Sirius XM Radio. Is it worth it? Maybe.

I have been a Sirius XM subscriber almost since the very beginning.

Before Pandora, Spotify or Slacker it was about the only thing around where you could get commercial free music, especially if you were out in the middle of nowhere.

Howard Stern is Sirius Radio

We also have iPods and other devices where you can store 1000's of songs on something the size of a pack of cigarettes. At least for all of us over 40 who actually bought records or CD's. Now days you don't have to buy 10 songs for each one song you like.

Sirius has been adding subscribers. Mostly because almost all new cars that come with it for free for some period of time.

So is it worth renewing once the free trial or your last subscription is up? By the way, you can cancel at anytime and get the balance of your subscription fee back.

Do you need Oprah or Howard Stern? Do you live somewhere you can't get cellphone service or internet in your home or car? Are you an over the road trucker? Then maybe, just maybe you need satellite radio. Maybe you just want it.

Well if you do then here is something you should know.

As I said before. I have been a subscriber for years. So many years in fact that it turns out I have a package that they no longer offer. Now usually that means you were grandfathered in on some great deal that they no longer offer and you can't get it that cheap ever again. Here's where you should start laughing.

Only in the world of subscription services are you grandfathered in to a bad deal, and they never offer you the better deal unless you speak up. That's right, they just let you go along paying more, usually much more than they charge new customers. That alone should be enough to make you want to say goodbye forever. But does that make us walk out the door and never look back. Of course not. Before they let you go they will make amends. Why? Because some of your money is better than none of your money.

Now how did I know to look into the new deals, after all, they just charge your credit card at renewal time. Well, if you are an annual subscriber they send you a notice once a year that outlines what you are paying and how much they are going to whack your credit card for.

AUTOMATIC SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL NOTICE

They are warning me in big letters I'm about to get screwed. Then they go on to thank me for being such a loyal listener. Not customer but listener. That sounds so much better than customer.

All told for One car and one internet log on that I can either listen on my computer or iPhone, the measly sum of, $273.50 per year. Holly Cow Bat Man.

More than $20 a month. You can get commercial free Pandora and Spotify for that and almost add Netflix as well. I like Stern but not that much. Once he goes Sirius can kiss half their "Loyal Listeners" goodbye.

So anyway, I call the number on the letter. The number that you can usually find on a letter that most people probably don't look at. Try to cancel on their website. You can't. You're lucky if you can even find the number anywhere on there. It's there but it's hidden. I'm giving it to you here so you can call today and cancel or at least get a better deal. 1-888-245-7496

So here's how my conversation with the nice woman from Sirius goes, and she was very nice.

Me: I just got this letter from your company and I would like to cancel.
Her: We see you have been a loyal listener since xxxx. I also see you have a plan we no longer offer. I can give you our All Access Plan. It includes everything you have now for $220 a year. (they add taxes and fees to those rates you see on the website).

Me: Sorry, that's way to much for as little as I listen.
Her: Hold on. .........  We do have a special offer that you can get one year of All Access for $129 a year.
Me: No, that's still over $10 a month for something I might listen to a few hours a month.

Her: Well, if that still to much we do have a 6 month offer for $53
Me: That sounds reasonable. So that would be $106 for the year?
Her: No. That offer changes to $44 for every three months after the 6 months is up. We will automatically charge your credit card unless you call us to cancel.
Me: Will you send me a reminder letter?
Her: No, you will have to put it on your calendar if you want to cancel.

Me:That's too much effort. How about a one year deal for a better price?
Her: I do have $120 available and on that deal we will send you a letter.

Me: You know what. I'm sorry I wasted our time but I'm just not willing to pay $10 a month for your service.
Her: Hold on one last time and let me see what I can do. ........ 1 minute later. I have one last offer I can make. I can offer you one year off All Access for $80 and we will send out a reminder at the end of the year.

Me: OK

There is one other offer they will make you a few months after you cancel as well. They send you a letter where they offer your 6 months for $25. It does not include internet access though. At least with I.A. we can have it in one car and use our iPhone in the other car or anywhere else we have internet. You are not just limited to listening in your car. Actually the car is the only place I listen.

So the real question is did I save almost $200 or did I frivolously spend $80 that I really didn't need to ? Pretty soon, $80 here and $80 there adds up to real money.

Next, DirecTV. They use the same tactics but my service has a $300 cancelation penalty right now. Is it worth paying it? Just Maybe but that's another post.

Remember. Do the math. Numbers have no emoticons.