Edge - Do they think I'm Stupid?

[strider]

I've just been stitched up by Empire, so I know how you feel.

Wife spent £35 on one of those Christmas subs you can buy in WHsmiths (which was a lovely surprise, as I normally buy it every month). Anyway I never received my September issue, so I got on the phone and asked where it was. I was told that I only had a 9-month sub. I explained that this wasn't the case, as it was from a voucher in WHSmiths, and I was told it had all been changed to a 12-month sub and it was a common problem with the wrong code being entered. 2 weeks pass and I still haven't received the issue in question, so I phone up again. Today in fact. I have now been told that it's still a 9-month sub that's run out and unless I can prove I put in a code for a 12-month issue (which I can't as the receipt is long gone and I don't have the original packaging) I won't be receiving my remaining issues.

When I explained that I was told this had all been taken care of, I was told that I'd been misinformed by the earlier phone pleb. Misinformed? More like fucking lied to. I want be buying Empire ever again.

[sofasurfer]

Cancelled my sub a couple of years back and binned all my old copies (0 onwards)... Never looked back!

Christ...issue 0. That would have made some money on ebay.

[rgraves]

When I read the title I thought it was going to be about their outlandish reviews.

I wouldn't know. I don't read it anymore. It's dead to me now.

[rgraves]

Christ...issue 0. That would have made some money on ebay.

Really? I binned a good chunk of my collection when I moved house recently - had issue 0, issue 1 etc all in the original bags. I even had all the dodo feathers

[j.m.ratkos]

the subscription price hike sort of reminds me of what marvel comics used to do; the price on the comic would read .20, then for 3 issues "sill only .20" before it magically increased. I'm waiting for EDGE and the rest of the magazines to catch on to this marketing magic to make you feel like you're getting such a deal before they stick it to you.

and yes, it amazes me that direct subscribers never seem to get a break, but you can find a subscription through another avenue with a savings of upwards to 70% off.

"thank you for being a loyal subscriber. as a token of our graditude, we've decided to fuck you proper and increase your rate. also, to rub salt in the wound, just to let you know, you could have subscribed anywhere else and saved lots of money. thank you again for your patronage!"

[strider]

and yes, it amazes me that direct subscribers never seem to get a break, but you can find a subscription through another avenue with a savings of upwards to 70% off.

"thank you for being a loyal subscriber. as a token of our graditude, we've decided to fuck you proper and increase your rate. also, to rub salt in the wound, just to let you know, you could have subscribed anywhere else and saved lots of money. thank you again for your patronage!"

Sky's exactly the same. They were installing SKY HD for free to new customers. We asked if we could have it seeing we'd been with them for 12 years and they said we weren't a priority because we were existing customers.

[Harsin]

Always ask to be put through to cancellations when you call Sky, for starters you'll actually get someone who can speak fluent English and you'll be amazed how suddenly accommodating they can be.

[j.m.ratkos]

Always ask to be put through to cancellations when you call Sky, for starters you'll actually get someone who can speak fluent English and you'll be amazed how suddenly accommodating they can be.

same here in the states. I went to go and cancel my 3 month trial subscription to HBO and received 6 months free HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, the Movie Channel and Stars instead

[mushashi]

That's just SOP for businesses in general, the banks being a rather institutionalised example of this practice. They don't exactly go out of their way to make sure existing customers get the best deals or allow them to easily move their accounts to get the best rates they have available, Nationwide even had a TV advert pointing this fact out and how great they were in comparison (not something I'd really agree with, being one of their customers).

[James Lyon]

I once got a Wii wireless nunchuk controller out of the blue from Future as a gift for subscribing to NGamer. I mean in the middle of my subscription, not one of those ones you get when you first start it up. I'm not sure if anyone else got one. Never used it, and actually sold it last week on eBay for 99p.

Still, nice of them, eh?

[marillion Col]

Cancelled my sub a couple of years back and binned all my old copies (0 onwards)... Never looked back!

That's exactly what I did.

[Alex W.]

It sounds like the reviews are the main reason you're reading it, and I've never been convinced that reviews, particularly when they take the form of a buyer's guide, are a good reason to buy any publication. I've not bought a film mag in years for that very reason.

[NecroMorrius]

Dear Mr G,

Blah, blah blah, costs going up, blah, blah, blah

I see their writing style is as consistent as ever!

[choddo]

I still find their articles about games the most entertaining, and of generally far higher quality than 99% of web content. More generally, I fear the day is not too far off when the only affordable journalism is on-the-spot video and opinions of people who have good reasons to be biased and re-hashes of that by remote armchair warriors.

But ditto the above. Especially not having the time to read it or play many games.

[Broker]

Is it still cheaper to subscribe than to buy it every month?

