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The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about Magazine City

Welcome to our customer reviews and complaints page for Magazine City. We understand that making informed decisions about where to invest your time and money can be challenging, which is why we've created this platform for our community to share their honest feedback about their experiences with Magazine City.

On this page, you'll find a comprehensive collection of reviews and complaints from real customers who have used Magazine City's products or services. Our reviews are authentic and unbiased, providing you with a complete picture of the company, its products or services, and their customer service.

Whether you're considering doing business with Magazine City, or you've already had an experience with them, our community's reviews and complaints will give you a valuable perspective on what to expect. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money, and we hope that our platform will be a valuable resource for you.

Please feel free to browse our reviews and complaints and share your own experience with Magazine City. Your feedback is an important part of our community and will help others make informed decisions.

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11:21 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Magazine City Did not receive

I ordered a 1 year subscription to Readers Digest 12/18/12 as a gift. After waiting 10 weeks and not receiving the magazine, I tried to contact the company by first e-mailing them with the order # and then calling them. I e-mailed 3 times and left phone messages 4 times with no contact from them. I went on line to check out Magazine City's reputation and found I was not alone with my complaint. I called Reader's Digest directly to see if they had record of the subscription and they did not. They were very professional on the phone. Then I contacted my credit card company and received a credit and placed an order directly with Reader's Digest for even a less amount than Magazine City charged.

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Joan Browne
,
May 13, 2008 3:37 pm EDT

The same as every one else. They took the money and did not deliver. When I finally contacted the magazine publisher themself (ADDitude Magazine), they were very prompt in responding. They emailed Magazine City and got a response that the payment had been mailed to them in November. It, of course, was never received- because it had never been sent. Magazine City has been doing this for years and I am amazed they can stay in business. I have made a complaint to the relevant federal agency (just google for it if you wish to do the same- and please do!) and now the magazine knows about it. They said this was good info for them to have as they authorize Magazine City to sell their mag. So... Everyone! Let your magazine publisher know what is going on!

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Kathryn Bowman
,
May 02, 2008 12:52 pm EDT

Ordered 2 magazines on December 23, 2007 for my son for Christmas. Paid $52.95 for these. As of today still no magazines or money back. I've spoken with customer no service 4 times now but today there is no answer on any line or option. I called the magazine companies themselves and they have no record of my order for my son, under his or my name. I've now re-ordered these magazines directly from the companies, Auto Week and Car and Driver, as of today and am looking to have my money returned to my credit card. It does not look as though I will get it. I'm beyond the date to dispute with my credit card company, the norm of 60 days. I read all the rules of delivery and was leary about the delivery times as they all surpassed the dispute limit but didn't think I would actually get ripped off since I never have in the past order anything on line. My mistake there. All I want is a reimbursement since now I'm paying double.

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Hommech
, US
Jun 16, 2010 10:32 am EDT

I, too, gave a subscription to Our State through MagazineCity.com, and it never arrived. I called the 800 number, and sent them an email, and they never responded. I then disputed the charges through my credit card company, and magazinecity.com never responded to my credit card company. I can only give them a thumbs down, and advise others to never order from them.

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bsinga
Cumming, US
Mar 30, 2010 12:22 pm EDT

In Sept 09 I orders Rug Hooking magazine and paid $30.95 for one year. I was told it would take 3-4 months for the subscription to begin as it was a quarterly magazine. I waited until Feb 10 and still had not received it - I called and left messages numerous times - no one ever called me back. I submitted several emails to customer service and never received any response. This company is a total FRAUD - I will never do business with them again.

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Roldine
, US
Mar 01, 2010 12:51 pm EST

2 magazines ordered in December have not been received. Numerous phone calls to the 'machine' go unanswered. I tired for hours straight, nothing but the 'machine' and music. No response from e-mails either.Terrible customer service is an understatement. I am not sure but maybe no one turned off the 'machine' when they closed the storage closet they were using for an office.

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Fulleyn
, US
Feb 15, 2010 8:52 am EST

I ordered a few magazines over a year ago. I never received a single issue. I contacted them about 50 times ever since. They said they had to reprocess the order - blah blah blah...A "supervisor" named Christine promised me a refund which of course I never received. I don't know what to do. At the moment it seems to be impossible to get a customer representative on the line. Has their ship left earth?

