![\"\"](\"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/images\/sfbc.jpg\" "\\"Science")
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The Science Fiction Book Club<\/a> (SFBC) totally rocks!\u00a0 I’ve been a member for years.\u00a0 Each time I complete my commitment, I rejoin to take advantage of their bargains. Book clubs have a reputation for being overpriced, but the SFBC has a generous introductory offer and frequent bargains that definitely save you money.<\/p>\n I recently completed my commitment, so I rejoined the club and took advantage of their introductory offer again.\u00a0 Here are the books that I ordered when I rejoined this time and their normal retail price:<\/p>\n To purchase all of these books at full price would cost you $158 before sales tax.\u00a0 Even if you got a 30% discount, which Borders and Barnes & Noble sometimes offer, you’d still pay $110 before sales tax.<\/p>\n I paid $18.70 for all six books (that includes shipping).\u00a0 A savings of about $140 off retail price.\u00a0 Not bad at all.<\/p>\n Now I’m sure you are wondering what the catch is.\u00a0 There really isn’t a “catch”, just an obligation.\u00a0 By joining the club, I’ve agreed to buy four more books from them over the course of the next two years.\u00a0 That really isn’t a problem.\u00a0 They are constantly adding interesting new books to their inventory, so selection isn’t an issue.\u00a0 The price for those four books will be slightly higher than buying them in the bookstore (mainly because of shipping), but only a few dollars.\u00a0 If you consider the $140 I saved through the introductory offer, the extra few dollars for the final four books is nothing.<\/p>\n Quick tip when taking advantage of the introductory offer… Review all the available books and note which ones interest you.\u00a0 During the introductory offer, be sure to select the most expensive books that interest you as they are free.\u00a0 For example, I got the DC Encyclopedia and Marvel Encyclopedia in my introductory offer (each retails for $40).\u00a0 By selecting the expensive books that interest you, you get the best savings.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, the SFBC will encourage you to buy other books from them.\u00a0 They send you a monthly flier promoting the “book of the month”.\u00a0 If you take no action, they’ll send you the “book of the month” and bill you for it.\u00a0 To avoid that, all you do is go online once a month and decline the “book of the month” selection.\u00a0 Even if you forget, they still send you the flier first and that will jog your memory to go online and decline the selection.<\/p>\n Something I consider a plus of the book club (but others might consider a negative) is that nearly all books are hardback.\u00a0 So if a book is released to the bookstore as a paperback, it will be a hardback through the SFBC.\u00a0 This is true even when there isn’t a hardback available through the bookstores.\u00a0 For example, the book Star Wars: Legacy of the Force – Revelation<\/em> was only offered as a paperback in stores.\u00a0 However, by ordering it from the SFBC I got a hardback version.\u00a0 Personally, I love that!\u00a0 I’d much rather read a hardback than a paperback.\u00a0 It’s worth noting that SFBC hardbacks are slightly smaller than normal hardbacks and don’t really hold much resale value at used bookstores.\u00a0 As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care about that.\u00a0 I tend to hang on to books and I don’t buy them with resale value in mind.<\/p>\n Just to clear up any doubt, this post is not a commercial.\u00a0 The SFBC is not sponsoring my blog or giving me anything for writing this.\u00a0 I just genuinely believe in the club.\u00a0 By clicking here<\/a> you can review their inventory and their introductory offer.<\/p>\n It’s well worth your time if you like to read!<\/p>\n \n \n \n\n
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