For most of my 50 years in Washington I’ve subscribed to the Washington Post. I get up early, the dog and I retrieve the Post from the front yard. I then feed the dog, fix a cup of coffee, and read the paper. Reading the Post—especially the sports section—is a great way to start the day and I routinely and happily renewed my subscription. In May it was $702.78 for another year.
That number did seem high—the annual sub rate was $360 when Jeff Bezos bought the paper four years ago. I suspected there were better deals out there but I was happy to support the Post and keep the printed paper alive.
Then a month ago I was at the breakfast table with my wife Jean. I was reading a Barry Svrluga sports column about the Washington Redskins and out of the blue he interrupted his column with:
(Frustrated by The Post’s online paywall? Why, did you know that, for just $1.99 per week, you get both home delivery of the printed newspaper and all the clicks you want? As many Mason Foster stories as you can handle. What a deal!)
We have been Washington Post subscribers for nearly 50 years, we enjoy the paper, and on May 1 we renewed our subscription for one year, paying $702.78. Now I read in today’s Post (in a sports column) that the subscription rate for the Post is $1.99 a week, or just over $100 a year , and that includes both the print newspaper and digital access.
I’m assuming there was some mistake in the $702.78 we were charged four months ago. Would you cancel our $702.78 subscription, refund the amount remaining (about $400?) on that one year subscription renewal, and start a new subscription at the $1.99 a week price quoted in today’s paper.
P.S. We don’t need TV Week.
Thank you for your response. We appreciate your continuous subscription with The Washington Post.
We have retained your Daily and Sunday subscription on a promotional rate of $98.66 for 52 weeks, effective 09/21/2017. Please note that this promotion is guaranteed for 52 weeks only, and your rate will be switched to a regular price once the promo expires.
A refund for the amount of $326.96 will be issued to your credit card within 3-5 business days
If there is anything we can do to regain your subscription, please contact our Digital Department at (202)334-6100 (please make sure to press 6), and a representative will be happy to assist you.
Thank you from The Washington Post.
Several weeks later at a lunch of older journalists I mentioned the odd chain of events: A Post sports columnist telling readers we should be paying $100 a year for the paper and then the Post’s willingness to cut our sub rate by $600 a year. We talked about what’s happening to print journalism and wondered where Jeff Bezos is taking the Post by almost giving the paper away.
A week later one of the journalists emailed to thank me for saving him $600 a year. He said he had emailed the Post and included this: “With our advanced age and retirement income I find that the Post is growing far too expensive.”
The Post responded:
We have retained your Daily and Sunday delivery on a promotional rate of $98.43 for 52 weeks at $1.79 per week. An updated bill will be sent out to you reflecting your promotional rate.
We did the $99 last year and then it went to $700. We finally opted out and got the weekend plus digital for $49.00.
So beware when the year is up and the bills come in again–$700 a year. Miss the paper but not the walk out to the road to fetch in February