Save! Buy one CD and get ten free! Buy one book at our low club prices, agree to buy another in the next two years, and you can choose any five books for free!
Sure, these can be tempting offers. But are they really worth it?
They can be, if you watch what you get. Doubleday and BMG aren’t the only media clubs you can subscribe to. Instead, there are hundreds of specialty book clubs, and dozens of music and video clubs. Each club has a different focus, chooses different books, and has a different set of agreements.
Here are the things to look for when you decide.
1. Do you have the self-discipline to mark that mail-in card every month? If not, you’re going to get a lot of books and disks you don’t want. If you don’t think you can keep up with the card, look for clubs that offer a no-card deal; you only get books and other media that you specifically request, not the club monthly choice.
2. Do you have the self-discipline to not order fifty CDs the first month? These clubs generally have decent prices, but your best savings come if you just fulfill the membership requirements and stop purchasing.
Besides, if you just fulfill the requirement, several clubs will come back with extended offers for you, a special customer: buy one more, and you get a certificate for five more free, for instance. So go easy on the purchases to get your best value.
3. Look at a lot of book clubs before you choose one to subscribe to. Like mainstream bestsellers? Compare the deal offered by Doubleday, Oprah, and Book of the Month; look for other similar clubs, too. Also, look at the books offered by each one online; this will give you a complete impression of the sorts of books you can expect. If you prefer more specialized books, you can find science book clubs, history book clubs, computer book clubs, or clubs for line novels like Silhouette, Harlequin, or other publishers.
4. Take a really good look at no-obligation clubs. Harlequin, for instance, will send you free books, but if you don’t cancel immediately after this, they’ll keep sending you other books and billing for them.
5. If you sign on with one company, don’t sign with another one until you get your first shipment. Several CD companies have affiliate deals with DVD companies, for instance, and if you wait until you get information about this deal, you might get a better deal.
6. Maximize your savings by trading membership referrals with a friend or acquaintance. If you belong to a DVD club, for instance, and your friend belongs to a CD club, instead of just signing up for a CD club ask your friend for a referral to his, and ask him to sign up with your DVD club. When you refer people to your CD or book club, they will often give you free media just for the referral.
7. If you’re looking at a CD company, ask yourself if you always buy CDs or if you generally just want the popular songs from that CD. It might be more cost effective in many cases to download single songs from the Internet and create your own CDs.
The Big Question
The biggest question is would you buy these things on your own if not offered a really great deal? If the answer is no, you need to ask yourself whether you really want these books and CDs, or if you’re just seduced by the idea of getting twelve popular CDs for a penny.