Good ol' ...
Free sample copies of the magazine are included with orders from Woodcraft Supply, no strings attached. It is a free gift, with no obligation whatsoever. There is a sticker on the cover of the free sample that says, simply, "Free trial issue, subscribe today, return card inside." That's it. If someone wants to get the magazine, they return the card. If they don't want the magazine, they don't return the card. There's no obligation. You don't even have to read the free issue if you don't want to; give it away if you'd like, or just toss it out with the rest of the packing material.
We have also sent sample issues out to names from the Woodcraft Supply customer lists as part of a one-time mass mailing. Again, these are free samples sent to entice folks to subscribe. Every magazine does this. There is no obligation, and no invoice is sent unless the recipient has returned the card or ordered the magazine
You DID NOT receive an invoice for the free issue, or for a subscription as a result of us sending you a free issue, either with an order or as part of the mass mailing.
No invoices are sent for the free issue of the magazine that is included with Woodcraft Supply orders. We don't even have invoices printed to use as follow-ups to the free issue. No process exists for billing people for the free issue, nor do we have any plans to institute such. Further, we here at the magazine have no idea who is ordering from Woodcraft Supply (we're different companies, in different buildings, located in different zipcodes), so it's not even possible to know where to send an invoice.
We simply DO NOT send invoices to people who have not requested the magazine; we only send invoices to people who have either requested the magazine or who have returned the subscription card.
The free issue is not a sleaze. Not a scam. It's just a free issue. Period.
A.J. Hamler, editor Woodcraft Magazine
PS... Someone else in this thread mentioned the "Woodworker's Journal scam." It was no such thing. Their free book DID NOT come with a request for payment if you want to keep the book. Their hope, of course, was that you'd want to sign up for the book club, but it came with crystal-clear instructions that whether you chose to join the club or not, that the book was a gift --- it was yours to keep, free, or you could send it back prepaid, without obligation.