# the mystery of the magazine subscriptions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422 "2019-02-12T21:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/21 "2019-02-14T17:24:46Z")
I get lots of unsolicited magazines at my office. US, Golf-something, and some fitness thing. I never ordered them, but I’ve been getting them for a couple of years now. Occasionally there will be one of those “last issue” cards attached, but the magazines keep coming. Pretty sure they just snagged my firm’s mailing address from the Bar’s website. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/22 "2019-02-14T18:11:57Z")
Magazine services seek out my address and send me all kinds of magazines, as I’m know to be a physician. All for free. They want my waiting room to be filled with patients reading their magazines. So I get Sports Illustrated, AARP, Ebony, Boy’s Life, People, Nat Geo, and a ton of others. My patients never get to see them as our waiting room doesn’t allow magazines. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/23 "2019-02-14T19:47:35Z")
I have been getting Men’s Health Magazine every month for years now. It goes from my mail box to the trash in seconds. I never ordered it, asked for it or ever went to their website. Magazines do this to keep their circulation numbers up which allows them to charge more for ads. They don’t care if you don’t pay for it. The ads are where they make money anyway. I moved and it stopped but now that I turned on my address forwarding I will bet I will get them again. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/24 "2019-02-14T20:02:40Z")
Years ago my sister started getting _Cosmo_ in the mail. I remember asking her why she would sub to it, and she hadn’t, and she had no idea why it was coming. I don’t think we ever figured it out. (I’d rather get something like _Vogue_ than _Cosmo_. _Cosmo_’s only good for wiping up cat pee) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/25 "2019-02-14T20:31:59Z")
Another thing I’ve found is that it is fairly easy to get subscriptions at an intro rate of about $3 per year through a service. But they are not always easily identifiable as subs on your credit card statement, so some people who don’t pay close attention to small charges on their bills may think they aren’t paying for a subscription even though they are. The subs auto-renew, of course, and sometimes the price goes up significantly at that time. That might be when you start wondering what that mysterious $20 charge is. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/26 "2019-02-14T20:33:05Z")
I find the fashion mags always smell good with all their perfume ads. I put them in the bathroom if I get them. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422/27 "2019-02-14T20:42:02Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I have been getting Men’s Health Magazine every month for years now. It goes from my mail box to the trash in seconds. I never ordered it, asked for it or ever went to their website. Magazines do this to keep their circulation numbers up which allows them to charge more for ads. They don’t care if you don’t pay for it. The ads are where they make money anyway. Actually, in most cases, publications can’t include unpaid subscriptions in the numbers that are used to set their ad rates. They are [regularly audited](https://libguides.marquette.edu/c.php?g=36683&p=233038) so that advertisers are assured that the numbers are not artificially inflated. From that site: > [@](#): > > The practice of auditing the circulation numbers (or third party verification) was developed cooperatively by advertisers, ad agencies, and publishers because many advertisers did not trust the publishers. > > Why do advertisers/ad agencies care about this? Because they are spending money to advertise, and want some guarantee that they are spending their money well, and getting the audience that the publishers promised! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mystery-of-the-magazine-subscriptions/829422.md?page=1)