Yahoo! Tests Pay Services Package

[John Corn]

As perhaps its first step toward converting its millions of users into paying customers, Yahoo! (Quote, Company Info) quietly launched a pilot subscription plan Thursday aimed at encouraging its users to pay for a set of buffed-up personalized features, as well as a chance to try Yahoo!'s premium services, like gaming and auctions.

Called Yahoo! Plus, the $9.95-per-month service gives users a choice of a variety of services, such as a customized toolbar that travels with users, allowing them to choose from 60 buttons to directly hit favorite destinations on the Web. Plus also comes with anti-virus software via Computer Associates' eTrust EZ Antivirus, as well as spam control and ZoneAlarm hacker protection. Users also get 25 MB of e-mail storage and 50 MB data storage, in addition to parental controls. According to a Yahoo! spokesperson, pricing and features can vary.


Full Story (http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/1492541)

[lee635]

I like the antivirus, spam and firewall aspects of the service, the rest is just fluff. Paying for buttons???

How about a "banner free" yahoo site for paying customers? Also, how about access to premium, super fast servers for web searches, etc? Or 20% off all auction fees at yahoo auctions?

$10 a month sounds awfully steep especially given that there are free web-based antivirus checkers available already.

[raj2001]

What I hate is that they nag you with "upgrade your space for $$" ads, when most of the space is taken up with spam in my bulk mail folder.

I left Net@ddress USA.net after 4 years because they wanted to charge money for "free email". I'm sure as hell not paying anyone else. I already pay for my ISP's address and get all those ads, why shou ld I pay Yahoo?

[Kevin]

Are the games still free of charge?

[Gemini365i]

LOL. I will NEVER EVER pay for anything Yahoo. I use their email and that's IT! once you give those jokesters your credit cards info, you will have HELL trying to get something fixed if there is a billing problem. I had to do a backcharge on my cc, because those bastards thought they could hijack 20.00 from me.

JE

[lee635]

Let's get real, Yahoo is not the Wall Street Journal (one of a few pay sites to actually make a little money).

I think Yahoo is going down a rathole with this "standalone monthly fee". I suspect that because only a small number of folks will sign up, and many of those will drop after a short time (churn), a hefty percentage of that fee is going to cover costs of billing, tracking, resolving disputes, etc. instead of providing value added services.

They'd be better off partnering with some DSL provider. USWest DSL is now advertised as MSN DSL or something like that. Yahoo would be better served to develop those sorts of alliances.

Or, as banks do, offer extra services to customers who use more of your services. For example if you maintain an active yahoo email address, agree to set yahoo as your homepage and buy or sell at least one item every 3 months on yahoo auctions or yahoo travel, then you get access to the premium services. Or if you sign up for the yahoo credit card, you get access to premium services.

[Steve Mehs]

The coolest service yahoo ever offered for free was Yahoo by Phone, IMO. I didn't use it for the computer generated email readings or the finance/sports/weather updates, but rather free voice mail. Why pay Verizon $7/month for voice mail service, when I could dial 1-800-MY-YAHOO punch in my user# and PIN and have free voice mail from anywhere in the country. If someone wanted to send me a Vmail all they had to do was call the 800# and punch in my ID# (reguardless if they had any yahoo acoount or not) and leave the message. What was cool is you could not only check your VMail box from any phone, but also any PC with internet access, you hear the message via yahoo's audio player plug in. Very Cool service that was free from 3 or 4 months then they started to charge $5/month for it. I do miss it. Excite offered a similar service, but instead of a 1-800# it used locals phone numbers and Buffalo wasn't available lat time I checked.

Looks like the service changed a little since it was first introduced.
http://phone.yahoo.com/yums/tour?.refer=

[Geronimo]

I won't pay. I use Yahoo but primarily because it offers a wide variety of services for free and i live with the ads. If they offer less or charge why stay?