The reason for going over to Pocketmags is that if/when your subscription expires you will still be able to view what you have purchesed via Pocketmags rather than loosing access to all digital issues which you can only view via ME website with a current subscription number.

I can't find out how to download anything from there for offline viewing though

J

Steven I assume you have a digital subscription in which case you have access to the digital archive on this site as well as access via pocket mags of any magazines since you registered with pocketmags.

I see nothing false about that.

Enter your subscription number in your details and then you will see "magazines" along the top green bar, click that, click what magazine you subscribe to and the archive will be infront of you.

J

So I am now reading the fine print and I am seeing that if I purchase the subscription through the iPad app instead of your website, I get a subscription that does not include access to the online archive.

WHAT DIFFERENCE SHOULD IT MAKE WHERE WE BUY THE SUBSCRIPTION!?!?!?

This is the app that you recommend for the iPad. Why should it be a worse deal than your website? You have more fine print than the last mortgage paperwork I signed. Here is a novel idea : A digital subscription includes the same features no matter where you buy it.

You guys seem to be online here trying to explain why your system is fair without noticing that you are getting tons of complaints. You might feel you are right but if your customers don't see it, it does not matter. You seem very concerned that your customers might get something they are not entitled to but remember that the digital subscriber is the most profitable one for you. The digital subscriber cuts a lot of your overhead expenses like paper, printing, postage, etc.

Since you see nothing false, look here : **LINK**

In item 11 it states :

"Digital Subscribers are currently entitled to access an Online Archive of their magazine in addition to their downloadable subscription issues."

Now look here in your FAQ : **LINK**

Q: I bought my subscription through the app on my mobile device. Do I get any subscriber benefits?

A:Unfortunately as all of our subscriber benefits are driven by your MyTime Media Subscriber Number we are not able to provide any benefits to Apple/Google/Amazon subscribers. If you would like to switch to subscribe directly through us you will need to cancel your subscription with your app store provider and call our customer services on 0844 543 8200 (UK) or +44 1858 438 798 (Overseas) (Phone lines are open weekdays 8am – 9.30pm & Saturday 8am – 4pm (GMT)), alternatively you can subscribe online by through the Subscribe section on this website.

Seems to me to be a conflict between your FAQ and your Terms and Conditions.

It would also seem to me that the page entitled Terms and Conditions would be definitive, would it not. Here in the US Terms and Conditions are considered legal statements of fact. If you violate the Terms and Conditions of a contract (which is what a subscription is) you are in breech of contract. When I subscribe we are both agreeing to the Terms and Conditions not your FAQ.

Are you quite certain it is my fault that I am confused?

Reply received today from Kate at My Time Media

"If an individual takes out a subscription directly through us we can give them access to the Online Archive which is a system run in-house. Basically the access runs off the subscriber number that is created by our Subscriptions Bureau and we can therefore only automate access to people that subscribe directly. If an individual signs up through PocketMags or Apple (in the app on an iPad) for example then no subscriber number is generated and we have no way of knowing that that person is a subscriber – in some cases (especially with Apple), we do not even have the customer information unless they have chosen to share it with us for marketing purposes.

We do not advertise that access to back issues is available anywhere except in our own adverts and on our own website. This benefit is not promoted in the app store, or on Pocket Mags as it is not part of these subscriptions – any subscriptions taken through these routes are also subject to the supplier’s terms and conditions, not ours, as the contract is with them.

I hope that helps to clarify the matter"

Obviously I needed to do more research before subscribing to your magazine. I now understand that your official app developer seems to sell their own digital subscriptions that are different than yours. My point is that you cannot expect a person that first lands on your website to read your terms and then your app developers terms and then you r FAQ to figure out what to do. I linked to your app developer, saw the mag and pushed the subscribe button. My fault I guess but I would think that is how you would want people to buy from you. Most people do not want to go through a lot of details. Trust me on this because my day job involves running an e commerce site that does 30 million us dollars a day in business for a 10 billion us dollar corporation.

