Has Anyone bought one of these? $550.00 in Canada. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I wouldn't touch one right now.

The solvency of Sirius XM is at serious issue and they charge a pretty substantial fee to switch to a new receiver. If they survive they really need to merge into one network ASAP and reallocate that bandwidth, unfortunately that requires all new hardware for subscribers. That's against the terms of their merger, but they seem to be ignoring all the other terms so why not? If they aren't going to operate as two distinct services as they promised there's absolutely no sense running the same stuff through two sets of sattelites.

seems like from a business perspective the best reason to offer a lifetime membership is when you are SURE that your business wont be around for a lifetime:eek:

I bought a Lifetime Subscription here in the US back on 06/2005 and have only used one radio swap. It's a great deal for those who take good care of there equipment or don't need to purchase the latest radio's when they first come out.

Considering a Lifetime sub covers four individual receivers, and each one could last from 4-6 years, your looking at 16-24 years of Sirius XM.

I also totally disagree that the timing is poor. The more subscriptions the company gets the more revenue it generates, which in turn means the debt is reduced and the company becomes more prosperous.

Bottom line - Sirius XM is not going out of business anytime soon. People are just panicking.

Sirius XM is not going out of business anytime soon. People are just panicking.

That's a pretty bold statement by you considering how bad of shape the company is in. They owe ONE billion $'s this year and have yet to make a dime in profits.

$550 is a lot of money. IMO you might want to be more careful in throwing advice around when dealing with someone elses money.

Just my 2 cents..

I wouldn't touch a lifetime sub right now. I'd think it would be better to do a one year sub and see how things work out. Once that is up then get the lifetime deal if it makes sense. $550 is seven years of XM at their $77 per year rate!

Bottom line - Sirius XM is not going out of business anytime soon. People are just panicking.
Define "soon". I can't imagine them being around in 5 years.

Agreed. The stock price is 11 cents, they've never made one penny in profit, there is over $1 billion in debt coming due this year and they're overpaying for too much content.
Add the drastic drop in car sales due to the economy and you've got a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn't go more than month to month at this point.

I think it is well worth it. There is no visible competition and since they are merging they have essentially cornered the market for satellite radio.

I think it is well worth it. There is no visible competition and since they are merging they have essentially cornered the market for satellite radio.

But is satellite radio actually "worth it"? Just because a car has the ability to play it doesn't mean everyone is signing up when they drive off the lot. Also, when it comes to trimming monthly expenses some might actually decide it is no longer worth it. I listen in my wife's car, my car, and online at work. If they raise my rate for online access and my car (it's the second radio on my account) then I'll be cancelling. That leaves just my wife's car and she wouldn't miss it if it was gone. At that point I'm hardly getting any value out of the service so that may go as well.

I'd be curious to see the churn rate for the rest of the year.

I had three subscriptions for Sirius. Now I have two and do not plan on renewing those unless I get a great deal and they come out with a "Real" solution for Sirius/XM on an iPhone. If that occurs, I will keep at least one subscription... maybe two.

As for the Sirius being around in one year.. I think there is a good chance with Chap 11, but 3-5 years that is pure speculation.

Now that you have to pay for online listenting the monthly fee for Sirius, extra Xm channels, and online listenting is $19.98 a month. A lifetime sub is $499 now and includes everything. If you keep the radio for more then 2 years its paid for. I'd say it's worth it- Sirius will be around at least for 2 more years.

Now that you have to pay for online listenting the monthly fee for Sirius, extra Xm channels, and online listenting is $19.98 a month. A lifetime sub is $499 now and includes everything. If you keep the radio for more then 2 years its paid for. I'd say it's worth it- Sirius will be around at least for 2 more years.
The fact that they are jacking up the rates and dropping the quality of services (channel cuts) are not pluses in favor of long term subs. They're pushing these long term sub packages to "lock in" your rates because they need tomorrow's money right now to cover their debts. If everyone bought lifetime subs they might actually pay off their short term debts but then where's the revenue stream coming later? How will they upgrade their services to compete with emerging technologies if they are banking on upfront payments to cover debts? We still don't know how many people have canceled over the merger changes because they were pushing 2-3 months free and rate reductions to hold on to customers, there's a good chance those real number won't be available for another month or so, not to mention Sirius has a history of being dishonest about subscriber numbers.

The fact that they are jacking up the rates and dropping the quality of services (channel cuts) are not pluses in favor of long term subs. They're pushing these long term sub packages to "lock in" your rates because they need tomorrow's money right now to cover their debts. If everyone bought lifetime subs they might actually pay off their short term debts but then where's the revenue stream coming later? How will they upgrade their services to compete with emerging technologies if they are banking on upfront payments to cover debts? We still don't know how many people have canceled over the merger changes because they were pushing 2-3 months free and rate reductions to hold on to customers, there's a good chance those real number won't be available for another month or so, not to mention Sirius has a history of being dishonest about subscriber numbers.


