February 1, 2008 5:45 PM PST

Classmates.com does it again (and not in a good way)

by Kent German
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 5 comments

Last year I ranted about how Classmates.com nickels-and-dimes its users. While every other social networking site (at least that I've seen) doesn't charge its members to read messages, Classmates.com does. If you have a free membership (as I did), and some long lost high school friend decides to contact you, you can't read their message until you pay up for a "gold membership." As if. After thinking about it, I decided to cancel my membership. Here is where it gets really good. While there appeared to be an online option for canceling, I kept getting an "internal service error." I tried canceling online a few times. I was successful only after I e-mailing a representative. However, "gold members" can only cancel by asking the Classmates customer service team to do it.

To me, none of these policies make Classmates.com customer friendly, or easy to use. I contacted Classmates' media representative in November for comment, but I have not received a response. To top it off, I received spam from the company today. Nowhere in the e-mail did the company give an option to "unsubscribe." Argh!

Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (5 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by gavdana February 2, 2008 6:34 PM PST
Kent ... thanks for the post. I agree with most of your remarks about Classmates, but I was under the impression that "reading" e-mail was free. You only have to pay if you wish to send e-mail. Either way, in the world of free services such as facebook, I suspect that Classmates will go away soon.

I sincerely hope that posts like this will get them to change their business model. You'd think with the hundreds of ads on each page, that they could afford to give it away for free.
Reply to this comment
by byloslhi February 2, 2008 8:48 PM PST
Kent is right, only it's if you have a comment on your guestbook and you'd like to read it and see who posted it, you have to "upgrade" to gold (translated: "Pay up!"). I also got spam today from Classmates, and I never even signed up. Someone last year, probably through a typo, entered my email address with her Classmates profiles, and I periodically get notices from Classmates for "Elizabeth." I've tried to cancel or at least stop getting email, but it's not worth my time trying to navigate through a system designed to stop you from doing that. At the bottom of the email, where most legit bulk emails have an "unsubscribe" link, or at the very least a link to your email preferences, Classmates has "If you feel you have received this message in error or for answers to your questions, try our easy-to-use Online Help Center." No thanks. Clicking "delete" is faster.
by mikepratt February 4, 2008 11:37 AM PST
Kent - agree with your points and I hate to use classmates.com as an example given how they are such a spammy site and they do nickel and dime - in addition to bombard you with a ton of ads (the whole idea behind the controversial concept of actually charging for a service is to eliminate the bombardment). Which brings me to what I think is the real point: The web (led by Google - not faulting them) has created a sense that anything/everything if delivered via the web should be free - forcing it to become ad supported. In some cases the ads are NOT related to the content thereby keeping the inherent conflicts of unbiased commentary out of it. In others the ads are directly related (in Google's eyes - the real value of it all). Well, depending on the service, that causes real problems as to where the incentive is...to the guy who pays to advertise or the product/service you provide? It's sad because if presented properly, people would, indeed, pay for certain services. Hell...they slap down $4.95/mo for Club Penguin! - me included) and I'm ok with that. It makes for a richer service than if my 8 yr old was bombarded with ads to support the site. That doesn't mean all things should charge a fee. I admit I'd be reluctant to do FB if I had to pay. SO what choice is FB left with? Good question. isn't that what the debate is all about right now?
Reply to this comment
by vintagefellow March 18, 2009 12:50 PM PDT
I signed up for the 3 month classmates.com offer for $15.00. I do not wish to continue after that, but can't find a way to contact them to confirm. They claim to have a customer care department, but I can't find it. Can anyone help? greshea@aol.com
Reply to this comment
by annie7687 June 30, 2009 8:44 PM PDT
EXACTLY! They keep charging me $15 a month and I can NOT find a way to call or e-mail them to stop the charge!! Does ANYONE have a way to contact them??
Reply to this comment
(5 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

About Webware

Say No to boxed software! The future of applications is online delivery and access. Software is passé. Webware is the new way to get things done.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Webware topics

15 sites that went kaput in 2009

Web sites launch all the time, but they also shut their doors. We highlight 15 that bit the dust this year.

Top 10 news stories of the decade

Let the debate begin: Was the iPhone more important than iTunes? Was anything bigger than Google finding a great business model? CNET offers its list of the 10 most important stories of the '00s.

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right