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Don't Subscribe So Casually

thebestworstcase.substack.com

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31–40 of 104 posts

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#31

Post by hundchenkatze »

IFC_LLC wrote: post #25

A very simple handling: Buy a domain. Get Proton, or Apple, or any other custom-domain email service. Setup catch-all incoming mail. Every merchant receives an email like merchantname@donotwriteto.me Then you can either sort those out, or if they are malicious and not deleting you from your email lists, you can block the incoming traffic on that email. This way you still can verify your email, comm stays private and…

This is good advice for email/newsletter subscriptions, but that isn't what the article is about.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#32

Post by iwontberude »

umpalumpaaa wrote: post #26
mschild wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you receive your money back? If not, time for a charge back with your card provider.

Charge back usually never works… at least in my case the provider never actually did it because the seller was in good standing.

I’ve never had an issue with charging back when they fail to deliver the product

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#33

Post by atulatul »

elzbardico wrote: post #22

Nowadays I am adopting the "Mom Strategy for Subscriptions (TM)": Eat what is in your plate before asking for more stuff.

I tried this idea for the books and gave up. No rules for book purchases.

But for something like netflix, I create a list. And when I start repeating something like Seinfeld, Breaking Bad, etc. rather than not-yet-watched items from the list, I cancel the subscription. And I don't renew till some time passes (6 months). Only then there are a few different movies/ series I can add to the list.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#34

Post by boplicity »

sa-code wrote: post #2

I would go a step further, cancel as soon as you subscribe. It's still valid for a month because you've paid for it! If you ever need to use the service again just re-subscribe (and re-cancel) In fact, what is stopping you from cancelling all your subscriptions right now? You can always buy back in when you like

This is indeed my standard practice. In my head, I just tell myself "I'm buying a month."

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#35

Post by iLoveOncall »

IFC_LLC wrote: post #25

A very simple handling: Buy a domain. Get Proton, or Apple, or any other custom-domain email service. Setup catch-all incoming mail. Every merchant receives an email like merchantname@donotwriteto.me Then you can either sort those out, or if they are malicious and not deleting you from your email lists, you can block the incoming traffic on that email. This way you still can verify your email, comm stays private and…

You obviously didn't read the article at all since it's about paying for subscriptions.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#36

Post by CachedaCodes »

IFC_LLC wrote: post #25

A very simple handling: Buy a domain. Get Proton, or Apple, or any other custom-domain email service. Setup catch-all incoming mail. Every merchant receives an email like merchantname@donotwriteto.me Then you can either sort those out, or if they are malicious and not deleting you from your email lists, you can block the incoming traffic on that email. This way you still can verify your email, comm stays private and…

It's def good advice.

I've been doing something similar with Firefox relay to have proxy emails that I can regenerate if needed, it worked well but not for every site. Recently I've been testing SimpleLogin and it worked every time, it's by Proton.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#37

Post by rectang »

Companies who wish for more casual subscribers should support services (such as Apple App Store subscriptions) and anti-dark-pattern laws which reassure the public that unsubscribing will be easy.

Then the complacency and other psychological effects that this article seeks to inoculate users against will be maximized.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#38

Post by jerf »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #14
jerf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the entire scheme here is to not have them continually. It's better to pay month+$2 in six months when you need it, than 6*month for the months you don't. If you rotate subscriptions sensibly, they're much cheaper than the old cable model. If you're not looking, they can really bleed you out and be much more expensive than the old model.

You can also pay ~$20/month for an online locker that'll pull the torrent for you and serve to your devices, if that's within your philosophical tolerances. People need to get paid, but I do not much care of the enterprise value of media conglomerates and the resulting enshittification. I don't mind paying for Nebula.tv (~$36/year) and PBS Passport (~$60/year), for example, to directly support those media creators, a…

I have no problem with anyone just sending money if that's what they want to do; I have a number of Patreon supports also. I do strongly advocate for not letting subscriptions leak out without realizing it, and less strongly for considering whether or not you need something like Disney+ continuously or if you can rotate between it and other services.

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#39

Post by srigbok »

IFC_LLC wrote: post #25

A very simple handling: Buy a domain. Get Proton, or Apple, or any other custom-domain email service. Setup catch-all incoming mail. Every merchant receives an email like merchantname@donotwriteto.me Then you can either sort those out, or if they are malicious and not deleting you from your email lists, you can block the incoming traffic on that email. This way you still can verify your email, comm stays private and…

[flagged]

Re: Don't Subscribe So Casually

#40

Post by taormina »

umpalumpaaa wrote: post #26
mschild wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you receive your money back? If not, time for a charge back with your card provider.

Charge back usually never works… at least in my case the provider never actually did it because the seller was in good standing.

Get a credit card that isn't dogshit then. You can absolutely charge back.
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