Worldbooks > Reviews (45)

Since starting my new found hobby of reading, I have joined a couple of book clubs, one of them being World Books.

World books have members in excess of 600,000; and have been going for many years now and are owned BCA (British Club Associates) who also own other well known companies including BOL, Just good books and Mango.

I admit I was tempted by the offer I saw in a magazine where you could get six gardening and thriller books for less than a £1.00 each, each one was worth substantially more. You should also remember that if you fail to meet your agreed purchases (i.e. four books in the following year) you will be charged for the full price of the individual books you bought at the start ( introduction offer).

So with bargain in hand what else do you need to do? For a start and probably most importantly: In order to keep the bargain books you have just got you now need to order at least four full priced books in the following year: However the full price books are still generally discounted.

What sort of books do they sell? World Books sell a wide range of differing books genres, though the choice within those genres can be somewhat limited. You can generally take your pick from best sellers, garden, home, medical, cookery, romance thriller and more.

Ordering is easy and I usually organise my account online, for ease of use, plus they often have online bargains only – recent examples include; free postage, & £1.00 books (hardback).

The club works as follows: About every four months you’ll receive a letter package which includes an invoice for any money you owe, a statement of all the activity on your account and the editor’s choice. However if you don't cancel the editor's choice you will get the books, which you will either have to pay to return or pay for the books.

So what you need to do when you get your package is, see whether you have any outstanding payments and pay those by cheque (through post), or credit card (online, through post, or by phone).

Next is to check whether you want the editor’s choice of books, your magazine (within the package) will tell you the full details of the books of offer. If you are happy with the editors choice then simply do nothing, if you don’t want the choice then you have three options. Click on your account online and cancel, use the phone (automated) where you can cancel also, or simply tick the right box on your statement and return the form by post.

If there are any other books in the magazine (which generally runs at about 40-50 pages), then you can place an order for any book from that magazine whilst cancelling the editors choice, or have a wider choice by managing online.

The general idea of the book club is quite good and on the whole they have proved quite efficient if a little slow in delivery. I wasn’t too concerned about the minimum book order, and sure enough I was soon past the minimum order, though I admit I do have enough books to keep me going for several months now in stock on my shelf. However some people may be put off by the minimum order total.

Postage is £2.99 per order and is currently free if your order is over £29 and ordered online.

What I like:

I particularly like the idea of sitting in comfort and choosing your books without any rush. I like the idea that you can place your order online, by post, or on the phone. I also like the idea of the payment choice (i.e. by post, online, phone). I like the fact the books are delivered to your door for one postage cost, regardless of order size (so the more you order the more you save)

What I don’t like:

I really don’t like the amount of junk you get with your monthly mailing – you could almost sink a ship with it. I also don’t like the fact that YOU are responsible for cancelling the editor’s choice each month. For me it would be far better to simply order as wanted without having to waste time and effort on cancelling the editor’s choice.

Overall, I would recommend this site if you are an avid book reader, however if you are a casual (on and off) reader then maybe it would be better to buy from shops on or offline individually.

Thanks for reading - Dave