This is not an unusual practice in magazine subscriptions, and it also occurs with things like credit cards. A company will send out different offers ($X for Y years for a subscription, or $W annual fee with Z% interest rate for a credit card) -- with different values for W, X, Y, Z to different potential new or renewing customers. They are trying to figure out an offer that maximizes their revenue, even taking into account the few subscribers that will leave. Different demographic groups can even get different offers. Welcome to the statistics of marketing. If you are an outlier, your can passively quit (and thus contribute to their experiment), find a different channel to purchase, or call them up and negotiate.
Stereophile Scamming Subscribers?
I just got my renewal notice in the mail. I had previously subscribed for 3 years, and now it was expiring. I have been a subscriber for over 20 years. The notice stated I could renew for the low, low price of $33/year if I commit for 2 years. I figured I would go online and renew that way. I searched out Sterophile.com and lo and behold, a NEW subscription costs only $15/yr with a 2-year commitment.
What are they doing??