Backpacking Light Subscription Pricing

As a person who has not subscribed yet, I find that what I have found on this thread has made my consideration of subscribing even more confusing. So if you get the online you don't have access to the print articles if they were in an electronic format, etc?

Why not just have a base print and online subscription you can choose from and just be able to add everything else that is possible ala carte include the base subscription kind of like a ULA pack? That way if someone wants the online, print, e-print, etc they can get it all?

Brett,

Here’s how it works currently.

Note one piece of nomenclature below. When I refer to “member”, I mean “online subscriber”.

There are three subscription options:

Online only, print only, and print+online at a discount if you buy both.

Alternatively, if you are already an online subscriber, you can buy a print sub for the same discount.

PDF reprints of the print magazine are available for electronic download. They are $5/nonmembers and $2/members.

You can also purchase single copies of the print magazine, $10/nonmembers and $5/members.

You can also purchase individual access to online articles if you are not already an online subscriber. Generally, that cost is $5/article; this access is available primarily for articles published in the past several months, it’s a new feature we installed this summer.

So, that’s what’s being offered currently.

Ryan

So I am assuming then that the print magazine contains different material than the online subscription and that the online subscription gives you full access to all of the articles, correct?

Why is there not an option then of online subscription and pdf of the print magazine or one that would combine all three? I did read your previous post of trying to keep it simple but I think that by offering the different combinations as package deals in addition to offering each individual subscription by itself would not be more confusing than it already is. Just create a separate section for the individual print and pdf to be bought from and there should be no confusion. And the extra revenue that could be generated just by the pdfs as a say $5 add on would be pure profit as they are already created and would cost about $.25 to enter someone's name on the list and the electricity to send them out.

But I don't feel that the by offering more combinations and seperating them some it would be more confusing.

Brett: print and online have no overlapping content.

I concede that it is confusing as is! Hence the discussion we are having here in this thread.

All online paying members get print mag as a pdf download included for $29.99

All online non-paying can get print mag as a pdf download
(no subscription – just pay as you go) – price to be determined

For those with low bandwidth, give them the option to have a printed out pdf snail mailed to them – price to be determined

Thus…
No more paper publication (less cost and eco-friendly)

Only one member subscription (simple) $5 more

If you are not a member, you pay for pdf. However, it is cheaper to become a member than to pay for a year of pdf downloads.

The printed pdf still survives for the gospelization to the 3 or 4 analog-beings out there.

I'd be willing to pay extra for a printed PDF version as it is doubtful we will have broadband internet service in my area anytime soon.

Ryan, I see you have a special on the bundle now. Is that a permanent special? If not, if I renew my bundle subscription now, will it be for a year past the normal expiration of my existing bundled subscription (my existing bundle subscription I got last year did not give me access to the digital version of the print magazine–I do get the print magazine but as far as I see I have to pay the same price for a digital version of the print magazine as anyone else does) — does the new bundle subscription give you such?

I would gladly pay the extra to get the print content online. The one thing that has kept me from getting the print magazine is the desire not to attribute to further tree-killin'.

Besides, it may be just me, but it seems new online content, reviews, etc come less frequently as they used to; say 2 or 3 years ago.

Although I currently subscribe to both the print and online mags, I would prefer to have the print content online.

I agree with Ryan Corder in his observation that there now seems to be only 1 or 2 new pieces of online content a week (excluding updates to the expeditions pages).