WTS TO END MAILED SUBSCRIPTIONS (page 3)

Mulan

Just go to the laundromat, and dig through the garbage cans. You can find tons of them that way. Ah, the memories of the 8AM laundromat blitzes we did, in the old days. Of course we never believed they ended up in the garbage.

Marilyn (a.k.a. Mulan)

Scully

I had a mailed subscription (in Canada) up until a couple of years ago. I told the 'sister' who called on me that my husband was bitterly opposed (using theocratic war strategy... heehee!) and that if he was here when they called with the mags he would go ballistic. The ploy worked for a LONG time, as the sister disclosed to me that this is a provision that is made for women in 'abusive situations' so that they can receive "spiritual food" without endangering an 'interested' woman whose mate might beat the crap out of her for letting JWs into their home.

We had a PO Box at the time (I told the sister that I used it to get mail from my family that my husband would rip up if it came to the house) so the subscription was sent there for about 3 years, and was renewed simply by filling out the renewal forms and sending them back to the Canadian Branch Office. I'd put a $5 bill in the envelope to keep them happy, along with a note saying how much I 'valued' the magazines as a poverty-stricken mother of 3 living with a brute of a husband; that I had to 'hide' the magazines so that he wouldn't find them. Not surprisingly, I never received any response; although you'd expect that a conscientious person/organization would want to do something to help a woman in those dreadful circumstances to get as far away as possible. I guess it was a good thing that it wasn't really happening to me, and those were the only cries for help that I was making. I'm sure there are some people out there who *are* going through just that, and getting the same non-response. After all, The Truth™ is the most valuable thing <BLUCK> they could possibly give. NOT! <HURL> <HURL> (i can't believe i just typed that, and i can't believe i ever "believed" that load of crap!!)

Love, Scully

jst2laws

Scully,
Quote: "I'd put a $5 bill in the envelope to keep them happy"

Personally I think that is the issue. Since going strictly donation the R & F have been reminded constantly to make sure they make an effort to get donations. On the initial call when the Subscription was obtained the publishers guilt would move them to try and cover it, whether by collection or their own pocket. But then these things get renewed year after year, and to a post office box to which the publishers cannot make return visits? I'm sure not all of them were slipping in a five, or a dime. Just got a feeling this was a business decision.

Jst2laws

pseudoxristos

I've been getting both the Watchtower and Awake for just over 3 years now. I never paid a dime for them or renewed them. I don't know if the brother I studied with is renewing them for me or what. I haven't heard from him in about 2 1/2 years. If this is an oversight on the part of the Watchtower, then I'm sure I'm not the only one getting free subscriptions. Stopping subscriptions will save a lot of money if this is the case.

I really looked foward to the info. in the Awake about the U.N. You guys messed that up, now the Watchtower is stopping my subscription. What am I going to do now.

zev

pseudoxristos

my pleasure.

-Zev
Learn about the Wtbts and the U.N.
** http://www.geocities.com/plowbitch69 **

ballistic

if he was here when they called with the mags he would go ballistic.

that's my job!

TheOldHippie

It seems this is something new to you US people, but in the rest of the world, magazines have only been distributed thru the congregations and not thru the mail for 4-5 years.

Pathofthorns

Yes, I agree with Old Hippie (this once LOL). We've had the same arrangement in Canada for the last 4-5 years.

It is primarily a cost cutting measure. The WT would probably save millions in postage/year by shipping thier literature with their own trucks to various centers within a country, where the literature is picked up by local congregations.

The whole "personal subscription" thing basically becomes redundant because you pick up your field service copies with your subscription copies, the only difference being one doesn't have a label with your name on it.

It is like why have a subcription to any magazine if you have to pick it up at the supermarket anyway?

The other reason for this is to increase contact with those in the ministry who have a subscription. Often pioneers will deliver many of the subscriptions personally, so having a subscription means lots of visits by Witnesses dropping off the magazines.

In my experience, for the non-JW with a subscription, delivery by the JWs is irregular and inefficient. Quite often there are lots of missed issues or several (4or more) are delivered at the same time, as opposed to weekly mail delievery.

Path

waiting

It would seem that there could be several reasons:

1. Saving money - no mail costs.
2. Control over who gets them without receiver expending effort.
3. Get *donation.*

All this can be achieved through the local publisher expending more of their own time, effort and money.

1. The publisher contributes for the mags themselves.
2. They spend their own gas getting mags to people.
3. They try to know who their return visits are.
4. They can ask for a donation every time.
5. The publisher also gets *easy time* in service, return visits.

Win/win situation for WTBTS. In our area, most publishers are women, most are older - if not ancient. They seem more conscious of counting proper time, giving proper donations, counting every mag. And they LOVE their "Magazine Routes" and they "do the right thing."

I think the publisher is going to be a further Big Loser here.

waiting

NeonMadman

One of the big reasons for me to have a subscription when I was a JW was that the subscription copies arrived sometimes as much as two weeks before the distributor copies at the KH. Gotta get that fresh spiritual food as soon as possible, y'know? Besides, if you read it as soon as it came, you could impress everybody at the Hall with your superior knowledge...

Tom
"The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure; to live it you had to explode." ---Bob Dylan

WTS TO END MAILED SUBSCRIPTIONS

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