More and more modern life means dealing with increasingly expensive subscriptions. Want to listen to on-demand music? That’s a subscription. Want to use a specific set of software? It’s a subscription. Want to keep up with the latest TV shows? It’s a bunch of subscriptions. All of these monthly fees are straining our wallets, and if you want to stop, it seems like the only option is to cancel some of them. If you’re not using them, you should be using them. But sometimes, you don’t even have to go that far – you just have to threaten to cancel them.
Subscription services… don’t… want to lose you.
If you find that a particular subscription is a little too expensive for you, start the cancellation process. For most subscriptions, it will do this:The service will ask you if you’re sure you want to cancel. They’ll even give you a summary of the benefits their program brings to your life (only a fool would cancel!) Nevertheless, go ahead.
If the service asks you to explain the reason for your cancellation, be sure to state that it’s because the subscription is too expensive. This implies that the automatic cancellation process may be influenced by financial incentives. At this point, your attempt to cancel your subscription may go one of two ways: either the company gives up and lets you terminate your subscription, or it will start canceling promotions.
“Oh, we couldn’t give you this before, but because you’re so special to us, how about you get a free month later?” If that’s not enticing enough, select “unsubscribe” again. “Okay, that makes sense. That’s a bad offer. That’s okay! In fact, we can offer you the same plan you’re on now for half the price you were paying before! Pretty sweet, right?” You choose “unsubscribe”. “We’ll let you join our premium membership. All the bells and whistles. One dollar a month. One. One dollar. Please. For the love of God, don’t unsubscribe.”
Congratulations! You’ve just turned an expensive, hard-to-justify subscription service into a perfectly reasonable one.
Before you threaten to cancel, research the company
Of course, not all companies will behave the same way when you press the initial “unsubscribe” button, so do a little research before you try this move. That way, you can optimize your “cancel” plan. If you know a company is offering more than one deal, don’t accept the first offer made to you. If you find out they only offered you a single song before cutting you off, you’re better off taking the money and running.
In my experience, newspaper and digital media subscriptions are more likely to reflect the above, and they insist on increasingly favorable prices until you barely have to pay for a subscription that once cost $15 or more per month. Practically canceling a subscription is almost impossible, especially if you are forced to do so over the phone.
Other companies may just give you an offer and then let you cancel. Adobe is notorious for cutting the cost of a subscription in half once you threaten to cancel it. On the other hand, Hulu used to offer a month free when you tried to cancel your subscription, but the company offered reddit a year ago for $2.99 for six months. You might even be lucky enough to try a non-traditional subscription. For example, if you have a credit card with an annual fee, give your credit card company a call before you renew it. When you threaten to cancel, you’re likely to get them to cancel the fee altogether – a good deal, even if you have to call every year.
The real reason to do your research is to avoid not being able to access your subscription at all (unless you’re okay with that). Some companies are content to not only let you cancel your subscription without offering anything, but they won’t let you resubscribe after the fact. For example, AMC’s Tier 1 subscription does not allow you to renew your subscription for six months after you cancel it. You don’t want to cancel a subscription you’re actively using to pursue a better deal only to find yourself locked out of the service for a long time.
But if you’re sure the company doesn’t have a similar policy, you won’t risk canceling your subscription and resubscribing if you complete the process without getting a better deal. You’ve already paid for that. In the worst case scenario, you just keep paying what you’ve already been charged. Just remember to keep a close eye on new deals:For example, if they offer you a special price for six months, don’t let it pass you by-when the seventh month comes around, who knows how much they’ll charge you.