Do you have a source for subscriber numbers? I haven't been able to find too much info on this.

BTW...To all concerned now the CS agreement has this:

IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT WE CEASE BROADCASTING THE SERVICE, WHETHER AS A RESULT OF A LIQUIDATION, BANKRUPTCY, OR OTHERWISE, ALL PREPAID SUBSCRIPTIONS WILL BE TREATED AS NON-REFUNDABLE.

AKA.. Buyer beware.

At this point in time with the economy and SiriusXM's financial situation, I would definately be leery about putting up for a lifetime subscription.

I'm actually a lifetime sub-er...subscribed back in 2005, and assuming SiriusXM makes it to April, I will have broken even with my sub. I take some comfort in that, even though I am not pleased at what Sirius has become, nor am I pleased at what they did to my Starmate 2. It worked just fine untl they did their "channel" updates, then all of a sudden it and everone else's unit with a strong FM transmitter are now "aging like most electronics do" according to the sirius CSR I complained to. <sigh>

So I agree with barbie...Caveat Emptor.

I cancelled because my Starmate 2R was disabled by Sirius for having
a Fcc unapproved transmitter. They offered me 2 FREE months, but I couldn't listen to my Starmate cutting out for 3 seconds - every 3 seconds. Was driving me nuts!

Now it looks bleak for the entire business. Economy Sucks!!!

A lifetime supscription may not be as risky as you think. In the case of a Chapter 11 or even liquidation, the potential new management/owner(s) would likely continue to honor existing subscriptions since those subscribers have a cash value and would be included in the new deal.

The real risk would be if you still like the new owner's service. It could be worse, it could potentially be better.

A lifetime supscription may not be as risky as you think. In the case of a Chapter 11 or even liquidation, the potential new management/owner(s) would likely continue to honor existing subscriptions since those subscribers have a cash value and would be included in the new deal.

The real risk would be if you still like the new owner's service. It could be worse, it could potentially be better.

In the case of Chapter 11 since it will still be SiriusXM I can see them still honoring prepaid subscriptions. Of course since the courts would be involved they could null and void all subs. In the case of bankruptcies usually the customers come last.

In the case of liqudation or if someone comes in and buys SXM I can't see them honoring any of SXM prepaid plans. Why should they?

Speaking of buyers and possible liquidation WSJ rumors are Dish Network is buying up a lot of SXM debt. That usually means Echostar could be trying to use the debt as a way take control of the company..This way current shareholders would be left with nothing..

I'd rather spend the $550 on lottery tickets. :)

In the case of Chapter 11 since it will still be SiriusXM I can see them still honoring prepaid subscriptions. Of course since the courts would be involved they could null and void all subs. In the case of bankruptcies usually the customers come last.

In the case of liqudation or if someone comes in and buys SXM I can't see them honoring any of SXM prepaid plans. Why should they?

Speaking of buyers and possible liquidation WSJ rumors are Dish Network is buying up a lot of SXM debt. That usually means Echostar could be trying to use the debt as a way take control of the company..This way current shareholders would be left with nothing..

The best thing for life-er subs to do if they do declare the subs null and void is to keep their radios off until they stop sending out the cancel signal that way when they finally turn them back on they'll still have a subscription. Unless they completely change their signal where even monthly subs cant use their current radio it should work.

if they do decide to make all lifetime subs null and void they might as well go out of business the way circuit city did, as I dont see anyone whose just had their 500 bucks thrown out the window interested in doling out another 13 per month to the same people.

I dont see anyone whose just had their 500 bucks thrown out the window interested in doling out another 13 per month to the same people.

True, but let's be honest here. How many lifetime subs are there? Until the merger XM never offered a lifetime sub..And of Sirius's 8 million customers how many LT subs are we talking about? 20,000? 30,000? Maybe!

What's the difference between keeping and losing a lifetime sub revenue wise whithout shifting to an ad based model?

i was > < that close to buying two lifetime subs.... i'm glad i checked this out...

i will most likely go month to month when it is time to renew.

BTW...To all concerned now the CS agreement has this:

IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT WE CEASE BROADCASTING THE SERVICE, WHETHER AS A RESULT OF A LIQUIDATION, BANKRUPTCY, OR OTHERWISE, ALL PREPAID SUBSCRIPTIONS WILL BE TREATED AS NON-REFUNDABLE.

AKA.. Buyer beware.

In other words my "lifetime" subscription will be toast.

In other words my "lifetime" subscription will be toast.

As I just wrote in the other thread. At first I don't think they'll dump the subscriptions, it would make no business sense.

But if the re-organization doesn't go well, or if Echostar gets involved, then all bets are off.

Speculation is Charlie Ergen wants additional satellite capacity for other applications. That may be why he bought a lot of their debt to be first in line in the bankruptcy court.

