Harper's Online FAQ

I'm new here. What do I need to do?

To gain access to Harpers.org as a print subscriber you must REGISTER your subscription. It only takes a minute.

You need a recent copy of Harper's with your mailing label affixed to it. You'll enter two codes (your subscriber number and your zip code), set up a username and password, and you'll be able to access the website. You only need to register once. From then on when you want to return you'll use your username and password to log in—not your subscriber number.

The site says I already registered. How do I create my account?

Very often this issue arises because a spouse, roommate, coworker, or even family pet has previously registered your subscription. Please check to see if someone who shares the subscription already has a username and password that you can use (up to two people can share an account on our website). If that doesn't solve the problem, send an email to webmaster@harpers.org. Make sure to include your subscriber number and your zip code.

I don't have a mailing label. What is my subscriber number?

Send an email with your name and address to customer support at the address at right. Let them know that you need to know your subscriber number. They will tell you your subscriber number; then you can come to our register page to register and create a username and password.

I forget my username. How do I recover it?

Visit our username recovery page

How do I change my password or email address?

Please visit the account management page.

I lost my password. Now what?

Reset it here. Once you receive the password reset email you can visit the account management page to set your password to something that's easier for you to remember.

I tried to get a password emailed to me, but it never came. What now?

Please check that you allow email from Harper's (it will come from webmaster@harpers.org) through your spam filter. If you don't find the message in your spam or bulk mail folder, email webmaster@harpers.org with your username and the password you'd like to use and we'll reset it manually.

I forgot my username and my email address changed. What now?

We'll reset it manually. Send an email to webmaster@harpers.org. Include your subscriber number or username.

How do I change my username?

We do not allow usernames to change at this time.

Can I have a web-only subscription?

Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons--most of them having to do with the economics of the magazine industry--Harper's Magazine is not able to offer a web-only edition at this time. We continue to investigate the means whereby we could offer one, and doubtless one day it will happen. But for right now we ask you to abide with us even on paper.

I just subscribed. Why does the site say my subscription will expire in two weeks?

Don't panic! Every web subscriber has a temporary subscription until their credit card clears and we hear back from our subscription firm that they are verified. At a certain point the system automatically goes out and checks your record with our subscription house and lines everything up. You won't even notice when it happens.

I'm an AOL user. Why do I keep seeing a "too many connections" error?

A very small percentage of AOL users have a "too many connections" problem with the Harper's site, and it looks like you're one of them. This problem is the responsibility of AOL, not Harper's, and we cannot fix it outright.

We're sorry about that--but here's the workaround: don't try to log in for the next 25 minutes. Then open up the web browser program that came WITH your computer--NOT the built-in AOL browser. This usually means Internet Explorer on the PC, or Safari on the Mac. Use that browser instead when you browser Harpers.org. This almost always works.

We're sorry for the inconvenience.

I received spam from Harper's Magazine!

Harper's Magazine subscriptions are managed by a company called CDS Fulfillment that operates the BUYSUB.COM website. Any email that asks you to visit the BUYSUB.COM (or W1.BUYSUB.COM) website originates from Harper's Magazine.

If you received any other email from harpers.org, it used a spoofed "FROM" address. It is quite easy for any spammer to fake their originating address and, while we hate that people have decided to abuse our name in this fashion, there is nothing that can be done to stop them. We have no idea who they are or from where in the world they operate.

Examining the header of the mail file will make it clear that this email at no point passed through our servers. Harper's Magazine has a strict policy for contacting our subscribers via email and follows it carefully.