Largest historical newspaper database online
NewspaperARCHIVE.com says it is the largest historical newspaper database available online, with more newspaper pages from 1759 to present than any other service -- more than 51 million pages. Click here for a free trial.
Nov 28, 2006 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT
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39 comments about 'Largest historical newspaper database online'Warning: If you're thinking about trying their "free 7 day trial," you'll need to do the usual drill of giving a credit card.
But to cancel, you need to go through three screens of data-collection, THEN, well, let's let them explain it:
Cancellation of Your Account
Your cancellation is almost complete. To finish your cancellation request, please download and print the following form. Then mail or fax the completed form to the contact information listed below. We require the account holder's signature before your cancellation can be processed. After we receive and process your request, we will contact you at the email address that you provide us with. Please note: Your account will not be cancelled until we receive the signed form below. You may also cancel via phone by calling our Customer Service Department at 1-888-845-2887 between Monday through Friday 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Central Time.
Forewarned...
Posted by Tim Windsor at November 28, 2006 9:29 AM
Reason enough to avoid the site altogether
Posted by NewBMW at November 29, 2006 1:54 AM
Website NewspaperArchive.com promised free trial, showed # only of results of search, but did not allow me to view actual article results. Then when I signed up and provided Creditcard # and reinstituted the search, it provided no actual article results whatsoever, after numerous attempts to obtain them. I called and I e-mailed Customer Service but there was no response, the voicemailbox is always full on customer service and cancellations. Then when I subsequently attempted to log in, I found that my user name was not recognized. At that point I had no means to cancel my account. I suggest that an investigation be conducted immediately.
Posted by karan antonello at November 29, 2006 11:17 AM
Also, my credit card was charged $99.95, the full year. And still no access to the account.
Posted by karan antonello at November 29, 2006 11:18 AM
I tried newspaperarchive.com's free trial in late November. Finding that it was not of use to me, I attempted the following day to cancel by means of their online form. Unfortunately, this was not working, so I emailed instead. I then telephoned, and got a recorded message telling me to do just that, i.e. email my cancellation.
The next day, their online cancellation form was working again, so I also used that. Just to be sure.
They have taken my money anyway, and, despite my complaint, have made it quite clear that they do not intend returning it.
This business needs looking into.
Posted by Iain Manson at December 19, 2006 6:56 AM
What other posters here have said is unfortunately true. Newspaperarchive.com is a very weak resource. The search engines sucks. The customer service (when you can get a response) is so inconsistent as to be futile. I think that, behind this website, is some greedy person with microfilm scanning equipment and limited web development skills. I would recommend that you not subscribe if you are considering.
Posted by Bob at December 20, 2006 9:54 AM
Stay clear. trying to cancel is near impossible. if you do find yourself in this situation, do not bother with fax email or normal phone cancelation as you will get no-where. instead on the phone press 1 for normal questions and speak with a real person. don't forget to ask for a confirmation email as proof.
Posted by Rob at December 27, 2006 11:02 AM
This company has the worst customer service I have ever encountered! When I first signed up it required me to LOGIN for every search and logged me off automatically after only a few idle moments. Then, last November I tried to access my account and billing info online but got an error message (this went on for days) with a contact number. After a few days I called the contact number but received only a recording. As a last resort I sent them an email and they finally replied after about two weeks. The email stated that my membership would expire on 2/15/2007. I tried to cancel my membership on 2/15/2007 but they had already billed it the day prior on the 14th and absolutely refused to refund my account. I talked to the so- called manager who also refused to refund my money. Tried to say I had to cancel 48 hours before billing (which I wouldn’t have been able to do in the first place since they apparently gave me the incorrect date of renewal). A respectable company would have just credited my account but instead I will have to file a formal protest with my credit card company.
Posted by Kristie at February 15, 2007 12:08 PM
Kristie, I wish you luck, but don't hold your breath. Without rock-solid documentary proof of my case, my credit-card company wouldn't act. Not their fault, as it was, from their point of view, only my word against newspaperarchive's. But good luck anyway.
Posted by Iain at February 20, 2007 9:28 AM
I have to defend this site. They are the world's biggest microfilming provider; but I think that they're trying for world dominance on the cheap. A couple of weeks ago, they suspended their user forums, so the could "concentrate on rolling out new features" (yeah, right!).
