It looked like it was going to pour outside, so an afternoon spent reviewing some magazine subscription services sounded like the perfect, rainy day activity. Ok, so maybe we had to stay in and work, and the rain made it that much easier to do so. With that said, Star Reviews landed upon ValueMags, which we weren’t too impressed with at first sight. The site seemed pretty busy with text, small font sizes and no cool pictures. Where was the pizzazz we’ve grown accustomed to finding on most websites? Ok, so we decided to give them a chance and began browsing. Find out what we discovered below.
What’s New?
-
Magspotlight - See which featured titles are on sale at any given time; In Style or SmartMoney anyone?
-
Free Gift Cards - Include a free gift card with gift magazine subscription purchases.
Star Review’s Favorite Feature:
MagsManager - Keep track of all your magazine subscriptions, including subscriptions from other websites or magazine publishers. Star Reviews loves organizational tools and we enjoyed how customers can keep track of payments, renewals and other vital information through the website.
ValueMags Features:
- 1,200 magazine subscriptions available
- Registered with the Better Business Bureau
- HackerSafe program
- Quick key term search and categorization
- Cancel subscription within 90 days and get a full refund
- Receive credit if a magazine ceases publication mid-subscription
- No auto-renewal (avoid unwanted credit charges)
- Price matching- They’ll match or beat the price if you find it for cheaper
- Free shipping/No Tax
- Related magazine suggestions
Navigating the ValueMags website:
Surfing through this website was pretty much painless, but we were a little disappointed in the overall site feel. It was bland to say the least, and we felt there was an absence of images, which is important when choosing a title. Customers don’t always remember title names and images can spark their memories. They were available once clicking on ‘Details,’ but we felt it should have been offered up front.
We also didn’t love how titles were listed in long, miniscule-font lists. If we were having a bad day or didn’t feel like scouring tiny text, we might give up and try out another site. Our team, however, did like the mini reviews under each title, as it gives you a heads up on what content you’ll be finding in your brand-new mag! ValueMags breaks down the number of issues you’re getting over what period of time and how much you’re saving from what it’d cost if you were to buy directly from the publisher. This information was great and we appreciated it. Who doesn’t like to see they’re saving money?
Selection:
We like a great selection, and we felt this magazine subscription service offered a pretty decent title collection. Ok, so we didn’t love how they were set up or organized, but many popular and obscure titles were up for sale here. If you cannot find a title you’re interested in, type it in the QuickSearch box and it will pop up, hopefully. We found all of the titles we were looking for, which pleased us immensely.
Subscription Rates:
Our team applauds the ease of changing your subscription address or having issues sent to multiple addresses just by entering your information, for no additional fees. If you send the subscription as a gift, the recipient will get notification through the mail free of cost to you! There are also no hidden fees, no shipment costs and no membership fees. What the subscription costs is what you pay. We noticed that several top titles on ValueMags were a bit pricier than other magazine subscription services, which we found a bit odd considering their ‘Low Price Guarantee’ promise.
Sample Price Comparison
1 Year Subscription |
Value
Mags
|
Mags4
Cheap
|
Blue
Dolphin
|
Magazine
City
|
Magazine
Agent
|
Net
Magazines
|
Magazines
Quick
|
|
Shape
|
$21.97
|
$15.97
|
$21.97
|
$21.97
|
$15.97
|
$14.97
|
$12.97
|
|
U.S. News & World Report
|
$20.00
|
$15.00
|
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
$24.97
|
$24.95
|
$9.99
|
|
Rolling Stone
|
$25.94
|
$12.97
|
$15.97
|
$14.95
|
$14.95
|
$11.97
|
$12.97
|
Customer Support:
We felt ValueMags’ customer support was pretty comprehensive, all in all. An e-mail address and toll-free phone number make support easy to come by. If you call, you will get a quick, yet complete answer or send an email and you’re guaranteed a response within 48 to 72 hours. Star Reviews received a response within 36 hours with a friendly and satisfactory explanation. There is also a FAQs section for those that need answers to common questions. We also liked the traditional route ValueMags takes, by offering their customers their postal address as well. For those of you that like sending letters, you won’t be disappointed with this timeless form of customer support.
Upside: Organizational tools. Discounted subscription rates.
Downside: Cannot ship outside the US. Seemingly higher rates than other subscription services.
Summary:
Overall, we felt that ValueMags was a basic, yet fairly comprehensive magazine subscription service. If you can live without too many bells and whistles, this site will be a great choice for you. However, if you enjoy a lot of graphics and fun images, it may not be your cup of tea. Selection was good, with most titles we were interested in popping up. However, pricing seemed a bit high, as we found lower rates in our other magazine subscription service reviews. Customer support was great, with numerous options to choose from.