Best Deal Magazines offers great prices on magazine subscriptions, but fufillment of those subscriptions may take a long time.
I ordered 3 magazines during June 2009. Best Deal Magazines indicates on their site that magazines should arrive between 8 and 14 weeks after the order. They do not consider a subscrption late until 14 weeks have passed and will not investigate a claim of a missing subscription until 14 weeks after the order.
Of the 3 magazines I ordered, the first one arrived after 10 weeks, the second took 17 weeks & 4 days, and the third arrived 19 weeks after ordering.
I contacted Best Deal Magazines thru their website when 14 weeks had passed for the two late subscriptons They did respond via email (usually within a day or two). They could only check & verify that the subscriptions had gone thru and confirm the month of the first schedule issue (in both cases the November issue).
It appears Best Deal takes the order and submits it to a clearing house which then places the order with the magazine. Not sure where the hold up is buty there certainly doesn't appear to be any urgency in placing these orders.
Bottom line is you will get a good price on your magazines and will eventually receive them, but you may have to wait as long as 4 - 5 months for fufillment.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
11/3/09 9:41 AM
This order was placed on 6/21/09. Best Deal Magazines sent the order to our clearinghouse on 6/26/09. The order was then sent on to each publisher for fulfillment. Once the publisher receives the order they must enter the order into their system and schedule the first issue for delivery. Most publishers are prompt to enter orders, however, there are some that can be slow to process. The major factor in delivery of a first issue is the advance printing and addressing of issues by the publishers. Publishers prepare their issues and mailing labels anywhere from 2-4 issues in advance. What this means is that the new subscriber must wait for the next available issue before they will receive their first issue. As an example, if you ordered a monthly magazine in June, the publisher enters the order into their system in July. The June and July issues have already been sent out. More than likely the August and September issues are preprinted and addressed with the current subscriber base. The next available issue would be October which would mean the first available issue would be October in this example. This is a very common scenario and is one that we cannot control as we are not the publisher. Delivery of a first issue is dependent on how quickly the publisher processes the order and how far in advance they prepare and preaddress their magazine issues. Most publishers will deliver in 8-14 weeks but there are some that can take longer and unfortunately we cannot control this.
Best Deal Magazines promptly submits all customer orders on a weekly basis to our clearinghouse. There are no delays or hold ups as far as processing by Best Deal Magazines.
I tried to renew my son's subsription to Rolling Stone magazine through Best Deal Magazines. They promptly charged my credit card. After four months of not seeing the renewal show up on his magazine labels, I contacted their customer service department. They said that they would contact the clearinghouse and get back to me in two weeks or less. I had to contact them again, when two weeks had gone by, then waited some more to hear back from them. After all that, they told me that the publisher rejected the order because of decreased circulation needs and they were issuing me, not a refund, but a coupon good for 71 cents more than I had paid. Whoopdeedoo!
In the meantime, the magazine subscription is on the verge of expiring and I will have to start buying issues at the newsstand until I can get it to renew from another vendor. Had I not been diligent in contacting Best Deal Magazines again and again, I would still be waiting. Now, they have my money and I have nothing. That's what I call a scam! This place is not worth the effort or the uncertainty. Avoid.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
10/15/09 12:23 PM
Since orders are fulfilled by each individual publisher, once your order is submitted we assume that your order is being fulfilled unless you advise us it is not. In the case of your order for Rolling Stone, once we were advised that you were not receiving your order, we contacted our clearinghouse. They must then contact the publisher and wait for a response. In the case of your order, the publisher informed our clearinghouse that they were returning the order. All orders are subject to approval by each publisher and this is not something we can control.
A refund was issued to the credit card you provided to our customer service department on 10/14/09.
Frustrating... Poor Customer Service... BDM obviously does not understand the magazine subscription either. In today's world, everything is trackable, and yes, Woodcraft Magazine can go into their records and determine the date this magazine was received from Superior Plan (I would assume BDM's Clearinghouse) was the end of August. It was entered into the system on 9/3/09.
