Mango tastes good to me so far (Mango)

Member Name: frangliz

Product:	Mango
Date:	17/12/06 (194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty of special offers

Disadvantages: Postage is expensive on cheaper books

I was a little dubious about joining a book club as people often seem to be very critical of them, so it seems only fair that I say that my experience of Mango has been without problems so far.

Not the best of starts, as my introductory book was left in my dustbin - it was a relatively new one and had been emptied that morning, but even so I didn't find that acceptable. However, that was the fault of the delivery company rather than Mango. I didn't actually want that particular book, so I listed it on Amazon Marketplace and sold it within twenty-four hours at a very decent price, considering Mango only charged me 99p for it.

Since then I have ordered a cookery book, a book on memory loss which I hope to read over the Christmas period (having reached the age when short-term memory can cause frequent problems), and Roald Dahl's 'Songs and Verse' - a good variety. When I ordered my second book I was offered the choice of a free teddy bear or a £3 book token to use on a future order. I chose the token as I have no young relatives who would have appreciated a teddy for Christmas.

So far I have only paid for the introductory book and the cookery book, as Mango are currently not asking for payment of orders until February 2007, which is a help at this time of year. The December magazine is offering three books for the price of two as well as free postage and packing on all orders over £15, so anyone buying books as Christmas presents could have made a good saving here. There are several sets of children's books (a set counts as just one choice) ranging from £8.97 for three Dora the Explorer books to £39.92 for a set of eight children's hardback classics. The last three pages of the magazine feature bestsellers in the sale at £6.99 and a selection of fiction at £3.99.

The books I have ordered so far have all been at discounted prices, but I have paid postage and packing on them as they were under £15 and I didn't take advantage of the '3 for 2' offer. Cheaper prices can usually be found on Amazon, but I would never have known that the book on memory loss existed had I not seen it in the Mango catalogue.

Delivery usually takes place about a week after placing an order, which was fine for me as I wasn't in a desperate hurry for any of the books. The books have all been well packaged so far in a cardboard box with plenty of bubblewrap inside. As usual there is a fair amount of junk advertising material in the box, but I just put it straight in the recycling bin.

If you join Mango you commit to buying six books in total, after which you can cancel your membership if you wish. Magazines are sent out monthly with a suggested editor's choice which will be sent to you unless you cancel it either by post or online. Orders can be placed by post or on Mango's website. If you use the website you obviously save on postage, and you receive a confirming email if you cancel the editor's choice.

As I have so far had no problems with my orders, I have had no reason to telephone or email the company and cannot comment on their customer service. I will update this review in the future if any problems do occur.

Some previous reviews have commented that this is a club targetting younger women, but I wouldn't agree with this. I have seen quite a few reference books that I would be interested in ordering, such as the 'Aerial Atlas of the World', and I would think it might be an interesting club for a family to join.

Summary: A problem-free book club