First off, I want to say that this is not meant to put down the Alliance Program or the members that have chosen to subscribe / re-subscribe. It is meant more as constructive criticism in the hopes that a compelling reason to re-subscribe will come about. Having said that, I chose not to renew based mainly on the decreased value of the subscription versus what was originally promised.

1. The magazine is apparently now free to all. This was originally the biggest selling point of the NAM Alliance for me. The promised 6 issues per year never materialized based on my 1 year charter membership which has expired before Issue 6 was released.

2. Implementation of the garage feature took forever, and I just don't see what it adds to a 1 car account that can't be put in my signature.

3. The alliance discounts were also a late addition and are nothing that I can't get by negotiating with local shops or sponsors of other MINI websites.

4. The larger PM and Gallery space are nice, but I don't think that I will miss them at all. A quick cleaning out of unnecessary messages in my PM box left me plenty of room.

5. The custom title is nice for some, but I just preferred the 5th gear designation and asked a while back for that to be made an option for alliance members.

I did like having the snazzy photo next to my name, and the fancy grill badge/refrigerator magnet but that was really not worth $40 to me, especially in today's economy. Again, I hope that something good does come out of this and that there will come a reason for me to re-subscribe.

 

A few of those are reasons are why I choose to never become a member. I'm satisfied with what I have (notice I didn't say happy )

 

I think you made the right call.

 

I received this email :Your subscription to NAM Alliance Membership (Annual) Subscriptionhas been cancelled by North American Motoring.

You will not be billed for this subscription again.

funny but they billed my account the $40.00
what gives!!

 

That happened to me too. I ranted back to NAM a bit, but subsequently got an email from Mark explaining the problem (had to do with automatic PayPal payments that did not get turned off correctly when he went on to greener pastures).

My $40 was already refunded back to my PayPal balance. This will likely occur for you too without intervention. My separate payment for renewal is still on the books and, I assume, in force.

 

So the Alliance magazine has been discontinued, but the membership will now be available for $20 instead of $40.

This makes no sense to me. The magazine was the reason to HAVE the membership (had it been done as intended, with it only available to members)! Why would I spend $20 now for a grille badge and sticker??

 

I didn't re-up either. What was the point? I'm sure IB would like my subscription dollars but I failed to see the value I got from them. Even at $20 I see no real value added.

 

I can't disagree with any of the points made here. The garage and badge are about the only Alliance membership perks I used. The Magazine was great and I understand them keeping it public to all while they tried to build the Alliance up further and refine the magazine. Pity it didn't make it. I went ahead and renewed since I still am holding out hope that something more could become of it but unless a lot of vendor's start signing on with discounts and some other value adders I probably won't renew again.
I worry that with IB running things like a business rather than an enthusiast more dedicated to the health and growth of the community it's just not going to work out. There's a lot of people on here who do do a lot for the community but even with their level of commitment there's only so much that can be accomplished under the environment created by for-profit forum management.

 

Where is this information?

 

It was sent as a PM to all current Alliance members by the Internet Brands Community Manager.

 

I was not willing to cough up $40 for the benefits, but since the price is now
$20, I signed up.

 

FWIW, I don't think I received a PM from them explaining this. For me it's not a big deal as I just renewed.

 

Seems I was left out of the loop and I was a contributor to the magazine......

 

at least they renewed you guys.... I was told i was getting a 6month extension and a day or so later, im no longer a member...nor have I got a reply back from the IB folks

 

Well, I can tell you I'm bitterly disappointed...as my car was going to be the featured Mini in the forthcoming issue! Darn it. I took lots of snazzy photos, wrote lots of thoughtful text, but now it's all for naught.
Oh well, them's the breaks.

Relative to what other things I spend my money on, the Alliance membership was not one of the big deals.

 

Send your article to MC2 Dr.Phil, I'm sure they would use it and we would love to read about it.

 

^^^ +1

 

That's a good idea, provided MC2 is still around! With their distribution plummeting like a rock, and the economy, don't be too surprised to hear if MC2 goes the way of the dodo in the coming year...

I like it, and have been a subscriber since day 1, but I get the impression that it's a struggling venture, unfortunately.

 

Producing a magazine, even bi-monthly one is no easy task when those doing so have other jobs and commitiments.

Too bad the two camps couldn't combine resources and efforts making just one FANTASTIC Magazine..............That's My Make a Wish for this year......

 

Sorry - my PM inbox got flooded, I am trying to go through and respond.

As for the 6 month extension, that is, as promised, going to occur, but as its a manual process for us to do it, it may take a day or two to occur.
Adrian

 

I feel your pain. My wif's car was also going to be featured and we worked really hard on the project and Jon (EveryTimeIDie027) took some phenomenal shots. I went ahead and made my own faux feature using our writing and pictures. I figured since it was written and photographed by us, that it wouldn't break any copywrites. You can check it out here:

http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...ad.php?t=14436

 

Yea, I sent an email and haven't heard anything as of yet either. The wife and I became members about the same day and I am no longer a member, got the refund, but no PM, and she is still a member. Not sure if she got a PM or an extension, or what.

We would rather just not be members

 

Count me in as another disappointed member. I like the magazine.

batrugger - That is a awesome article you put together. Great coverage in MC2 also. Most of all your wife's MINI is fantastic.

Greg

 

For some reason they made me a member again.....

 

I guess once you've joined you're in for life. Guess you'll get that new NAM badge.

NAM lifer....