Thursday, November 07, 2013

Salisbury | An extra $1.74 for Thanksgiving edition

I suspect this is going on at other newspapers as well.

The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., is charging readers an extra $1.74 for the Thanksgiving edition because it's a much larger paper, so delivery by carriers will cost the paper more.

One reader on the EZ Pay plan might have missed the extra charge if they hadn't read their bill closely, according to SBY News. (Under EZ Pay, the monthly subscription cost is automatically deducted from a bank account or credit card.)

How much more is your site charging for the Thanksgiving edition? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot.com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.

21 comments:

  1. Gotta wonder how they came up with a buck seventy four.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hmmm, seems like if they gave some of that extra cash to a food bank or soup kitchen, it might be all worthwhile....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You first, Bono. Let us know how that goes.

      Delete
  3. Ours is already charging the Sunday price....3 dollars. Any more would severely drop sales.
    And usually carriers don't get extra for delivering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ours charges Sunday price, too, and runs with all the extra Sunday sections. The circ information for the paper also notes that Thanksgiving is charged at the Sunday rate to subscribers. I wonder if that's the case in Salisbury.

      Delete
  4. Like usual the carriers for Gannet will get screwed out of the extra $$ they continue to pay a crappy .15 - 20 cents a copy to delive
    r !! Thanks for NOTHING GANNET/STATESMAN JOURNAL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Salisbury's carriers get a whole 8 cents per paper. They receive nothing extra for Thanksgiving, even though they have to handstuff each copy. This is just Gannett greed shining through for everyone to see. Sad.

      Delete
  5. Charles Everett11/08/2013 8:59 AM

    Gannett ain't the only one. The Richmond Times-Dispatch will charge extra for its Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day editions. More proof that readers pay for the advertising.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd think this would need to be disclosed to subscribers when they sign up in the first place.

    If any paper sells me a subscription at, say, $30 a month without mentioning any other potential extra charges, then I would expect to pay no more than $30 a month. Anything else would be like bait and switch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Um, who DOESN'T charge the Sunday rate for holiday "delivery" ? It's printed in the rate card, as well as the Audit Bureau of Circulation reports circa the 1990's. Is this trick question?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angry consumer reports11/08/2013 2:44 PM

    @ Monica: From a consumer stand point, it's just sleazy. It's like the guy in the deli counter who puts his finger on the scale to make the 1,78 pounds of turkey in to 2 pounds and charges you accordingly. The paper is getting paid for the ads and inserts, why soak the loyal customers you have left? And don't discount the angry consumer and their power on the internet. Today's angry consumer is tomorrows former customer. And they tell some one, and so on and so on and so on....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's also another way to anger readers at a time when the company needs every one. How much will the company make by nickel-and-diming existing ones with charges like this? And how much will it cost in marketing dollars to replace them?

      Delete
    2. By charging the Sunday price and sending it to all Sunday subscribers, the paper can charge advertisers Sunday rates, not daily. That's where the money is. But I don't think they can charge advertisers Sunday rates and readers daily rates for the same edition without running into legal issues. (Not a lawyer, but seems like that's got to be in violation of something.)

      Delete
    3. Until I came to Gannett, it was standard practice to charge advertisers Sunday rates for holidays (and easily justified for Thanksgiving!). When I asked about it here, they looked stunned and said they'd never done it. Huh? The best paper of the year, clearly extremely well read for the ADS and no one thought to charge Sunday rates? Absolutely shocked that the circ dept. is just getting around to this.

      Delete
    4. I think it's fine to charge readers more, so long as they've agreed in advance. It's the opposite that's a problem.

      Suppose you subscribe to a premium cable channel for $35 a month. Then December rolls around and you get hit with a $10 surcharge for a special Katy Perry Christmas concert. How would you feel about that?

      Delete
    5. Sorry Jim - caveat was that holiday rates were always published in our rate cards I'm all about full disclosure - how hard is that to do and then justify the practice? Trying to pull a fast one is no way to do business!

      Delete
  9. I have subscribed to my local Gannett newspaper for more than 50 years. For the past decade, I have paid by the year. When my subscription was up recently, I was told that I would have to pay extra (I forget the exact amount, but it was about $3) to have the Thanksgiving paper delivered. I already was upset by the $20 increase in the annual price. The Thanksgiving fee added insult to injury. So, for the first time in my adult life, I am not subscribing to my local newspaper. It is so thin anymore, and so devoid of unique local news, that it just isn't worth the high cost.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "By charging the Sunday price and sending it to all Sunday subscribers, the paper can charge advertisers Sunday rates, not daily. That's where the money is. But I don't think they can charge advertisers Sunday rates and readers daily rates for the same edition without running into legal issues. (Not a lawyer, but seems like that's got to be in violation of something.) "

    It's AMAZING what they don't teach you in J-School. Seriously, is this a joke.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's disclosed right on the subscription form at my local paper.

    The Thanksgiving Day edition is delivered with your subscription and will be charged the then regular Sunday newsstand price, which is reflected in the November payment.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My non-Gannett daily charges the Sunday rate for Thanksgiving too, which is disclosed in their billing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is also the day the carriers could care least about. working a holiday with what is typically the largest Paper of the year. Many don't show up or quit the day before.

    ReplyDelete

Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.