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Slane
, US
Feb 15, 2010 8:34 am EST

Magazinecity... what a joke of a company. Ordered a magazine subscription gift for my granddaughters in January. It is now almost three months later. Call the number given and you get 6 minutes of music, then a message that tells you to call back during business hours (which I was doing)..then thank you, goodbye. Never again...

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Larra
, US
Feb 04, 2010 1:32 pm EST

These people suck at life. My husband ordered magazines for us for Christmas in 2007 and it's been over a year with 1 of the magazines showing up 2 or 3 times and the other two never showed up at all. I've been on the phone with them no less than 7 times, the last two times asking to speak to a manager which I never get. I only get voicemail. Do NOT under any circumstance order from them.

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Evans
, US
Jan 07, 2010 1:05 pm EST

I ordered a magazine from this site for Christmas 2008 as a gift. They took the money and of this date, September 22nd, the party has not recieved the subscription. I have emailed and talked to them but only get promises. The company that handles the order, Taunton Press, has no record of this transaction. Magazine takes the money anad does not deliver. Must be a scam site.

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Morsse
, US
Dec 28, 2009 5:51 pm EST

In March of 2008 I purchased a magazine for a gift. It was never received. I contacted Magazine City by email and phone and received no response. In July of 2008, I finally filed a complaint with the BBB and also filed a dispute with my credit card. Magazine City needs to be fined and put out of business. They are clearly fraudulent.

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12:27 pm EDT

Magazine City Paid for magazine - still don't have it

Don't order through them. You will have passed on by the time you get your magaine. Their MO seems to be take your money immediately and worry about your magazine someday. The magazine I wanted told me that Magazine City works through a third party. Orders are made in bulk and only when there is enough volume.

I ordered a magazine and my credit card was charged on Jan. 31, 2008. In July 2008, I still didn't have the magazine. I called the magazine directly and they still had no record of a subscription order. So, I ordered the magazine myself with a subscription to start in 3 weeks. By the way, this was at half the price of the Magazine city order. I tried to call Magazine City on their 800 number and 4 out of 5 times, the call could not be completed. I tried the Charlottesville, VA number and told them I wanted to cancel the order and get a refund. The customer service rep put in a request for refund but no guarantee and said I would be called about it. I wasn't. Instead, I got an e-mail saying the subscription order was being processed. Great. I called the magazine again directly a few days later. Still no order request from Magazine City. I called Magazine City back to again canel the order and get a refund. No can do. Request denied. I paid full price to order through them. Their service is lousy, their people are curt. Never again.

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7:58 am EDT

Magazine City Took money - no magazine!

Ordered a magazine subscription Dec. 2017, Magazine City debited my credit card for $41.84. I never heard from them until January 2017 when I got a very poor "gift card" in the mail for the subscription that was supposed to be a Christmas present to my wife. After days of trying and hours of waiting on the phone, I finally got through to a rude woman and she bluntly stated it would take 12 weeks to process, then basically hung up on me. I called the magazine's publisher and they state that it only takes 4-6 weeks to process a subscription.

Today, MAY 14th, over 5 months have passed and still no magazine. After trying for 7 days and hours more waiting I finally got through only to be told that I could not get a refund and there was nothing I could do... the woman was quite curt. I then was passed to April and rude supervisor that stated they would not refund my money and it wasn't their fault it's taken 5 months... so who's fault is it? This is an outright case of theft and fraud. Magazine City took my money and there is no indication they ever intended to have my magazine delivered.

I STRONGLY URGE ALL READERS NEVER TO DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE! IT'S A SCAM AND THE AMOUNTS STOLEN ARE TOO SMALL TO DO MUCH ABOUT LEGALLY, SO THEY CONTINUE TO MILK THE PUBLIC AND NEVER DELIVER.