I've just renewed my membership for a second year, and am confident that they will eventually deliver, but they have had big technical problems with their service.
Also this site is not perfect as this is the fourth attempt to post a reply before it gets blanked out by the page being refreshed !!!!!.
Posted by George Flaxman at March 9, 2007 10:58 AM
I'm still wrestling with them. The 7 day
free trial blurb reamins on their site but
they stated in a reply to my BBB complaint
it had expired. Took my money and cancelled
my account when I requested they correct my
subscription error from one year to one month. Filed complaint with Iowa AG and BBB.
Filed complaint with my bank and got payment
credited but money not returned, yet. Beware as subscription services are misleading.
Posted by DarryG at March 22, 2007 6:20 PM
I just got suckered by this shyster outfit! I subscribed a year ago and spent less than 30 minutes on their site during the entire year. I planned to cancel when my subscription expired. Instead, I got my credit card bill this month and found their $71.40 charge on it for renewal! I, too suffered through several phone calls without reaching anyone and then got a message on how to start the cancellation online. I finally waded through that process and got a cancellation confirmation, but the confirmation also said that my subscription would still continue until September 2008, implying that I will not get a refund. I sent them email telling them that I plan to dispute the charge and I have just done that now with my credit card company. Why in God's name are companies allowed to operate in this manner? Isn't there some way we can all band together and put a stop to this ripoff?
Posted by Anonymous at October 15, 2007 2:52 PM
I subscribed for a year to Newspaper Archive and forgot about just when the subscription came up for renewal. They automatically charged my credit card for another year. When I got my credit card bill I called. No answer of course. I emailed. They refused to refund or even partially refund $95.00
I'm sure they're legally correct. But not morally.
SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES!
Don't subscribe.
Posted by Angry Customer at December 12, 2007 11:22 AM
As a history professor, I've found Newspaperarchive.com incredibly useful. Through I I've located material for two book-length projects I'm working on.
The main problem many people have with the site seems to be viewing the files, which is, I suspect, the result of their not having a PDF plug-in on their browser. I've used both Safari and Firefox and have had excellent results once I installed the newest plug-in. Firefox have plug-ins that allow you to download the file, view it in the browser, or view it in a standalone program like Adobe Reader or Mac Preview.
So I'd say don't trash the company if your system isn't up to snuff.
Posted by Nigel Sellars at December 14, 2007 12:17 PM
Re: nigel Sellars comment of 14 December. I am not reading anything about plug-in complaints but mainly descriptions of poor customer service and an inability to obtain refunds. Their instructions on using a gift membership I received is not clear and gives no place to record a username, although it does allow for a password to be entered. But both are needed to gain access. An attempt to reach someone by phone during normal business hours was unsuccessful (just a recording to leave a message). The weight of the evidence seems to be against the company on customer service availability and subscription cancellations and refunds. Readers should be cautious.
Posted by Mike at December 27, 2007 4:49 PM
was thinking of trying this site out, but it sound more like cybershafters.net after reading this discussion.
Posted by The Count at February 4, 2008 4:32 PM
I initially signed up for a month then they said there was a special and I could have the next month for half price. When I signed up for that, they charged me for a full year. The next year they renewed me for another year without my permission. I couldn't find any way to cancel on their website so I called customer service. I just got a recording every time and left a message, but they never returned my call. I disputed the charge with the credit card company and they sided with newspaper archive saying that I needed written proof that my account had been canceled before the renewal date in order to get a refund.
Posted by Scott at February 11, 2008 7:42 PM
So glad that I read the complaints and saved myself the money. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am on SS and every dime counts.
Posted by Mary D at April 13, 2008 4:59 PM
I am s-o-o-o glad I read this! I was planning to sign up for this, but with such a horrible track record of grabbing your money, nonexistent customer 'service', and inability to manipulate (e.g., crop) articles published after 1924, I decided ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! This is simply buying a HUGE HEADACHE. If I wanted to donate money, there are more reputable places and worthier causes. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback on their expensive experiences with this rip-off.
Posted by Carol G at December 28, 2008 1:38 AM
Out of the blue, this company charged me $94.50 last week, and I have no idea what for.? It showed up on my online bank statement. I have called, emailed, and left countless detailed messages, but never get to speak to a live person. No one has responded and from what I've read here, they likely never will.
