Customer Reviews

O, The Oprah Magazine (1-year auto-renewal)

5 star:		(176)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(73)

 

 

I purchased a one year subscription online last year for both myself and my mom for the Oprah magazine. I paid online for both at the time of purchase and have an email to prove it. Now that the subscription is expiring, my mom and I both have gotten at least 3 threatening letters each. Each is entitled "INVOICING BUREAU" in red. The letter states " when you entered into an agreement to be billed later, we believed you would send your renewal payment upon receipt of you invoice. Now that your subscription is coming to an end, we still have not received your payment. You can resolve this matter quickly by returning the subscription invoice with your payment in the enclosed envelope." This letter does not include a phone number and uses a lot of red to emphasize how urgent it is to pay. It is purposefully misleading, I never led on that I wanted to renew. I went to the website and there is no way to contact them, by email, etc. after a lot of searching, I did find the cancel my subscription button.

Last night, I ordered O as a gift for my mother. When I went to check out, I saw there was a special price of $5.

This morning, I see I was charged FOUR time at the $5 rate. Called customer service, and the rep said there is nothing they can do... can't cancel, and he couldn't even explain to me how it happened. So now, I don't know if I'm getting four copies of the magazine, or if I paid more than full price for the mag.

The customer service rep said if I get four copies, I can bundle them up and send them back to Amazon for a refund... but this is a gift. Not really the way I wanted my mom's birthday to go.

I'm not sure if this is an Amazon glitch or something from the publisher, but I'm not happy about my experience with O magazine so far.

The magazine like Oprah's show covers topics about the real world that infuences our daily lives. It is also geared to middle aged women like myself. You won't find Madison Avenue's obsession with youth, beauty, & nearly nude models spread all over the pages. There are plenty of fascinating articles throughout. Such as: "Is Fear Limiting Your Life?" "Yes I Can Diet," "Sex In The Middle Ages," "Cancer-Spot, It Treat It, Beat It," etc. I also like how the magazine is organized by departments. "Special, Features, O-zone, Advice,etc. Style, Health, Books, Connections, & In Every Issue." The latter section has a Calendar with quotes on the days, O to go, Love That!, Breathing Space, Shop Guide, Food, Beauty, Something To Think About, & what I know for sure by Oprah. You can also get financial tips from Suze Orman & advice from Dr. Phil like answering a question from a working mom. The only negatives are those that truly can't be helped. Advertisiments are heavy throughout even the smallest magazines, which keeps them in business. It still deserves five solid stars.

I've purchased a lot of products on Amazon and have subscribed to Oprah's magazine for many years. I have read a lot of negative comments about Oprah's auto-renewal process over the years, so I have always intentionally purchased the one-time, one- or two-year subscription terms on Amazon, making certain not to select the auto-renewal options. And I have purchased this magazine as a gift for others multiple times too. I've never had a problem with the magazine, the subscriptions, the invoicing, or the delivery...until now.

In December, 2010, I purchased another 2-year term subscription to 'O, The Oprah Magazine' for my wife, same as I'd done in prior years. I paid for it with my American Express. The rate was $24.00 for two years. With (WA state) sales tax, it came up to $25.85 and showed up on my January statement, which was paid in full. The subscription is paid up through January, 2013.

After a few months, I started receiving renewal notices for a one-year ($18.00 per year) subscription, directly from the Oprah publisher. This is something that the Oprah magazine or their publisher has done frequently over the years, so I just ignored the renewal notices, as I've always done (seems kind of a waste of resources to solicit people who aren't scheduled to renew for another 20 months...but, if that's the way they want to run their business, whatever). Obviously, I wasn't interested in renewing again, so I recycled the solicitations. By the way, the renewal solicitation did show the 2013 expiration date right on the document, so I knew it wasn't for a prior iteration of the subscription.

Yesterday I received a collection notice from Sunrise Credit Services, Inc. for an account balance of $18.00. Yes, you read that right. They have forwarded my account to a collection agency for the non-payment of a subscription solicitation! FOR AN UNPAID SOLICITATION, not for an actual subscription or for something that I actually ordered! Amazing, but true. Either the Oprah magazine and Hearst (the publisher) have exceptionally poor records / databases, or they're running some kind of little scam that they hope enough people will fall for that it will more than pay for the cost of all those renewal solicitations they send out.

