Subscribe to everyone now?

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Why is it that it seems I subscribe to your service and now a lot of articles I click to read require yet another subscription?  I know you guys are spending all your waking moments trying to get clicks to make money but I started reading your posts because at one point they were insightful and helpful when making investment decisions but now I think this site is all about making the green versus offering solid information. The articles now all have a slant toward certain investments and now generally have a certain air of smelly greed to them. It’s not always easy to do research but there’s enough free information out here that is enough to make my own decisions.  I was hoping this site was above that and the little advertising you do was enough to keep you on greenbacks. But as usual all good things come to an end.  

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SA Editor Daniel Shvartsman
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Hi surfincj1,

Thanks for the message. We have three different subscription products (or types of products) - Essential, which gets you tools, access to our archive of articles and transcripts, and a lot of data on stocks; PRO+, which provides a more customized experience of high quality investing ideas for advanced investors; and Marketplace, which features investing communities offering exclusive research and guidance.

I'm not sure which initial subscription you're referring to because I don't see any paid subscription on your account, but the products are discrete, except that PRO+ incorporates all of Essential.

In terms of the business angle, I hear you. We've gone the subscription direction primarily because it enables us to incentivize and pay for articles that are on compelling investments, rather than just the popular tickers (AAPL, TSLA, etc.) that an ad-backed model incentivizes. We work editorially to ensure the quality on the site stays high quality, but if you ever have examples of something that doesn't hit the mark, email us at editorial-issues@seekingalpha.com, we would love to hear from you.

Quality is subjective, but our aims are the same as they've been, to help investors make better informed decisions. I'm biased, but the quality of articles on the site seems much higher than it was when I joined the site in 2012, though we're always working to do better.

I'm not sure if that's a satisfying response, but I hope that explains the business decisions we're making.


Best,

Daniel Shvartsman

Director of Marketplace