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tia
04-25-2004, 02:46 PM
Is anyone a member of this book club?

www.joincbomc.com

I'm just wondering if it really is a good deal or if it ends up being a rip off. You get 8 books for $2 and pay $20.82 s/h. Then you have to buy 5 books at regular price in the next 2 years. Right now you can get 2 additional books for $4.95 each, so then there would be 3 books at regular price in 2 years. I wrote down prices from Amazon, figuring free s/h over $25 and this club still seems like a good deal. Unless the s/h for the additional books is over-the-top. Any thoughts or experiences about this club? Any other book clubs you have used? Thanks!

brubeck
04-25-2004, 06:29 PM
This is just like the CD or DVD clubs or the Doubleday book club. It is a good (not great) deal if you get expensive books in the opening package and then purchase cheap ones to fulfill your agreement. As soon as your agreement is over you cancel. To get the best value save on shipping and order your 3 for the remaining committment all at once.

DO NOT continue in the club after your committment is over. You will only get over-charged. I have joined and cancelled this club once a year for the last 3 years and think it is a good deal IF you monitor it.

raynjen
04-25-2004, 10:15 PM
Sounds like you will be waaay overcharged on shipping and handling. As I figure it they will be charging you a minimum of $2.60 per book (that is how much they are charging you for the first 8 books). That seems ridiculously overpriced to me.

Also, sometimes with these books you don't get the 'real' book. Before DD was born I bought a bunch of Dr. Suess for her this way - they are the normal Dr. Suess books in terms of the words, but they have been cut down in size. Literally, it is like they had smaller covers but they didn't REDUCE the pictures they cut the sides off to get them to fit! I thought this was just my books (like I got lemons) but someone else, I think on the Baby's Forum, mentioned this too. Very odd.

The best way to tell if this is a reputable company is to call them - if they don't give out their phone number so you can ask questions (like how much is standard S&H) then don't trust them.

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/2)

opus
04-26-2004, 07:00 AM
I'm a member. I did order expensive books and take advantage of getting the additional books upfront. I waited until they had a 'buy one and get any other at 1/2 price with free shipping' deal. In the end, I feel like I got a good deal on the book I ordered as I was not paying full price or full shipping.

You do want to look at the aggrivation factor. You must stay on top of telling them you do not want the monthly selection shipped to you automatically. You can it by mailing in a card, calling them, or emailing them. For me, I didn't mind.

I found the 'deal' noted above on their website, not in their monthly paperwork they send in the mail. If you join, do keep you eye on their website for the best deal to fulfill your requirement.

BethinMass
04-27-2004, 10:46 AM
I joined a club when my daughter was just born. I found it to be a waist of money with not very high quality books and pretty expensive.

What I ended up doing was quitting the club, and then going to either amazon.com or an actual bookstore and looking at the books, opening them up and reading them to see what I actually liked.

This ended up cheaper, and much better books that both my children and I enjoy :)

MarinaTwinMom
07-07-2004, 12:03 AM
Actually, I think that this particular club (CBOMC) is a pretty good deal. The books are nice, sturdy hardcovers, just like you'd buy at a brick and mortar store. They also have a great selection of books. One of their recent "featured selections" was a collection of "Frances" books that I remembered from my childhood.

My mom actually belonged to this club, but canceled her membership last month because she didn't want the hassle of sending in the cards. I'm planning to sign up for the club soon, though. It's easier for me to respond because I can do it on the Internet.

With the shipping costs included, the books do end up being a bit cheaper than what you'd get at your local Barnes and Noble (assuming you could find them there, which isn't usually the case at ours). CBOMC has frequent sales, too, with reduced shipping prices and/or reduced prices on their books.

peanut4us
07-07-2004, 03:17 PM
I joined the Dr Seuss one and cancelled as soon as I filled my obligation. I am kicking myself now because I have discovered that garage sales are the ONLY place to buy kids books. Some books are crappy--writing on them etc... so I don't buy those, but every once in a while, you find someone whose books look practically new. And I buy everything!

Another thought I had was to buy a "lot" of children's books on ebay... sometimes you can get obscene amounts of books for cheap cheap!

Anyway... just wanted to throw those ideas out there. I won't join another book club again.

sntm
07-16-2004, 01:37 PM
To maximize the value of CBOMC, don't rely only on the codes they list in the ads or the inserts. Go online and search/browse. When we signed up, I was going to get How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and found a code online that gave me that plus an Eric Carle book and counted for only one selection. Got 4 baby einstein books for one selection, 2 Boynton books, etc.

I think the club is good to sign up for once, get some classic or popular books, then quit. By then you will have exhausted their good selections. It's take me months to pick the two selections to finish us out. I'm waiting now for another free shipping sale to buy them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

elf
07-21-2004, 08:54 PM
I'm not familiar with this particular one but my general experience is that they are a lot of hassle to save not much money.

Many clubs have "special club editions" that are not as nice as the normal book.

I would suggest instead shopping for used books - on Amazon, on eBay, or at your local used child store. Also, use your local library and get books there regularly. If you find a book that's really beloved, then you can buy it.

I put books that look neat on my Amazon wish list, and the relatives usually buy her the new ones I want. :-) They're excited to buy her a book, I get the excitement of having picked it out and getting to enjoy it.

Renee-Albright
08-09-2004, 11:57 AM
If you have a goodwill store nearby they are another good option to yard sales. Childrens books at our local one are .25 a piece and u can find books that are in very good shape..I'm going to be starting the adoption process for an infant within the next year and i have already started building a library for my child.
Renee

skadair
10-10-2004, 10:29 PM
I found the quality and selection to be low, the shipping and handling high, and the aggravation very high!!