Book-of-the-Month Club Savings

These days one can come across many a claim that the advent of online book retailers have stripped book clubs of an important advantage in the eye of a value-minded book lover: low pricing.

But, is it really so? In the table below, prices at Book-of-the-Month Club are compared with those at a leading online book store. Nine books are included (the minimum amount you get by joining BOMC), fictional and non-fictional, spanning a range of genres. The books chosen share two common traits: most are hardcover versions and all of them have achieved extraordinary success, with a lengthy tenure on the New York Times bestseller list to prove it.

Note: to simplify the calculation and cut down the shipping costs, we're assuming the four commitment books are combined into one order. This way there are no shipping charges at the online store at all (they offer free shipping on eligible items if the total amount of the order exceeds $25), while BOMC's charges are reduced to a single $2.49 flat fee.

As you can see, by joining Book-of-the-Month Club not only can you still save, but you can save big: over $8 per book compared with the chosen online retailer. For your information, in a regular book store these nine titles would amount to about $250.

Note: the example above depicts a rather moderate case of the achievable savings; in reality, it is quite possible to save even more. At the enrollment, BOMC gives you the option to choose one more book for 50% off the publisher's price and reduce your commitment right away. That's a few dollars not covered in our example. In fact, you could go two ways there: you could choose a really expensive book and get it half price, or, if you want to cut your initial/total cost as much as possible, you could go for a really inexpensive book – stuff on sale or some classics go for as low as $2.99 – in which case your 6th book would cost you only $3.49 ($1.50 for the book and $1.99 for s&h). This would leave you with only three more books in your commitment quota, and if you picked them out carefully ($13.98 is a minimum commitment price), your total cost of membership would not amount to much over $60. However, this approach would put some limits on your freedom in choosing books, so, the example we presented in the table above is more realistic.

Bonus Points

Clearly, most of the savings in our example are due to the incredible introductory offer. Once it's been exploited, the playing field levels out to an extent, but that is not to say that Book-of-the-Month Club membership will not save you money anymore. On the contrary: meet the Bonus Points.

As a member of BOMC you earn Bonus Points on everything you buy, be it books or merchandise items. Those are earned based on the amount of your total order. You need to spend $10 or more to start earning. For every additional $10 you spend, you get another Point.

Total order excludes shipping and handling costs.

A minimum of 8 points is required before you can get a bonus-priced book.

So: when you gather 8 points, you get any book priced at up to $19.99 for just $4.99, and so on. Note that you can save up to $50 on most expensive books (requires 16 points).

Bonus Points are redeemable against books only. To redeem your Bonus Points, visit your Online Account or check off the appropriate box on your Reply Form.

However, Bonus Points are not the only way to save money. At BOMC there are always books on sale, online discounts etc. Special offers with opportunities for more savings will come your way regularly. You can save some pretty amazing amounts on special editions and omnibuses such as the ones featured in the column to the right. There are masses of somewhat older titles by many popular authors (which likely aren't available anywhere else, at least not the hardcover versions) with prices like $7.99, or lower even: $4.99, and even $2.99 is not such a rare a price tag at this club.

Note: you can't exploit these ultra low-priced books to fulfill your member obligation, as Book-of-the-Month Club has the minimum price for the four commitment books set at $13.98.

Another way of saving money that some people use is by canceling and rejoining – thus effectively taking advantage of the introductory offer over and over. Although BOMC would prefer it by far that you stayed a member for a long time and buy many many books, and although they state that they "reserve the right to refuse memberships", if you cancel your membership and then decide to rejoin at a later date, they will likely take you back without a question.

While this approach will presumably save you a bit more money, it's probably not for everyone. But that's just as well; as was exhibited, if you remain a loyal member Book-of-the-Month Club will reward you with plenty of opportunities for additional savings.