So like all good lemmings I signed to up to be offered a chance to try the Oyster service.
The offer came this morning. Basically you click on a link in the email and you are at their site.
The first thing that you must do is give them a password, since they already have your email address.
Next you are urged to browse and pick your first five books but there is no search function on the web site. (fail)
So you pick five books at random, expecting to be able to change them later, and click next.
Now they want your credit card. No mention of a free trial. (fail)
At this point you are stuck. If you want to continue, you must pay. So I decided to see what their cancellation policy is. "No refunds or credits will be provided for partial months. For more information read the payment terms" (fail)
The payment terms mention a free trial but it is not currently available.
"Free trials and other promotions
You may be required to provide an applicable billing payment method to register for a free trial offer to the subscription service provided on or through the Services. In that event, you agree that Oyster may obtain a pre-authorization for the full subscription price that you will be automatically charged if you complete the free trial and continue the subscription service. It is possible that some financial institutions may perceive these requested amounts as actual pending charges. These are not actual charges, and you agree that Oyster will not be responsible for any results, such as an overdraft fee, that may occur to your account with a financial institution as a result of such authorizations.
Any free trial or other promotion that provides access to a Paid Service must be used within the specified trial period. You must stop using a Paid Service before the end of the trial period in order to avoid being charged for that Paid Service. If you cancel prior to the end of the trial period and are inadvertently charged for a Paid Service, please contact us at
hello@oysterbooks.com."
I emailed and was told there is currently no free trial. (fail)
Next I downloaded their iPhone app but it would not let me in without payment. No iPad app yet. (fail)
So I have not yet seen a single word from any of their 100,000 books. (fail)
These guys are going nowhere.