They should be put out of business. What a scam.
Posted by Kathleen at January 29, 2009 8:15 PM
newspaperarchive.com is nothing but trouble. I paid for a one month trial subscription. Within a week I realized the service would not meet my needs, lack of content, poor images, etc. So I cancelled. Or so I thought. I went online and tried to cancel again, getting another cancellation verification email (#154868664). 3 weeks later I got billed and the funds taken out of my bankcard account. I emailed them directly a scathing email, called them on a Monday and the customer service person even recalled reading my email. He indicated my refund would be processed and said an email would be coming to verify. It never came. I called again to have it resent, we checked my email address and he promised the verification would be resent. It never came. The funds that had been on hold by my request to my bankcard holder were released. Newspaperarchive.com got my money after all. So I am going through the process yet again to try to ward off this horrible company from getting any more of my money. They are indeed a scam and should be avoided.
Posted by William Otten at May 16, 2009 2:48 PM
Okay, fair is fair and I'm going to post a follow up on my prior post complaining about newspaperarchive.com. I took the company to task pretty succinctly in my emails to them in the past, and in particular an email today, along with some comments about the poor press they've received online(and which I've contributed to above) for their service problems. As it turns out, I received moments ago a direct phone call from the service manager from his home on a Saturday with resolution (fingers crossed) of my situation as I've described in my prior post. Yes, I can't retract the post, nor should I because the problems did occur, but an acceptable reason for why I didn't get any email responses was given, along with the assurances that my refund problems would be resolved. So, I'll give the customer service manager due credit for diligence in calling me directly outside of normal working hours and working with me to my satisfaction. I can dish out the blame, but will rightly serve up praise as well when earned. In this case, undeniably I had problems, and at this point I think they'll be resolved.
Posted by William Otten at May 16, 2009 3:13 PM
Glad I didn't sign up! Saved me lots of headaches.
Except for the guy who helped William out of normal working hours the rest of the lot should all be in Jail and serve time.
Too bad there is no decent newspaper archives for the major newspapers! :P
Anybody else realize that you shouldn't have to pay $$ for old news?
Posted by Mr Truth at October 3, 2009 12:47 AM
I have used NewspaperArchives.com through my local public library's subscription and my library card number. I had very good results in September conducting research in some southern Wisconsin newspapers. In early October I reported via email to their customer service that a couple of results were not displaying. I received a canned response about a server down and that it was being restored. As of today, not only are the few articles I reported not displaying, byt NONE of my results in that particular newspaper are displaying... even the ones I had already displayed in the past! Now on their search and results pages is the following message: "Notice: Beginning on 10/28/2009 the team at NewspaperARCHIVE.com will be performing infrastructure maintenance in an ongoing effort to enhance the overall user experience for our members. Over the next few days some content might temporarily be unavailable to you. We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your patience while we improve our site. Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Care at 888-845-2887 with any questions or concerns." Still no progress.
Posted by Retired Librarian at November 12, 2009 1:38 PM
Took only 6 hours for me to discover that NewspaperArchive.com had trouble displaying articles and keeping their server operational.
I tried cancelling immediately but was refused a refund.
Now I have to jump through hoops with the bank and file a credit card dispute. Normally I research companies before doing business with them and regret I didn't come across this site beforehand.
Posted by Leonard Tanner at December 30, 2009 1:33 PM
I've been using Newspaperarchive.com for 2 years now and have found it to be an invaluable resource for genealogy research. I've also had no problems with customer service. Anytime there was an issue with retrieving a newspaper page they would eventually correct the problem and automatically extend my subscription. My local library uses this service, but having access from home has been terrific. My family tree research would have a lot more holes in it if I didn't have this service.
My only complaints are:
1. It seems that the search index doesn't contain all of the text that can be retrieved from the PDF document itself. In other words, sometimes I can retrieve a PDF that already has OCR text in it that doesn't get found by searching that same text string through their search engine.
2. The browser plug-ins can be flaky at times. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they show nothing. (This is true even on a clean install of a Windows 7 based system).
3. They hold out on newer editions of my local paper through my paid subscription. If I want editions after 1977 I have to go to the library to get them, even though the library uses the same service. Apparently they have agreements with libraries to restrict access to the paper to anyone who is not using the library resources.
