TINSTAFL means there is no such thing as a free lunch. It is an engineering philosophy that says a perpetual energy machine doesn't exist. Another variation is, "If it seems too good to be true then it is too good to be true." As an example, you may have received a "check" from Readers Digest saying that you've won a million dollars (almost). In small letters at the bottom is printed "not negotiable".
Well the grinches in the top floors of the Readers Digest management building have sunk to new lows. In July a letter came saying my subscription was running out. They offered me a huge reduction in the cover cost and in addition they would send a year's subscription to a friend. But wait, that is not all. If I paid immediately they would send it to a second friend as well. I mailed in my $10.00 They cashed the check the next day. A month later I get a similar offer for $14.00 this time. Having forgotten my previous transaction I send in the $14.00 plus the names of two friends. I have now exhausted my entire supply of friends' names and still have not got an issuse from Readers Digest. It is now October and I get the offer in the mail again. I tried sneaking the envelope to the mail but was caught by my sweet wife. Janeil says, "Didn't you already renew?" I looked up the check register and sure enough there were cashed checks for July and August.
Janeil contacted Readers Digest and asked them what was going on. They replied immediately by e-mail. They explained that they had indeed cashed the two checks. However the offer was for the new friends subscriptions, not for renewing mine. For the reduced price of $10.00 I could get mine renewed. Since I still had the latest October offer in my hands I carefully read it to see where I had missed the friends versus me renewal. It sure looked to me like it was me that was renewing. I answered the e-mail telling them they could kiss me goodbye as a subscriber. They replied asking me if I would like to take a customer satisfaction survey. I took the survey. I'll bet I get a package containing 12 steak knives and a bill for $25.00 as a result.
Another rip off is their book club. They send you 4 novels for 99 cents. Afterward you get novels periodically by mail for $25 each. Trying to stop this flow of novels is like paddling upstream without a paddle. It is nearly impossible to stop.
On their sweepstakes offers of a million dollars: If you multiply the chance of winning which is 1 in 25,000,000 then you get an "expected return" of a quarter. The long run return after subtracting the cost of the stamp is a loss of 19 cents. In addition you have licked a nasty envelope seal, wasted time walking to the mail box, and spent sleepless nights waiting for the winners' van to show up in your driveway with cameras whirling.
TINSTAFL has once again been proved. Whatever you do don't let them get your credit card number or your new mailing address is likely to be the county jail where you will be awaiting trial on mail fraud, unpaid bills, and obscene phone calls.
If you have ever wondered where all of the investment bankers are hiding out waiting to cash their big bonus checks you might want to search through the back halls of the Readers Digest executive rest rooms.