"Kaufman Bros. analyst Todd Mitchell this morning noted in a research piece that the Sirius and XM satellite distribution platforms are largely duplicative. Mitchell says the Sirius platform is highly specialized for satellite radio, but that the XM platform is “basically relatively generic,” with “Boeing workhorse satellites in very strategic orbits.” Mitchell says the XM satellites could be re-purposed “for any number of things,” including incremental HD capacity for the DISH Network."

"The Stanford Group analysts agree that one possibility is that EchoStar would reallocate some of pay radio spectrum for terrestrial use. They say the company could combine excess pay radio spectrum with other spectrum the company acquired in last year’s 700 MHz spectrum auction to offer some kind of new service.

A more radical approach, the analysts say, would be for EchoStar to simply shutdown the pay radio business and use all of the spectrum for mobile TV or wireless broadband. The Stanford Group analysts write that they have no reason to think that is what EchoStar has in mind; but they do say that it is conceivable that Ergen would rather re-purpose the spectrum for something else. Doing that would require FCC approval, and the Commission might not be that eager to pull the plug on a service with 20 million customers."

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/02/06/what-would-charlie-ergen-do-with-sirius-anyway/

I purchased the lifetime subscription for my radio factory installed in a new 2008 Volvo. It think it is a really good deal - prices never go down, thus locking in this price works for me. I am not worried about Sirius going out of business. They may be sold or go bankrupt but that means reorg - that would get them out from the $500m deal with Howard Stern, etc. They may well be bought by Ecostar or DirecTV. That would give them a lot more financial base.

Rob

I purchased the lifetime subscription for my radio factory installed in a new 2008 Volvo. It think it is a really good deal - prices never go down, thus locking in this price works for me. I am not worried about Sirius going out of business. They may be sold or go bankrupt but that means reorg - that would get them out from the $500m deal with Howard Stern, etc. They may well be bought by Ecostar or DirecTV. That would give them a lot more financial base.

Rob

As long as you realize of all the options you mentioned above, bankruptcy, being bought out, etc. SiriusXm will then have the RIGHT to cancel your Lifetime sub and you will lose your money.

I'm not saying that's going to happen, as I said earlier I think at 1st they will honor all subscriptions. I'm just saying if you read the CS agreement they have to right to cancel all pre-paid subscriptions. The have the right to take your/our money and run.

I wouldn't get a lifetime subscription, but that's because it's a ripoff, not because the company isn't going to be around.

Get a 3-year pre-paid for $9.69/mo. equivalent, and if you want to cancel in a few months/years, you'll get your money back. You can swap radios as much as you want, too.

The company may go bankrupt, but I guarentee the service will be active for a while to come yet. Someone will pick up the pieces.

I wouldn't get a lifetime subscription, but that's because it's a ripoff, not because the company isn't going to be around.

Get a 3-year pre-paid for $9.69/mo. equivalent, and if you want to cancel in a few months/years, you'll get your money back. You can swap radios as much as you want, too.

The company may go bankrupt, but I guarentee the service will be active for a while to come yet. Someone will pick up the pieces.

Careful...

I think both companies now charge a cancellation fee if you cancel early.

Sirius came with my infiniti G35 2 years ago. I got a lifetime for $399. At this point, I am hoping Sirius can somehow survive another 2 years for this lifetime deal to be worthwhile for me.

Careful...

I think both companies now charge a cancellation fee if you cancel early.

Only if you purchase a subscription WITH a discounted radio. These are considered short "contracts" to help offset the discounted radio cost. These are rare these days, they used to do it ALL the time though.

Only if you purchase a subscription WITH a discounted radio. These are considered short "contracts" to help offset the discounted radio cost. These are rare these days, they used to do it ALL the time though.

The CS Agreement says this..

Cancellation Fee: You will be charged a cancellation fee if you cancel a one-year or longer Subscription during the first year of service. The standard cancellation fee is currently $75.00. Promotional offers may have different cancellation fees.

Seems pretty straight forward to me.

But anyway with the current condition of the company IMO I wouldn't sign up for more than a year anyway.

i agree, it actually makes more financial sense to be on a monthly plan. cancel in the future, and who knows, they might throw you a 2 month free bone.

I recently bought the lifetime subscription for 2 radios - car and portable. I listen many hours a day between car, home, gym etc. I love the service. I hate commercials. I think the variety and quality is exceptional.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. After 2 years I am way ahead. If they don't make it that long, I made a mistake. If I don't make it that long, I won't know the difference. I have blown way more than that in Vegas at worse odds!

I bought the Lifetime XM sub because a year ago a signed up for three years and they applied two of the years remaining to the Liftime and charged me for the difference. I listen all the time and I realize that if they do go under sooner than later, I could have made a mistake. But it's a chance I'm willing to take, plus those sats up there are valuable to either Directv or Dishnetwork and I can't imagine if one of them buys Sirius-XM, they wouldn't continue the service for the 19 million or so subs.

Just my thoughts.