Childrens Book of the Month club

[DebbieJ]

Thought I'd enroll, getting 8 books for $2, then added a 9th at 4.95. Went to check out and shipping was $23!!!!! WTF??

I decided against it for now, thinking that when I actually order my other 4 books as required for membership they'd soak me for shipping then, too.

Any thoughts on these book clubs?

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfed for 20 months and 6 days

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[SuenosDelMar]

Exactly! I know some people have posted these are good deals, but I fail to see how when you look at all the hidden and future charges.

My favorite new place to buy books is http://www.bookcloseouts.com/ They have a 7% rebate thru ebates and there are always coupon codes floating around.

[brittone2]

Yeah, I like bookcloseouts.com too. I heard about it here last year around Christmas and I think we bought 25 or 30ish books for $40 or so? The descriptions are pretty slim but I just use amazon.com to look for longer reviews and info about what ages the book is appropriate for. We got some cheapo soft cover books but also got some lovely hardback books that would have been $10-15 each at a regular store (that site often has those books for about $5). Shipping is media mail and so it can be a bit slow (ours arrived in a reasonable amount of time) but the shipping prices were good IMHO. WIth a coupon code it works out to a good deal.

[ett]

Another bookcloseouts.com fan here. I've picked up a bunch of books for DS for very good prices. They frequently have the $5 off $35 coupon code which usually covers the shipping cost.

[SuenosDelMar]

Yes and you can use that coupon code repeatedly so I have placed 4 different orders in the recent past.

My daughter is big into sticker books and they have some good deals on those. They also have an awesome Halloween sale going on now.

[ett]

I've also used that coupon code twice in the last several months. :) Both times, several items that I ordered went out of stock after I placed the order, dropping the total cost below $35, but they still applied the credit for the coupon.

I also picked up several sticker books for DS in my last order - he's really into stickers right now.

[ett]

I remember reading some old threads about these book clubs, and I think most people agree that it wasn't worth it. They have really high shipping costs and I've also heard that some of the books are special editions for the book club, so they're not as big as the ones you would buy in the bookstore.

I've gotten great deals on books from bookcloseouts.com, Borders with their percentage off coupons, amazon (most hardcovers are discounted at least 20%), Marshalls/TJ Maxx, and a local bookstore with a huge bargain section and the rest of the store 20% off.