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Mythbusting Thread : The Truth about Freebizmags (& Mercury Mags too) and Sponsored Sub Giveaways!
The Super Simple Guide to getting Freebizmags (And Mercury Mags) Subscriptions - the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Myths Busted! Ballons Burst! Check it out!
But before all that, here's a brief warning dated November 5, 2011:
NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BUSTING OF FREEBIZMAGS AND MERCURYMAGS MYTHS -- -
Introduction: Freebizmagazines is a great site that offers "free" subscriptions to both Trade Magazines and Consumer Magazines. Mercury Mags is another one just like it that was begun by former FreebizMag employees. They earn their money by increasing the circulation of Trade magazines also known in publishing as Controlled Circulation Titles. To do that, they offer you good magazines, hereafter referred to as 'Consumer magazines' such as Town & Country Magazine, Guitar Player, Outdoor Life, MAD, VIBE, American Angler, American Cowboy, Cucina Italiana, Log Cabin Living, Elle Decor, Old House Journal, Upscale, Horticulture, Radar, Tennis, Computer Games, etc., etc.
Their goal is to lure you in with the free Consumer Magazine offer and then, while you are signing up, get you to agree to receive one or more Trade Magazines during the application process. All of us have fallen for this at the beginning because there are many myths on freebie sites about Freebizmags. I have believed some of them myself and even perpetuated a few back when I was still gullible. (please forgive me for I am heartily sorry and do repent).
However, it is my goal today to save you, the Noob, from all such myths and to keep your mailbox free of Silly Trade Mags (unless of course you actually WANT to receive Spot-Welding Illustrated or Miniature Vegetables Monthly)
Here we go -- How to get started:
If you are new to Freebizmags, find an offer that seems valid - One where experienced Slick Dealers say "Thanks, got it." Then, click on link:
Type in the name you use for mag subs and an email addy you actually check every day, preferably one you have set aside just for Freebizmags. You want a real email addy cuz Freebizmags sends account holders fresh links to free Consumer magazine offers at least once or twice a week.
Then, you are faced with the first hurdle: what to write as your Business info. You should be honest and try and figure out what to select for your own profession (something I did) .
UPDATE: Another slick dealer, Nightvessel, has suggested that I am trying to coach other Slickdealers to lie about their profiles to, in effect, get something they don't qualify for otherwise. Nope - nothing doing! Telling the truth about what you do in your profile gets you just as many magazines as you would if you simply made up a profile for the sake of ease of application. Let me be clear - there is NO advantage to lying or making up a profile. Whatever you enter you will still get offered the same consumer magazines unless you choose a profile that doesn't mesh with their software enough to allow that software to sift thru possible biz mag offers and toss some in your general direction, kind of like a fart on Monty Python! The only thing that would change with the profile is the Trade magazine titles they offer you. Therefore, there's no advantage in choosing one profile over another. Any profiles offered in this thread are for the purpose of showing you an example only.
In the past, many slick dealers have advocated using a Student Profile such as this one:
Keep in mind, however, that both FBM and Mercury have begun refusing the offer to students using the student profile. if you have a part-time job, you might wish to use that as your profile instead.
Student profile:
Other
.....Student
..........Other
...............Student
....................Student
UPDATE 7/11/06: The Other/Student/Other profile no longer seems to work and for good reason. Why would a company that makes its money referring you to Business trade mags want students to get their lure offers of consumer mags? Please use some other profile and stick with it if you want to be sure of being offered magazines. Use your part time job or the last job you held if you are currently unemployed. Really, it makes little difference what you use so long as it permits their software to toss some trade mag choices in your general direction, kinda like a fart on Monty Python. N'sM
MYTH NUMBER ONE: "There are special combinations that qualify your for certain FBM offers" (However, for some specialized titles, some users swear on their parent's graves that a specific profile might matter but this is highly debatable and unlikely... read posts to this thread for examples.)
>>>>BUZZER NOISE<<<<
Wrong! In general, there are no magic combos, just a couple of DUD profiles as reported by dozens of other experienced slick dealers. DUD profiles could be student profiles or Retired profiles. if you are a student and don't know what to pick, you may want to choose a profile that matches your part-time job, the last job you held or, the job you are educating yourself for. if you are retired, you might try creating a profile for your former profession.
