Just an average guy from New York City and his friends all over the world talking about anything and everything. Commentary on current events, film, food, fitness, social issues and much more!
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Did you find a magazine you didn’t order inside your mailbox? Don’t fret, just press play and listen to why that happened.
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I did and I immediately set to work to find out if I was being charged for this and how it happened. Some reading and research online led me to the discovery that some websites will sign you up to a magazine for free when you use their services. In my case, Fragrance.Net signed me up because I spent X amount of dollars on their website.
My research indicated that in some cases, you’d get the magazine for free, then when the free subscription ends, they would continue sending you the magazine and start billing you unless you explicitly cancel the subscription.
I don’t read magazines, but my wife does. She said she’d read it if its there, so I’ll keep the subscription, but if they ever charge me for a People subscription, I’m not paying one cent!
You are probably wondering why a magazine such as People or Prevention would do this? The reason they do this is to help their circulation numbers. Whether paid or not, if they are sending out magazines, and people are seeing them, it helps them retain advertisers.
In essence, they make more money from the ads than the cost of the magazine being provided. In order to keep those ads coming in, they have to keep circulating the magazine. We all know how the internet has changed the landscape for magazines, so they’d rather send it for free, look good in terms of circulation numbers, and due to that, continue getting that ad revenue.
I’m all good with a free magazine such as People, as long as its free. Apparently you have the option to “opt out” when you buy whatever it is from the websites, but most of us, (obviously) don’t actually read the fine print. Like I said, as long as its free, I’m all good. But if they charge me, then its war! Below are screenshots of my conversation with Fragrance.net about the People magazine subscription.
For your reference, here are some websites known to practice this, the magazines they do it for, and the firm that pays them to do it:
M2 Media Group is the company that handles the subscriptions for the magazines. If you want to cancel, these are the people you reach out to: 866-967-6247.
Known sites that practice this:
Wayfair.com
Fragrencenet.com
Shoebuy.com
Magazines using the service:
People
Prevention
Sports Illustrated
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
Hello, M. Rodriguez I would like to know how you found out that it was « Fragrancenet.com” website that subscribed you to People magazine? I’m from Quebec and French and i have been receiving the magazine every dam&$&* week now….Thanks for your reply.
Hi. I looked around and I ultimately called up the company. They told me that they gave me the subscription as a complimentary gift. You probably purchased something that had a magazine option embedded somewhere and didn’t notice. My main concern was that they didn’t charge me for something I didn’t purchase. They said they wouldn’t and unless I actively renewed, they’d stop after a year. Meh. Hope its the same in Canada.
Thank you for all your effort. I am a Disabled Senior Citizen on a limited income. I was alarmed at receiving two unauthorized magazines.
I feel better knowing it was hopefully a complimentary gift!?😳
Glad to hear your blood pressure is okay! Also glad to help your peace of mind. I think we are okay! Since then, I’ve not received any further magazines, and I wasn’t billed. I think they spoke truth.
I got your magazine that I didn’t order please stop sending it
Hi there. I didn’t send the magazine, I just wrote about blog post about receiving them myself. It was probably a company that you purchased something from.
Hi Angel,
Since reading your comments regarding Fragrance.net unauthorized subscription to People and Health magazine, my blood pressure is normal again!😄
Im getting people magazine that I didnt order. Please stop
It’s not me, I’m just reporting on it.
THANK YOU so much for this information, it was a huge help to me! 🙂
Glad to be of assistance. It took me some time to figure it out, so I thought I’d share the information to help anyone else who encountered it. This is one of my most viewed posts, so I know it’s helping! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this! I just received a copy of this magazine with my name on it and immediately thought someone stole my financial information or something. This post has helped calm me down a bit, and having that phone number is fantastic. I don’t remember seeing anything about a free gift with anything I’ve purchased so hopefully they’ll have an answer.
Thanks again!
Thank you sooo much for this article I was so confused to find people mags showing up randomly.
Stop sending me the magazine
Hi, they will eventually. I think mine stopped coming after about 6 months.