Get a free issue of Fine Gardening

Details here!

http://davesgarden.com/coreg/fg.php

Thanks Dave! How interesting that a gardening friend recommended the very same magazine the other day! ;0)

Thanks Dave! Always fun to check out a new gardening magazine that I haven't seen before.I look forward to receiving my free issue to see if it might be one I'm interested in subscribing to.

That's a great offer--unfortunately I already subscribe so I can't take advantage of it, but it really is a great magazine, one of my favorites!

Thanks very much

Thanks Dave!

Thanks! Any chance we might get a good deal on the first year subscription price, do you know?

Nice, Dave. It is one beautiful magazine. Thank you for this.

YAAAAYYY!! Thanks, Dave. I look forward to seeing it. Linda

A friend ordered a years subscription for me in return for watering her plants whenever they had a business trip. I never let it go. Garden Gate is still my favorite, but Fine Gardening ties with Backyard Living as second place :o)

When I signed on to DG, there was the question wether or not to get a free issue. Being skeptical by nature, I tried to get to the forums to find out if by saying yes that I would be obligating myself to a subscription. I couldnt navigate off the page without answering, so I chose no thank you only because there was no info on wether or not I was automatically subscribing.

I would actually like to try it now that I know I am not obligating myself to pay or cancel. Not sure if its too late. I will now go back and try.

Maybe there could be more info with the offer so others like me could say yes with a clear conscience.

chris

Thanks!
I've been on their email list for quite some time, but the magazine price when I checked was rather expensive, so I'm happy to be able to view a copy before I choose to pay for a subscription!

In case anyone is wondering where their magazine is, I wanted to post an FYI here: Fine Gardening hasn't been able to send out any of the issues yet due to a lot of difficulty in making the DG system compatible with their system. We're continuing to work out a way for our systems to communicate and I expect success very soon.

Thus, the delay.

Cool! I had forgotten all about it. I will consider it a christmas present. I will be excited when it arrives.

Thanks for the update.

Great offer! My sub lapsed when I moved and I've missed it very much. Thanks.

Sweet, thanks!
Maybe I should check this forum more often! I thought is was only where one came to complain and that's rare.

The Taunton magazines are my very favorite. I usually pick these up at the news stand. Since the per issue price of these magazines has really sky rocketed (just paid 7.99 for one issue of Fine Cooking), I was thrilled to see a free offer -- particularly as it appeared to be risk free. Well, yesterday's mail contained a bill from FG thanking me for ordering a year's subscription. I haven't even received the free issue yet. Has anyone else been billed?

You don't have to pay the bill if you don't want to subscribe--if you read the link in Dave's first post, it states that you will receive your free issue and an invoice. If you want to subscribe, you pay the invoice and if you don't want to subscribe then you just ignore it and do nothing. I suspect you missed the shipping window for the Nov/Dec issue and will have to wait for the Jan/Feb one to ship, that's probably why you don't have your free issue yet.

Thank you so much!!! I didn't remember reading that bit, but it was a while ago.

Getting a bill seems to come with a lot of the magazines that offer one free issue. It's usually when you send in a postcard requesting the free issue.

I subscribed to Fine Gardening last year, when they had a deal for new subscribers to get a $25 gift certificate to White Flower Farms. It IS a gorgeous magazine, one of my favorite gardening reads. Lovely photographs, very accessible and practical articles. I just wish it wasn't so darned expensive! Maybe I'll put a subscription renewal on my Christmas wish list. . .

Angie

Jessica from Fine Gardening here.
If you ever have any questions about your "risk free issue" you can give our customer service a call at 800-477-8727.
As Dave mentioned, we had a few hiccups between our systems but it looks like that's been resolved and hopefully you'll be receiving your issue shortly.
Thanks for all the kind words about the magazine, we're really proud of it.

This message was edited Dec 4, 2008 11:27 AM

Thanks Jessica for stopping by to let us know. I love it when a company can talk to us "in person".

chris

Yes, thanks, Jessica! I'm looking forward to my issue.

I wonder if I could write off the subscription as a necessary "business" expense... ;-)

"Funny-business," perhaps, Critter*! LOL

I await my copy of one of my faves, as well. I just received my order of 3 DVDs from the Taunton Press publisher, Fine Gardening series "Gardening Techniques," volumes 1-3 and cannot wait to open one of 'em up.

A gr8 little offering from Fine Gardening for Christmas. I may just have to subscribe to the magazine.