Any legitimate combo should get you any mag if indeed there are subscriptions to be had. (This may not be true for a very few special mags, but it is true for the vast and overwhelming of them) It's best to stick with one profile that you find works well for you.
Not sure how to describe what it is that you do? Need a sample profile to look at? Well, here's one �and is an actual profile from my next-door neighbor:
Communications/Utlility
.....Radio/Broadcasting
..........Advertising/Sales
...............Avdertising
....................Account Manager
If you are a teacher this is one way to do the profile:
Education
.....Education
..........School/Library
...............Education
....................Educator
Okay ... now if this is your first try opening a FBM account, you will get a page which at the top SHOULD ideally show the mag you were hoping to get at the top of the page highlighted in yellow with a check next to the box. EDIT 1/02/08 Lately due to a software change, you have to manually add the check yourself. If you see that, that's a good thing. That means you will get the magazine if you can make it through the next few hurdles.
If you are a returning client, you will have been prompted to put in your password before you get this screen. Again, if the mag you were hoping for is pictured at the top of the page - YOU WIN.. you get the sub. now proceed.
Next you will see all these other options and offers. SAY NO TO ALL OF THEM. Make sure you check "No Thanks, or NO or "None of The above' to any and all questions. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO ACCEPT ANYTHING.. Not even the free sub to BabyTalk.. it will just side-track you with a bunch of qualifying questions. SAY NO NO NO To Everything!! Do not say "Okay send a letter to Washington on my behalf. Do not say YES to any sweeps entries or email newsletter subscriptions. KEEP SAYING NO! NO NO NO! Got it?? GOOD.
EDIT 2/07/06: Sometimes it is OK to say YES but only under very special circumstances. Please see the next post in this thread for the one time you can say YES. there isn't room here
You will also be asked to give the first letter of the State where you were born, the first letter of your dad's first name or some other piece of info which serves as an online signature that you are really you. Do it. You should not have to put the year of your birth if you followed my above instructions which were to SAY NO NO NO TO EVERYTHING! They only need that if you fell prey to the dumb offer for the Free career Kit. SAY NO and move on!
Say no no no, go to bottom of page click Submit.
If you are new, it will bring you to a page where you have to fill out your business addy and home addy. Fill them both out with the same address if you don't want to use your real business addy. You must put some business name and some phone number. I usually put my Area code plus all zeros. Then, under Alternate/Home address, I put my real address. It will ask you to enter a password too if this is your first time.
Remember, in the future, you will always be checking off 'SEND TO HOME ADDRESS" so it doesn't matter what business name you put. If you have no business just put in the word "Resident".
When you finish, check off 'Send to home address' and click submit.
You will get a confirming page showing where your mag sub is going and a button to click that says CONTINUE. Click it. That will bring you to a confirmation page that says THANK YOU... blah blah blah. Print that for your records. You are done.
Now, next time you see a FREEBIZMAGS offer, click on the link � fill out your name, email and profile (which you have made note of somewhere I hope), hit enter, then enter password. IF YOU DON'T SEE THE MAG YOU WANTED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.... There are no more freaking subs - STOP THERE - DO NOT go on. If you go on, you risk accepting some dumb Trade Mags. Just because the link works and permits you to enter your info does not mean there are subs to be had. If you don't see the desired mag after you enter your password - No Mag Sub for you. Quit while you are ahead.
Class dismissed for now.
Next lesson:
What is that Akami Crap in front of the web address for FBM links?
Myths Busted! Ballons Burst! Check it out!
But before all that, here's a brief warning dated November 5, 2011:
|
Quote
:
BEWARE - Freebizmags has been sending out emails that are actually Fronts for companies they partner with. They offer a "FREE" mag but when you get to the end, you see it is either a "Perpetual renewal" (meaning, they auto-bill you each year) or.. there is a 99 cent shipping & handling fee atttaches as well as possibly a Perpetual renewal.Remember, check the deal out throurghly if it looks different from the usual Freebizmags or Mercury Mag format. In these tough times, even these companies are trying to squeeze an extra buck out here and there. We see Freebizmags doing it by FRONTING offers from other players such as MY BONUS CENTER whih is not THEM. However, they get paid a per cap fee for every sucker who buys one of those $5 a year subs that they could likely get free if they just waited a couple of days, weeks or months. Please read the fine print before posting offers with catches, folks. If it ain't directly from FBM, look closely. Again. Freebizmags has lately been trying to increase their income by FRONTING offers for other providers. BEWARE of that. FBM still offers plenty of decent, totally free mags but just like the TRADE MAGS (Controlled Circulation Publications) they toss in your path during the reuqest questionaire, they are now tossing in these "Partner" offers AFTER the questionaire and in emails to you. [COLOR="rgb(75, 0, 130)"]Be wise and Beware.[/COLOR] |
Introduction: Freebizmagazines is a great site that offers "free" subscriptions to both Trade Magazines and Consumer Magazines. Mercury Mags is another one just like it that was begun by former FreebizMag employees. They earn their money by increasing the circulation of Trade magazines also known in publishing as Controlled Circulation Titles. To do that, they offer you good magazines, hereafter referred to as 'Consumer magazines' such as Town & Country Magazine, Guitar Player, Outdoor Life, MAD, VIBE, American Angler, American Cowboy, Cucina Italiana, Log Cabin Living, Elle Decor, Old House Journal, Upscale, Horticulture, Radar, Tennis, Computer Games, etc., etc.
Their goal is to lure you in with the free Consumer Magazine offer and then, while you are signing up, get you to agree to receive one or more Trade Magazines during the application process. All of us have fallen for this at the beginning because there are many myths on freebie sites about Freebizmags. I have believed some of them myself and even perpetuated a few back when I was still gullible. (please forgive me for I am heartily sorry and do repent).
However, it is my goal today to save you, the Noob, from all such myths and to keep your mailbox free of Silly Trade Mags (unless of course you actually WANT to receive Spot-Welding Illustrated or Miniature Vegetables Monthly)
Here we go -- How to get started:
If you are new to Freebizmags, find an offer that seems valid - One where experienced Slick Dealers say "Thanks, got it." Then, click on link:
Type in the name you use for mag subs and an email addy you actually check every day, preferably one you have set aside just for Freebizmags. You want a real email addy cuz Freebizmags sends account holders fresh links to free Consumer magazine offers at least once or twice a week.
Then, you are faced with the first hurdle: what to write as your Business info. You should be honest and try and figure out what to select for your own profession (something I did) .
UPDATE: Another slick dealer, Nightvessel, has suggested that I am trying to coach other Slickdealers to lie about their profiles to, in effect, get something they don't qualify for otherwise. Nope - nothing doing! Telling the truth about what you do in your profile gets you just as many magazines as you would if you simply made up a profile for the sake of ease of application. Let me be clear - there is NO advantage to lying or making up a profile. Whatever you enter you will still get offered the same consumer magazines unless you choose a profile that doesn't mesh with their software enough to allow that software to sift thru possible biz mag offers and toss some in your general direction, kind of like a fart on Monty Python! The only thing that would change with the profile is the Trade magazine titles they offer you. Therefore, there's no advantage in choosing one profile over another. Any profiles offered in this thread are for the purpose of showing you an example only.
In the past, many slick dealers have advocated using a Student Profile such as this one:
Keep in mind, however, that both FBM and Mercury have begun refusing the offer to students using the student profile. if you have a part-time job, you might wish to use that as your profile instead.
Student profile:
Other
.....Student
..........Other
...............Student
....................Student
UPDATE 7/11/06: The Other/Student/Other profile no longer seems to work and for good reason. Why would a company that makes its money referring you to Business trade mags want students to get their lure offers of consumer mags? Please use some other profile and stick with it if you want to be sure of being offered magazines. Use your part time job or the last job you held if you are currently unemployed. Really, it makes little difference what you use so long as it permits their software to toss some trade mag choices in your general direction, kinda like a fart on Monty Python. N'sM
MYTH NUMBER ONE: "There are special combinations that qualify your for certain FBM offers" (However, for some specialized titles, some users swear on their parent's graves that a specific profile might matter but this is highly debatable and unlikely... read posts to this thread for examples.)
>>>>BUZZER NOISE<<<<
Wrong! In general, there are no magic combos, just a couple of DUD profiles as reported by dozens of other experienced slick dealers. DUD profiles could be student profiles or Retired profiles. if you are a student and don't know what to pick, you may want to choose a profile that matches your part-time job, the last job you held or, the job you are educating yourself for. if you are retired, you might try creating a profile for your former profession.
Any legitimate combo should get you any mag if indeed there are subscriptions to be had. (This may not be true for a very few special mags, but it is true for the vast and overwhelming of them) It's best to stick with one profile that you find works well for you.
Not sure how to describe what it is that you do? Need a sample profile to look at? Well, here's one �and is an actual profile from my next-door neighbor:
Communications/Utlility
.....Radio/Broadcasting
..........Advertising/Sales
...............Avdertising
....................Account Manager
If you are a teacher this is one way to do the profile:
Education
.....Education
..........School/Library
...............Education
....................Educator
Okay ... now if this is your first try opening a FBM account, you will get a page which at the top SHOULD ideally show the mag you were hoping to get at the top of the page highlighted in yellow with a check next to the box. EDIT 1/02/08 Lately due to a software change, you have to manually add the check yourself. If you see that, that's a good thing. That means you will get the magazine if you can make it through the next few hurdles.
If you are a returning client, you will have been prompted to put in your password before you get this screen. Again, if the mag you were hoping for is pictured at the top of the page - YOU WIN.. you get the sub. now proceed.
Next you will see all these other options and offers. SAY NO TO ALL OF THEM. Make sure you check "No Thanks, or NO or "None of The above' to any and all questions. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO ACCEPT ANYTHING.. Not even the free sub to BabyTalk.. it will just side-track you with a bunch of qualifying questions. SAY NO NO NO To Everything!! Do not say "Okay send a letter to Washington on my behalf. Do not say YES to any sweeps entries or email newsletter subscriptions. KEEP SAYING NO! NO NO NO! Got it?? GOOD.
EDIT 2/07/06: Sometimes it is OK to say YES but only under very special circumstances. Please see the next post in this thread for the one time you can say YES. there isn't room here
You will also be asked to give the first letter of the State where you were born, the first letter of your dad's first name or some other piece of info which serves as an online signature that you are really you. Do it. You should not have to put the year of your birth if you followed my above instructions which were to SAY NO NO NO TO EVERYTHING! They only need that if you fell prey to the dumb offer for the Free career Kit. SAY NO and move on!
Say no no no, go to bottom of page click Submit.
If you are new, it will bring you to a page where you have to fill out your business addy and home addy. Fill them both out with the same address if you don't want to use your real business addy. You must put some business name and some phone number. I usually put my Area code plus all zeros. Then, under Alternate/Home address, I put my real address. It will ask you to enter a password too if this is your first time.
Remember, in the future, you will always be checking off 'SEND TO HOME ADDRESS" so it doesn't matter what business name you put. If you have no business just put in the word "Resident".
When you finish, check off 'Send to home address' and click submit.
You will get a confirming page showing where your mag sub is going and a button to click that says CONTINUE. Click it. That will bring you to a confirmation page that says THANK YOU... blah blah blah. Print that for your records. You are done.
Now, next time you see a FREEBIZMAGS offer, click on the link � fill out your name, email and profile (which you have made note of somewhere I hope), hit enter, then enter password. IF YOU DON'T SEE THE MAG YOU WANTED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.... There are no more freaking subs - STOP THERE - DO NOT go on. If you go on, you risk accepting some dumb Trade Mags. Just because the link works and permits you to enter your info does not mean there are subs to be had. If you don't see the desired mag after you enter your password - No Mag Sub for you. Quit while you are ahead.
Class dismissed for now.
Next lesson:
What is that Akami Crap in front of the web address for FBM links?
Created 06-13-2005
at 06:15 PM
by Nuala'sMom
If you purchase something through a post on our site, Slickdeals may get a small share of the sale.
Community Wiki
Last Edited by Nuala'sMom
August 23, 2011
at
10:55 AM
For the OTHER Mythbusting thread, go here to the sadly archived thread on REWARDS GOLD which used to be MAG CENTRAL. Sadly, it has now been archive but there's good and detailed info there. Please look it up when you are done reading this!
