Is Book Bale legit? [Yes, it is]

JSWolf · 07-12-2023, 05:25 PM

I've received an e-mail for a site called Book Bale. According to the e-mail, it seems to be some sort of book club were you pay a monthly fee.

I'm wondering if it's real or is it spam?

DiapDealer · 07-12-2023, 06:13 PM

If you have to ask, it's almost never on the level.

Quoth · 07-12-2023, 06:17 PM

^^^^ yes, if in doubt, ignore.

And never respond to cold calls at door, fax, mail, phone or email.

However. it seems legitimate for a given definition of legitimate.

They have a website, but nothing comes up on screen except a grey grid background and https : // static . parastorage . com / services / wix-thunderbolt/ dist/ deprecation-en .v5 .html

It's a just launched what they call the "book equivalent" of Netflix. So an expensive subscription library.
https://www.lfs.org/blog/publishers-...iews-readings/

Our free public library runs an ebook/comic/audiobook service that's free. Why would I pay $9.99 monthly sub to a service with only 650 titles?

DNSB · 07-12-2023, 06:25 PM

Given that a MR member Robert J. Sawyer is listed as a featured publisher and the list of publishers is dominated by Arc Manor imprints including Phoenix Pick, I suspect that it is legitimate. OTOH, for the price, either Kobo Plus or Kindle Unlimited might be a better use of your money.

JSWolf · 07-12-2023, 06:37 PM

Thanks. So it is legit. That's good to know. Maybe it will be worth subscribing when they get a lot more books.

Nate the great · 07-12-2023, 06:43 PM

I've been seeing their booth at SF cons. Yes, it is legit.

ownedbycats · 07-12-2023, 07:02 PM

I googled it out of curiosity. The first result was a hay delivery service.

jhowell · 07-12-2023, 07:06 PM

I receive an email from Arc Manor last month about this:

Quote:

Hello Dear Readers,

It has been an interesting journey, but we are finally getting ready to lunch Book Bale. The official lunch date is July 17, but we are offering our regular customers, and those who have expressed a special interest in it an early sign-up deal (available right now).

Please be mindful that, like any early entry into a system you may run into some issues….and in fact, we are depending on you to report any such issues to us (see reporting site address below), so we can address them. Having said that, we have been hard at work smoothening things out, so I’m hoping you will find a site that is functioning well, is user friendly and presents a great deal to readers.

To that end we have a very special deal for our loyal customers, many of whom have been with us for more than a decade, and some new friends who have expressed an interest in the product.

The system already offers a free 14 day trial and you can cancel your membership at any time. But if you put in the code “publisherspick” (without the quotation marks), you will get an additional 25% off the $9.99 monthly membership fee for three months. Early registration is only available at BookBale.club (not.com, that will not be operational until July 17). Use BookBale.club to log in as well after you have registered.

How many books will you be able to download after signing up? Up to 20 every month. All our books are priced at one of three price points, $2.99, $5.99 and $8.99. Upon registration and every month hereafter, you will then get a coupon for $60. So for the first three months, you will pay us $7.50 and get books worth $60. If you get 20 books, that is just over 12 cents a book.

And we talking Hugo and Nebula winning authors and books by major New York Times Bestselling Authors. Stories from authors like Orson Scott Cart, George R.R. Martin, Lois McMaster Bujold and Harry Turtledove. There is some incredible stuff in here. Don’t take our work for it, utilize the free trial period to test it out. Plus we have exclusive interviews and readings that members will have free access to. The first one, a beautifully insightful interview with Lois McMaster Bujold is already scheduled for a July release.

Our current ‘available for download immediately’ inventory is about 650 books, and it is growing every day. Many of our partners have yet to start loading their books. Who are our confirmed partners?

Publishers and Agencies:
Baen
Caezik Romance (Arc Manor Imprint)
Caezik SF (Arc Manor imprint)
Fantastic Books
Fantasy Magazine (Adamant Press)
Future SF Magazine (UFO Publishing imprint)
Galaxy Press
Galaxy's Edge (Arc Manor Imprint)
Heart's Kiss (Arc Manor Imprint)
Nightmare Magazine (Adamant Press
JABberwocky
Lightspeed Magazine (Adamant Press)
Locus Magazine
MV-Media
Phoenix Pick (Arc Manor imprint)
UFO Publishing
WordFire Press
Padwolf Publishing
Shadowpaw Press
Authors managing their own portfolios
Carpenter, Thomas K.
Carver, Jeff
Gerold, David
Hughes, Matt
Overton, Scott
Povelle, Kate
Savage, David B.
Sawyer, Robert J.
Sharp, Anthea

And this list is also growing rapidly.

