One-Year Subscription Anniversary and Houston, We Have Some Problems

[Jason Dunn]

I knew our one year anniversary of launching the subscriber services was coming up quick, but I didn't realize it was today until I looked at my Smartphone and saw I had 76 odd email messages waiting for me - and all of them were related to subscriber services. I had a hunch the flaws in our system would come to light when the one-year anniversary happened again, and unfortunately I was right. :-(<br /><br />So what was supposed to happen was this: two weeks prior to your subscription ending, our system sends you an email message informing you that your subscription is about to come to an end. Flaw number one is that I don't think we have a method of detecting which of you had the "automatically renew" box checked off or not, so we have no way of sending a custom message saying "Hey, it looks like you've set up PayPal to auto-renew, so in two weeks your subscription will be renewed", or a message saying "Hey, you've got auto-renew turned on, so if you don't want to renew, please turn that off".<br /><br />We also seem to have our timing off - some of you are getting your cancellation messages after you've paid for another year, which is completely confusing you. Worse yet, it seems that some of you lifetime subscribers got charged $36 for an addition year - I'm not sure how that happened (sounds like a PayPal bug). For those of you who were renewed and didn't want to be, I'll process your refunds as soon as I can. The goal here wasn't to trick anyone into renewing - our system was supposed to inform you two weeks prior that you were going to be charged, but for some of you, it seems it did not (or the email got blocked by a spam filter - email is so unreliable nowadays!).<br /><br />So I'll ask for your patience and a few ounces of grace as I sort through all of the email messages, process refunds, and sort out all the issues. Thanks for your continued support, and if you have any questions regarding your subscription, send an email to subscriber - at - thoughts media /dot/ com with your subscriber name and as much information as you can give me about when/how you paid, etc. The more information I get, the faster I can track down what happened.<br /><br />On the up side, it's gratifying to see so many of you renewing your subscription - I appreciate your support! Now I think we can afford that extra RAM for our server, which it really needs. :mrgreen: We're in the process of re-tooling much of the subscriber page to make it easier for you to claim your Vaja/Sena coupons, PDAmill codes, etc.<br /><br /><b>UPDATE:</b> I can't tell for sure yet, but it looks like we might have a problem whereby people are charged via PayPal but their subscription isn't automatically renewed. This is problem because the PayPal email confirmation that I get doesn't include your username, so I can't activate you manually. If this has happened to you please be sure to contact me so I can get it sorted out!

[ctmagnus]

Fortunately I had a reminder set up on my Pocket PC telling me it was time to renew. ;)

[Jason Dunn]

Fortunately I had a reminder set up on my Pocket PC telling me it was time to renew. ;)

Bless you sir, bless you. :D

[Mitch D]

I guess this just proves the old adage:

To error is human, to really have things screw up you need a computer!

:wink:

Yes I know that is not exactly how it goes but I reworded it slightly so as to protect the innocent... namely Jason!

:)

[Jerry Raia]

No worries :)
I got an email that said I had expired so I just signed up again.

[bigkingfun]

I was charged through Paypal with no problems, but how do I confirm that my subscription was renewed? If I can access the discounts page, does that mean everything is good?

On a side note, I can't believe it's been a whole year already... 8O

[Jason Dunn]

I was charged through Paypal with no problems, but how do I confirm that my subscription was renewed?

When you go to the subscriber (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php) page, you should see a message telling you when your subscription is set to expire. If it says 2005, you're good. :-)

[Shaun Stuart]

This is odd - if this is the first year anniversary how come I had to renew my subscription some months ago ?

[gorkon280]

I would love to renew but no money for that right now. Maybe later.

[gorkon280]

Quick question....if we did not get billed til August last year and it's now July, why are we expiring now?? Follow me....

Subscribe in July....we get a free month

We finally get billed.....should our subscriptions now run out in July or August???

I mean it's OK Jason and no big deal as I am not re-upping right away but I was just wondering.

[wocket]

I knew this was coming soon. Can't believe it's a year already :D . My subs are good until August though.

Just how do I set my subs to auto renew though? Maybe I already have I can't remember Don't see any options in my prefs, thought there was.

hmm maybe it's time I changed my Avitar and sig as well

[Brad Adrian]

No worries :)
I got an email that said I had expired...
Wow. The Grim Reaper has entered the computer age!

[Jason Dunn]

This is odd - if this is the first year anniversary how come I had to renew my subscription some months ago ?

That doens't seem possible...we only sold one-year subscriptions.

[Jason Dunn]

Quick question....if we did not get billed til August last year and it's now July, why are we expiring now??

It's because of the two week trial. Most of you signed up for a trial on the 17th - 20th, then didn't actually pay until the first week of August, but that two week trial counts towards your one year of use. Makes sense? :)

[Jason Dunn]

Just how do I set my subs to auto renew though? Maybe I already have I can't remember Don't see any options in my prefs, thought there was.

It's actually part of the sign-up process - there's a box that can be checked/un-checked for auto-renewal via PayPal. I don't have a way of telling if you're set up for auto-renew or not, so it's a "wait and see" process. ;-)

[Hx4700]

Jason,
I've seen no comment on the Lifetime subscribers. I guess they should be good (unless billed again!)
If Lifetime is good to go -- then everyone should just sign up for Lifetime :)
Ron...

[Jason Dunn]

I've seen no comment on the Lifetime subscribers. I guess they should be good (unless billed again!) If Lifetime is good to go -- then everyone should just sign up for Lifetime :) Ron...

Lifetime subscribers are good to go - I made very sure that when we did our major updates a few months ago that the lifetime subscriptions really were lifetime. ;-)

[mrkablooey]

I have no doubt you'll take care of any/all of this, Jason. This is a first-class outfit, nothing to worry about. :)

[Kati Compton]

No worries :)
I got an email that said I had expired...
Wow. The Grim Reaper has entered the computer age!
Hmmm... better unplug the coffee pot and turn off the sprinkler!