They say the lateness of this magazine is the responsibility of the publisher, but the publisher has emailed me and told me the exact date they received this order and the exact date the order was entered. THEY DID NOT RECEIVE THIS ORDER UNTIL the END OF AUGUST (a week and a half before it was entered).
FATHERS DAY GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS WILL BE 18 WEEKS PAST ORDER DATE, if they ever show up! AND I'M NOW BEING TOLD THAT A SECOND ORDER, (# 75BATK17D6) WILL BE AT LEAST 17 WEEKS PAST ORDER DATE B4 IT WILL SHOW UP IF AT ALL!
And of course, this is after navigating the BLAME GAME (BDM is blaming Woodcraft Mags, Woodcraft is saying they didn't get my 6/3/09 order until end of August). BDM "confirms" that their clearinghouse "would have" gotten the order out 1-2 weeks after it was submitted to their "clearinghouse."
I ordered 3 subscriptions of WoodCraft mags on 6/3/09.
9/14/09, I emailed asking about the status of all three subscriptions (14+ wks post-order date).
9/14/09, received auto email response directing me to use FAQ pg or email a different address.
9/14/09, I emailed 2nd email address as specified in auto email.
9/14/09, received auto email stating my question had been rec'd, & to allow 2-3 business days for a response.
9/14/09, received an email from K.S., Priority CS Mgr, stating she was starting an inquiry with the clearinghouse.
9/22/09, I emailed asking the status of this inquiry.
9/22/09, I tried calling the 1800 number listed on BDM's website, it only refers you back to the emailing process.
9/23/09, I called BDM &left a voicemail stating my growing concern, requested someone to call me back.
9/23/09, I called Woodcraft Magazine today. They said my 3 would begin coming mid-October (18 WKS past order date). They ALSO informed me that my order was recd by them on 9/3/09 (13 WKS PAST ORDER DATE).
9/23/09, Upon finding this out, I emailed BDM this, I told them of the situation thus far, and how I felt 17 weeks was ridiculous. I asked for a partial refund of my subscriptions.
9/23/09, received an email response, it said that my orders were submitted to the clearing house on 6/5/09. It said they would then made their way to the publisher within 1-2 weeks after that date. It then went on to blame the publisher, Woodcraft magazine, for failing to enter the subscription in a timely manner. It stated that they may have been particularly slow because Woodcraft is only published once every two months. It said this delay was "not normal" and gave me their "sincerest apologies" (but offered no resolution I felt appropriate, just the words, sincerest apologies).
9/23/09, I responded to BOTH BDM & WOODCRAFT, an email ststing that I was not happy with "sincerest apologies" words alone, and that I had another order fro Men's Journal (a 12-issue, 1 year subscription) placed first week of July, that has also not arrived (approaching the 12 week mark). I told them I expected a partial refund for the lateness and my trouble, or if it was the publisher's fault, I would appreciate some extra issues credited to our subscriptions.
9/24/2009, I received an email that my second order for Men's Journal will be delivering my first issue in November. The order was placed first week of July 2009; and that makes that OVER 17 WEEKS for that wait.
9/25/09, I rec'd email from WC Magazine stating that they received the order end of August 2009. It was entered into their system on 9/3/09. They reiterated BDM was lying when they stated in their previous email that WC would have received within a couple weeks of going to their clearinghouse on June 5, 2009.
This review was modified by its author, morganstrf, on
9/30/09 10:33 AM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
9/28/09 4:51 PM
Best Deal Magazines does NOT lie to our customers nor do we provide inaccurate information.
Michelle M. obviously does not understand the process of ordering through a magazine subscription agency. The date noted in any publishers system will be the date the order was entered by the publisher NOT the date it was received by the publisher.
PREVIOUS:
Best Deal Magazines sent the order for Woodcraft to our clearinghouse on 6/5/09. Based on the information provided to us by our clearinghouse, the order was sent to the publisher shortly after this date. We do not understand why the publisher waited to enter the order into their system. Our website does state that a monthly publication will usually be delivered by the publisher in 8-14 weeks, however, a bi-monthly or quarterly publication can take longer depending on the publishing schedule and the advance printing of mailing labels. Woodcraft is published six (6) times per year and is NOT a monthly publication.
