![]() ![]() ![]() But if the human at the other end of the line fails to deliver, simply say: “I happen to know that Timothy Noah of Washington, D.C., recently got 50 percent off, and all he had to do was call. It’s conceivable that if you’ve been a subscriber for less than five years you won’t be offered it, and it’s also conceivable that different discounts are being offered to different customers based on some incomprehensible algorithm. Second, I don’t know for absolute fact that, even today, you will automatically be offered the same half-off rate I was. As word gets around that the Times habitually charges suckers twice what it charges participants in my recommended 12-step program, the company may have to rethink its variable-pricing strategy. If you forget to phone prior to the autorenewal date, then the credit will be applied to the sticker price.ġ2) But try to remember to call, because it’s conceivable your credit will cover most if not all of next year’s renewal.įirst, this is what will work today. How much of next year’s subscription price your credit covers will depend on what discount the Times is offering at renewal time, and how much the Times jacks up the sticker price between now and then. The prorated discount will leave your account with a credit that the Times will apply to next year’s renewal. You’re still stuck paying full price for the part of your subscription that predated this phone call. ![]() If it’s soon, then you will get a 26-week renewal at the half-off rate.ġ1) If it isn’t soon (as it isn’t for me I renewed for a year in April), then you will receive the half-off discount prorated for the remaining months of your subscription. As noted previously by Slate’s Jacob Weisberg, you don’t really have to get the iPad apps to read these newspapers online, because the screen is big enough to make their Web sites decently readable.ĩ) The human will answer, “It will default back to regular pricing”-back into the Marzorati Flytrap, faithful reader!-”but I definitely recommend you call at that time to see what we can do.” Translation: The Times-assuming you remember to phone before your subscription comes up for autorenewal-will offer you some discount at that time, though not necessarily the same discount you had before, because Times discounting policy may change by then.ġ0) The human will take a moment to check your account to see when your current subscription is due to autorenew. Meanwhile, you can use your iPad to also read the Washington Post app (free now early next year it will cost about $4 per month or about $1 per month if you’re a print subscriber) and the Wall Street Journal app ( about $17 per month free, at least for now, if you’re a print subscriber). (The cellular connection will cost you $15 to $25 more per month, depending on which data plan you choose, provided you stay within your monthly data allotment.) The Times app will stop being free early next year, but no way will the subscription price be anywhere near $700. For $29 more, you can buy a 32-gigabyte iPad that you can use with either a Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Seven hundred dollars, after all, is about what Apple will charge you for a 64-gigabyte iPad on which you can now read the entire Times free of charge provided you have a Wi-Fi connection. The blogosphere was titillated that a top Times editor would admit that Times readers aren’t savvy consumers. ![]()
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