Magazines.com

Full review
The site is: www.magazines.com

When my last magazine resource told me that they were no longer carrying O, Oprah's magazine, I quickly went in search of another. Thankfully, I found one that not only carried O, but much more.

WHAT I LIKED AND DIDN’T LIKE:
There are so many things about this site that I liked, and this was before I even placed my order. The following are some of them:

1. Easy to navigate!
Simple vs. Complicated: The site is simple, but not too simple. I did not feel lost in it when I was trying to navigate around. At the same time, I didn’t get frustrated because the design was archaic or there were many web page errors, etc. The site is straightforward, with minimal errors. It is like the Goldilocks bears’ porridge, not too hot and not too cold. Information you need (like how to contact them) is easily found (it seemed to be everywhere!) It is comforting to see this information in so many places; often it feels like companies are hiding this information because they do not want to be contacted. Most of the time you can find information or a link in more than one place. I like when companies do this. Also, the homepage of the site is not overwhelming. I agree that a site needs to be engaging, and by that you need pictures, information, etc., but if you put too much on a homepage, it is overwhelming.

Searching: I wish all companies would realize that a good search tool that is easily found on a homepage or every page of a website is essential to a good site. I spent what felt like an eternity searching for O on another magazine website. The search tool was so terrible that I had over 1,000 hits. Yes I realize that when searching for O, I will get everything with an O in it, BUT there was no way to perform an extended search. What was great about Magazines.com is that I could search alphabetically. Once I did that on magazines.com, I had O, Oprah’s magazine, right there ready to order. I also had the option to add any key words that I might like.

2. You do not have to register before ordering: I detest when companies require that you give out all sorts of personal information before placing an order. It is nice to have the option to register, because it can make future purchases process a lot faster, but I don’t like not having the choice.

3. Variety: Magazines.com has around 1,401 titles to choose from. Not only do they have a lot to choose from, but also had many magazines I had never even heard of before.

4. 100% Guarantee: This just tripped me out. Many companies will have a refund policy, but not like Magazines.com. Magazines.com states, “If you are not 100% satisfied, we will give you a full refund. This is not a pro-rated refund. You get every cent of your original subscription price returned…” The cynic in me keeps looking for the catch, but since I haven’t had to use it yet, I will just hope that it is true if I should ever need it.

5. Gift Center: Just an area where they are trying to make gifts a bit easier for the buyer. In this area, they have listed out who might like what type of magazine. The categories are:
Pre-School
New Parents
Pre-Teen Boys
Pre-Teen Girls
Teen Boys
Teen Girls
Graduates
Newly Married
Active Men
Active Women
Handyman (I wish they had put a different title on this…handy people or something of the like. I found Mr. Fixit and he a little insulting…hey, I’m a woodworker’s daughter!)
Homemaker
Seniors
New Retirees

Under each category are a few titles of some magazines each type of person listed may like. At the top of the page they let you know how the gift will be handled (that the person will be sent a ‘gift announcement’ card to let them know that you bought them a subscription.)

6. Privacy Policy: WOOHOO! Finally! A company that spells out their privacy policy; it is not only clear, but easily found. You don’t have to go searching for it. I have never understood why it is legal for companies to be able to sell your information UNLESS you contact them directly to tell them not to. I have always believed that it should be the other way around. You should contact them only IF you want your information shared. In any case, Magazines.com doesn’t distribute, sell or rent your name or personal information to other companies unless they get permission to do so. They do mention surveys, but these are only for internal use. They do ask you if you are interested in receiving mailings, but if you decline, you will not receive any promotional materials. They also do not store cookies or tracking software to collect personal information on you. They also explain the security you have when placing your orders.

7. Gift Certificates: I love when companies give you the option to buy gift certificates online.

8. Information on the Company: I do not come across information about the company I am ordering from very often (or perhaps it is not easily found?). This is a nice section about the company, where they are located, how long they have been in business, how many employees, etc. and includes a step by step on how to order or renew a magazine and lists the payment options.

9. Prices: Well, I can tell you that I am paying exactly what I paid for O at the last company. I looked at a few other magazines that I already subscribe to through another company, and Magazines.com’s prices appear to be the same price, if not lower (darn it!).

10. Ordering: Here’s the process, which I found to be very easy and pretty standard. You search and find what you like. Then, add it to your shopping cart. Once you are finished shopping, it is time to check out. During the checkout process, they ask all the pertinent information like name, address, e-mail, phone number, payment method, etc. Then, when you are done, you click to get the order processed. Every step is very easily spelled out for you. When you get to the confirmation page, you are done. They even have a gentle reminder at the top that your browser has been cleared, so you best print or record the important information on the page. Then, they send you a confirmation e-mail. I LOVE this feature. No worries that I will lose the information. It is all packed neatly into an e-mail that I will leave in an e-mail folder until I need it.

11. Customer Service: So, I go through the order process, which I explained above. When I finally select my payment option. DOH! I picked the wrong option. I chose to pay by check instead of by credit card. On the phone I go. The wait felt long…too long. It probably only turned out to be around 7 minutes, but it felt long, perhaps because I kept getting faked out. I would hear that oh too happy elevator music and then I would hear the phone ringing. Thinking that I was getting through to an operator, I would be ready with all my information. Then, all I would get was a recorded message telling me that all operators are busy and to wait on the line or press some number to leave a message. I wait. Then I hear ringing again, and get sent back to the music. This process repeats. Not a terrible process, but I kept getting faked out. When I finally got the representative, she was both friendly and helpful. Changing my payment method was not a problem. I tell her my confirmation number, expiration date of credit card and credit card number and I am all set to go (but shouldn’t she have confirmed it was me on the phone by asking for my address or something….she didn’t even ask for the credit card billing address….hmmmm). The process was fast and easy once I got the representative on the phone.

12. Delivery: Not a problem at all. One of the toughest things about ordering magazines is that you often have to wait for around 10 weeks before you get your first one. Once Magazines.com receives your payment, you not only get an order confirmation by mail, but you get your subscription in 4 to 6 weeks (depending on the type of publication you ordered). I am assuming that their service is faster because they hold direct publisher authorizations for the magazines they sell. The orders the customer places are transmitted directly to the publisher (meaning no middlemen).

13. Affiliate: I find this strange and my scam alert always goes off when I see Affiliate, so I didn't look into it too much. If anyone decides to do this, please let me know, because I would love to know someone’s personal experience with regard to this option. All I can tell you at this point is what magazines.com has on its website, but if you are interested in this option, I will let you read it yourself. Just click on the Affiliates link on the bottom of the homepage.

14. Tracking: I didn’t find any information about being able to track your orders online. I don’t even think it is possible to do this with magazines.

OVERALL
My experience was definitely positive with Magazines.com. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again. My only potential negatives against this site are that there is no way to track orders and possibly the Affiliate program (although I do not speak from personal experience with regard to this program).