Negative Option Marketing Method

Why do I have to respond to monthly mailings if I don't want the main selection?

 

This is the question often asked by book club members who have failed to review or understand the terms of membership prior to joining.

 

The majority of book clubs rely on what is commonly referred to as negative option marketing approach; the term "advance consent marketing" is also being used, especially by magazine publishers, but this is really one and the same thing.

 

So what is negative option?

 

It is an advertising or selling method in which the goods are shipped to a customer at regular intervals, unless the customer refuses the shipment in advance.

 

Let's see how this applies to book clubs specifically.

 

To get your attention, book clubs offer an enticing deal up front, usually several books for a nominal price: for example, Doubleday Book Club offers 6 books for 99¢. It's quite an attractive proposal, however, before you jump at it, it's important to make sure you understand what it entails. By taking this offer you effectively agree to join the club, which generates certain obligations. In this particular case (Doubleday Book Club), you will commit to buy four more books at regular club prices within the next two years. The club price is an amount discounted against the regular retail price anywhere from 30-80%. Other clubs with somewhat less attractive introductory offers may ask you to buy only two more books within a year, while some have no commitment at all.

 

Furthermore, joining the club means you agree to its sales method for as long as you remain a member: once every 3-4 weeks the club will send you a printed catalog featuring one book which is referred to as main selection (or featured selection), plus a few hundred other books. Each time you receive the catalog, you have two choices: if you want the main selection, do nothing and it will be shipped to you automatically. If you don't want it, you have to tell the club not to send it: the most convenient way is to log in to the club's web site and do the job there. You can also send in the reply card enclosed with the shipment you received, and in most cases you can do it by phone too. The procedure is the same if you want a different book, and not the one singled out in the catalog.

 

Many people find this type of marketing practice a nuisance, and, frankly, we can't really disagree with them. The club membership experience would be more agreeable if the clubs didn't force their members to go through this exercise over and over.

 

So why do they do it? Well, most probably because it works. As someone has put it, human behavior is based on inertia. Many people put off dealing with main selections for later, and then simply forget about it; when the shipment arrives, many, again, will rather pay for it than go through the hassle of sending it back.

 

Another thing is, book clubs are the pioneers of the negative option selling method. In fact, Book-of-the-Month Club is widely acknowledged to be the very first outfit to have incorporated this practice into its business routine (since 1926), so it might be that there is also a bit of a desire involved here to keep this traditional element – a trademark of a sort – alive.

 

Good news is, canceling (or substituting) main selections these days this is easier than ever before. In the past members had to send in the Member Reply Form by regular mail, there was no other way to do it. Which is a bit of a job, let's face it. Today you can accomplish the same by logging in to your account on the club web site and make a couple of clicks. The important thing is not to forget to do it and most clubs will even send you a friendly reminder e-mail before the selection is shipped. And even if it does slip your mind, you can still return the package if you really don't want it, the club will even pay for the return postage.

 

To be fair, we have to mention that there are some people who actually think negative option is a good thing. Their reasoning is: it forces you to consider the selection – which otherwise you might be too busy or too “inert” to do – and you might just decide you want it. If not, you have to go to the club web site to cancel it and, while there, another book might catch your attention – which is what the club wants and why they are making you go through the process in the first place. But then, it's what you want too, isn't it? Buying books is why you're thinking of joining a book club, right?

Before you join any of the book clubs it is important that you understand what your obligations will be, and what are the obligations of the book club. The Federal Trade Commission enforces the Prenotification Negative Option Rule, which requires the companies to give you information about their plans, clearly and conspicuously, in any promotional material that consumers can use to enroll. For example, they must tell you:

• if there's a minimum purchase obligation
• how and when you can cancel membership
• how often will they send you announcements and rejection forms
• how to reject merchandise
• the deadline for exercising the rejection to avoid shipment of the merchandise
• whether billing charges include postage and handling

You can find the entire text of the Rule here:

 

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro09.shtm

 

To the best of our knowledge, all book clubs reviewed at our site adhere strictly to these policies.

 

Bottom line: however you may feel about it, negative option is a fact of life at the moment and if you want to avail yourself of the advantages that book club membership brings, you will need to come to terms with it.

 

The Internet has brought the nuisance of having to deal with main selections to a minimum; it will chip off only a couple of minutes of your time every once in a while. By making you do it, book clubs gain the advantage of having you on their site once every 3-4 weeks in the hope that, if you don't like the main selection, something else might catch your fancy. In return, you will enjoy hefty discounts, special offers resulting in even more savings will come your way regularly, you'll receive reading recommendations tailored to your taste and, if you're a social person, you can participate in the community of peers to receive opinions on a particular book and share yours. If you can trust yourself to be disciplined about handling featured selections, such an arrangement seems like a pretty good bargain.