Mythbusting MagCentral (now RewardsGold) plus all about free mag sub offers how they work and why
http://archive.slickde
http://archive.slickde
Thanks Ganglia for updating the link back in March 2010
Mythbusting MagCentral (now RewardsGold) plus all about free mag sub offers how they work and why
http://archive.slickde
http://archive.slickde
Thanks Ganglia for updating the link back in March 2010
145 Comments
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I use to receive subscriptions from them without a problem. But ever since they revamp their site I no longer get any subscriptions from them.
I use to receive subscriptions from them without a problem. But ever since they revamp their site I no longer get any subscriptions from them.
First off, you aren't black listed and I apologize for the delay in my answer. My life became happily very complicated for a time. I have more free time now so I can answer Q's min a more timely fashion:
AS for being Blacklisted: You probably just failed to clear your cookies most likely. Every time you sign up for a RewardsGold or RewardsCountry or ThisGal Says or ThisGuy Says type sub - go into your browser's security, then preferences and then remove the 8 or 10 cookies left behind by the filling out of the offer. That way, if you want to share your computer or give gift subs to family, you aren't locked out.
It's not usually necessary to remove cookies from FBM or Mercury - just RewardsGold and related sites. Maintain a separate account in the rewards Gold system for each person whom you order subs for. Then you only need to sign in using their name, addy & Birthdate when a new offer comes up. It helps to print out a freshly ffilled out form for each family member and keep it in a Ring Binder in case your bad about Birthdays and emails, which I am.
.
I also bumped this because the "Magic Profile" myth is popping up again. Ain't no such thing with regards to FBM. Never was, likely never will be. The profile simply has to make logical sense in the real world.
.
If you don't want your actual NAME sold do this:
First Name .........= Current
Last name...........= Resident
Address - your street addy
City, State & Zip.
It's a small stab at privacy but it's really helpful when ordering anything involving a disease or medication since Insurance Companies aggregate info and once, when I tried to buy life insurance, my agent wanted to know why I got Diabetes magazines. I got them for an elderly neighbor but had to prove I wasn't Diabertic to get the insruance I wanted. She gave me the hint about Ms. Current Resident - clever, eh?
.
Remember, check the deal out thoroughly if it looks different from the usual or typical Freebizmags or Mercury Mag format.
In these tough economic times, even these companies that make money by distributing free subscriptions from sponsors in order to lure potential professionals into agreeeing to take a "Controlled Circulation Magazine" (Trade Mag) are trying to squeeze an extra buck out here and there. We see Freebizmags doing it by FRONTING offers from other players such as MY BONUS CENTER whih is not THEM. However, they get paid a per capita fee for every sucker who buys one of those $5 a year subs that they could likely get free if they just waited a couple of days, weeks or months. It's just yet another way for them to use their access to people such as ourselves to make a buck and it makes good sense.
For example: If the unemployment rate is going up to double digits in some areas and States, then there are a lot of white collar Trade Magazine readers no longer eager to get their "Promotional Incentives" magazine, one my husband gets because he used to be in charge of giving out rewards for good work at his Job. That program was eliminated as a cost saving gesture which is DUMB because happy workers getting a $10 Starbucks giftcard when they accumulate a years worth of no sick days is a very cheap way to up your productivity. That worker, is either gonna start taking her sick days now or using them as "mental health" days since she doesn't get paid for them if she doesn't take them. She used to get a Ten dollar giftcard for each unused sick day up to five and it made her feel good to be rewarded for working through a minor discomfort. Anyway... now my husband has to motivate his workers in other ways, usually bringing in extra great deals I got from Slick Dealing and spreading the wealth since the Gifcard program got wiped off the books by 1 accountant in NYC.
So, using that as an exmaple, these various Trade Mags are no longer finding Freebizmags and Mercury the golden source of pre-qualified workers they once did and FBM and Mercury are getting VERY CREATIVE at finding other people willing to pay them a piece of the action for access to their users. Freebizmags has been blurring the line a lot. We used to trust them for always offering us totally free "Consumer Mag offers" in exchnage for going through their questionaire. Then they started getting nasty and disqualifying people usinf the reitred profile or the student profile or any other profile that didn't let their Key-words sifter come up with at least 2 or 3 Trade Magazines (Controlled Circulation Publications) to toss in your path during the process. I mean, why bother giving YOU a free mag if you are gonna try and do an end-run around their entire reason for existing, right?
