Reply To: Save Up to 100% on Diapers

I posted above of a way to save 95% on diapers through Amazon. The main point of the sale, aside from the extra one-time coupons, is that you get 30% off when you buy diapers through “subscribe and save”. I wrote at the bottom that the subscription can be canceled at any time even after just one order.

I received an email response from someone who doesn’t like the idea because just like you shouldn’t go into a store where you aren’t going to buy – you shouldn’t buy something in a subscription when you know you’re going to cancel.

What does the chevra think? On the flip side, one can argue that it is an understood risk that the company is taking. They’re hoping that a certain percentage will keep the subscription, either on purpose or because they forget to cancel. Statistics on stuff like that (mail-in rebates, subscriptions where you have to call to cancel) are astoundingly in their favor. Many people will sign up for things with the intention of canceling and forget to do it. Others will decide that they like the service and keep it even though they were initially planning to cancel. With something like this where you are signing up for a convenient service many people will keep it anyway even if they don’t get the full savings in the coming months because it is convenient for them to have the diapers show up at their door without them having to do anything.

Of course, some people will cancel and then resubscribe in order to get the 30% savings every month but that is part of what the company expects. They don’t mind it because of all the other people who don’t use that trick. And even for those who do it, they are now getting them onto their site every month and can possibly get them to buy other things while they are there. There are ways of preventing people from using this trick, of detecting that someone has subscribed in the past and therefore not give them the discount the 2nd time, but they don’t do that. They allow for some people to use this trick.

When people sign up for the subscription they are often given 3 free months of Amazon Prime (free 2 day shipping on all orders). They do this to get them to use the site more. Even if they are losing a bit on shipping. They are hoping that these people will pay for the Prime at the end of the 3 months or forget to cancel. Even those who do cancel were at least exposed to the site and might now use it more often because of it.

There is no rule anywhere stating that you must keep the subscription for x amount of time. If there was such a rule and there was some trick to get around it that might not be yashrus and might even be stealing but if the system is set up this way I don’t see why it should be a problem.

To explain the question a little better:

I think the way that it works is that when you first sign up they give a 30% savings for the first month’s order. Future months get 15% off. There are 2 ways that people might use this trick.

1) Cancel and resubscribe every month to get the extra 15% savings every month.

2) Cancel after the first month and not shop there again.

Trick number one seems less yashrus and I assume this is probably not something that an Orthodox Jew should be doing even if it is legal. Although, as I explained above, there can be benefits to the company even through this.

Trick number 2 is where you are making a one time order. It is this that the companies don’t mind because of the reasons explained above. When they give these extra incentives, coupons etc, it is to get your foot in the door. They realize that many people will cancel after the first month but it is a way of driving customers to their store in the hope that some will become regulars.

What does the Chevra think?