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I did the beta version, when it was free, and it was definitely worth the money then.  ;)   Once they went to a monthly subscription I dropped it, because the monthly cost was ridiculously high I thought . . . but I see they have reduced it since then.  IDK, if you will use it a lot, it's worth it I think. Problem is I already own a lot of GC courses, so having paid for them, I'm less eager to pay a subscription as well. I think if you were just starting out, and you didn't already own a bunch of courses, it would probably be an excellent deal.  

 

As far as using the subscription for self-ed, I don't think it's worth it. There are so many free college courses available.  But that will depend on one's financial position, really.

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It's just too expensive at $50 a month, imo. 

 

You can watch all you want, yes, but there's only so much time. For that amount of money, I could buy at least 4-6 courses over a year's time , or 96 to 144 half hour lectures. 

 

The courses I own will patiently wait for to watch them, without costing me any more money. Theoretically, I love that you can pick and choose lectures from different courses, but I did the beta and discovered that we really didn't use the streaming. With courses I own, they are sitting right there and planned as part of my class, and they get watched. 

 

After watching, I can either keep or sell. 

 

For "let's see if we can find something interesting on X topic" purposes, I find that Ted Talks and youTube have plenty. 

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I also did the Beta test and told them in my review that I would love to have it if it were $20-$25, true to my word as soon as they dropped the $$ I signed up.  We love the subscription, I've had DVD courses before (bought used) and never watched them.  With the streaming I'll sit and watch different courses on my tablet before bed or when I'm bored.  Kids are also watching them for school and much prefer the lectures to lots of textbook reading.  

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Agreed, that was my conclusion exactly, but it's not that price now - It's $20/month, which is much more reasonable.

 

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/viewplans

 

Huh, clicking that link still shows $50 per month or $30 per month if paid annually for me.

 

Are they showing different links based on IP locale?

 

Or maybe it's a cookie issue?

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Huh, clicking that link still shows $50 per month or $30 per month if paid annually for me.

 

Are they showing different links based on IP locale?

 

Or maybe it's a cookie issue?

 

That's really interesting . . . I had no idea that they'd try to sell it at different prices to different users. Or maybe they are offering beta testers a lower price and then plan to jack it up?  That makes me kind of suspicious about that price, and its potential longevity . . . 

Edited by Chrysalis Academy
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I just signed out to see what shows up on their plan page and I still get the $19.99 offer.  I'd email or call them, here's the # I got (DD was having trouble using her tablet, realized she was trying to go through her browser not the App). 

 

Hello, Please give our Customer Care team a call at 1-800-832-2412 or email them at customerservice@thegreatcourses.com. They are able to help with all purchasing and service questions. Thanks for being a fan!

 

 

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When I click on the link I get a choice of $49.99 per month or an average of $29.99 but paid in full for a year ($359.99), I am not logged into my account when I see these prices.  Compared to buying a couple of their courses (even on sale) not a bad deal if you plan on watching them.  Disadvantage is that you don't own them and therefore to watch in the future you would need to subscribe or buy.  Also-need to be on-line to watch I presume.

 

 

Even at $20/month, that is still more expensive than audible. I'd never be able to listen to more courses each month to beat the price per course I get on audible

 

I think if one wanted the video versions though it is a different decision.  But audible does have the upside of being yours and you can still listen to them after a year or month of service.

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Even at $20/month, that is still more expensive than audible. I'd never be able to listen to more courses each month to beat the price per course I get on audible

 

 I think if one wanted the video versions though it is a different decision.  But audible does have the upside of being yours and you can still listen to them after a year or month of service.

 

Yep, I wish I were a better listener! If I have audio only, I tend to zone out much more easily than if I'm sitting there watching the DVD. I have no idea why, because it's usually just a person standing there talking, not lots of graphics. 

 

Maybe I need to try listening at the table with a notebook, rather than while driving or walking? 

 

I do have audio courses and listen to them, but it takes me a lot more time (due to having to listen to parts more than once). 

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How weird.  It shows $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year ($15 a month) for me.  That's the only price it's ever showed to me.

 

I beta tested, and also see this price. I would definitely call.

 

My kids are still too young for most of the lectures, but my main issue is that the whole library of lectures is still not available. Purportedly, new videos are slowly being added, thus increasing the value proposition over time (if the price remains the same). I will likely subscribe in the future, though.

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I'm seeing the higher price ($50/month or $30/month if you subscribe for a whole year).

I own several on DVD & don't get around to watching them. I do get around to the audio ones that I bought through Audible. Those actually get some use.