The order for Men's Journal was sent to the clearinghouse on 7/5/09 and sent to the publisher shortly thereafter. The order was scheduled by the publisher to begin with the November 2009 issue. While we cannot state with certainly why the order was delayed until November 2009, most likely it is due to the advance printing of issues and preaddressing them with the current subscriber base. As an example, the publisher would have received this order in July 2009. The July and August issues had already been sent out. If they prepare their issues two months in advance, September and October would have already been printed and addressed for delivery. This would mean that your order would begin with the November 2009 issue. This is quite commonplace for any publisher and is something that Best Deal Magazines cannot control as it is up to each individual publisher to schedule a first issue for delivery.
Love the service Best Deal Magazines provides. A couple months ago I placed an order for me and a couple of friends. Ordered about 5 magazines total. All of the magazines have arrived and everyone is enjoying their magazines. Couldn't believe how quickly they arrived. Had a question for their customer service a couple of weeks ago on a sale they had and they responded the very same day - was very impressed as not too many companies even respond to you anymore. You can't go wrong with Best Deal Magazines.
I've used Best Deal Magazines for many years now to order a ton of magazines every year. Between me, my hubby, and the kids we get alot. We save alot of money using Best Deal Magazines as opposed to buying off the newsstands. Our most recent order was for Gun Digest and it arrived in less than 4 weeks. I think they offer an amazing service and give them a thumbs up.
This review was modified by its author, review1131, on
9/18/09 8:18 PM.
Best Deal magazines, despite what their shills may have posted below, appear to be an out and out scam operation, taking money and providing nothing but an endless trail of emails claiming all the problems are with "the clearinghouse". More than six months since the order, there is still no magazine arriving.
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SEND ANY MONEY to this company - you will NOT get anything in return except aggravation and lies.
************
In response to their reply below, as of yet, there have still been no copies of this magazine received, though I will post again when and if they begin to arrive. I imagine that many people would not pursue them this long, and just "write it off" - leaving Best Deals taking something for nothing.
While they actively response to emails, only when pressed do they provide any meaningful information, as they finally did after I chased them for months for an answer.
Any individual is far better off paying a regular subscription price and receiving their product in weeks rather than waiting as long as six months or more - if you receive anything at all - than dealing with this company.
This review was modified by its author, JDMC, on
9/18/09 3:03 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
9/18/09 7:09 PM
Update 9-18-09:
Best Deal Magazines is NOT at fault with respect to this order. The publisher shows that this order began in June 2009. The reason issues have not been received is due to an invalid address being provided both times by the customer. Below is the history of your order direct from the publisher of Autoweek:
*Order started with June 29, 2009 issue
*First address came back undeliverable July 27, 2009
*New address entered Aug 17, 2009
*Order restarted with Sept 7, 2009 issue
*New address came back undeliverable Aug 24, 2009
*Order suspended until valid address is provided
*Order good through Aug 9, 2010 at this time
*Publisher will extend further once new address is entered
Each every time you were in contact with our company we responded. We have confirmed multiple times that your order is on file with the publisher and have advised you of the problem each time. It is up to you to provide a valid address to which the postal service can deliver to.
PREVIOUS:
Best Deal Magazines has been in business now for almost 20 years. We are not a scam operation and find that this comment is unwarranted and defamatory.
Your order was placed on 3/9/09 for Autoweek to be sent to an inmate at a correctional institution. As per the publisher, the order began with the 6/29/09 issue. The first issue sent out was returned by the postal service to the publisher as undeliverable on 7/27/09. You then provided us with a new address and, as per the publisher, the new address was entered into their system on 8/17/09 and the order was restarted with the 9/7/09 issue which was immediately sent out following the address update. On 8/24/09 the postal service returned this issue back to the publisher as undeliverable. The order was then suspended by the publisher until a valid address is provided. The publisher states that the order will expire with the 8/9/2010 issue but they will extend for missed issues once a new, valid address is entered. We spoke with the publisher of Autoweek this morning (9/15/09) and confirmed this information personally.
Best Deal Magazines is NOT at fault with respect to this order. The problem is related to the fact that an invalid address was provided on two occasions by this customer. Once a valid address is provided to the publisher the order will restart and the full term will be received.
Although while unfortunate my dealings with my own personal process has been bad. Their customer service has at least replied to all my messages quite fast and they have fulfilled my magazine subscription. I shall wait and see in 8 weeks.
This review was modified by its author, dragonxeric, on
9/4/09 5:35 AM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
11/3/09 11:30 AM
UPDATE 11/3/09: The publisher shows that this order began with the Oct 2009 issue which should have been received mid October. The November issue should arrive something this week as per the publisher.
PREVIOUS:
To address the delivery of your order. Your order was placed on 7/27/09 and sent to our clearinghouse on 7/29/09. The publisher requires 8-14 weeks for fulfillment of the order. This is the industry standard.
Back on May 5th, 2009, I placed an order for a subscription to Consumer Reports with Best Deal Magazines. The bargain price they offered of just $16.56 for a 1 year subscription was too good to pass up.
Fast forward to August 15th- 100+ days later. No magazine, no refund, endless runaround by Best Deal Magazines.
Best Deal Magazines company keeps deflecting my requests for a refund by saying that they are 'still checking with the clearinghouse'. What clearinghouse is this- the one that cleared out my bank account for the false promise of a magazine subscription?
BUYER BEWARE regarding this company (and others) that promise magazines at rock bottom costs but deliver nothing.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
8/15/09 2:08 PM
Best Deal Magazines is a magazine subscription agency. Orders are fulfilled by the individual publishers. When you place an order with a magazine subscription agency, the order is sent to a clearinghouse who then prepares the order for the publisher. The order is sent to the publisher for fulfillment usually within 1-2 weeks of receipt by the clearinghouse. The publisher must then enter the order into their system and schedule the first issue for delivery. Most delays in receiving a first issue occur due to the advance printing of mailing labels by each individual publisher. Most publishers prepare their mailing labels 2-4 issues in advance.
Our website clearly states that fulfillment time is 8-14 weeks. This order was sent to the clearinghouse on 5/8/09. The 14 week timeperiod was up on 8/14/09 which was yesterday. An order is not considered late by a publisher until 14 weeks has passed.
The publisher of Consumer Reports historically has been prompt in fulfillment of orders. Since this has not been the case with your order, an error has obviously occurred between our clearinghouse and the publisher. Our customer service department has sent inquiries to our clearinghouse requesting account status on your order. This is not the runaround but proper procedure when there is a problem with fulfillment by a publisher on any order.
Since the first issue has not been received in the proper fulfillment time by the publisher, a refund has been issued to you which resolves this matter.
I ordered two magazines (Muy Interesante & Mad Magazine) almost two months ago. I wrote Bestdealmagazines a few days ago to inquire about my order. I was given the usual runaround about me having to wait several more weeks for them to be able find out anything. When I went to their site today I noticed that NEITHER of these two magazines I ordered are on Bestdealmagazines.com list anymore (they didn't even mention that on their email about "me having to wait longer before inquiring").
Will write again in September/October to update. By then, either the magazines have arrived or we all know what happened.
Sept. 15, 2009... One of the subscriptions arrived today.
This review was modified by its author, BacardiBlues, on
9/16/09 3:56 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
7/29/09 9:48 PM
Your order for Muy Interesante & Mad Magazine was placed on 6/19/09. Our website clearly states, in numerous places, that publishers require a fulfillment time of 8-14 weeks. Delivery times are stated in our terms and conditions (which you agreed to at the time of your order), on numerous pages throughout our website, our FAQ page, and in the confirmation e-mail which you received after placing your order. 14 weeks would be September 25th. Today is July 29th only 5.5 weeks after your order. It is unreasonable to expect a first issue from either publisher at this time. Most publishers deliver in 8-12 weeks but some can be slower.
You sent an e-mail to customer service on 7/24/09 at 8:14 a.m. and a response was sent to you the same date (7/24/09) at 10:02 a.m. notifying you of the fulfillment time required by the publishers. You also sent two e-mails today which have been sent to customer service for a response.
As far as not carrying these two magazines at this time, our magazine availability can change from week to week. This is not a reflection of availability for previous orders. Orders placed previously have been processed through to the publishers for fulfillment.
As far as paying for your order at the time you placed your order, any online magazine subscription agency will charge you for your order as the order must be paid for when it is submitted to the publisher for fulfillment. The only way to be billed for a subscription would be to order it directly from the publisher and request that they bill you.
Again, this complaint is unwarranted. Best Deal Magazines has NOT scammed you. We have been in business for almost 20 years now and we would never attempt to scam anyone.
I placed an order for a renewal as well as a new order for 2 magazines. I have yet to receive either one and it's been 16 weeks. I sent in an inquiry at 12 weeks - the "normal" turnaround time they claim and received a form response. I have ordered magazines online from third parties
in the past and have never waited so long.
Sure you can save money, but if you never get the magazine, what's the point. I'll order directly from the magazine itself in the future.
I smell scam. Just glad they didn't get me for a lot of $$$. Shame on them.
Update 7/16/09
After several emails and an extremely long wait, Best Deal was able to confirm my two subscriptions will start. So while not a scam, it's still unsatisfactory in my opinion and not worth the frustration. I think I'll stick with ordering from the magazines directly.
Update 7/21/09
Best Deal Mags sent me an email to let me know September would be my first issue but their response to this review states that July/August would be my first issue. would like to get a straight answer once and for all on when my subscription will start. This frustration is not worth the $ saved.
This review was modified by its author, ringobeagle, on
7/21/09 12:14 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
9/18/09 2:38 PM
Update 9-18-09
A check with the publisher shows that Martha Stewart Living begins with the October 2009 issue and expires with the September 2010 issue. Your account number with the publisher is 152XXX589 (partially blocked for your privacy).
A check with the publisher shows that Everyday Food began with the July/August 2009 issue and will expire with the July 2010 issue. Your account number with the publisher is 152XXX589 (partially blocked for your privacy). The last issue mailed to you was the September 2009 issue. The publisher does not show any delivery problems on your order and shows that it is being received.
PREVIOUS:
Your order was placed on 3/12/09 and sent to our clearinghouse on 3/20/09. On 6/26/09 we checked with our clearinghouse regarding your order for Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food. Up until today we were unable to get a firm start date for your order from our clearinghouse or the publisher. Your order for Martha Stewart Living will begin with the October issue. Your order for Everyday Food will begin with the July/August issue. Your order was submitted to the publisher back in March. We do not know why there was such a long delay in processing your order and scheduling your first issue. This is very frustrating to our company as well and is outside of normal fulfillment times. It does appear that there was an error between the clearinghouse and the publisher which caused a delay in your order being entered.
Please keep in mind that Best Deal Magazines sent the order to the clearinghouse on 3/20/09. Any delays encountered in receiving a first issue are a result of delays by the publisher. Once the order has left Best Deal Magazines and goes on to the publisher we must rely on the publisher to promptly process the order. What happened with this order is unusual and not the norm as most publishers are very prompt to process orders.
I received your reply to my review. I have no order number as I was not given one. And regardless of what you claim, I have never received any responses - just your standard form email response saying I'd get a response - which never came. But of course, you charged my credit card for the subscription right away. And, your 800 number rings and no one answers.
This review was modified by its author, notpleased, on
6/24/09 4:05 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
6/24/09 8:59 PM
You have provided a copy of the confirmation e-mail sent to you after completion of your order for Videomaker. We have checked with the publisher and the publisher shows an active account for you with 11 issues remaining. Since this magazine is published 12 times per year, one issue has been sent to you. Your subscription ID is 112XXXXX. Your order is being fulfilled and was fulfilled within the publishers fulfillment time of 8-14 weeks.
PREVIOUS RESPONSE:
When your order completes, the order number is visible on the receipt page. You are given the option to print this page for your reference. In addition, an e-mail confirmation is sent to the e-mail address you noted when you placed your order.
In your e-mail response to us directly you have not provided a name or address so we can view the order history and provide you with your account status with the publisher. Until we have this information we cannot assist you.
When customer service staff is not available to answer our 800 number it does go to voicemail. However, the voicemails are picked up by our customer service staff and calls are returned each day and within 24 hours at the latest.
RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL POST:
All e-mails sent to additionalsupport@bestdealmagazines.com are answered by Best Deal Magazines' customer service staff. If you did not receive a response, our response may have been blocked by your ISP as we do respond to each and every e-mail.
Our 800 number is working and the customer service staff returns calls the same day or within 24 hours Monday thru Friday. Our 800 number is 800-332-0278.
You have not provided an order number with your post so we have no way of verifying any of the information you have posted.
I agree with the majority of the reviewers stating that the service is extremely poor and slow. I placed an order on FEB 8, 2009 for TWO magazines I have not received to date. On 5/29/09 I called both publishers directly and they advised me that Best Deal had not placed an order with them for either magazine. We are now in June 2009 and I received an email today from a customer rep that my subscription wouldn't begin until August 2009!!!. For the one or two dollars savings I could have ordered them directly from the publisher and avoided the headaches. I don't like dealing with a company in which you have to leave a message and wait for a return call or email. THE ORDER NUMBER WAS 9F8VCEGT6P. (CONSUMER REPORTS ON HEALTH AND HEART & SOUL MAGAZINE) I have sent emails to Customer Service Managers, Lori Greene & Kelli Shirley requesting a refund but have not received a response. Going forward, I will not place any future orders with this company as they do not take care of their customers and do not want to give you a refund.
In all fairness to Best Deals Mag, they responded to "some" of my emails but NOT the emails I sent to their Manager, Kelli Shirley on 5/29/09 & 6/1/09 requesting a refund since I was unhappy with their service as no orders had been placed on my behalf until I inquired on the status of my order initally placed on 2/8/09 until the end of May 2009. I just want all future buyers to be aware that if you purchase from Best Deals Magazine you may not get a REFUND as I have sent TWO REQUESTS for a refund and have NOT received a reply. I keep copies of all of my SENT emails so they can't say that they responded to "ALL" of my emails. This is my experience, perhaps others will have a different outcome.
This review was modified by its author, DSWEATT, on
6/3/09 5:25 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
6/3/09 5:58 PM
To close this issue a refund has been issued to this customer for Consumer Reports on Health.
The publisher does show that the order will begin with the August 2009 issue. The delay is due to the advance printing of mailing labels. According to our clearinghouse the order was processed by the publisher in early April. Mailing labels are prepared 3 issues in advance. This means the May, June and July issues are already preaddressed so a new subscriber would have to wait until the August issue to receive a first issue. This is the publisher, not Best Deal Magazines. We did not create this delay. We cannot stress this enough.
PREVIOUS:
Best Deal Magazines does not fulfill the orders - each individual publisher is responsible to fulfill the orders. The orders are submitted to each publisher through our clearinghouse. Best Deal Magazines is not at fault when a publisher is very slow to deliver a first issue. In most instances, the preprinting of mailing labels is the main contributing factor when a first issue is delayed. When a publisher preprints mailing labels 2-3 issues in advance a new subscriber must wait for the next available issue to be printed before they will receive a first issue. This is the action of a publisher, not Best Deal Magazines and is not something we can control. All orders processed by Best Deal Magazines reach the publisher within 1-2 weeks. Any delay beyond that is publisher processing time.
Your order for Consumer Reports on Health was submitted to the publisher for fulfillment. We have contacted our clearinghouse today (6/3/09) regarding this order have been advised that the order has been processed by the publisher and the next available issue will be your first issue. We have been advised that this publisher prepares their mailing labels at least 3 issues in advance which is a major factor in the delay in receiving your first issue. This is the publisher not Best Deal Magazines contributing to the delay in receiving your first issue.
Your order also consisted of Heart & Soul which began with the June 2009 issue.
All e-mails submitted to our customer service department have been responded to. Your first e-mail was sent on 5/11/09. A response was sent to you on 5/16/09. On 5/18/09 a response was sent to you noting the start date for Heart & Soul and an inquiry to our clearinghouse regarding Consumer Reports on Health. You responded on 5/18/09 with "Thanks so much Lori for the status of Heart & Soul magazine. What about the status of CONSUMER REPORTS on Health? Please advise at your earliest and thanks. Debra". On 5/20/09 a response was sent to you notifying you that we were still attempting to receive a start date from the publisher. 5/26/09 you asked again, we responded on 5/29/09.
