subscriptions

Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot, in the long run—kind of a slow-motion bullet that will take years to travel from muzzle to flesh—but I found out that very cheap magazine subscriptions are available on eBay. I got a year of the New Yorker for $10, two years of Wired for $7, and am planning to sign up for more.

Why are they so cheap? I don't know. One seller had some explanation about how it's worth more to the magazine in increased ad revenue to get a new subscriber than the cost of the subscription. I could believe this for Wired, maybe, which is easy to get for around $10 a year. But the New Yorker is normally around $45, and is losing money, I've heard.

Why am I shooting myself in the foot? Maybe if lots of people subscribe this way, the magazines will lose money, and myself being a budding magazine writer, won't be able to get as many jobs. Or maybe the magazines know something I don't and this will actually help me. (After all, some people are giving away iPods...) And maybe this post is all just part of my selfish long-term plan to boost my writing career. Whaa-ha-ha!