[SmallMcLittleTiny]

So i've just noticed these book clubs like:

Science Fiction Book Club

Book-of-the-Month Club

I am thinking getting all the Malazan books in hardcover on one of these sites. I've read that the book of the month club is better quality then the science fiction one. Don't know if it's true.

So does anyone have experience with these kind of clubs?

Is the quality of the paper and binding worse, equal or better then regular publisher editions.

Are the books really smaller then publisher editions as i've read?

Are they sturdier or more flimsy then publisher editions?

Any negatives to joining? Any hidden rules or things i'll come to regret later?

Last of all, i want these books to read, and to look nice on a shelf. I don't care about collector value as i have no intention of selling them in the future. They are just for me. So i don't care if they are worth nothing to collectors.

Thanks .

[worry]

I was a member of SFBC for a while. Actually the two book clubs you posted are the same company as far as I know, so I doubt the versions of Malazan you'd get would differ much. The only Malazan I got from them is The Bonehunters, and as far as I can tell it's pretty sturdy. Unfortunately it's the only hardcover Malazan I have, so I can't compare it to publisher for you. I guess I got AFFC from there too, and though the book club version is indeed smaller (height-wise), it doesn't seem substantially worse than the other GRRM books I have. As far as how the clubs work, it's essentially like the old Columbia House/BMG music clubs...you get a monthly mini catalog, you have to explicitly tell them not to automatically send the monthly selection, though you can do that online instead of by snail mail. You get however many free books for joining (I also got a pewter dragon, whoopee!), pay shipping only, and then you have to buy a few books at regular price within a year or two to fulfill your contract. Prices are pretty reasonable, though I suppose shipping costs can add up if you buy a lot. There were no big negative surprises...regular negatives include: selection might not be to your tastes, but I certainly found enough to fulfill the requirement; and sale items don't count towards your required purchases. One somewhat surprising positive was that you can usually buy chunks of or an entire series for an overall discount. Personally, in terms of bang for your buck, I wouldn't think it was such a bad deal to use it to buy hardcovers of your doorstopper-sized favorites, but for stuff that's only a couple hundred pages, go elsewhere.

[worry]

Also they sometimes publish their own omnibuses of various series, which is another money saver.

[Deck of Dragons]

SmallMcLittleTiny, on 28 April 2012 - 09:15 PM, said:

So i've just noticed these book clubs like:

Science Fiction Book Club

If you want a set of SFBC bookclub hardcovers, you need to get them quick. I got 9 of the volumes directly from them a month ago and it cost me $95 shipped. Midnight Tides is OOP so you will have to search for it on Ebay or amazon other sellers. Email the seller asking if the hardcover they are selling has the price on the inside-left flap of the dust-jacket. If it does, it is the 1st edition which is now easier to get than the SFBC version. I got mine for $12+$4 shipping. Also if their listing says BCE or bookclub edition then it is what you want.

Gardens of the Moon & Reaper's Gale are clearance section of SFBC so if you don't order soon you only have easy access to seven of the books.

Finally, you have to directly search for Deadhouse Gates on SFBC. If you search for Malazan, all the books but deadhouse gates show up for individual purchase.

[Una]

Wow! I totally forgot about these guys!

When I was high school, against my better judgment, I signed up for this thing. They sent promotions through the mail where you could pick 10 books out of their catalog for some ridiculously low price, plus they would send you a little dragon figurine. And all you would have to do was buy a few more books at regular price. After that, you could quit your membership. Now, I was afraid it would be some sort of scam and they would not cancel my membership after the contract period, or they would send me all sorts of junk I never ordered and charge me for it. But I really wanted all those free books so I took the risk. Lucky for me, it went smoothly. I didn't get any hassle about canceling once I bought my required books. I had no trouble finding stuff I wanted. They never sent me anything I didn't order. I have been buying quite a few hardcovers off amazon now that I am working and have money, but I noticed that some of the SFBC stuff is cheaper. I might give it another try. I buy enough stuff online these days as it is.

[Macros]

I signed up for a one year for one of these clubs years ago, it was a case of, sign up, get the great intro offers, then buy a book a month for the rest of the year or something similar.
Considering I got the awesome LotR all in one hardback with the artwork by tolkien and some norwegian princess scattered through it for 1p, yes 1p, I tihnk I got an awesome deal out of it, considering the subequent purchases were all at standard retail price.

I'm not sure if this helps, but make sure the intro offer is worth the buy in, and see how long you're tied to them for, etc

[Salt-Man Z]

I'm a member, and I specifically signed up to complete my Malazan book club edition collection. The initial offer is a steal, and the commitment was only 4 purchases in the next year. I found a lot of loopholes that I think have since closed (like, one of my initial $1 books was a set of 4 Star Wars books, and X% off publisher's price coupons used to work on SFBC exclusives) but I think it's still a pretty good deal. The book quality is fine. The only thing to be cautious of is the books of the month which will be mailed to you at your expense every month unless you decline them each month. I get an email every month about it, I log in to the site, click "no thanks", and that's that, but some people have been caught up by that before.

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

The thing is i've been reading that book club hardcovers are terribly bound. They apparently use really bad glue to bind them and it's a cheaper glue then usual. Also, they only bind their hardcovers with glue?

[Salt-Man Z]

A book club edition won't be as durable as a hardcover. But it'll probably last you longer than a trade paperback. I've never had any issues with the glue, even on old club books purchased used.

More of my comments and some pictures in this thread.

