has anyone tried book clubs?

Karnam

I got loadso f leaflets for book clubs when i was pregnant and i finally have some time to go over them.

unfortunately the disney one which iwanted had a free wall clock, 6 books and a dish and plate set actually had an expirey date on it so i couldnt use that.

but ive just sent off for a disney with a free winnie the pooh book and the dish and plate set. I've never done this but im under the impression i can just cancel and send back the trial book they send me and i get to keep the gifts. does anyone have any experience of this? can i sign up more than once and use the other leaflets i have to get 6 more free books?

any advice appeciated!!

comping_cat

I have used those clubs before, the ones with the 6 free books, i actually subscribed and bought a load of them,and had no probs cancelling at the end. A couple of times they recomended books, sent me a free one, plus one to try or buy, and i kept the free one and returned the other without any problems. I dont think you can keep applying for books with the same company, they do keep your details on record, but you will prob find they keep phoning you and offering you different trials, as this is what they did with me.

funky-footprints

well if its the grolier one, id avoid it like the plague as they keep sending and sending and you have to pay to return them ! the books arent even that great, my son at 5 finds them very long, far too long for a bed time story, and say you have peter pan, peter pan & wendy is the same story with maybe a little variation in the middle, and then there will be another title that you think is different and its pretty much the same again, by the time he is reading i cant see him using them, they do however when linked make a fab car track from his bedroom to his sisters !!

I thought they looked great when i was pg with him 6 books and a nice plastic book case !! biggest mistake ever !!

Lyndsay_21

go to https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk there brill just ordered 2 cookery books for £7 not inc p&p but they're the cheapest around plus u dont have to order a certain amount a year.

Spendless

If it's the grolier ones keep a note of which book is the freebie one from the initial ad. They send them all out together and don't say on the invoice which one is free. I posted my free one back the day I received them and never had a problem with them pestering me. I did pay my own postage and packing though, not completely sure how you'd return them for free.
I agree with another poster about the actual books though. They are quite long and still too advanced for my nearly 6 year old. I hope he'll enjoy them in time though.

across

i remember the grolier disney books i phoned them up and cancelled straight away kept the freebie books and booksantd and have been lucky ive never heard anything again no more books or invoices! but i recommend phoning them. hope this helps!

Karnam

yep it is the grolier. judging by the replies i might not sign up again for more free books in my name. i wonder if i could do it in my partner's name or something (i did tick the 'no mail from interested parties' box) to get more free books.

my parents signed up and paid for loads of books for several years and no i know the books arent great, but if its free and i get free gifts it doesnt matter as im buying loads from thebookpeople and you cant have too many books!

black-saturn

You could try the Softback Preview. The first books you order are very cheap and then once per month they send you a card with a recommended book on it. You just say yes or no to it. Theres no obligation to buy any more books and you can write to them and cancel at any time.

http://www.etsp.co.uk/

Hermia

I just use https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk which isn't a book club, but is very cheap. I thought the internet would kill book clubs actually. I used to belong to a craft book one because I have no craft shops where I live and the local bookshop has a lousy crafts section. But, although the initial offer was good, the subsequent books were full-price or only had a couple of quid off. As soon as I got the internet I realised I could buy books far more cheaply online.

Re: signing up for trials just to get the freebies. Be careful that the company doesn't do a credit search on you. You don't want loads of those on your credit file. I also know that there have been problems with some companies not cancelling the account when people asked etc.