Is Book Bale legit? [Yes, it is]

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DNSB

...Also the coupons are single use, you can use any amount up to the coupon maximum but you only get to use it one time. You are not able to use it to pick up $15 worth of books and then pick up another $15 worth of books a week later.

Well, that's good to know. Do they make this clear on the site? That said, with the highest price point at $9 per book (if that's still the case) that means a minimum of three books a month for $4.99. That seems like a pretty good deal.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Well, that's good to know. Do they make this clear on the site? That said, with the highest price point at $9 per book (if that's still the case) that means a minimum of three books a month for $4.99. That seems like a pretty good deal.

Their How To Use Your Monthly Coupon link makes it very clear:

The coupon is a one-time use coupon, regardless of the total amount of your cart. If you want to use the FULL monthly coupon of $30, make sure you have enough books in your cart to use your entire membership benefit.

So far, I've tended to use the coupon near the end of the month.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Their How To Use Your Monthly Coupon link makes it very clear:

So far, I've tended to use the coupon near the end of the month.

Sounds good. Currently they're running a $1.99 promotion for the first month. I'll probably try them out.

[batpuppy]

I believe that next year they plan to move away from the coupons and replaced it with a credit system, and every month the credits will automatically refresh within each user's account

[Kindleing]

Originally Posted by batpuppy

I believe that next year they plan to move away from the coupons and replaced it with a credit system, and every month the credits will automatically refresh within each user's account

Yes, they sent out an email about a month ago with news of some changes they are working on. Among other things, it said:

2. No emailing of coupons (they will either be eliminated and switched to a monthly credit or will be generated by the user on the site. Too many emails seem to get lost or go to spam).
3. Ability to use the coupon over multiple transactions, so you can just download a book to read at any time and the credit on the unused part of the coupon can be used later.

[DNSB]

Received an email from Book Bale saying the new system will go live in mid-January. The email also offered a free copy of Alex Shvartsman's The Middling Affliction.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by rcentros

And "...some have yet to so." Presumably "yet to do so."

To those using this service, are the price points still $2.99, $5.99 and $8.99?

Pretty much. Looks like they've just rounded up to whole dollars. I just used my coupon and the books were $3.00 and $6.00.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by cromag

Pretty much. Looks like they've just rounded up to whole dollars. I just used my coupon and the books were $3.00 and $6.00.

Thanks for the response. I like the rounding up to an even dollar amount better.

[MyFathersDragon]

Update: They gave me a new coupon for the one that didn’t work, so that is resolved.

[Kindleing]

I received an email from them today:

We had expected to launch the new Book Bale site by the middle of January, however we are still seeing a few glitches we need to overcome, so the expected launch date for the new site is being moved to mid-February.

I am aware that the old coupon system is not working the way it should. If you have been been unable to use the coupon, please send us a message through the system and someone will respond. In any case, for those of you who continue to have issues, or have not yet addressed the issued, we WILL take care of you when the new site launches.

-Snip-

This credit system not only eliminates the coupon system totally, but will also have two other very important features.

1. It is a use as you go system. You do NOT need to download all the books at the same time. You just use however many credit points you want to, the remainder will just stay in your account.

2. These do not expire a the end of the month. Each month you will just get a credit for 30 points which will just be added to your existing remaining balance.

[Kindleing]

An email from Book Bale contained an update on the timing of their new system rollout:

We are extremely excited to announce that our new site is set to launch in the next three weeks or so.

In order to ensure a smooth transition and to verify that everything functions perfectly on the REAL online site (not just the back-model we have been testing), we will be restricting access to the site starting February 1. Access will be reinstated approximately two weeks later.

Please take note of the following important updates:

VERY IMPORTANT: As we are transitioning away from the coupon system, please ensure you use your coupons on or before January 31.

We are committed to compensating you for any inconvenience or lost opportunities during this period, so please don't worry about the temporary inability to download books.

They also listed a few new titles that are available.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by Kindleing

They also listed a few new titles that are available.

The title list is starting to look a bit more attractive; I noticed a bunch of titles I have in paperback only. Still not sure if I think it's worth the deal as my must-haves I already have got in ebook.

[MyFathersDragon]

I like Book Bale, but I am hoping for a larger selection of books soon.

One problem with Book Bale is that if you have problems downloading your books, which I did one time, and the time limit runs out, you will need to buy them again. I live in a rural area with erratic Internet, which can be out for days before the company gets it fixed. I couldn’t get them downloaded after receiving the order confirmation, and then when the Internet was back up, some family members were having health problems, so trying to download the books slipped my mind. I could never get that $30 of books, despite contacting them several times. I don’t think this will be a problem that often affects people, though.