[gai-jin]

Do you get the same benefits when renewing as when a new sub?

i.e. Can you again get the vaja coupon and the free gamebox game?

[PR.]

Do you get the same benefits when renewing as when a new sub?

i.e. Can you again get the vaja coupon and the free gamebox game?

I wondered thatt as well. If not it would have been better had I created a new account.

With the 4700 just around the corner I will need a new Vaja case :D

[Jason Dunn]

Do you get the same benefits when renewing as when a new sub? i.e. Can you again get the vaja coupon and the free gamebox game?

Yes. What we're working on though is the system whereby it will be easy for us to keep track of what subscriber year you're in, what benefits you have access to, which ones you've redeemed, etc.

Ideally we should have had this system in place prior to the renewal date, but it just wasn't possible.

[gai-jin]

so to confirm, when I renew in november I 'll be eligible for a new vaja case coupon and a new gamebox game, even though I've already redeemed those?

Thanks,
gai-jin

[Jason Dunn]

I wondered thatt as well. If not it would have been better had I created a new account. With the 4700 just around the corner I will need a new Vaja case :D

Well it should sure be silly of me to expect people to re-subscribe if I didn't give them the same benefits as before, right? ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

so to confirm, when I renew in november I 'll be eligible for a new vaja case coupon and a new gamebox game, even though I've already redeemed those?

Yes, absolutely. I'll purchase more coupons from Vaja and more games from PDAmill. Current subscribers will have to wait a bit until we get our new system in place...

[gai-jin]

cool. This year, can the new gamebox solitare 2 be one of the choices for the free game? :)

gai-jin

[Jason Dunn]

cool. This year, can the new gamebox solitare 2 be one of the choices for the free game? :)

My goal right now is to be able to offer subscriber ANY of PDAmills $9.95 games. I'll keep you posted. :-)

[Janak Parekh]

Well it should sure be silly of me to expect people to re-subscribe if I didn't give them the same benefits as before, right? ;-)
I think people are cynical because mobile carriers don't give renewers any of the promos new subscribers do. :| This is awesome. :mrgreen:

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

I think people are cynical because mobile carriers don't give renewers any of the promos new subscribers do.

I care more about keeping my current subscribers than the carriers do. :lol:

[gai-jin]

Gosh! I feel so loved!

:)

gai-jin

[Kati Compton]

Well it should sure be silly of me to expect people to re-subscribe if I didn't give them the same benefits as before, right? ;-)
I think people are cynical because mobile carriers don't give renewers any of the promos new subscribers do. :| This is awesome. :mrgreen:
So, when do we get to keep our usernames across all forum sites on the 'net? :P ;)

[gai-jin]

I already have the same name at smarphone and dmt.

:P

[Jason Dunn]

So, when do we get to keep our usernames across all forum sites on the 'net? :P ;)

Username portability is a planned feature for 2018 - assuming I control all the forums by then. :lol:

[darrylb]

So - just to continue from where gai-jin left off regarding benefits for subscribers carrying on (noting that like others I am also impressed by your customer retention policies :mrgreen: ), do lifetime subscribers get their benefits renewed annually too?

If so, then does this eventually become unsustainable? Just curious...

[Jonathon Watkins]

Gosh! I feel so loved!

:)

Group hug time! :grouphug:

But meeeeeester Dunn, you are' spoooiling us! :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

So - just to continue from where gai-jin left off regarding benefits for subscribers carrying on (noting that like others I am also impressed by your customer retention policies :mrgreen: ), do lifetime subscribers get their benefits renewed annually too? If so, then does this eventually become unsustainable? Just curious...

The only lifetime subscriber benefit that doesn't renew is the micro light because there's a hard cost associated with that. The Vaja/Sena/PDAmill/other coupons are traded for advertising on Pocket PC Thoughts, so yes, I believe I can scale it properly. It's also worth noting that lifetime subscribers are in the minority compared to other subscribers, so it's working out fairly well so far. :-)

[darrylb]

The only lifetime subscriber benefit that doesn't renew is the micro light because there's a hard cost associated with that. The Vaja/Sena/PDAmill/other coupons are traded for advertising on Pocket PC Thoughts, so yes, I believe I can scale it properly. It's also worth noting that lifetime subscribers are in the minority compared to other subscribers, so it's working out fairly well so far. :-)

Except that now Im probably doing to sign up for one of these too - as soon as Ive got some money :wink: Good show Jason!

[dean_shan]

Well mine didn't auto-renew. That's ok though. I went ahead and became a lifetime member. Figured I might as well, it's not like I'm going to stop coming here.

[PR.]

Sorry to drag this one up but how does one request a new coupon code?

I checked last year and I had an email specifc for the Vaja coupon do I need to repeat this again?

And if I request it now can I use it on a few months time when Vaja have a case available for the 4700? :)

Thanks

[Theo]

Lifetime membership just gets better and better, I hadn't expected these to repeat. :mrgreen:

Enjoy your weekends folks.

[Jason Dunn]

Sorry to drag this one up but how does one request a new coupon code?

You can email me for your code if you want it - we're just about to start development on the Quick Start page, which will be the subscriber page that will keep track of all your codes, coupons, and benefits. Until that happens everything is pretty much locked down, which I feel bad about, but our current system wasn't working very well at all. I'm making every effort to fast-track the development of this page, and I think we'll have something within two weeks.

[dean_shan]

BTW where did you find this picture?

http://www.deanshan.com/drop/thankyou.jpg

[Jason Dunn]

BTW where did you find this picture?

I believe it's a Hemera Photo Object (www.hemera.com).