National Chess day coupon rip-off?

Does anyone else think that the national chess day coupon is a rip-off?  Come on, 1 book costing $30 plus $15 shipping?? plus, the discount amount says $0.00.  Get outta here, the whole website looks like a scam. 

Thoughts?

i don't expect service from the USCF and haven't for many years. IMO, they just want revenue from their members. That's what members are for apparently.

It's not a scam... maybe this thread will help you out some: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/clarification-on-uscf-sales-promotion .

Greetings. I am Shawn from USCF Sales and I would be happy to address your concerns.

At its heart, the National Chess Day promotion is as follows:
Every customer who places an order from USCF Sales through October 19th and uses that coupon code will receive a free gift, a randomly selected Chess Book valued up to $30.00 MSRP. There are no limits or restrictions to the orders; it can be a $4.00 order or a $1,000 order. There are approximately 40 titles that we're offering, ranging from such classics as Seirawan's Five Crowns and Nunn's The Najdorf with 6. Bg5 to modern books such as How to be Lucky in Chess, Rapid Chess Improvement and Secrets of Spectacular Chess 2. These are all titles that we recently purchased in bulk at a low price, which is how we are able to offer them to you free regardless of your order size. We received a great deal, so keeping with the spirit of the US Chess Federation and its commitment to the promotion of Chess, we're giving away a free book with all CHESSCOM-referred orders. Earlier today, we had someone buy 2 wristbands for under $2.00 and we included in his order a book that is currently available on Amazon for about $19.00 USD.

Our promotion seems to have spawned quite a bit of confusion, with a few people adding specific titles to their order and expecting them for free. That is not the case. We can't afford to give away a book that might cost us $18.00 for free with a $6.00 order. That's just common sense. We are randomly selecting which title is being sent from the list of 40 eligible titles, but if there is a specific type of book that is of interest to you, we will certainly do our best to accomodate you. For example, if you want an opening book, historical book, puzzle book or biographical book, let us know and we'll pick one for you.  That is why the discount shows $0.00 - You are not saving any money off your current order, but are getting a free book added to your order. This is all explained on the coupon entry page.

In terms of shipping charges, the rates quoted by our website depend on the size of the book and the distance the book travels. Our website ties in directly with UPS and USPS rate calculators to give accurate quotes. USPS tends to be quite expensive. For example, Modern Chess Openings 15 weighs nearly 5 pounds packed (almost 4 pounds unpacked) and can cost quite a bit to ship.

http://postcalc.usps.gov/MailServices.aspx?Country=Domestic&M=2&P=5&O=0&OZ=35758&DZ=90210&MailingDate=10/10/2009&MailingTime=17:00&Restrict=False

The above URL, from the US Postal Service, shows that it costs $14.43 to ship a 5 pound box (MCO 15) via USPS Priority mail and this doesn't include insurance or delivery confirmation. That is what the USPS would charge to ship it, so that is what we charge.

For most books, it costs $7.95 to ship it via USPS Priority Mail. Please remember shipping rates are NOT based upon the cost but the weight.

We only ship via reliable and trackable methods. We do not ship via inexpensive methods as media mail. These shipments are cheap, but they tend to take upwards of 2-3 weeks to be delivered and honestly are not worth the headaches over a few dollars in savings.

I hope this addresses your concerns. If not, please feel free to email us directly at sales@uscfsales.com.

Goldendog,

I certainly can understand and appreciate your point of view. At USCF Sales, I hear similar comments from customers all of the time.

That being said, I just wanted to point out one thing to you. In May of 2009, USCF Sales was relaunched under new management. The US Chess Federation choose a new fulfillment partner with an unmatched commitment to customer satisfaction, because we want our members to feel like they matter. Today's USCF Sales is not the same USCF Sales from 6 months or 6 years ago. Please do not judge us today because of your past experiences.

Our offerings are now the largest they've even been, our prices have never been lower, and we have a 24,000 ft2 state-of-the-art facility near the TN/AL border that is capable of shipping 99%+ of orders within one day.

 Buying a book from the USCF is just plain dumb.  Their prices are rediculous.  I understand they are trying to raise money, and i totally agree chess is a very worthy cause, but again there prices are rediculous.  They MUST get some kind of discount when purchasing books.

Not only i found out they charge that much for shipping..

BUT i also found out that they PICK your book for you!

How lame.

I didn't know about this.  Sounds good to me, bonus reading material.  I won't be buying any books for a while cause I am broke and still have months to go on the 2 books I am working on (Dvortetsky's Endgame and Yermolinksy's Classical Sicilian), but it's nice to know they did that for us

A local restaurant recently ran a promotion:

Burger and chips, with a free coke, R30.00, or with a free beer, R35.00

there's alot of economic questions  being raised here,  i wanted to comment on the "free" book offer, but i was afraid of retaliation so i was cowed by fear , in the past i ordered a chess set from USCF and it had many damaged pieces so i don't deal with them.....i'd like to know who is this "Shawn from the USCF"!!, perhaps i've said too much already.....sometimes it is difficult to speak out....fortunately some do...wow perhaps i really digressed here, just thinking outloud..............

If you live outside the usa this promotion is a no go, $49 for two books and then $80 postage/shipping no thanks

Well, considering it is a USCF shop, the promotion clearly wasn't intended for us overseas consumers! 

 The USCF should look at USPS Priority Mail flat rate shipping containers.  Provided FREE OF CHARGE from the USPS, a flat rate envelope costs only $4.80 to ship anywhere in the US.  There is no weight limit for this package, so whatever you can fit inside gets this shipping rate.

A USPS medium flat rate box costs only $10.35 to ship, also has no weight limit for US sales, is roomy enough for lots of books, and is also provided free of charge by the USPS.

How do I know all of this?  Because I ship hundreds of flat rate containers each year.  I sell chess equipment on eBay to fund chess activities in my local community, and ship every order using these flat rate containers.  I usually add about $1 to the cost of the flat rate service to cover any packaging materials and "handling".  The USCF could do the same thing and charge about $5.80 for most single items or $11.35 for most orders with 3-8 smaller items (like books). 

Brian

 i agree with you!

Now it truley shows that USCF are trying to scam people out of there money.. NON PROFIT? my a**!