[Una]

Awww, shucks! It looks like the don't ship to Canada anymore. That's weird. They used to. I'll have to think of something else.

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

What are the chances of the other sellers on Amazon actually selling real hardcovers of the books, and not just book club editions?

[worry]

Are you asking what are the chances that a seller isn't going to lie to you? I'm not sure that kind of thing is calculable.

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

worrywort, on 03 May 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

Are you asking what are the chances that a seller isn't going to lie to you? I'm not sure that kind of thing is calculable.

No, they don't state whether it's a book club edition or not.

Also, something that's drving my ocd side crazy. I can either buy all the books from the book club and have them match, or i can get the official publisher hardcovers for the 7th ,9th, and 10th books from Amazon, and books 1-6 & 8 from the book club, but then they won't match.

Ideas? Opinions?

This post has been edited by SmallMcLittleTiny: 04 May 2012 - 12:08 AM

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

SmallMcLittleTiny, on 04 May 2012 - 12:08 AM, said:

worrywort, on 03 May 2012 - 11:56 PM, said:

Are you asking what are the chances that a seller isn't going to lie to you? I'm not sure that kind of thing is calculable.

No, they don't state whether it's a book club edition or not.

Also, something that's drving my ocd side crazy. I can either buy all the books from the book club and have them match, or i can get the official publisher hardcovers for the 7th ,9th, and 10th books from Amazon, and books 1-6 & 8 from the book club, but then they won't match.

Ideas? Opinions?

By the way, the reason for getting the official hardcovers is because i'd rather have them since they'd last longer.

[worry]

Ah, I see. I think you'll have to contact an individual seller and ask which version it is, don't make any blind buys, regardless of which set you want. On the other hand, though, why worry? We'll all be dead and rotting long before either version of the book falls apart anyway.

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

worrywort, on 04 May 2012 - 12:22 AM, said:

Ah, I see. I think you'll have to contact an individual seller and ask which version it is, don't make any blind buys, regardless of which set you want. On the other hand, though, why worry? We'll all be dead and rotting long before either version of the book falls apart anyway.

Whatever i just joined the Doubleday Book club. They had a better introductory deal, and also every book i wanted from the science fiction book club.

The only book they don't offer is Midnight Tides. Anyone have a link to someone or someplace i can buy the book club edition of it?

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

I still haven't gotten an account number yet... Taking a while. Also, do they usually email a confirmation number or something? I still have not received anything even telling me when what i bought was going to ship or arrive.

This post has been edited by SmallMcLittleTiny: 04 May 2012 - 08:57 PM

[Deck of Dragons]

Did you read my post above? I answered your question before you even asked it. I explained that that title is OOP and how to find it.

[SmallMcLittleTiny]

Deck of Dragons, on 07 May 2012 - 07:04 PM, said:

Did you read my post above? I answered your question before you even asked it. I explained that that title is OOP and how to find it.

I read it, i meant if anyone had a specific link to an actual sale of the book, not where i could get it. I already check ebay and Amazon. I found one on Amazon a few days ago, for $25, listed as Like New. The guy claims to have picked it up at a sale a few years back. The right back of the DJ on the right side bottom says "1231478" and he claims it's a BCE. I don't see any prices on the inside so i'm inclined to think it's BCE since i don't know any better. My BCE's from Doubleday haven't arrived yet . There is a weird problem with the books though. A few of the pages have a ton of brown little dots. Not like any marks, but like a defect of the paper used. Like little pieces of wood left intact(?) or something, (now that i think about it that explanation sounds stupid haha.). Is this normal for a BCE? He claims it was near when SFBC started publishing the book, if i understand him correctly, which i don't think i do.

This post has been edited by SmallMcLittleTiny: 08 May 2012 - 05:23 PM

[Deck of Dragons]

SmallMcLittleTiny, on 08 May 2012 - 05:21 PM, said:

Deck of Dragons, on 07 May 2012 - 07:04 PM, said:

Did you read my post above? I answered your question before you even asked it. I explained that that title is OOP and how to find it.

I read it, i meant if anyone had a specific link to an actual sale of the book, not where i could get it. I already check ebay and Amazon. I found one on Amazon a few days ago, for $25, listed as Like New. The guy claims to have picked it up at a sale a few years back. The right back of the DJ on the right side bottom says "1231478" and he claims it's a BCE. I don't see any prices on the inside so i'm inclined to think it's BCE since i don't know any better. My BCE's from Doubleday haven't arrived yet . There is a weird problem with the books though. A few of the pages have a ton of brown little dots. Not like any marks, but like a defect of the paper used. Like little pieces of wood left intact(?) or something, (now that i think about it that explanation sounds stupid haha.). Is this normal for a BCE? He claims it was near when SFBC started publishing the book, if i understand him correctly, which i don't think i do.

Since there is no price it is a BCE. Also that number you mention on the back of the dust-jacket in the lower-right corner is SFBCs catalog number for that book. You lucked out and this should match all your other books! The price was a little high, but is honestly getting scarce and still infinitely cheaper to drop around $110 or $120 for a complete set of these then putting together a 1st edition set. That could run you $400 easy.

I highly recommend after you get them all to go to your local library and have them teach you how to put mylar dust-wrappers on the jackets to further protect them. Then you can read the books with the jackets on which will protect the boards. They will probably sell you the mylar wraps since it is only 10 books you need them for.

This post has been edited by Deck of Dragons: 08 May 2012 - 06:29 PM