Whatever the case may be, I have to say, Oprah and Hearst, that I'm extremely disappointed in your business practices. Now I'll be wasting more time responding back to Sunrise Credit Services with all the details and trying to get them off my back. Irritated doesn't even begin to cover what I feel about your business and the fact that you've unnecessarily put this collection company on my credit history. All for a measly little $18.00 and because of your inability to keep proper records...or because of a poor attempt at a subscription scam. And if it goes beyond that, I'll be forwarding this to the office of the Washington State Attorney General.

Come on, Oprah and Hearst, why don't you spend a tiny portion of your multi-billion dollar profits on updating your records and I.T. systems, so people don't have to write horrible reviews like this?

By the way, this is the first review of any kind that I've written on any site, but I felt compelled to do so, so that others may avoid going through the same nonsense or, at least, be aware of what's potentially going on when they start seeing those renewal notices start showing up in their mail. It's a good magazine and quite often a good price through Amazon; just horrifically inept business practices on the part of the publisher.

What an absolutely unnecessary waste of my time and other peoples' time reading things like this when you could just as easily clean up and refine your subscription systems and databases.

This is a great rate.
I have been a subscriber for a number of years.
For renewal, O is offering $24.00 for 1 year and $44.00 for 2 years.
Amazon is offering $16.00 for 1 year and $24.00 for 2 years.
Why do magazines give a better rate for new subscribers than their current loyal subscribers?
I just let my subscription expire and brought it through Amazon.
Also, on the renewal card I got from the magazine, in small print, it says they will automatically continue to renew my subscription at the current rate. They don't give you the option to opt out. So they want to lock you in at their higher rates.
I love the magazine but gave it one less star because of the above.

I got a 1 yr sub for my elderly Mother who is an Oprah fan. After 5-6 wks, she received her 1st issue and said the mag had nice glossy pages but only one story to read. The rest of the mag was advertisement. Also, there was strong perfume on almost all pages, which irritated both of my parents. So far, the mag is disappointing.

I like Oprah Magazine better than Good Housekeeping. It seems like a mature woman's magazine, but with a hipper, younger vibe. For working mothers? I don't know how to explain it exactly, but I felt that the articles were more in tune with what was going on in a modern woman's world.

The magazine itself is always beautiful (does Oprah have to be on EVERY cover?). And the editing is superb. No shoddy writing or half-baked articles, although there are a lot of ads. The magazine still has a lot of substance, though.

Downside: Oh, my, the price! The newsstand price is almost $100!!! (for 2 years). For a 2 year subscription, you can get it on Amazon for less than $25. I would never pay full price for this magazine, but $24 is really reasonable for a 2-year subscription to anything, so I recommend that you just purchase through Amazon.

I ordered this mag. since it was on sale as a gift for my mother in Dec. 2009. It's now mid-Feb., I've been requested to provide feedback, but she still hasn't received the mag. All other mags. I've ordered have arrived. Plus, it says the subscription expires Jan. 2011, but I ordered 12 issues and haven't received the first yet.

I have had a subscription since the first issue. I enjoy everything about this magazine, the articles, and fashion,
are always relevant and up to date. It speaks to those of us "baby boomers" who are not ready to slow down yet. It is a large magazine and takes a while to get through but you will pick it up again and again during the month. I never get a chance to recycle it I just pass it on to others who are not fortunate to have a subscription yet.

It ties in nicely with her daily show and provides more information on the topics she covers, or just more on the entertainers she features. I always look forward to the next issue.

I have read the Oprah magazine since its first issue. It takes me almost as long to read each month as a full-length novel. That's because I read just about every article in it. Every issue brings new information and help in just about every part of life. I have two complaints only. The first is that there is just about nothing in it relating to the over 60 year old woman. I'm 76 and would love to see clothes, makeup, etc. for my age group. The other is that the prices of the items are way over the average person's budget. All in all, it's first-rate in my book. I can't compare it to any other magazine as none covers the scope of this one.