My advice would be to clarify the relationship with your app developer so they are just your app developer or convince them to offer the same terms you do. Your customers should not have to divine your business relationships. No matter where I buy your magazine in print or digitally it should be the same product.

Here is how I would do it.

1. A print subscriber should pay the digital rate plus the cost associated physical mag and get access to online issues and back issues. The idea is to give them the print mag they want and get them to see that digital is useful and maybe switch to it which is more profitable for you. When their subscription runs out, they of course keep their physical magazine and the online access to the issue during the term of their subscription. Back issues are no long er available. That is the enticement to resubscribe. Allowing permanent access to purchased issues removes the main argument against digital which is loss of value after the subscription ends.

2. A digital subscription should work the same way without the hard copy. Access in perpetuity to the paid for mags and access to the archive only during the term of subscription.

The answer to the hard copy subscriber that feels they are paying for digital they don't need is that they get the benefit of the digital archive. Print media is dying worldwide, just ask the newspapers. If they want this content, at some point digital will be the only way to get it. Think about the process of daily or weekly publications chopping down trees printing on the paper, shipping it worldwide and having people do it all again tomorrow or next week. There is no way that can compete economically with digital. At some point the print subscriber will have to pay ridiculous rates or go the way of stone tablets.

You can debate these points but just remember that this is the opinion of a tech savvy new international customer. I am guessing that this type of customer is desired in a global digital world and also the most profitable type of customer. Once your content is produced there is very little overhead in scaling that to millions of digital subscribers. Compare that to the expense of adding millions of worldwide print subscribers. Rules 1 of business is not to anger your most profitable customer.

Lets see how you could fix this. You could just verify with pocket mags who subscribed with them and authorize the account for online access.c if pocket mags won't do it, don't let them sell subscriptions. Simple isn't it.

Hi Steven, I'm no computer whiz kid or web expert, but all I see is a link that says "Digital Back Issues" that when you click on takes you to an apple.com web site. I can see no mention of free access to the online achive metioned there, nor have I seen any mention of it on the pocketmags site either. If you click on the subscriptions link below the digital back issues link, it takes you to the subscriptions on this web site which does mention free access to the online achive. I therefore think that any misleading advertising, if any, is in the apple.com web site.

Please feel free to correct me if I have misunderstood the two links.

Regards Nick.

Irrespective of the problems with the app (on an android nexus 7) trying view digital issues ( current or back ) via the official model engineer website on google chrome produces only a blank screen.

I'm perfectly sure that they do know how to answer a forum post but it became apparent several years ago that the magazine management chooses not to discuss service problems and other issues in the forums (or, in fact, to actively participate in any way)…. other than the magazine editor(s) who are active here and will usually try to help if they can – but they have no actual control over subscriptions and can only act as intermediaries.

Recently the editors have reduced their participation in these forums (to give more attention to editing) and handed off their moderation tasks to volunteers from the membership (such as JasonB). These are even further removed from the MTM management, they have day-jobs (plus they like to do a little model-engineering from time to time) so that any representations they make on your behalf are necessarily limited and done very much on a favour basis. Ranting at them is probably counter-productive and ranting at the MTM management here is pretty much a wasted effort.

Have you considered actually talking (and venting if you want) to the subscription department directly?

Edited By OMG on 25/12/2013 17:00:34

For the magazine to step away from their forums lie a mistake. One major advantage of the online world is the ability to more directly contact your customers. They may not like what they hear but It is usually unvarnished truth. People tend to speak more bluntly online. This is a double edged sword of course but It does give a more accurate indication of what the customers are feeling. The forums are a great way to measure interest in certain subjects. For example, if lots of people are talking about a technique or machine, that may be an indication to explore that subject in an article. They could also find out who many be knowledge enough to create some content for them. They have a good opportunity to collect knowledge globally here.

Just think about the fact that a guy on his couch Christmas day in Chicao is talking with guys in the UK about this stuff. Powerful communication when you think about it.

BTW Happy Holidays to you all.