Baen Collection chain

[piperclassique]

Hi
I'm thinking to buy the June Baen collection, so if we want to start a new chain I need someone to do the explication. Or should I just cut and paste from an old one?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Hi
I'm thinking to buy the June Baen collection, so if we want to start a new chain I need someone to do the explication. Or should I just cut and paste from an old one?

Just cut and paste. I think that's what everyone else does, with occasional tweaks to the rules as experience with the chains has grown.

[odiakkoh]

http://www.mobileread.mobi/forums/sh...ight=Baen+June

^its the mobile site link but is this what you're talking about?

[Ginwen]

There is a June thread, here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...highlight=June

You could try sending a PM to the last person who got a code, and see if they still have a code to send. Actually it kind of looks like the code might have gotten lost at the end.

[koland]

I have a number of $18 gift codes for Baen, but am hesitating before using them - what are your thoughts on using a free (for beta play) purchase to start one of these chains (which often go on for quite a while; it's only one extra freebie purchase, in any case...

[piperclassique]

I hadn't noticed that june was already running, but it does seem to have folded now. So, as there is only one book I badly want, and a couple I would sorta like, I'm hesitating if it means there are only a few others likely to take advantage.

I'll try a pm first before using actual money.

Thanks for the heads up.

[piperclassique]

Ok, just got a confirmation that june is dead.
As for my thoughts on using a voucher, sure, if there is something the voucher holder wants to read. I suppose that will generate a gift code just like paying does, if not there wouldn't have been a chain in the first place. I suppose it would still make sense to use it for a new month, though.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by koland

I have a number of $18 gift codes for Baen, but am hesitating before using them - what are your thoughts on using a free (for beta play) purchase to start one of these chains (which often go on for quite a while; it's only one extra freebie purchase, in any case...

I'd view it as an extended sampling/promotional mechanism like the officially redistributable CDs from the hardcovers over at the Fifth Imperium site.

I love Baen's approach to e-books, but their actual current self-imprint catalogue is very, very rarely to my tastes, which is why I haven't gone and bought any Webscription bundles myself yet and concentrate on their older reprints and the books from other publishers. Out of all the things from these gift chains over the past year or so, I've only ever read 1 book which wasn't a reprint of a much older paperback I already own.

So it's not like Baen's lost the "purchase" price from me from these (and gained quite a few because I'm willing to splurge on a marginal purchase as thanks for the gift) because I just haven't been reading the books.

However, I think I'll probably put some of my Planet Baen coupons eventually towards some of the retro-monthly bundles from years past which have some of the reprints I want in them.

Sure, I could "buy" just the one book or so per month that I really want individually, but with the gift chain mechanism, I'm willing to spend the extra $4-12 to get the entire bundle and pass it around to other people who might get hooked (or even more hooked) on the other included books I personally have no real interest in reading and thereby provide Baen with even more (hopefully eventually paying) readers.

(Or alternatively, I buy the bundles at full price and save the freebie coupons for some Night Shade stuff, since those aren't available in discount bundles any more).

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Sure, I could "buy" just the one book or so per month that I really want individually, but with the gift chain mechanism, I'm willing to spend the extra $4-12 to get the entire bundle and pass it around to other people who might get hooked (or even more hooked) on the other included books I personally have no real interest in reading and thereby provide Baen with even more (hopefully eventually paying) readers.

(Or alternatively, I buy the bundles at full price and save the freebie coupons for some Night Shade stuff, since those aren't available in discount bundles any more).

Just FYI, you can email support and turn three $6 coupons into a single $18 coupon and get the monthly bundle free ...

I'll keep my future coupons for non-bundled titles, but wanted to fill in some of the months I was missing (and that aren't mostly books I already have, which is sometimes the case).

[ATDrake]

Eh, I'm lazy and contacting people is work.

Besides, combining coupons means that I get 1 bundle full of marginal/no-interest stuff with just 1 book I want for "free", whereas keeping them separate means I get 3 bundles full of marginal/no-interest stuff with a total of 3 books I want subsidized and Baen gets a little money at the same time to help keep them afloat awhile longer, which is how my brain insists on seeing it as a slightly better "deal".

But it's nice that they're willing to do that.

[koland]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Eh, I'm lazy and contacting people is work.

Besides, combining coupons means that I get 1 bundle full of marginal/no-interest stuff with just 1 book I want for "free", whereas keeping them separate means I get 3 bundles full of marginal/no-interest stuff with a total of 3 books I want subsidized and Baen gets a little money at the same time to help keep them afloat awhile longer, which is how my brain insists on seeing it as a slightly better "deal".

But it's nice that they're willing to do that.

Very nice. They are also letting beta testers combine coupons from multiple accounts (set up to test various choices of politics, gifting via facebook, etc.

They have given away so many codes (for those that haven't given up on level 1), that I haven't decided if I'll "share" the codes for bundles that I buy using only their free coupons. As you say, better to do so with the ones I spend real money on.