Below, Best Deal Magazines has responded to my review. I stand by the review as a reflection of my experience with the company. I will reiterate that in my experience:
1. You will eventually receive your magazines
2. You will pay a bargain rate for these magazines
However, in my experience:
1. I experienced a severe delay in the receipt of the magazines (5 months)
2. Customer service was poor
Customer experiences may vary. This may be a systemic problem with the whole magazine subscription business, but I would point out that I have ordered magazines from diverse sources as Amazon, Publisher's Clearing House, using up expiring frequent flier mileage, and the magazine publishers themselves and have not experienced a five month delay.
If the company would, at very least, improve communication with the customer or have a website where you could check order status I might be more likely to try this vendor out again.
Once again, I believe that this is a basically honest company in that you will receive your magazines. However, the delays and poor customer service have decreased the value of ordering from this company for me. At this point, I'd rather pay a higher price and know when the magazines were coming...
ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW
__________________________________
On the bright side, you will eventually get your magazines. On the downside, it may take a long, long time and customer support doesn't seem to answer their emails.
I bought a subscription to MacLife on 12/17/2008 and finally received the June edition on 5/14/2009. That is a nearly five month wait for a magazine. The store puts the onus on the magazine publishers and in their FAQ section tell you that it typically takes 6 to 14 weeks for fulfillment or even 8 to 12 weeks. It ended up taking roughly 20 weeks for my subscription.
By that time, I was wondering if I had gotten snookered by a slick web site and a low price. I had tried to send emails to their customer support three times and never got an answer back. I tried to call once, but couldn't get through.
All this translates into a poor customer experience. However, in the end I did get the magazine.
To sum up the experience, you have to realize that when you buy from this vendor you will get a bargain rate. The price you will pay will be: 1) a severe delay in receiving your first magazine [five to six months] and 2)poor customer support/responsiveness. Given that I did, indeed, receive the subscription I have to conclude that they are basically honest. However, they are very slow and unresponsive to customers.
My final conclusion is that I would be very unlikely to use this service in the future. For the extra 10 dollars, I could have ordered MacLife from Amazon.com and received my subscription within 6 weeks. I could order through the publisher itself for the extra 15 dollars and received both the paper and digital versions. Either way, I would have gotten the magazine more quickly and would have had more customer support should something have gone wrong.
My guess is that Best Deal Magazines is able to sell subscriptions to customers at such a low price by allowing the publishers to fulfill these subscriptions when they need to hit the right circulation numbers for their advertisers. The subscriptions are held on to and only fulfilled when the magazine needs to beef up their numbers to hit the right goals for their advertisers. Until then, the customer has to wait. This is likely why people have such a varied experience with the company. If you are subscribing to a magazine that really needs the numbers, the subscription will go through quickly. If you are subscribing to a more popular magazine, you have to wait until the publisher feels that the loss that they take on your subscription will be balanced by the extra revenue from the ads that they sell.
This review was modified by its author, jojoleb, on
5/20/09 11:26 AM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
5/21/09 12:53 PM
Publisher direct orders and those through such large companies as Amazon.com are processed in a completely different manner than that of a typical magazine subscription agency.
A magazine subscription agency must process orders through a clearinghouse. What this means is that you place your order, it is processed through to our clearinghouse. The clearinghouse then prepares and sends the order on to the publisher. The publisher then has to enter the order into their system and schedule the first issue for delivery. Most publishers are very prompt to process and send a first issue while others can take time to process orders. When a publisher sits on an order the advance printing and labeling of issues becomes a major factor in delivery of a first issue as the new subscriber must wait for the next available issue to come up before the new mailing label goes on an issue.