Well, when that wasn't enough, they started in by using low cost Magazine brokers at the end of the process of the questionaire, the "My Bonus Center" nonsense that the newer users thought were affiliated with FBM and therefore were trustworthy. Just click that page closed and you see you're back at the old FBM Confirmation page. Problem solved. right? WRONG. FBM then began sending out emails to it's database urging you to apply for a free Consumer Mag and the software process looks just like an old FBM offer until BANG! they ask for a credit card for a Handling fee and then... EGADS... you look at the fine print and realize that whatever card you are fool enough to give them will be charged the FULL RENEWAL RATE (higher than if you used a Blow-in Subscription Card) forever and ever until you is broke and dead!
So.... just be aware that FBM is feeling the PINCH and that we now have to scrutinize what offers we get from them.
THE NEW Rules are:
* If they aren't totally free, we don't take them.
*If they ask for a Credit Card #, we don't take them
*If they require us to write cancel on an invoice at some point, we don't take them
*If the fine print says we will be billed for renewals on paper OR on plastic, we don't take them
*If they are anything less than what we KNOW is a free sponsored Sub offer of old, WE DON'T TAKE THEM!
Please read the fine print before posting offers with catches, folks. If it ain't directly from FBM, look closely.
Again. Freebizmags has lately been trying to increase their income by FRONTING offers for other providers. BEWARE of that. FBM still offers plenty of decent, totally free mags but just like the TRADE MAGS (Controlled Circulation Publications) they toss in your path during the reuqest questionaire, they are now tossing in these "Partner" offers AFTER the questionaire and in emails to you.
Be wise and Beware.
I get such much joy out of knowing I am helping those patients in some small way. Every time I drop of mags (twice a month usually, sometimes more) I bring three huges boxes because I sign up for multiple subs so nobody has to fight over them and anyone who is getting out can take some home. I especially am gratified when the nurses send me little thankyuo notes and requests for special titles.
I know you were kidding about the firewood but in case anyone else considers it, don't ever burn coated pages becuase they outgas plastics and petroleum product fumes. Only use newsprint for starting fires or twisting into logs.
BTW, I did see a cool method of making burnable logs from newsprint, waste paper & wood scraps on that NatGeo show Disaster Preppers or whatever it's called. Some guy had an excellent machine for soaking the paper, forming it into cylanders and pressing out the water. Each homemade log-cake burns for like 4 hours so heck yes, google that m,ethod if you have a woodstove! Many Trade Mags ARE printed on newsprint so it's not a totally kalfooey idea!
BTW - I'm bumping this thread becuase I have been seeing a lot of misinformation about FreebizMag Profiles again with Users who should know better telling other users that they need to come up with "just the right profile" to qualify for this title." NO YOU DON'T. Go back to page 1 and re-read. There are NO MAGIC PROFILES.
There are a couple that confuse the louise out of their algorhythym and they're cracking down on the rretired and Student profiles by not letting you pass go. I just tell people to use a Real World Profile that makes actual sense and if retired, use the last job you had and if student, use any recent job you have had or hope to have. Examples of Profiles that are REAL and make SENSE to their sifting process are listed in the first pages of the thread.
ENjoy & may you receive multitudes of Free magazines, getting every title you so desire.!
.
.
Until about 2 months I was just tossing them into my curbside recycling bin. Lately I've been donating about 30 mags or so every 2 weeks to the local medical clinic that I visit. But with gas prices going up, I'll probably switch to signing up the medical clinic on the sign-up forms to save on gas and time. The patients/clients walk out/steal so many of mags that the staff brings that I feel that I'm helping them out anonymously (sounds better than "dumping").
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Until about 2 months I was just tossing them into my curbside recycling bin. Lately I've been donating about 30 mags or so every 2 weeks to the local medical clinic that I visit. But with gas prices going up, I'll probably switch to signing up the medical clinic on the sign-up forms to save on gas and time. The patients/clients walk out/steal so many of mags that the staff brings that I feel that I'm helping them out anonymously (sounds better than "dumping").
