science fiction book club legitimite or scam

[spidervenom]

Im thinking of joining that science fiction book club website, and I just wanted to know if it's a huge scam or not.

[Athena Bast]

Not a scam but it's just like Columbia House.

[spidervenom]

um...not to sound stupid, but I've never done columbia house, could you explain the process.

[Ben Akers]

The introductory deal is 5 books for 5 bucks, and you can get an additional one for $5.99 plus a $13.70 S & H fee. You then have to buy 4 books at full price over the next 2 years. Most of their titles are hardcover, but are generally smaller in size than a normal hardcover. Of course, they're also cheaper than the normal size ones.

[Rob Allen]

If you like the books they sell, the club is a good deal. It's been decades since I was a member, but I don't recall the books being smaller in size. I remember them being printed on lower-quality paper, with the edges untrimmed. Maybe they've changed and are smaller now.

Try looking at the science fiction hardback section of a local used book store; they probably have plenty of SFBC editions. See if the books' quality is sufficient for you.

[dupont2005]

i never joined the sci fi book club, but i get the offers in the mail all the time because i have joined the mystery guild book club 2 or 3 times now. the clubs are a good deal, but i always cancel right after my obligation is full so i can get the introductory deal again

[P-Man]

I was a member up until five years ago or so, and I never had any problem from them. The introductory offer is nice and the prices are cheap. The books are smaller and maybe lower quality like Rob Allen said, but unless you're abusing them you'd never really be able to tell. They also have a selection of graphic novels. When I was a broke teenager it was the SFBC that led to me being able to read Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns and the first couple volumes of Preacher.

Hell, I'm gonna try and sign up for it again right now.

[Inkthinker]

I did it once about ten years ago, and it was all right, but I didn't renew once my obligation was up and I don't much miss it. They send you a massive amount of junk mail and it can get really annoying...

Keep in mind, I was into it before the rise of Amazon. Nowadays I just don't see the benefit, unless you're really into the unique editions they offer.

[Slam_Bradley]

The most compelling thing about the SFBC are their omnibuses and the occasional opportunity to get really classic works of SF in hardcover.

The last time I joined it was with (pretty much) the sole purpose of getting the Del Rey Robert E. Howard books in hardcover. I did...I'm very happy with them. During that same time I also picked up their omnibuses of Robert Heinlein's juveniles that were 3-4 per volume in HC.

For stuff like that it's a great way to get a lot of quality reading. For newer stuff it's cheaper to get them at Amazon or remaindered.

[Expletive Deleted]

I've never joined, but I've bought a few of their omnibuses from third parties. They're not archival quality or anything, but they're hard to beat if you just want the content and the originals are out of print.

[jessecuster3]

Also, make sure you know, after your initial offer they send you a form every month, if you don't send it back they send you their featured book.

[dupont2005]

Also, make sure you know, after your initial offer they send you a form every month, if you don't send it back they send you their featured book.

is it possible to decline the selection online? i always did that with my book club without a problem

[Slam_Bradley]

is it possible to decline the selection online? i always did that with my book club without a problem

Yeah. Last time I was a member they had an online option.

[Karl J Barnes]

Yeah. Last time I was a member they had an online option.

I think that they do most of their solicitations on-line,too. The last time they solicited me was back in 2000 by mail. The rest of the time,I've gotten solicitations by e-mail.

But I have to say that though I hated having to get ,at least, four books and rememeber to send in my notice(I would always forget,if I didn't do it as soon as I got their notice), still SFBC was pretty cool. There were tons of authors that I had never heard of or books that I wanted to read and couldn't find that the club had.

So,I'd recommend them to novices to the genre or people looking to find out of date publishings. For a Columbia Records type of deal, it is not all that bad.

[Flamebird]

I've been a member for about 12 years and while the books aren't archival quality, you do get a lot of bang for the buck.

Lots of compilations of out of print books as well as exclusive reprints of some great older stories.

That said, they have change in the last year, with a new editor in chief and seemingly less and less new mainstream sci-fi or fantasy.

The graphic novel selection has also gotten worse instead of better.

All in all, if you like to read a lot of books and try new authors without spending a small fortune, it's a pretty good deal.

[Karl J Barnes]

I've been a member for about 12 years and while the books aren't archival quality, you do get a lot of bang for the buck.

Lots of compilations of out of print books as well as exclusive reprints of some great older stories.

That said, they have change in the last year, with a new editor in chief and seemingly less and less new mainstream sci-fi or fantasy.

The graphic novel selection has also gotten worse instead of better.

All in all, if you like to read a lot of books and try new authors without spending a small fortune, it's a pretty good deal.

That's sad. Back in the day,early 80s and late 90s, they had a very grand assortment of novels.