For those of you who have credit card problems, my advice to you is get a credit card that allows you to create a temporary account number with a spend limit and expiration date of your choosing (i.e. Shopsafe). That will stop unauthorized charges cold!
Posted by dchamb at February 20, 2010 2:31 PM
After reading all the complaints I decided they were manageable and went and got a subscription anyway. I am thrilled with the amount of info available but you need to be aware that this site requires you to take responsibility for your purchase, something which is totally out of fashion. Some points to consider:
READ THE AGREEMENT before checking that you agree. They DO NOT GIVE REFUNDS. Think of this like non-returnable formalwear -- you can't buy it just long enough to get a single use from it. Online that means NO refunds. After all, they're trying to fund an enormous undertaking making all this stuff available.
SHOPSAFE only gets you so far. The agreement says you are liable for charges and the lawyers fees to collect them EVEN if your card has expired. So MARK YOUR CALENDAR a week or two B4 the expiration date to cancel or to make sure they have a legit credit card number.
THE SITE CAN BE FUNKY: You don't always land back where you started when clicking the back button, and the highlighting to let you know which links you've already used may or may not work. I recommend being very organized about your search and/or opening the links in a separate window.
DON'T TRUST THE PROMISED # OF HITS. I'm finding tons of info but not all the years or newspapers that I was promised are available. If you need very specific info this could be a problem and you should look into it in advance of subscribing. Also, the search picks up letter combos in words: "Ruth" turns up in "truth," "dance" in "guidance" and "abundance" and so on which ramps up the numbers.
Despite all that, when I try to imagine finding any of this info with an old-fashioned hand search.... WOW! This service is WELL worth the money!
Posted by Anonymous at March 11, 2010 11:27 AM
I signed up for the free 7-day trial.
Then requested and was sent a confirmation email that my account had been cancelled.
One month later I am charged on my credit card account.
Next month later I receive an email saying my credit card is not accessable to charge.
Fortunately for me, this is because it was cancelled.
Scam.
Stay away or pay.
Posted by Graeme at June 29, 2010 9:40 AM
I haven't purchased a membership, not even a trial one and found that I can view anywhere from 5 to 10 pages per day for free. There is a lot of news articles about family members that I found very helpful in tracing my family's history. I have also found that I can screen copy a page and paste into a word doc. and then print it out. I'm so glad I found this site so not to get suckered into this. I will continue to use this site for free.
Posted by Linda at September 14, 2010 1:10 AM
I've used NewspaperArchive.com for two to three years now and I've found it a powerful research tool. Moreover, I've seen the site grow and improve much during that time. For example, the site originally did not permit users to place hits in chronological order; but now it does so, which makes it much easier to find pertinent data.
Posted by Farrow at January 10, 2011 4:51 PM
I have had a great experience with newspaperarchive. There was an error at first that kept me from having access but when I contacted them they fixed it and extended my account time period. Lots of great info and a very honorable company.
Posted by stasha at February 12, 2011 4:40 PM
They have very dishonest business practices. I did months and months of marketing campaigns for them and they charged back their credit card after my work and services were delivered. I think it's terrible that the card company will allow such a thing.( I don't think they should rely on another gov't bail out when we stop using their services either.)
Posted by Xipe at April 13, 2011 10:42 AM
I agree that their search engine leaves a lot to be desired. I subscribed to this service a few years ago, and had a number of complaints about the search engine. At that time, the customer service department was prompt at answering my requests. They usually were not able to resolve the problem, but at least I got an answer. I dropped the service finding the search engine was too frustrating.
For some reason, I forgot how frustrating their search engine was, and recently re-signed up for another 6 months. Now not only is the search engine still terrible, but so is their customer service. My latest complaint is trying to get to the second page of results. I can complete the first search, and able to see all pages of the results. If I then try to complete a second search, the results for pages 2 onward are the results from my first search. And after three requests for help from customer service, I have received no response.
They have a nice collection of newspapers, but they need to fire their tech staff and start over.
Posted by Cheryl McIntosh at April 17, 2011 4:16 AM
I joined the site, also. When I realised in 5 minutes there were only a handful of NJ papers, I called to quit. I was told that was not possible, but they would not renew in a year. They asked what papers I wanted, and I gave them the names of two papers. That was over 8 months ago, and the two papers (which are available at two libraries) are still not on their site.
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