The e-mails you have sent in have been sent to support@bestdealmagazines.com. When you send to this e-mail address you receive an automated response which replies back with an e-mail directing you to our FAQ page. Most questions can be answered by referring to our FAQ page. If your question is not answered you are directed to send an e-mail to additionalsupport@bestdealmagazines.com. This is noted in the e-mail and on our FAQ page in multiple locations. I've checked our e-mail history and I do not show any e-mails from you that were sent to additionalsupport@bestdealmagazines.com. All e-mails sent to this e-mail address receive a personal response from my customer service department.
RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Best Deal Magazines is a magazine subscription agent as are all online magazine websites. All orders placed through Best Deal Magazines or any magazine subscription agency are fulfilled by the publisher. The orders are sent to the publisher for fulfillment and the publisher must enter the order into their system and schedule the first issue for delivery. Most publishers are very prompt about processing, however, some can take longer and this is not something any agency can control.
Most delays occur due to the advance printing of mailing labels by the publisher. Most publishers will print mailing labels 1-3 issues in advance. As an example, the publisher has just sent out the May issue for a monthly publication. They also have pre-printed the June and July issues and affixed the current subscriber mailing labels to these issues. A new order is processed by the publisher. Unless the publisher backserves, this new subscriber must now wait for the August issue to be printed and their mailing label affixed. This situation is the most common delay in receiving a first issue. Quarterly or bi-monthly subscriptions can sometimes encounter further delays depending on the publishing schedule.
Our customer service department faithfully responds to each and every e-mail sent to additionalsupport@bestdealmagazines.com. In addition, all voicemails left on our 800 number are responded to the same day if possible but usually no more than 24 hours. We take customer service very seriously and customer satisfaction is our #1 goal.
I ordered GameInformer on their ~$4 deal. I received my first issue in February (3 months later, but it was the January issue, I received the February issue a week after). I didn't care too much about the wait as long as I got the order. Thanks for the great prices! I'm thinking of ordering another from them soon.
I ordered back in December. To date, I have received nothing. I ordered three magazines. I have emailed about five times back and forth with them, and every time they fail entirely to answer my questions. They seem overwhelmed by the fact that my order included requests for multiple magazines.
They always take a couple of days to get back to me and they never actually help.
I am notifying American Express and trying to get my money back. They are awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UPDATED: To be clear, I have emailed them multiple times. Everytime, I have asked about all three orders, none of which ever have come. My response from them has only ever offered information about one magazine. It forces me to email again, asking about the other two.
Their customer service department is arrogant and incredibly difficult to deal with! Avoid this company at all costs unless you want to waste money!
Even though I am outside of the 14 week window which they claim it takes to begin receiving magazines, they are steadfastly refusing to give me a refund!
This review was modified by its author, tjpavlov, on
3/30/09 12:23 PM.
Reseller Reply
Posted
by
3/27/09 12:07 PM
Your order was placed on 12/23/08 and sent to each publisher for fulfillment at the beginning of January 2009. Our records show that you initially contacted our customer service department has been in contact with you as follows:
3/17/09 E-mail from you to BDM asking for delivery time.
3/17/09 Response to you from BDM advising you of delivery timeframes.
3/18/09 E-mail from you to BDM asking about order start date for Inc.
3/18/09 Response to you from BDM indicating inquiry sent to clearinghouse for Inc.
3/25/09 Response to you from BDM stating start date for Autoweek and new order information for Inc.
3/27/09 E-mail from you to BDM indicating that you did not wish to have Inc. resubmitted.
3/27/09 Response to you from BDM stating that resubmit order for Inc. is cancelled and refund is issued to you. Also provided you with start dates for Autoweek again and Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel.
Each time you have e-mailed us we have responded to your questions.
ARTHUR FROMMER'S BUDGET TRAVEL: The publisher shows that your first issue will be May 2009 with an expiration date of April 2010.
AUTOWEEK: The publisher shows that your first issue will be April 6, 2009 with an expiration date of March 22, 2010. Autoweek is no longer a weekly publication but is bi-weekly.
INC.: Because the publisher was not yet showing this order, we were resubmitting a new order for you. You indicated that you did not wish to have this done and preferred a refund. A refund has been issued to you for the amount paid for Inc. The transaction ID for the refund is VQEA3CC217DE.
