How to get Free (unlimited) Bookstore Credit in 4-8 Weeks

[DIzzIE]

HOW TO GET FREE (unlimited) BOOKSTORE CREDIT IN 4-8 WEEKS
BY: DIzzIE [c]opyleft 2003-05

What?
This simple scam involves browsing freebie sites for free book offers, ordering the books, and then taking advantage of lenient ?no receipt then store credit? policies adopted by the vast majority of bookstores to ?return? the books, thus receiving store credit to buy whichever books you want.

How?
No extra clarification is needed, as the ?What?? was fairly self explanatory. Simply proceed to your favourite search engine (such as www.google.com) and search for free book offers (i.e. something along the lines of ?book freebies?, ?order free books?, ?free book offer?, etc.). Fill out the order forms and wait the 4-8 weeks (standard waiting time) for the books to arrive. Use this time to call local bookstores and ask what their return policy is for books without a receipt. As already stated, most bookstores give store credit for books returned without a receipt. For example, Mary Ellen Keating, a Barnes & Noble spokeswoman, stated: ?On the store side, we have always had a lenient policy about taking books back from anywhere as long as they are in pristine condition.? And the Borders Books Return Policy states: ?Merchandise unaccompanied by the original Borders store receipt, or presented for return beyond 30 days from date of purchase, must be carried by Borders at the time of the return. The lowest price offered for the item during the 12 month period prior to the return will be refunded via a gift card.? Finally, as the title of this text suggests, you may order the books numerous times, thus this is truly an unlimited scam opportunity (depending on how many different sites you can find and how many times you can order from the same site (by using a proxy, if needed, and customer name variations, along with different emails, and the options are sky-high)

Some Sites Please?

This is an updated list of free books one may order online, with worthless books, broken links, etc. deleted. The prices were obtained from either amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. As stores give credit for lowest sale price, one mustn't be surprised if one receives credit for a lower price than listed here. Books marked as 'unverified' mean that I was unable to find a listing/price for the book. The books are listed in no particular order. Replace hxxp with http

Celebrating the Art of Architecture: 25 Years of Pritzker Prize Winning Architects
$16.96
hxxp://www.architecturebookdeals.com/guide/

Bible Basics
$5.00
hxxp://www.bbie.org/free-book/free-bible-basics-book.php

Revolution In World Missions
$5.95
hxxps://www.gfa.org/gfa/freebook?motiv=WA50-W0B1 (main site: hxxp://www.jesusanswers.com ?FREE Christian Book?)

Charting Made Easy
$19.95
7 Chart Patterns That Consistently Make Money
$19.95
Trend Forecasting with Technical Analysis
$19.95
The Four Biggest Mistakes in Futures Trading
$19.95
7 Steps to Success Trading Options Online
$19.95
The Four Biggest Mistakes in Option Trading
$19.95
hxxp://www.traderslibrary.com/free/#freebook [select one]

100 Questions and Answers about Lung Cancer
$16.95
hxxp://www.livingwithit.org/lwilung/foryou/offer2.jsp

The Art of Electronic Futures Trading: Building a Winning System by Avoiding Psychological Pitfalls
$34.95
hxxp://partners.futuresource.com/offers/zap_art.htm

Rebel with a Cause
$10.39
Living Beyond the Limits: A Life in Sync with God
UNVERIFIED [ $?.??]
This One Thing I do
UNVERIFIED [ $?.??]
hxxp://www.samaritanspurse.org/franklin/franklin.asp?section=Bibliography&subsection=Order %20Books

Recovery Version New Testament
$10.50
hxxp://www.biblesforamerica.org/products/RequestRcV.aspx

How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims and What to Do If They Don't
$11.01
hxxp://www.sbd-law.com/consumer_resources.php?hid=free_bookorder

Variety of Free Books (your choice of two or three) (most averaging ~$5 each)
hxxp://store.eharlequin.com/t5_free_books.jhtml;jsessionid=

Variety of Free Books (must place link on website/blog) (most averaging ~$10 each)
hxxp://www.bruderhof.com/us/free_stuff/free-book-offer.htm

KJV Bible
$8.24
hxxp://www.christianityfreebies.com/freebies2/Christian_Books/ZJ7HGF355GA.cfm

Lean Six Sigma in Sickness and in Health
$14.41
Wisdom on the Green : Smarter Six Sigma Business Solutions
$14.41
hxxp://www.smartersolutions.com/free_book_offer.php [select one] [call (512) 918-0280]

IP Routing
$23.07
Cisco Router Troubleshooting Handbook
$19.79
BGP4 Inter-Domain Routing in the Internet
$15.63
hxxp://www.packetdesign.com/forms/demo2book-form.htm [select one] (requires "corporate" contact information for scheduling of demo)

The Day Jesus the Christ Died
$12.95
hxxp://www.biblicaltruthministries.org/special_offer.htm

The Divine Plan of the Ages
$11.33
hxxp://www.biblestudents.com/freebook.cfm

________________
Total price: $226.66

[links verified on 06/26/2005]

Please note that not all offers have been verified (as that would require waiting to see if each individual tome would indeed arrive, by which time the offer would possibly have already expired).

