I no longer recall how I first became aware of Daedalus Books and Music. It may well have been by someone passing me one of their paper catalogs or I might have stumbled across them on line while searching for something. No matter how it first happened some four+ years ago, I am recurrently grateful that it DID each and every time I place an order with them. To begin at the end, no matter how much or of what you order, the shipping is limited to a flat fee – currently $5.95. (It was recently raised to that after being held at $4.95 for over four years.) For those of you who shop for books, DVDs and music on line, you will appreciate the savings achieved just by that factor alone! But, there is SO much more to recommend about this company, their site and the catalogs that are printed under special topic availabilities (like the Children’s Book catalog shown in the accompanying illustration, special seasonal catalogs, etc.)that each reads like a ‘wish book’ of books and recordings you somehow missed in the past that have magically reappeared and are now available to you at prices up to 90% off original list.
How do they do it? Well, I suppose they do the obvious by buying out closed out lots of books, DVDs and CDs, etc. But that would be an oversimplification. Among the thousands of available items for sale at any one time, you are apt to find best sellers (from 6-9 months ago), re-masterings of recordings from past decades as well as brand new issues on both paper and plastic that Daedalus has, somehow, acquired and is able to retail at these seemingly ridiculously discounted prices. For example, in the most recent shipment I received from them (an 8CD set of Spanish Language Instruction – Pimsleur, no less: Listed at $49.99 when new – now, three years later, purchased for $14.99 – and the Spanish hasn’t changed all that much!) there were two enclosed catalogs. The first is the Children’s Spring 2007 one that is organized by age appropriateness, starting with Baby & Preschool, and ending up with a section titled Ages 12 & Up. Many well known popular titles are here – “Walter, The Farting Dog,” “The Berenstein Bears,” dozens of childrens’ classics like “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “The Three Little Pigs,” along with mainline sets of series like “P.B. Bear,” and many books by such notables as Enid Blyton and Odo Hirsch. The catalog’s cover presents some of their newest selections.
The second catalog that came along with my Spanish language CDs is titled, simply, “Early Summer 2007.” Well known works like “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” published in 2004 for $22. is available for $5.95 on Page 3. Cook books, novels, sports, travel, science, poetry and spirituality are but a handful of the categories of materials offered. DVDs of National Geographic programs and TV series from years past are all represented. There are no “loss leaders” here. EVERYTHING is deeply discounted. The “Harvard Guide To Psychiatry”, first published at $87.95 is here for $24.98; “The Soul of Christianity” put out just over a year ago at $22.95 can be had for $4.95; “The Greenwich Village Reader,” listed at $35. is here for $6.98. I could list a hundred more examples, but you get the picture by now.
The website (www.salebooks.com) is particularly easy to navigate and is unusually helpful in that the available inventory is double checked in REAL TIME before your order is finalized. No “I’m sorry, but the book (CD or DVD) you ordered is currently out-of-stock…” emails from these folks… what a pleasure for we on line shoppers! And, together with that set, standard shipping charge (there is NO limit on how many items you can order for that one flat price), everything is shipped via Media Mail from their HQ in Columbus, MD. and arrives in California within one week of ordering.
They may not have what you want if you want something specific. In fact, it is better as a site/catalog that you browse when you are not looking for something in particular – but feel open to seeing something you just might find yourself interested in – than it is a source to find any particular item. It’s more like browsing through a bookstore on a rainy afternoon than it is like walking into COSCO or Borders to buy the newest bestseller on the weekly NY Times list. Go to Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble or other on line/retail outlets for what you know you want in advance. Daedalus is a place for genuine browsing, for allowing flights of impulsive but reasonably priced buying, for fun.
Check them out on line. Catalogs are sent on request and they send absolutely NO solicitations or ads via email. I’ve grown to love this place – and I think that you just might, too.