[Mr Do 71]

Is it still cheaper to subscribe than to buy it every month?

A £5 for 13 issues, I'd say yes.

[Blue]

I want be buying Empire ever again.

Freudian slip ahoy. Best just give in to it.

[rgraves]

A £5 for 13 issues, I'd say yes.

For Edge? Where'd you see that price?

[Mr Do 71]

For Edge? Where'd you see that price?

Whoops.

[kempstar]

For anyone thinking of getting the digital edition, I really wouldnt bother. On the plus side, the interface is OK, and it is slightly cheaper than the physical mag. Its nice to be able to read it at home on the iPad and on the work loo on the iphone. However you dont get it for a long time, and the past two issues I have not got until several days after the mag is available in the shop. When I had the paper mag sub, I used to get my subs copy a few days before it would appear in the shops, which was one of the benefits of it. Its a bit of a pisstake to not get my digital copy it until after it comes out in the shops, and I wont be renewing my digital sub on that basis (although I will probably get a physical sub).

[NecroMorrius]

It's also not formatted properly, meaning half the commas and apostrophes disappear from the text

[roland79]

I still find their articles about games the most entertaining, and of generally far higher quality than 99% of web content.

They got some good and entertaining articles for shure, but I think you could easily find that on blogs.

[Dudley]

For anyone thinking of getting the digital edition, I really wouldnt bother. On the plus side, the interface is OK, and it is slightly cheaper than the physical mag. Its nice to be able to read it at home on the iPad and on the work loo on the iphone. However you dont get it for a long time, and the past two issues I have not got until several days after the mag is available in the shop. When I had the paper mag sub, I used to get my subs copy a few days before it would appear in the shops, which was one of the benefits of it. Its a bit of a pisstake to not get my digital copy it until after it comes out in the shops, and I wont be renewing my digital sub on that basis (although I will probably get a physical sub).

How the hell do you fuck it up that badly as a publisher that this even happens.

[kempstar]

Actually its even fucking worse.... You can get a digital copy from newstand on idevices, but still no digital subs copy

[Spacehost]

Are they still doing that Region-Specific feature? Geez. What a complete waste of space. It's the most boring part of the mag by far, and as far as I can see is only in the mag primarily so they can get the featured companies to pay for ads in the same section.

I like it because it's helping me scout out places I'd like to work in with an active games dev scene. That and the inevitable Dundee one should be a laugh.

[dayte]

I like it because it's helping me scout out places I'd like to work in with an active games dev scene. That and the inevitable Dundee one should be a laugh.

Develop magazine is far more suited to you. They've just started a feature on interviewing game companies and what they look for in employees; that and it usually has a ton of recruitment ads and general industry news. Every few months they also do in depth analysis on industry recruitment, the dev scene in other countries (recently did one in Canada) and next month I think they're showing the results of a developer survey i.e. hours worked, pay by region etc.

It's 'out' every month/2 months, £4 a pop. And smelling the paper makes you high

[Spacehost]

Yeah, I've got a free sub for Develop since I'm student scum at the mo. Pretty good but they don't seem to go into as much detail about the regions as I'd like.

[retroed]

I've been paying £8.77 direct debit every three months for the last few years, via myfavouritemagazines.co.uk. I hope I don't get an email mentioning any price increases.

Dear Mr Retro

I hope you are enjoying your subscription to Edge. We have many more great features coming up over the next couple of months, and you can continue to take advantage of all the benefits of subscribing without interruption.

Important information about your Edge subscription

You have been enjoying a great value price on your subscription for some time now. As time goes by, the cost of publishing your favourite magazine and delivering it direct to your door does increase. We are therefore writing to let you know that we are amending your subscription price.

Your new subscription price for Edge will be £ 10.92 to be taken every 3 Months.

The first collection of the new amount is due on or immediately after: 16.01.2012

This price still represents excellent value − giving you substantial savings off the price you would pay in the shops. You also get the magazine delivered to your door every month, hassle free, and you never have to worry about your favourite magazine being out of stock at your newsagent. As you are paying by Direct Debit your new subscription price includes a 5% discount on our standard subscription price. Plus, for your peace of mind, you will continue to enjoy all the benefits of the Direct Debit Guarantee.

Looking on the site, you can currently take out a quarterly Direct Debit for £8.99. I wonder if that will increase? If not, I may as well cancel and resubscribe.

[SozzlyJoe]

Looking on the site, you can currently take out a quarterly Direct Debit for £8.99. I wonder if that will increase? If not, I may as well cancel and resubscribe.

Well, that's the thing about direct debits, isn't it? It is a license that says Company X can take whatever they want out of your bank account (though you can dispute at any time). So you can sub at £8.99 then they can jack it at will. Now you know why they are so desperate to get you to subscribe that way!