Feel free to share your own free book offer findings, but please no direct links.

[fuCKYou]

Holy shit good idea, sweet post :wink:

[Kakkaraun]

God, a classic. My all-time favorite scam.

Dizzie, as I recall, "Revolution in World Missions" wasn't returnable, and it also got me on a shitty evangelical mailing list. Didn't bother me, but may bother some.

Billy Graham.org
hxxps://secure.billygraham.org/freeoffer.asp?f=0&

hxxp://etools.ncol.com/a/jgroup/bg_BillyGrahamBook_wnd_234.html

He usually has some good stuff.

EDIT:

I'm a dumbass, I was thinking of Franklin Graham. Though Billy does still have good books. Anyway, I see you have that on there--but "This One Thing I Do," I can report, does NOT work. It got me caught, actually, though the dude was cool about it. Told me I could give a fake name, mentioned some of his friends did the same thing.

I'm pretty sure, also, that the "Recovery New Testament" won't return...I have several copies of it laying about my house (with all the books of Mormon and Gideon's Bibles...I'm not religious, though, heh). And it's a shit Bible, too.

The EHarlequin romances, I don't believe they worked, but still worth giving it a shot. At any rate, there's always used book stores for some of the ones that won't go.

The Cisco thing never arrived for me.

Oh, and one note--keep in mind that with many of these (especially the religious ones...so much fun exploiting Billy Graham), you can order, then hit back, change a name, order again, etc. Books for the, er, whole family. Yep.

[DIzzIE]

A few more additions:

When Genius Failed : The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
$54.99
hxxp://weekly.inginvestment.com/e_article000431760.cfm?x=b11,0,w

Winning
$18.45
hxxp://www.oracle.com/start/index.html [Keyword: Access]

Good Housekeeping's Blend It!: 150 Sensational Recipes to Make in Your Blender-Frappes, Smoothies, Soups, Pancakes, Frozen Cocktails and More
$14.95
hxxp://www.goodhousekeepingseal.com/r5/contest.asp?sweeps_code=makeover

The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
$10.88
hxxp://www.f5.com/products/prodjump/46325b.php

Speed Cleaning 101
$10.17
hxxp://www.speedyhousecleaning.com/book.html

United States: A Christian Nation
$4.95
hxxp://www.americanvision.org/proddetail.asp?prod=BKP-5206-FREE

Brain Facts: A Primer on the Brain and Nervous System
$3.40
hxxp://web.sfn.org/Template.cfm?Section=Publications&Template=/brainfacts/orderform.cfm

Lean Supply Chain Management: An Executive?s Improvement Guide
UNVERIFIED [$?.??]
hxxp://www.rmdonovan.com/fbo.htm

Enjoy! :smile:

Note: Don't forget to replace hxxp with http, and when posting your own finds, be sure not to post the direct url to avoid referral trackbacks...

[DIzzIE]

Also, the main updated list can be found here: http://www.rorta.net/index.php?page=freebookstorecredit

[Kakkaraun]

I've heard reports that a Barnes and Noble in a certain nearby town has started giving back only half credit for receiptless returns. I don't know if this is widespread yet, but I do know that this particular B&N has probably lost a good deal of money to this scam.

Make of this what you will.

[666]

Great Idea :).

Some bookstores even have Full Season DVD's, Music Box Sets, Yoga/Pilates/Medicine Ball kits.

Def. Be trying this out.

Thanks.

[DIzzIE]

It's been about a year since the last update, so here's a fresh list, enjoy!


Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business
$45.00
hxxp://www.celequest.com/resources/DashboardsBook.aspx

The Goal
$24.95
hxxp://www.bestsoftware.com/manufacturing/form.cfm

Caring For Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5
$20.00
hxxp://www.sf.pii.orders.com/Events/Birth/RP_Birth/

Gideon the Cutpurse: Being the First Part of the Gideon Trilogy
$17.95
hxxp://www.thegideontrilogy.com/

Speed Cleaning 101: Cut Your Cleaning Time in Half!
$14.95
hxxp://www.speedyhousecleaning.com/book.html

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
$14.95
hxxp://weekly.inginvestment.com/e_article000431760.cfm
[Send email to david.white@inginvestment.com]

Peace With God
$12.99
hxxp://etools.ncol.com/a/jgroup/bg_BillyGrahamBook_afanet05_234.html
hxxp://etools.ncol.com/a/jgroup/bg_BillyGrahamBook_wnd_234.html

Lara Takes Charge
$12.95
hxxp://www.animascorp.com/newsletter/lara.shtml

Dismantling Cancer
$9.99
hxxp://oasisofhope.com/book_freebook.html

Can God Bless America?
$9.99
hxxp://www.oneplace.com/ministries/grace_to_you/Free.asp

Contrary to Popular Belief: More than 250 False Facts Revealed
$9.95
hxxp://www.intertek-etlsemko.com/portal/page?_pageid=34%2c327504&_dad=cust_portal&_schema=CUST_PORTAL

Wounded Continent
$8.95
hxxps://www.fhafrica.org/free_book

Rand McNally Quick Reference World Atlas
$5.95
hxxps://secure.yourdhl.com/surveys/ghw_survey.asp

More Than A Carpenter
$4.99
hxxp://www.nhf.cc/feedback_carpenter.htm

Revolution In World Missions
$5.95
hxxps://www.gfa.org/gfa/freebook?motiv=WA50-W0B1 (main site: hxxp://www.jesusanswers.com ?FREE Christian Book?)