To sign up, please do so at www.BookBale.club (NOTE, not .com, that comes after July 17).

Please use the coupon code “publisherspick” at check out (this will be after you select the $9.99 price plan). For more details on how to sign up, check out the attached PDF. This coupon expires July 7th. Enter it after you click on 'Enter a coupon code' (circled in image below). This screen will appear after you have selected the $9.99 plan.

To report any problems, or provide other feedback,, please use the from at:
https://www.bookbale.club/beta
If you see a white screen, wait a few seconds for it to load to the main screen. This is probably due to ongoing traffic.

Thank You and Good Evening,
Shahid Mahmud
P.O. Box 10339 | Rockville, MD 20849 US

DiapDealer · 07-12-2023, 07:23 PM

Did they really use LUNCH in place of LAUNCH in that letter? Twice??

jhowell · 07-12-2023, 07:24 PM

Hopefully their books are proofread better than that letter!

As they said, "Don’t take our work for it,..."

Kindleing · 07-13-2023, 01:39 AM

Quote:

How many books will you be able to download after signing up? Up to 20 every month. All our books are priced at one of three price points, $2.99, $5.99 and $8.99.

Are these downloaded books purchased or KU style loans/rentals that have to be "returned"?

gbm · 07-13-2023, 03:17 AM

You own them drm free, epub and azw.

bernie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kindleing

Are these downloaded books purchased or KU style loans/rentals that have to be "returned"?

meeera · 07-13-2023, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Did they really use LUNCH in place of LAUNCH in that letter? Twice??

And "Orson Scott Cart".

Quoth · 07-13-2023, 05:57 AM

So, more like a book club than a library, hence the limit of $60 of downloads. I remember those for physical books where there was no sub, but you had to buy books each month. My dad was in a book club for a while.

JSWolf · 07-13-2023, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

So, more like a book club than a library, hence the limit of $60 of downloads. I remember those for physical books where there was no sub, but you had to buy books each month. My dad was in a book club for a while.

I used to be a member of the Science Fiction Book Club.

07-12-2023, 05:25 PM	#1
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,784 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Is Book Bale legit? [Yes, it is] I've received an e-mail for a site called Book Bale. According to the e-mail, it seems to be some sort of book club were you pay a monthly fee. I'm wondering if it's real or is it spam?

07-12-2023, 06:17 PM	#3
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,004 Karma: 111111255 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	^^^^ yes, if in doubt, ignore. And never respond to cold calls at door, fax, mail, phone or email. However. it seems legitimate for a given definition of legitimate. They have a website, but nothing comes up on screen except a grey grid background and https : // static . parastorage . com / services / wix-thunderbolt/ dist/ deprecation-en .v5 .html It's a just launched what they call the "book equivalent" of Netflix. So an expensive subscription library. https://www.lfs.org/blog/publishers-...iews-readings/ Our free public library runs an ebook/comic/audiobook service that's free. Why would I pay $9.99 monthly sub to a service with only 650 titles? Last edited by Quoth; 07-12-2023 at 06:28 PM.

07-12-2023, 07:24 PM	#10
jhowell Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,162 Karma: 92500001 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Charlottesville, VA Device: Kindles	Hopefully their books are proofread better than that letter! As they said, "Don’t take our work for it,..." Last edited by jhowell; 07-12-2023 at 07:26 PM.

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07-12-2023, 06:13 PM	#2
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,892 Karma: 207182180 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	If you have to ask, it's almost never on the level.

07-12-2023, 06:25 PM	#4
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 48,175 Karma: 174315444 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Given that a MR member Robert J. Sawyer is listed as a featured publisher and the list of publishers is dominated by Arc Manor imprints including Phoenix Pick, I suspect that it is legitimate. OTOH, for the price, either Kobo Plus or Kindle Unlimited might be a better use of your money.

07-12-2023, 06:37 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,784 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Thanks. So it is legit. That's good to know. Maybe it will be worth subscribing when they get a lot more books.

07-12-2023, 06:43 PM	#6
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I've been seeing their booth at SF cons. Yes, it is legit.

07-12-2023, 07:02 PM	#7
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 11,360 Karma: 79528341 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	I googled it out of curiosity. The first result was a hay delivery service.

07-12-2023, 07:23 PM	#9
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,892 Karma: 207182180 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Did they really use LUNCH in place of LAUNCH in that letter? Twice??

07-13-2023, 05:57 AM	#14
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,004 Karma: 111111255 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	So, more like a book club than a library, hence the limit of $60 of downloads. I remember those for physical books where there was no sub, but you had to buy books each month. My dad was in a book club for a while.