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Yep, I wish I were a better listener! If I have audio only, I tend to zone out much more easily than if I'm sitting there watching the DVD. I have no idea why, because it's usually just a person standing there talking, not lots of graphics. 

Maybe I need to try listening at the table with a notebook, rather than while driving or walking? 

I do have audio courses and listen to them, but it takes me a lot more time (due to having to listen to parts more than once). 

 

I don't have the time to sit in front of a screen and watch 36 lectures about the Vikings for 18 hours while not doing much else.

 

We listen to the lectures in the car. Perfect for long drives, and it is time we can't really use for much else. We're captive audience, can't go anywhere, and there are no distractions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Even at $20/month, that is still more expensive than audible. I'd never be able to listen to more courses each month to beat the price per course I get on audible

 

I use audible for GC, too. The only thing that beats it is getting the courses from the library, if available.

 

The one advantage to streaming that would make me look at it (assuming i could get a $20/month price) is that we don't always use all the lectures within one set. I'll get a Great Course from the library, but only listen to specific lectures.  For example, I'd love to be able to search for all the individual GC lectures about a certain book we're reading, or about a specific topic we're discussing, ... and be able to listen to just those individual lectures. I don't need the entire course.  I could see GC streaming being useful for that.

 

The regular subscription price is way too high, though, for the convenience of not having to bring home a bag full of GC courses or purchasing from audible. At $20/month, it gets more tempting.

Edited by yvonne
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  • 2 weeks later...

I just figured out how to get the $20 a month price.

 

I was also seeing $50 a month which irked me a little since we've been customers for 15 years. I was prepared to buy Photography 1&2 from the regular site and on the detail page I noticed an option to sign up for a free trial month with $20/month thereafter.

 

We went ahead and enrolled and omg...we are already using the heck out of it! 10yo son is doing robotics and mental math...I never would have sprung for those. One daughter is doing the cooking and baking courses and another is working her way through all the photography. College daughter is using Shakespeare to round out the class she's taking. I don't think I would have purchased any of them to keep on hand. So in my opinion it's totally worth it.

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I just figured out how to get the $20 a month price.

 

I was also seeing $50 a month which irked me a little since we've been customers for 15 years. I was prepared to buy Photography 1&2 from the regular site and on the detail page I noticed an option to sign up for a free trial month with $20/month thereafter.

 

We went ahead and enrolled and omg...we are already using the heck out of it! 10yo son is doing robotics and mental math...I never would have sprung for those. One daughter is doing the cooking and baking courses and another is working her way through all the photography. College daughter is using Shakespeare to round out the class she's taking. I don't think I would have purchased any of them to keep on hand. So in my opinion it's totally worth it.

I get the $20 offer when I go to TGC+ site but on the regular TGC site it's listed for $50 per month.  

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I just figured out how to get the $20 a month price.

 

I was also seeing $50 a month which irked me a little since we've been customers for 15 years. I was prepared to buy Photography 1&2 from the regular site and on the detail page I noticed an option to sign up for a free trial month with $20/month thereafter.

 

We went ahead and enrolled and omg...we are already using the heck out of it! 10yo son is doing robotics and mental math...I never would have sprung for those. One daughter is doing the cooking and baking courses and another is working her way through all the photography. College daughter is using Shakespeare to round out the class she's taking. I don't think I would have purchased any of them to keep on hand. So in my opinion it's totally worth it.

$20 sounds much better..... Thank you!

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com

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It's just too expensive at $50 a month, imo. 

 

You can watch all you want, yes, but there's only so much time. For that amount of money, I could buy at least 4-6 courses over a year's time , or 96 to 144 half hour lectures. 

 

The courses I own will patiently wait for to watch them, without costing me any more money. Theoretically, I love that you can pick and choose lectures from different courses, but I did the beta and discovered that we really didn't use the streaming. With courses I own, they are sitting right there and planned as part of my class, and they get watched. 

 

After watching, I can either keep or sell. 

 

For "let's see if we can find something interesting on X topic" purposes, I find that Ted Talks and youTube have plenty. 

 

For $600 a year, I could buy a ton of used courses and they're mine!  I can also recoup a portion of that cost when I sell them.

 

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I just figured out how to get the $20 a month price.

 

I was also seeing $50 a month which irked me a little since we've been customers for 15 years. I was prepared to buy Photography 1&2 from the regular site and on the detail page I noticed an option to sign up for a free trial month with $20/month thereafter.

 

We went ahead and enrolled and omg...we are already using the heck out of it! 10yo son is doing robotics and mental math...I never would have sprung for those. One daughter is doing the cooking and baking courses and another is working her way through all the photography. College daughter is using Shakespeare to round out the class she's taking. I don't think I would have purchased any of them to keep on hand. So in my opinion it's totally worth it.

 

Thanks for this tip. It finally worked for me! 

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I just clicked that link, and it shows $50/month or $30/month if you pay for the year.

 

Same exact thing when I click on the trial via the main site.

 

Apparently, they are really playing around with price!

That's so strange. Dumb question, but are you signed in when you click on the offer on the main gc page?

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That's so strange. Dumb question, but are you signed in when you click on the offer on the main gc page?

 

Hmm, I'm not sure, let me check. 

 

ETA: It's the same whether I'm signed in or not, on both websites. 

 

Regional? I'm in Louisiana. 

Edited by katilac
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If I go to the regular GC site on my phone, the safari browser gives me prices that are 50% of the prices in being offered on the Chrome browser. I can't figure out what they're doing. My mailing address is AZ.

 

I remember feeling put out when Amazon didn't send me an invitation for Echo even though I didn't want one anyway. Not sure what they're trying to accomplish. It's not like people aren't going to find out. It's the Internet, lol

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  • 2 months later...

 

Thank you for the link. :)

 

Someone on the group suggested using a different computer to get the lower rate.  It worked!

 

When I first found out about this service a few months ago,  I was going to subscribe but I hesitated.  When I went back to the website later, the price went up and was too much for our family.  I was so bummed!  I kept returning to the site and checking to see if the price had changed - using MY computer every time.

 

This afternoon I tried using my daughter's computer and the $179 annual subscription was offered.  The website said $29/month, but when I clicked on the free trial the lower price was offered ($19.99/month OR $14.99/month for an annual subscription).

 

I'm so excited!

Edited by PollyOR
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I'd like to try this out next year, but I'm wondering if we can download the streaming videos vs. watch them.  Our internet works best between the hours of 1 am and 7am.  It's so carpy for streaming during the day (and even worse from 6pm-midnight), it's ruined live-online classes as an option.

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I'd like to try this out next year, but I'm wondering if we can download the streaming videos vs. watch them.  Our internet works best between the hours of 1 am and 7am.  It's so carpy for streaming during the day (and even worse from 6pm-midnight), it's ruined live-online classes as an option.

I don't think so.  What you might want to do is look on Amazon and especially Ebay for used DVD or CD copies of the courses you want.

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Very frustrated right now. I did the beta testing and at the end when it offered the subscription we decided to do it. Got an email that the payment didn't go through, please try again. After discussion we decided not to go that route after all and instead purchased three courses. After seeing this thread last night I got on to see what price I would get...it went through after all. We've had full access since October and didn't know. No email or anything to tell us they pushed the payment through again. 😡

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Very frustrated right now. I did the beta testing and at the end when it offered the subscription we decided to do it. Got an email that the payment didn't go through, please try again. After discussion we decided not to go that route after all and instead purchased three courses. After seeing this thread last night I got on to see what price I would get...it went through after all. We've had full access since October and didn't know. No email or anything to tell us they pushed the payment through again. 😡

 

 

Wow!  That is frustrating!

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Anne- I'd contact them. They might give you a refund (or extended access?) if they can tell you haven't used it.

 

I opened the link in my current browser & got the higher cost. I opened it in an incognito browser & once I clicked on the 'view plans' button, I got the cheaper offer. Weird stuff.

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I was one of the beta testers and an early subscriber.  After reading these posts, I just emailed the company this morning about some type of consideration.  I took a screen shot of the lower prices just in case.  In my experience, The Great Courses has always had excellent and responsive customer service.  I'm hoping they will extend my access.  Have to wait and see.

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Yes, this whole thing is weird. I would encourage anyone who wants the lower price to call them, though.  In my experience, the company has fantastic customer service and is very responsive.

 

I've already bought so many darn courses I've decided it isn't worth it to subscribe, whatever the price.

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I was grousing to dh about only seeing the higher price, and he told me that sometimes companies charge higher prices on Apple browsers (I guess because Apple users are rich??)  I had the high price on the mac, iPhone and his iPad.  So I opened Internet Explorer on a Windows 10 virtual machine, and when I clicked free trial, it gave me the 14.99/19.99 price, instead of 29.99/49.99.  So if you are an Apple family, try a Windows machine.

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