Charting Made Easy
$19.95
7 Chart Patterns That Consistently Make Money
$19.95
Trend Forecasting with Technical Analysis
$19.95
The Four Biggest Mistakes in Futures Trading
$19.95
7 Steps to Success Trading Options Online
$19.95
The Four Biggest Mistakes in Option Trading
$19.95
21 Candlesticks Every Trader Should Know
$19.95
Forex Trading Using Intermarket Analysis
$19.95
hxxp://www.traderslibrary.com/free/#freebook [select one]

The Art of Electronic Futures Trading: Building a Winning System by Avoiding Psychological Pitfalls
$34.95
hxxp://partners.futuresource.com/offers/zap_art.htm

Recovery Version New Testament
$10.50
hxxp://www.biblesforamerica.org/products/RequestRcV.aspx

Variety of Free Books [your choice of two or three] [most averaging ~$5 each]
hxxp://store.eharlequin.com/t5_free_books.jhtml;jsessionid=

Lean Six Sigma in Sickness and in Health
$14.41
Wisdom on the Green : Smarter Six Sigma Business Solutions
$14.41
hxxp://www.smartersolutions.com/index.htm [select one] [call (512) 918-0280]

The Divine Plan of the Ages
$11.33
hxxp://www.biblestudents.com/freebook.cfm

Winning
$18.45
hxxp://www.oracle.com/start/index.html [Keyword: Access]

Good Housekeeping's Blend It!: 150 Sensational Recipes to Make in Your Blender-Frappes, Smoothies, Soups, Pancakes, Frozen Cocktails and More
$14.95
hxxp://www.goodhousekeepingseal.com/r5/contest.asp?sweeps_code=makeover

________________
Total price: $354.05
[links verified on 11/16/2006]

[unicornslayer18]

hahaha i did this and one of them called me from chicago he was creepy and sent me a link to his site. hah forgot to put in fake number. good job ive gotten some books not all so far though.

[crzydan81]

great idea. can you return the same book multiple times? also can you get free credit to amazon? becuause i spend 1000s of dollars a year on books. lol

[ubernewhacks]

Anyone got an updated list of books? I can add on
http://www.ethur.org/blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=158
but you need a blog for that one.
https://www.maf.org/free
That one is completely free.
Please send me what you all got.

[odin_dax]

Anyone got an updated list of books? I can add on
http://www.ethur.org/blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=158
but you need a blog for that one.
https://www.maf.org/free
That one is completely free.
Please send me what you all got.

It's easier just to download books from P2P networks. Some areas lack, but most popular titles are around. If it can't be found, a request can work.

[ubernewhacks]

lol. i am after store credit, not more books.
haha.

[odin_dax]

lol. i am after store credit, not more books.
haha.

That makes more sense... Pile up a lot of credit, get a book, scan it, upload and share, then exchange the book.

[ubernewhacks]

actually more along the lines of free dvd's and TV seasons i can sell to people or sell on ebay. or sell the credit. haha.

[ecko]

Cool idea. :bigeyes:

[ubernewhacks]

so no-one can help karl out?

[Mabello]

Does this work at big chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders? I'd imagine it'd be a little bit tougher there.

[DIzzIE]

so no-one can help karl out?

As mentioned in the original textfile:

Simply proceed to your favourite search engine (such as www.google.com) and search for free book offers (i.e. something along the lines of ‘book freebies’, ‘order free books’, ’free book offer’, etc.).

Yes, you may actually have to click through multiple pages of results (the horror!).

Alternatively, a simpler method of procuring store credit is to pick up a book off the shelf in the store, go up to the cashier, and say that you are returning it (but don't have the receipt).

Does this work at big chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders? I'd imagine it'd be a little bit tougher there.


Please read through the entire textfile before asking questions.

As it so happens, your query is answered in the second paragraph:

For example, Mary Ellen Keating, a Barnes & Noble spokeswoman, stated: “On the store side, we have always had a lenient policy about taking books back from anywhere as long as they are in pristine condition.” And the Borders Books Return Policy states: “Merchandise unaccompanied by the original Borders store receipt, or presented for return beyond 30 days from date of purchase, must be carried by Borders at the time of the return. The lowest price offered for the item during the 12 month period prior to the return will be refunded via a gift card.”

Of course, store policies are nothing if not fluid, so the best answer to your question may arise from calling the store in question and asking them what their return policy is for books without a receipt. Should they give you an answer that is contradictory to the policy above, feel free to point that out to them and ask to speak to a manager.

[ubernewhacks]

I understand, and I looked for about an hour on google. I found some, and I linked some of those here. The other links I lost. It's best to use - to eliminate words from your google results. I was just curious on others having some they had discovered.

[LogicTurtle]

Holy shit! I knew there was a reason i joined this forum. Off to get free Dan Abnett...