources to manage the overload I assume they are currently under, and satisfy customers who have come to expect instant transactions over the internet. I assume they are aware of and working on this.

[riffrafff]

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phoneboy wrote:

Thats easy..

1.  You get to read it on your cool new Nook color

2.  You dont have to wait for it to show up in the mail

3.  you wont be adding to the stacks of old magazines you wont throw away cause there is some article you may want to refer to sometime even though your chances of remembering what mag/month it is in are slim to none. (well maybe this one is just me)

4. Its on your really cool Nook color along with all your other mags and books. Much easier to carry around.

JMHO 

---

What?  You don't routinely carry around a stack of 2-3 years worth of magazines with you?

[petesnook]

I've sampled and cancelled five e-mags without any problems. As for the pricing, Newsweek at least has replaced the sponsored ads with ads promoting themselves. Since they are not getting any revenue from ads, they have a legitimate business reason for charging more for their digital version.

[guinnessfc]

Why? Yes pricing maybe slightly higher. However whenever there is a change in our society's well established way of doing things there is always a transitional period until everyone one adapts or figures out the best method is to deliver a service or product efficiently or at a reasonable price. Are ebooks and Mags higher yes,  seems to be a publishers hold on pricing. WIll it changes most likely.

ebooks and mags allow convenience or reading a receiving them wherever you are and  whenever you want. There is a no physical piling up of books and mags on coffee tables.

As far as the eMags go I have subscribed to a few that I like to read and tried and canceled a few during the trial period with no problems.

I think the greatest benefit of emagazines is I don't have to pull out all those magazine subscription enrollment postcard sized pieces of cardboard out of every other page before I can read a magazine. lol

Charles

[jeanniepep]

I definitely carry a lot of magazines around, my rotator cuff is very happy to see that the next vacation will involve 10-15 issues in my NC instead of my carry-on bag! Not having to see the chiropractor will equal out the extra money I spent for eMagazines! 

Forgot about those annoying subscription cards - the first thing I do when I get a new magazine is flip through it and tear all those things out. I used to use them as bookmarks, of course I don't need those anymore either!

I think the magazine publishers need to come up with a way to charge their advertisers for e-issues, after all they're still reaching new eyes with their ads so they should pay for it, right?  I think as soon as they collect the data showing that people like us are reading these things, they can send the magazine sales force out to collect some extra $$ from the advertisers.

I had an idea (posted in the Periodicals board, which hardly anyone reads) that the publishers should consider formatting their eMagazines to include hotlinks; all the fashion spreads and medical research and many other things in magazines already include web addresses & it would be just perfect to be able to click through from the NC to go to the website! I would definitely click right on it to find out how to purchase that slammin new handbag, but I'll forget to go on the computer & look it up later. Then it would also be easy for the advertiser's IT dept to see how many clicks each ad gets and they could monitor how much traffic comes from NC users. And the publishers could charge for it (and pass the savings on to us?)!

[donc13]

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Science_man wrote:

I just received a mailer from National Geographics offering me a one year subscription for $12   plus a "free" map (whoohoo!)

Barnes and Nobles sells the electronic version of National Geographics for $2/month

So much for enticing me to purchase e-magazines!

E-magazines should be cheaper than print versions since there's no paper,  printing, storage, or shipping cost.   I could understand if they removed all the adds, but that's not even the case.

---

Easy answer....don't buy the NC version.

However, understand....that $12/year is likely a first year ONLY price.   Better known as a loss leader.    And, can you cancel that subscription and get refunded for non-delivered copies?

Yes, the NG on the NC is $2/issue as a subscriber....but I pay only once a month, and can stop the subscription anytime I wish....and thus....pay no more fees.

On their own website....as of now, digital or print subscriptions are $15/year.

In any event...the top line here....is the bottom line for you....not happy with the price here, don't buy it here.