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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Don't Buy Magazines at Barnes & Noble: Why Subscriptions are So Much Cheaper!

Photo Courtesy morgueFile.comSome people must really like immediate gratification. This concept not only occurs to me when I look at how many people buy new cars (which lose more than half of their value within a span of two years) or lattes that cost $6 apiece. It also becomes abundantly clear that some people simply have to have what they want right now, when I observe that they go to expensive retail shops in order to purchase items that are marked up substantially. When it comes to books, there are tons of better alternatives, with equal quality and dramatically lower prices. And the same is true in regard to magazine subscriptions purchasing the exact same magazine for double the best possible price, when you know that you’ll want it in the future any way, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Buying a book at Barnes & Noble is silly enough, in the context that we live in a world where there are online web sites where you can buy or trade any kind of book that has been published in the modern world. But consider that every single time you buy a magazine at such a retail establishment, not only are you paying for their “high end” mark up (which is really just a subsidy you pay, so that their sales floor can occupy a “nice” part of town). You also happen to be paying a much higher price for the magazine, because of its own profit requirements.

As any reasonably investor could tell you, most magazine and news paper companies have been having a very difficult time selling physical copies and advertising space over the past few years. With most of the world being found online in this day and age, the concept that someone is going to place an ad (or find an ad) in a paper is becoming more and more archaic as time goes on. And since profit margins have been dropping, it makes perfect sense that magazine companies either want larger amounts of cash per individual magazine “unit,” or the on going security that whoever receives the magazine will continue receiving it.

The nature of a magazine subscription is that it is a continual operation. For, say, $20 a year, the magazine can be fairly certain that you will continue wanting to receive it. And since repeat customers are what keep any business afloat, this kind of loyalty should naturally be rewarded.

And of course, the exact opposite situation can also hold true. If a person decides to go to a news stand (or high end retail establishment) and purchase a single copy of a magazine, there is no relationship there at all. It is a one time transaction, and the person should expect to pay WAY more. So economize, and plan for your future – planning nearly always saves money.

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