Thebookpeople.co.uk > Reviews (31)

Today, my parcel from thebookpeople was rather a good one. It contained:

● Set of ten books by John Steinbeck in Penguin Classics at £9.99. The published price for these books is a whopping £77.90. (Well, I needed them: my old ones are rather dog-eared).

● Stanley Yelnat's Guide to Camp Green Lake by Louis Sachar at £1.99. The published price of this is £4.99 and I've not seen it at less anywhere on the High Street. (If you've read Holes by Sachar, you'll know this is a must. If you've not, why've you not?!)

● Norwegian Wood the two book novel by Murakami that comes in boxed form. Its list price is £15.00 but I'm paying only £5.99. (Yes, yes, I know: I should have read it already. I haven't. So there).

● Set of eight John Grisham novels at £9.99 instead of £55.92. (Not my bag at all, but I needed to donate a prize for the village skateboard park (!) fund).

● Slipcased set of three hardbacked children's novels, all prizewinners, including a William Nicholson and Kensuke's Kingdom – beautiful book – by Michael Morpugo. I'm paying £6.98 but according to the publishers I should be paying £32.97.

I've spent thirty-five quid and received books worth almost two hundred quid. And you know what? I didn't pay for postage; thebookpeople did that for me because I spent over thirty pounds! Amazing! Even better, I've managed to scoop a total of thirty of their loyalty scheme's book points. I'm saving those up until I get to one hundred, at which point I shall choose a book from the list kindly provided (up to £6.99 at their rock-bottom prices) and I shan't pay for that at all. Wondrous!

I've been using thebookpeople for over ten years, firstly through their monthly mail order catalogue, but for the last few years, via their website. I dislike Real Life Shopping intensely – although I'm prepared to make an exception for books – and if something's available online, then I'm there like a flash. And thebookpeople are no exception. Their little home in cyberspace is um… well… garish. It's VERY bright – lots of primary reds and blues. This kind of inyerface design is really not my bag. I like relaxing white space and plenty of it. But for prices such as these, I'll run the risk of a headache. It's a nice easy site both to browse and purchase. Links to the various categories of books run down a left-hand margin on each page. Access to account details, help pages and shopping baskets runs along a horizontal menu at the top. Everything's accessible in pretty much one or two clicks. The homepage, for some reason, seems to take an age to load, but don't be downcast, for the rest of the site is fine. Registration is very easy too, and confirmed by email. You can search the site by author, title, or catalogue number, but I'd say this is largely pointless given the small size of the range and the speed of the site. Still, it's there if you need it.

Although they will mostly carry something for everyone who likes books – the subcategories include bestselling fiction, classic fiction, children's fiction, biographies, lifestyle, cookery, reference, audio books – thebookpeople are not a substitute for Amazon, WH Smith, or whichever is your chosen internet book retailer.

You're not going to be able to buy anything you choose at prices like this. Rather, thebookpeople offer a small range – maybe ten or so – items within each of their categories. These are changed on a monthly basis. Mostly, what they're selling is the genuine article, although occasionally what you'll get is a special "Ted Smart" edition. But that doesn't matter, as these are of excellent quality. Consequently, the best way to shop at thebookpeople is to wander along to the site once a month or so and see what there is to be had. Often, the website will contain a slightly larger selection than the mail order catalogue. I guess whatever they don't sell from the previous selection is there too. But occasionally there will be offers in the catalogue not available online. The three for two audio book offer this month is an example of this. It is always clearly stated though, so you won't lose out if you pay attention.

There's a one-off charge for delivery of £3.25 for UK mainland addresses and the quoted lead-time is five to seven working days. Back in London, my orders generally arrived within three days. Here in Devon, their quoted times seem to be the general rule. I've never, ever waited longer than this. Everything's packed beautifully, in sturdy boxes with that bubble wrap packing stuff. This is useful if you also use Ebay or generally send things through the post on a regular basis. Certainly, I think thebookpeople packaging is of better, stronger quality than is Amazon's for example. I approve of this, because I can easily re-use all of it. And, as I said earlier, if you spend more than thirty quid, the delivery comes free of charge. Thebookpeople run a loyalty scheme, giving you points for each book bought. Book points earned (roughly one for each pound you spend) are totalled automatically. As it's done by home address and should you use both website and catalogue, the points for both will be combined. When you wish to spend them, one books from a list displayed on the website, it's a breeze. Simply click the "redeem" button next to any of the qualifying books.

Thebookpeople take Switch, Delta, Visa and Mastercard, but sadly neither Amex nor Solo. This is fine for me, but I do think it's a shame that a Solo card isn't an option. Solo is the card of young people really, isn't it, and I'm sure many cardholders would love to spend their shekels at a cheap place like this. The site is verified by Verisign and uses SSL encryption so you can be sure your details are safe. And their customer services are a delight. I managed to mess up an order once and received a reply to my panicking email within thirty minutes of sending it. They confirmed my alterations and the package arrived all present and correct, despite my bungling. I've had occasion to telephone them once or twice and the staff are bright and friendly. They seem, encouragingly, to know the range and availability of stock without recourse to endless faffs and waits. I guess this may be down to the relatively small range of books available, but it's nice, nevertheless, to be able to put down the phone to a call-centre without steam coming from your ears, don't you think?

They have a comprehensive returns policy, but I've never used it, so can't comment. (Who on earth sends BOOKS back?!) I've ordered from the website twenty times at least, more from the catalogue in times gone by, and thebookpeople haven't made a mistake yet. I wish I could say as much for all other e-tailers.

As you may have guessed, I very much like thebookpeople. They're one of my top three places from which to buy cheap books. (The other two being the more upmarket www.psbooks.co.uk and a second hand place in Notting Hill if you're interested). This isn't a place where only the otherwise unsellable ends of lines reside. The limited selection offered by thebookpeople generally holds something for everyone and is a nice mix of current bestsellers, quality novels, and classic fiction. Thebookpeople are particularly good for anyone shopping for books for children. I'd say they have intelligent, imaginative buyers. The site might be awfully bright, but it's easy to use and the service offered is excellent. It's the perfect place to splurge without feeling too guilty about the bank balance but with the satisfaction of getting a jolly large parcel through the post. They get four Ciao stars (one off for the horrid bright colours, the slow-loading of the front page and not making all the offers available via the website). They also get an awful lot of Murphy Brownie Points.

http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk