It would be unfair of me to leave this blog empty for so long this month, even with major exams coming up. It is, after all, my birthday month. Cue non-review posts!
This post will be about The Big Bad Wolf Book Sales, which are humongous bargain book sales that take place in Malaysia. It is run by Mr Big Bad Wolf, affectionately called the Wolf for short. Okay, it is actually run by his minions (or more accurately the owners of the wonderful BookXcess and their minions) but psh. Technicalities.
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| Meet my main dealer- of books, that is. |
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my favourite sale.
Of all time.
No competition.
If you're currently residing in Malaysia (or even Singapore) and haven't been living too far from civilization, you have most probably heard of the sales. If you're also a bibliophile who lives rather close by, chances are this is also your favourite sale of all time. If not, it's fine- you still have time to discover them at the end of this year, and hopefully many years to come!
The main sale happens for around a week or two annually since 2009. It is a smorgasbord of books, in a venue large enough to house up to millions of tomes, hungry crowds of bibliophiles who are attracted to them like moths to a candle on a dark night, and other buyers not quite so obsessed. There is space even for food and beverage stalls, charming knick-knacks and merchandise, the odd vehicle or two (or five)- plus countless other things. Of course, it didn't start with millions of books in 2009 but that is not relevant now.
It usually takes place within the Klang Valley region, and for the past 3 years or so it has been held in the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Center, or MIECC, in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
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| A very appropriate image of the sale in MIECC. Taken from deLYSHous 2.0 |
For the smaller sales scattered throughout the year building up to the next main year-end sale, the Wolf sometimes takes portions of his books outside the Klang Valley to smaller states where they may be in demand, so more people will have access to these cheap treasures. So far they've been to 4 other states outside the Klang Valley.
I have attended the sales since 2011- thanks to my university, who notified the faculties of the sale happening at that time and offered free transport to and from uni. Back then, there were (only) 1.5 million books for sale. It was my first taste of the Big Bad Wolf, for such a brief span of time (we were only allowed around 2 hours I think), and I've been wanting more ever since.
The Wolf is the main supplier of my modest pile of books at home, which is slowly but steadily growing in size. It is also probably the main source of my mother's distress: I have been filling her china cabinets, among other spaces, with my books instead of leaving them alone for her stuff. Good thing I'm leaving soon!
Several months prior to the sale, the organizers will begin releasing previews of the books that would be available on their main site, so you could ready your pockets and bank accounts. Of course, this doesn't nearly skim the surface of the total amount of titles available on the sale itself. It is, however, useful because they will most probably list out the books/sets/items that they know will be crowd-pleasers which are a little more expensive than their usual array of books, but oh so worth the money. You will know what I'm talking about when I come to my purchases below.
The current venue is amazing. Large, with ample space for the obligatory book mountains, F&B stalls, children's play area and even a miniature aircraft to boot. There is ample parking. There is a mall adjacent to the venue for when you decide to have a post-sale meal, movie, boat ride, or another round of shopping.
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| Insta-photobooth. Also, hot. Children are attracted to pretty, shiny things and therefore prone to first-degree burns, so watch your children around this thing! |
Now. As per the rule of life, there are always obstacles to anything worth having.
And the Wolf & co. comes up with solutions to make the obstacles more bearable.
Examples:
- Although the venue is amazing, getting there is a pain in the butt, sometimes literally- the traffic on peak hours can be so terrible that you might be stuck for 2 hours inside the car merely a few hundred meters away from the venue. Hence why the main sale has been 24-hours long for the past couple of years- so you can beat the peak-hour rush and shop leisurely for your books in your jammies.
- Furthermore, if you come during peak hours you would have to deal with a great number of people, sometimes with huge trolley bags that fill up whole aisles (not blaming them!). That is why they have added book storage- so you could store some of your finds for a while and continue to hunt for even MORE books. When it's time to leave or sort, just retrieve them from the storage and go merrily on your way. People carrying trolley bags need not lug their heavy stashes all the time now!
- Once you're there, you might realize that lugging books around in a box (they provide boxes) or a bag gets very tiring very quickly- particularly if you've picked up many a tome. Since last year's main sale, the Wolf provides his customers with trolleys. There are quite a number of them, but they tend to disappear very easily during peak hours.
- People keep throwing their books away in the most unfortunate places. After all, most of us can't have everything that we want- and after picking up so many books, in the end some of them cannot make it back home with us. Many a time this dastardly act of book-throwing damages the quality of the books irreparably, which is a tragedy- not to mention befuddling the initial organisation and order of books. For that, they have provided a large area for customers to sort their books in, with a receptacle of sorts for us to put our unwanted books for them to sort back into the correct sections. Better organization!
- Children and other family members not as keen as you in spending hours perusing through books? Solution: Children's play area, F&B stalls, and even massage chairs/rest zone located just above the sale, away from the main hustle and bustle!
- Other issues, queries during the sale, and the after sale services? The minions (helpers during the sale) will be more than happy to help. I don't know how or why they appear so happy to help all the time, but they're integral to the smooth running of the sales. It's easy to spot them, they're usually in matching shirts- for the past few years it's bright orange, and they would greet you at the entrance usually.
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| One example of the ever-helpful Minion in its natural habitat, i.e. helping a customer. I LOVE the entrances. And the miniature airplane model. ♥ |
You would think, why would so many people brave horrendous traffic, unpredictable weather, irate mothers and throngs of sweaty, excited masses for this sale? Sure there are several million books, but that's not entirely the point.
No. In fact, the point is we get to buy mostly (99%) new books, many in pristine condition, for 5% to 15% of the original retail price.
Say WHAT?
Yes. Discounts of 75% to 95%, sometimes even more.
They love to put most paperback fiction books at the freaky, ridiculously affordable price of RM 8, as a general rule of thumb. Come rain, shine, or exorbitant hikes in petrol prices, this hasn't changed in years. Most hardbacks would be at RM 10, and even then there are still quite a few paperbacks for prices as low as RM 1. That's, like, cheaper than iced Milo.
And the selection of books (and service) just gets better and better as the years go by. Believe me, I've been going for only 4 years.
The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2014
For a couple of weeks in December 2014, The Big Bad Wolf had over 3 million books in store for its fans. If that doesn't make you howl with delight, I don't know what will.
During this sale, I spent about RM 500 in total. Not a small amount, but still amazing- because my purchases included such rare gems as the Millennium trilogy in Deluxe edition (RM 60 I believe), The 50th anniversary edition of Lord of the Rings trilogy (RM 75), and the signature hardcover set of Harry Potter (RM150)- among other box sets and individual titles you can see below. The Harry Potter set itself is originally priced even higher than the amount I paid for ALL the books put together, and is not found in most retail shops anymore.
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| How's that for a bargain book sale? Stash for the 2014 Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, Round One. At normal retail prices, the right-hand corner of the picture (LotR, HP box set, Hunger Games trilogy) would amount to about RM 1000. |
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| Round Two. Bookmark set (+ free button badge) thrown in to the mix because... |
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| Pretty bookmarks! Okay, I'm pretty much a bookmark hoarder too. |
That said, popular and criminally cheap books such as the Harry Potter Signature Hardcover Box Set and the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Lord of the Rings do NOT come easily- you have to snag them early, before the masses devour them.
Which is why winning a Preview Pass to the sale is very pivotal to your success in book hunting.
The odds were in my favour last year and I got a pass, thereby securing myself a satisfactory book stash on my first visit. Even, so make sure you come early- many people obtain the preview pass by year's end, and of these many are bibliophiles who covet the same things you do.
Be warned. I almost yelled at a customer for snatching a book away when it was two inches away from my reaching hand (I'm not kidding). Good thing the girl was obviously young-ish, apologized (before hurrying away and avoiding my gaze) and- most importantly- I could make do without the book. Ha. The things people do in the YA section...
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| Preview Pass front... |
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| And back! |
Like I said, there are other ways to win the preview passes. Be famous and you might be eligible for the press pass! ;)
Going to the preview sale almost always ensures early dibs, and (from my observation) the best selection of titles compared to the rest of the days, with the most pristine books- after all, you're there before most people and the books are still largely untouched. However, it does not provide you with all titles potentially available- for this reason, most people will visit the sale multiple times.
Happy with your stash of books? Remember there are less fortunate people who can't afford to buy new books. This is where the Red Readerhood comes in. Nemesis-turned-faithful-sidekick of the Wolf, the Red Readerhood collects brand new books that have been purchased at the sale and donates them to underprivileged children across the country. They have to be children's books from the sale itself, which may be from your own stash (make sure they're in good condition), or purchased at the Red Readerhood booth, usually located outside of the main hall.
I must confess: I've been a Big Bad Book Hoarder, and haven't donated to the Red Readerhood yet, though I've come very, very close. Not because I don't have the money or initiative, but because I was in a rush both times I went last year, exiting the main hall only a few minutes before my planned return trip to class or back home. Next time, most definitely. And for those who did, I applaud you!
Big Bad Wolf Fire Sale 2015
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| They actually had an entrance sign for this sale too! Note the miniature airplane model again! ♥ |
And for the Fire Sale (previously also known as the Aftermath sale), the remaining books that were not sold at the main sale will go for even LOWER prices.
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| Woah there don't tilt that head too much! Most books for RM 5. I KNOW RIGHT. Friend's fingers for scale. |
As you probably might have noticed, I have no actual pictures of my own of the main sale within the exhibition hall. Too busy searching for great titles to bring home and rather pressed for time.
Maybe next sale.
I do, however, take pictures of my books, once the adrenaline rush isn't as overwhelming.
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| Round One- they even gave a nice bookmark from their sale last year in Negeri Sembilan! 15 books for RM 87. |
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| Round Two! 17 books for close to RM 100. |
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| All together now! I got all of these for less than RM 200 at The BBW Fire Sale 2015. |
Ah yes, the main reason I went there for the second time was for a preview pass for the main sale at the end of this year: The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2015. Otherwise I wouldn't have gone a second time and deprive myself of more meals because, let's be real, I can say I'm only there for the preview pass but end up buying more books anyway.
It's their fault for always having different titles every single day. If you found your first visit in need of a greater selection of titles, try a different day- chances are, you will find TONS of books you have not noticed before. Every time books disappear from the shelves, there will be some tireless minion restocking other books into the pile. Gems may be hidden! This was how I found Esther Earl's book, from one of the boxes they use to restock the piles (I grabbed it before anyone else could notice it).
I keep myself updated on The Big Bad Wolf's Facebook page for important notices and events. A few days prior to the final day of the Fire Sale, they announced that they will be giving away 50 preview passes to the first 50 customers who arrive before the doors open at 10 a.m. for the three final days of the sale. Not wanting to compete with weekenders, I went on Monday- the start of my study week, also final day of the sale. I arrived a little past 9 a.m., and there were only 3 people in front of me in the queue. Satisfied with my sure-fire preview pass win, I plopped down on the cold, hard stone floor, took out Lev Grossman's The Magicians from my backpack, and began reading.
About 15 minutes or so before the doors opened, a politely smiling Minion approached me, congratulated me, gave me a free bookmark and button badge (oh yes, those were the rewards for the first 50 customers too- I forgot!), and gave me a piece of paper to symbolize my hard-earned preview pass. The main process is writing down my details on a list for the preview pass winners, with which they will contact me when the time comes. The actual pass will be distributed in the final quarter of this year or so, but the signing of my name in the preview pass recipient list is the major win for the day.
Other than the books, that is.
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| Part of the symbolic preview pass for BBW 2015. Thanks, Mr Wolf! |
So you may have come to the conclusion that
- I do a lot of reading below my age (all those YA titles...)
- I am a fantasy fan
- These books are super cheap, man!
- Reb is sponsored by The Big Bad Wolf/BookXcess
Yes, yes, yes, NO.
I simply love the sale too much, and it has become quite a large part of my bookish life- so naturally, a post dedicated to it belongs in this blog. It is my most anticipated event of the year, and I will save up for months prior. Most times I forego several main daily meals a month or two before, to be able to afford all these books. I am a student, after all.
My Dad used to give me an amount of money for the sale, but I think my parents are beginning to think I do not need even more help in obtaining books with my current book stash so large- at least to them.
I do not come from a family of bibliophiles, but they accept me for who I am ;)
I will perhaps include more tips for survival at the sale, among other things, when the main sale is closer on the horizon. For now, let's close this post by being grateful for the existence of The Big Bad Wolf Books, BookXcess, and their counterparts around the world. ♥
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