Linda

I signed up for this free issue and today I just received a "thank you for my subscription" letter along with a bill for $29.95!!! There isn't a phone number included with the bill. Yikes!!!
Watch you mail folks!

added info: If any one needs to call the # is 800-477-8727 but they are closed today 1/2/09

This message was edited Jan 2, 2009 12:54 PM

Angele~ have you received your free issue yet? Just wondering aloud....as I have not......

edited for silly spelling error!

This message was edited Jan 2, 2009 5:49 PM

I think the offer has expired so the link in Dave's original post no longer works, but it was very clear in the original offer that you were under no obligation to subscribe--it stated that you would receive an invoice as well as your free issue, but if you didn't want to subscribe then all you had to do was ignore the invoice.

garden6, I don't think so but I can't say for sure what with all the beautiful gardening catalogs coming in the mail :-). My neighbor and I trade our magazines all the time so it is hard to keep track.

Ecrane, The letter that came today (without a magazine but bill attached) reads as follows:
Dear New Subscriber:
Thank you for your order, and welcome to FINE GARDENING magazine. Your first issue will arrive shortly.
Then there are a few lines about how great the magazine is and how my satisfaction is guaranteed. Next it tells me to send in my payment and they will promptly credit my account.

I'm going to phone them on Monday because I don't want to take a chance with being reported for non-payment. To me it reads like I placed an order. It had been a few months since I signed up for this offer and it took me a little while to remember & come look it up here to see if it was even the same magazine. I would worry about my forgetfulness if I could remember to, lol.

Definitely call them if it'll make you feel better, but in the original offer it was very clear that you were under no obligation to subscribe. It said they would send an invoice on the chance that you did want to subscribe, but if you didn't want to then you didn't have to do anything, just ignore the invoice. I'm sure they have a standard invoice that they send out and didn't take the time to customize it for this particular offer which is why it sounds a little confusing.

Thanks Angele....was kinda hoping it would be soon... just dreaming and waiting for Spring....

I received the same letter today along with the invoice. I have not received the "free" issue so that I can read it and see if it is a publication I care to have. They could have sent the trial issue along with an invoice. I think this is putting the cart before the horse as the saying goes.
Angele..thanks for the phone #. I will be calling monday also.

I neither received the free issue that was promised/confirmed nor a bill. Should I be happy?

The offer might have only been for US residents--I can't remember if it said anything about that or not. Or depending on when you ordered it, it might just not have come yet. The magazine is only published every other month to begin with so depending on when you ordered your free issue it could take a month or two before you get one anyway, and sending it international might take an extra week or so on top of that.

I ordered the free sample as soon as Dave published this thread and yes, on the mailing address request you did have to enter/chose the country of the addressee and indeed Chile was considered among such options. Besides, I got their confirmation/thanks for my interest. Even snail mail does not take longer than 2 months from your end to mine.

I knew the mail wouldn't take two months, but since they only publish every two months I expected that you might have to wait a month or two until the next issue published, plus a little time after that for mailing. If you ordered in September then you should have been in time to get the November/December issue, but Jessica from Fine Gardening posted above that they had been having some problems with their system, so it's possible that they're sending you the January/February issue and it just hasn't arrived yet. Or it might have been lost, etc but because of Jessica's post about the problems they'd been having I wouldn't give up yet.

I completely missed Jessica's post. Thank you for pointing it out. I think you are probably 100% right Ecrane. The letter/bill is most likely their stock send out. I really appreciate these offers Dave & the gang arrange for us. I hope I don't cause any "no good deed goes unpunished" feelings. I am going to make the call just in case. Thanks for all your help Ecrane.

I signed up for the free issue in September, never heard anything but received a bill yesterday for $29.95 thanking me for my subscription also ... no free issue as yet though.

I will wait and see if I get the free issue, kinda thought it was a waste of paper, postage and time on their part, to send a bill first, especially if there is going to be another subscription offer along with the free magazine copy.

ecrane, surface mail does indeed take 8 weeks. This is what I would any Co. expect to use for a free issue (cheapest postage), but it has been longer than that including Jessica's explanation.

I am just disappointed because this was probably the first time I had access to a 'free issue' (Chile was among the options) and was hoping to get it in time before I move to the countryside (very soon).

I have applied for free issues/samples before, but when I entered my data there was no option for any other country than the USA and Canada (sometimes Mexico). That's why I was so happy to get this one.

If I happened to like the magazine (helpful articles and not too much advertising) I would have probably subscribed.

Ursula~ indeed you're not alone.. I subscribed in September as well, same morning as the offer was made... for whatever reason(s) I have not received my issue either.