That's very kind of you, but be sure and make it known to the staff what you are doing becuase they may freak out as do some of the Magazine NOOBS here when they get one of those "Renewal At Birth" letters that mnakes it seem as if it's an invoice when in fact it is what we in the biuz call a "Renewal at Birth" which means it is an offer to add a year or 2 or 3 at a steep discount if you do so with that first "renewal invoice" which isn't an invoice at all but a.... Renewal-at-birth attempt.
The publishers always try to GIT YA while the Gittin's good and the first few times sonebody signs up for a sponsored subscription which is FREE to the recipient but which has in fact been paid for in bulk by a Spnosor, they try sending renewal letters designed to frighten people into thinking they "didn't really get away with the free subscriptition deal" after all.
I would let the staff in on the whole rigged game as in this thread and design a code. At a medical clinic I used to work at once, we used the name "Mrs. Sally Sample" for all freebies we were expecting from Pharma reps, Magazines from waiting room companies that sprinkle free NEW or high tone mags at certain types of doctor's offices (Plastic surgery, OBGYN, Bariatric Physicians, Aging Specialists, Diabestes Docs and so forth),
SO I suggest using :
Sally Sample
Samuel Sample
John Dowen (riff on John Doe)
Jane Rowen (same on Joane Roe)
Current Resident
Residente Actual
ANother name we sometimes used was Grace Graticia
Anything that let's them know the letters that come, and oh lordy do they come, are not real iunvoices and should be ripped in half so long as you are very, very careful about the offers you sign them up for.
Like you, I only donate tyo places and facilities that are on a regular route that Ib travel or close enough to a place a visit that a quick stop by won't eat into my gas budget. that is becoming a HUGE consideration these days, which is kinda sad for the County Mental Health Facilities. Those poor folks have to rely on getting magazines from me second hand now through nurses I know who work there.
Thanks for thinking of others, linhpham2
Now for my typical unasked-for advice:
I strongly suggest anyone signing up some office or institution for a free mag sub first get their permission and then the 2 of you decide on a code name such as I mentioned above, such as:
Sally Sample
Samuel Sample
John Dowen (riff on John Doe)
Jane Rowen (same on Joane Roe)
Current Resident
Residente Actual
Gracia Gratis ( means Thank you Free)
That way, when those renewal letters come, they can simply tear them up and also, no one employees name is on the magazine sub list so it won't get sold and/or lifted as an ID for Identity thieves.
Getting the name of an actual employee plus the real name and addy of their employer by renting a Direct Mail List is GOLD for ID thieves. It's instant Credit card material. If I have magazines sent to me at my work address, I just use the name of our company without my name.
I know I sound like a conspiracy theorist but I'be been a victim of Identity theft and volunteered at a senior center helping seniors who have had their ID's stolen (mostly so the ID thieves could file a tax return on January 2nd and claim their refunds - that's a weird scam but an easy one that costs about $20 total to net tens of thousands). If you can avoid having catalogs, magazines and just about anything else tied to your REAL NAMEW AND Residential Addy plus your work Addy, you'll have less problems overall.
Since my problem with ID theft, I use a secure mailbox service and have anything with my actual name on it go there. Anything comes to my house, it comes to Residente Actual or some interrsting Gaeilge spelling of my childhood nickname since there are usually 3 or 4 ways to spell it. (FYI: Gaeilge = Irish language while Gailic = Scottish language). it works. I even have a credit card in my name spelled that way so I can cash checks people make out to me using Irish. My Russian Neighbors are even pickier than I am about these things.
Of course, I live in a city where theft of your mail can be a problem even behind a locked gate and behind a locked mailbox.
if you live on a RFD route you likely don't have to worry much about these things but worry more about your carrier getting your mail to ya in the first place! This is why Current Resident works so well for samples and free mag subs. try it!
And good on you linhpham2 for thinking about all those people stuck in a waiting room at a hospital. I hope your generosity comes back to you threefold and thensome. I truly believe it will!
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Sally Sample
Samuel Sample
John Dowen (riff on John Doe)
Jane Rowen (same on Joane Roe)
Current Resident
Residente Actual
Gracia Gratis ( means Thank you Free)
Please also consider using such a CODE NAME if you send free mags subs as gifts to family, friends or Doctor's offices, schools, Libraries, etc. Tell the person in advance what name to watch for and then they'll know if't your gift coming through when they receive it! Cool, huh?
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