Matthew,
A vendor I’m interested in is using this subscription option but we are both confused about its terms. I always assumed from the way it reads that when you initially subscribe, you are “doomed” to pay the first 30 day’s fee (unless of course the 30 days weren’t profitable), but you would have your initial 30 days even if you canceled. Well, I happened to cancel from this vendor a couple days ago for some not important reasons, but now I want to get back in. But I see I’m closed out of his system, even though I’m well within the 30 days. Why don’t I still have access to his system for my full 30 days? Does this mean I won’t be charged since I didn’t go 30 days? What happens now if I subscribe again? Do I get a new 30 days? Why wouldn’t I just cancel every 29 days and get his system for free? These are just a few of the questions inquiring minds want to know.
If you could clear up these questions, we’d both appreciate it. I hesitate to resubscribe since I’m afraid I may be charged twice for the same 30 days.
A “pay only if the month is profitable” system is essentially like a 30-day trial period. If you unsubscribe before the end of the month, you will not be charged.
What keeps a malicious user from unsubscribing and then resubscribing on each 29th day, you wonder? Well, first, the system owner will probably unsubscribe that user if he sees him doing this. If the bad user continues to do it, the system owner will surely bring it to my attention and I’ll need to take more severe action (deleting the account, banning the IP address, whatever). For what it’s worth, I can count on two fingers the number of times this has happened. Most C2 users are happy to pay a subscription fee for a system that works. Most don’t care to spend the time or energy to wriggle out of a reasonable subscription fee.
Now, there is one wrinkle to what I wrote above. I’m not actually sure what will happen in the following circumstances:
1) You subscribe.
2) On day 29 you unsubscribe.
3) On day 32 you decide you made a horrible mistake and resubscribe.
I think that, in this case, the C2 billing system will bill you for the first period, and then (30 days later) for the second.
So, the main point of this post: If you unsubscribe in the middle of a pay-only-if-profitable period, and you stay unsubscribed, you will not be charged.
What this means for vendors: If you will be extremely agitated by a customer unsubscribing during the middle of a period, don’t choose the pay-only-if-profitable business model. Select a up-front subscription fee, billed each month – perhaps one with a modest free-trial period at the outset.
Good to know, Matt. Out of curiosity do you know what the average account size is with c2? I had offered free trial periods, but they seem to be a target for abuse on reviews. It has been discussed elsewhere and I am sure you have seen it.