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Cathi
,
Aug 17, 2008 8:52 pm EDT

I placed an online order for a years subscription with this fraud of a company in January of 2017. Within 1 minute I received an order confirmation e-mail and the amount of funds taken from my credit card. I have contacted magazine city and have been given several different stories to date by the extremely rude customer service people. As of this date I still have not received a single issue of the subscription that was prepaid. In July of 2017 I finally got thought to their customer service people again and was told that they no longer carry the magazine that I had paid for and that If I was stupid enough to order a subscription from this company I deserved to be taken in by them! When I demanded a refund from Heather the customer service person, she just laughed and asked "What are you going to do to get the money back?" and hung up on me.

What upsets me the most is that this company is continuing to do business and taking money from innocent people. What type of people work for this company? They obviously enjoy stealing from others. I wonder how they would feel if this was happening to them.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Jul 02, 2008 10:20 am EDT

I ordered a package of 3 magazines in the beginning of February. It is now July 2 and I have received ONE copy of one of the magazines. It was the June issue and I received it 1 day before July began.

I noticed the address on the magazine was incorrect, but when I checked my receipt with magazine city, I supplied them with the correct address. I called to check on the no-show magazines and to also fix the incorrect address. After sitting on hold for TEN minutes, I was told that this would be fixed and all of my subscriptions, including the late one I had received, would restart, therefore receiving 12 ON TIME issues. My confirmation was to arrive via email no later than the end of that business day.

No email arrived.

I called back two days later, only to sit on hold again for 5 minutes. I was then told that the magazine companies had been notified of the address error, but that I was not going to be compensated for the late issues, even though I had already gone out and purchased the issue when it didn't arrive. They said my July issue would also be late, but after that they would PROBABLY be on time.

I asked them to cancel my subscription and refund my money. They wouldn't. I then asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor was out of town for the entire week. (So I'm supposed to believe that there is NO supervisor at all? Yes, I'm told.)

Horrible experience. Waste of my time and money.

We'll see if my magazines EVER show up.

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Looki
, US
Jul 01, 2010 12:34 pm EDT

I have ordered 3 magazines through this website. Two of which have had no problems the third which I gave someone as a gift has had numerous problems as still is yet to be received.

I ordered the magazine in January. Called about 5 times to inquire about its status and got the same message to just wait. It is now august and after my last call they finally actually checked with the publisher and found out the order was not placed. Now to get the order placed and delivered they said it will take another 16 weeks.

To top it all off no discount was offered and only a brief e-mailed apology.

The site does have good prices but I would avoid buying this for anyone as a gift (especially in the Christmas season when they said they had numerous errors).

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Lisa
Williamsville, US
Mar 04, 2009 10:59 am EST

I ordered Consumer Reports from Magazine City online as a Christmas gift for Christmas 2017 (yes two Christmas' ago!) and I have called and emailed them repeatedly and get the same mundane messages that some manager or HR will get back to me and no one ever has. I finally requested a refund over 6 months ago and never received that either. I am very frustrated. Also I have left voice messages for the "supervisor" and no return call (or email) from them either. Obviously I would never do business with this company again--totally a rip off!

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Jul 28, 2008 5:52 am EDT

I seem to have made a mistake in ordering 5 magazines from Magazine City in January/early February 2017. Six months later I have only received a few issues of one magazine - the other four magazines still missing. Customer service (after several unsuccessful calls) told me to wait until august to see if delivery commenced then - I find this strange given that my credit card was charged immediately upon ordering. I enjoy magazines and have ordered several others directly from the publishers. No delivery problems in those cases. Magazine City disappoints me. Do they consider more than 6 months delivery time normal?

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shibanell
, JP
Jun 18, 2012 6:30 pm EDT

I ordered Car & Driver magazine 2-year International Subscription Nov.2017. They charged from my credit card but I haven't received even one issue. I mailed almost every three months and at last hey mailed me in March, 2017 saying that they either have the order resubmitted or have a refund issued. I chose refund and write them back but no reply or refund at all. I can't believe this kind fraud company exist in the United States and still doing business without having any punishment.

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spoch
Toronto, CA
Dec 02, 2009 8:50 pm EST

On May 29, 2017, I ordered a 1 year subscription to Aquarium Fish: Canadian Subscription, as a birthday gift for my uncle. I received my confirmation email from magazinecity.com stating all their terms, how long it takes for the subscriptions to arrive, etc.

