Beware of digital magazine subscription price increases.

I happened to be searching magazines on Google Play -- still no Juxtapoz or Metropolis -- and discovered that my subscription to Popular Mechanics was set to automatically double when my renewal came up in November.  From $9.99 to $19.99, that's crazy, but it's actually the uniform digital subscription price no matter where you get it from, Amazon, Zinio, B&N or Google Play.

But here's where it just blows my mind: The digital price is substantially higher ($19.99 / 1 year) compared to the lowest print subscription price via Amazon ($12.00 / 2 years).  If you go directly through Popular Mechanics' website, the 2-year price for print subscription is the same price ($20) as the single-year digital ($19.99).

A quick check shows that all of Hearst's magazines have gone up in price.  Nuts.  It turns out, this change happened without so much of an uproar against the increases.  And they're not the only ones doing so.

"Digital pricing gives magazine companies a tool to begin training consumers to pay more for content, and some of these new prices have even made their way into print. Condé Nast has raised prices significantly on the print edition of Wired since it launched its digital edition in 2011, while Hearst has been testing new print-subscription pricing that may do away with ultracheap promotional offers."

Well, that's just half the story.  What we're talking about is digital subs pricing jacked up.

"Might the price go higher? Early data says it could. A magazine’s price isn’t among the top reasons readers buy — or don’t. As Hearst interacts with consumers and reads app reviews, it sees that customer satisfaction with the product is by far the key driver in gaining and keeping subscribers."

You know what?  Screw that BS. I'm going to drop any digital magazine if the price goes up above the print subscription rate.

Firstly, digital means you don't need to take back unsold copies.  Secondly, it also means that you don't have to worry about mismatched orders to demand.  Thirdly digital means that you can cut the cost of printing contracts.  Fourthly, ad rates are based on the number of subscribers, and ads account for the vast majority of income, not subs, so it behooves publishers to increase subscribers -- digital or print -- to maximize their ad rate potential.

If the total cost of a single print issue is $1, your digital cost shouldn't be exceptionally higher, if at all greater.

"Pricing strategies vary, with some titles offering the same rate regardless of print or digital subscriptions.  This is a smart strategy to increase their margins as digital is less expensive to produce and distribute. Further, it’s much easier to acquire readers globally given all the platforms out there: Apple’s newsstand, Flipboard and many others."

Come November, I'm dropping Popular Mechanics.