Another stream of income? Magazine Subscriptions

Ok, so I signed up as a magazine seller about a year ago, as a way of picking up some extra money on the side. It ended up just being a great way of getting cheap magazines for me and my family and friends. Now that I have more time, I figured I’d try peddling them online. There are lots of magazine sellers out there, so I’ll have to have thin profit margins. Here are some example prices I could offer, as well as the price at Amazon.com for comparison:

Architectural Digest (Trade only) - $6/yr (12 iss.) - $24 @ Amazon
Better Homes & Gardens - $9/yr (12 iss.) - $15.97 @ Amazon
Budget Living - $4/yr (10 iss.) - $14.95 @ Amazon
Car and Driver - $6/yr (12 iss.) - $11.97 @ Amazon
Cycle World - $6/yr (12 iss.) - $12.97 @ Amazon
ESPN Magazine - $7/yr (26 iss.) - $14.97 @ Amazon
Men’s Journal - $4/yr (12 iss.) - $14.97 @ Amazon
US News & World Report (New subscribers) - $10/yr (52 issues) - $24.97 @ Amazon.
Us Weekly - $36/year (52 issues). - n/a @ Amazon

Questions:

How long will it take to get these magazines?
On average, anywhere from 3-10 weeks from your purchase date, depending on the publisher and frequency of your magazine.
- Weekly subscriptions start within 3-6 weeks.
- Monthly and bi-weekly subs start within 5-10 weeks.
- Bi-monthly and quarterly subs start within 10-12 weeks.
- Daily newspaper subs start within 2-5 weeks.

This is all industry standard for mags, since the labels are printed way ahead of time. It’s the same wait time as if you sent in one of those annoying postcards that drop out of magazines. If you do not get your magazine within 12 weeks, please contact me immediately.

What kind of payment do you take?
Only PayPal at this time. You can pay via credit cards or bank transfer with them. I am PayPal Verified with over a 500+ verified transaction rating. I don’t have the time to manage checks, money order, etc. Payment must be made at the time of order.

What is your refund policy?
All sales are final. If you do not receive the magazines, I will submit a complaint to the publisher and work with you to get it resolved. I am only making about two bucks per subscription, sometimes less than a buck.

What does “Trade only” or “Student/Educator only” mean?
Magazine publishers often give discounts to businesses and certain professionals (like doctors, optometrists, or lawyers with waiting room areas). To get this you may need to provide a business address and proof such as a business card or letterhead. Students and educators can also be eligible for discounts. Requirement to get this include the name of school and year of graduation for students, and the name of school and subject taught for professors and teachers.

Will you auto-renew my subscription when it ends?
No. I will contact you a few months before it ends to see if you want to renew. With PayPal, I cannot charge your credit card, as I do not have access to it at all. You must initiate all payment.

What magazines do you offer?
All kinds, including some very obscure ones. I am missing some of the bigger ones, not sure why. Please just shoot me an e-mail and I will get back to you ASAP.

Anything else?

This is for U.S. orders only. Please, please note the delay in starting the subscriptions, it’s part of the deal with mags, that’s where I’ve gotten the most questions from family members.

I am not taking orders yet. I am simply trying to gauge interest.

Update: I’m putting this on hold for a while. The profit margins are just to thin to justify the time spent.

Find more in Deals & Offers | 7/25/05, 12:47pm | Trackback