Weeks and months went by and I have still not received any magazine. I emailed the company multiple times and called the customer service number, which was an automated message saying to leave my contact info and that my call would be returned. I have yet to receive a phone call, or a reply to my emails. My creditcard was charged by magazine city as soon as I placed my order, and I have not to this date, recieved anything from them. I have, basically, been ripped off, scammed by this company. DO NOT order anything from them.

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Barbara Johnson
,
Oct 09, 2008 11:31 am EDT

I ordered a magazine back in January and it still hasn't been delivered. I've called twice, before and they said it would be coming soon. I just called again today and they gave me a October 30th arrival date. Now I think 9 months to get a magazine is a little much. And I have a feeling I'm just being put off again. Lesson learned don't order over the internet. This was a Christmas present for my grandaughter and she's been waiting all year. It's really bad as when you order by mail they're showing up within the month.

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kastompa01
, US
Sep 15, 2009 1:46 pm EDT

Follow up: i have contacted the better business bureau about these ###s. I have ALSO contacted THE IRS about them possibly committing tax fraud by not PAYING TAXES ON THE MONEY THEY ARE COLLECTING! :)

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Joy-Ellen
San Jose, US
Oct 04, 2010 2:07 pm EDT

Ordered Parabola magazine on 3/1/2017. Not only did Magazine City charge my credit card, but there is no record of my subscription with the Parabola magazine customer service. Have not received any magazines.

This went through my VISA card:
03/03/2017 Mc *MAGAZINECITY.Com 03/02 Card
#3304 PURCHASE #24351780061830538614122 [protected], VA
22.95

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7:05 am EDT

Magazine City Never received order & extremely poor customer service

This company is a joke! I ordered Slam Magazine with these idiots back in October 2007 and I am still waiting for my first issue (today's date is May 5, 08). After calling customer service several times, I was finally hung up on by the supervisor because she could not answer my questions and basically told me to continue waiting for my order to arrive. I request a full refund for my order because it has been over 6 months that I have paid for this order yet Magazine City refuses to issue any refunds. I guess it is better policy for them to have nation wide complaints going out against them rather than issuing a $30.00 credit! I strongly advise anyone thinking about doing business with these clowns to think otherwise.

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5:25 pm EST

Magazine City Never received paid subscription!

I ordered Taste of Home Magazine Oct.09,2007 and was charged next day. The subscription was never received and when I contacted the publishing company they have no record of it. I have sent emails continually and receive the same answer on all; "Your request has been forwarded to our Customer Service department. They will begin to research the problem immediately. Given that some issues may take some time to resolve, please expect a response within 7 to 10 business days." However, I have never heard from them to reconcile this. I have tried in vain to contact them by phone using the 800 number listed and all I get is "all circuit are busy" or when someone answers they keep you on hold forever and then say they are busy call back between 3 and 5. Then we start all over. I have decided that they are a scam outfit. All I want is my money back. I think that they should be investigated for fraud. It has been 4 months now and still no answer from them to reconcile this. I guess the best bet is to contact the BBB in their city. Hope no one else gets scammed this way. BEWARE!

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SHERRIB09
Erie, US
Mar 23, 2012 7:32 pm EDT

I ordered WEIGHT WATCHERS magazine --- paid for my subscription in full. And never recieved one magazine They sent me a renewal form in the mail I was so pissed. Still, they haven't got back to me. It has been about 3 - 4 months now.

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monika
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May 13, 2008 8:18 pm EDT

Same thing here, I ordered US WEEKLY magazine back in february & now it is may & still nothing. I tried sending e-mails & phoning & I get nowhere. No one answers just keep getting the machine saying to call back or leave a message. I paid over $80.00 & don't know what to do . HELP!

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12:00 am EDT
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

I ordered Men's Health on June 5th 2007 as a Father's Day Gift from my daughter with an expected delivery date of 10 -12 weeks max (August 14th - 28th). To date I haven't received anything and emailed the customer service department to chase this up. I received an email back informing me that I could expect delivery of this magazine mid to late October...

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