ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA FOR KIDS FREE FREE

Used bookstores regularly have sets of encyclopedias to sell, and before the books are even a decade old their price tags have dropped by one-half to one-third the original cost. Parents can skip the expensive decision-making altogether by shopping through second-hand bookstores. The interest rate charged on the outstanding balance varies among states, but ranges from about 15 percent in Arkansas to 18 percent in New York.Д¬ustomers also can often buy the encyclopedias with their credit cards and pay at their leisure, but consumers should remember that they are paying an average of 18.15 percent interest for the added convenience. Typically, sales representatives ask for a down payment totaling 10 percent of the total price, with a monthly payment thereafter. By financing, customers actually are paying more for the books in the form of an interest rate charged on the outstanding balance. The only purpose for financing, however, is to spread out the cost of the encyclopedias over time. Encyclopaedia Britannica commonly offers a set of hard-bound literary classics at a severely discounted price when purchased along with a new set of encyclopedias.ДЇinancing programs are available from most encyclopedia publishers and distributors, usually for three years, but sometimes for as long as 10 years. Collier, offer a gift, rather than a discount, with the purchase of a set of encyclopedias. Some companies, including Encyclopaedia Britannica and P.F.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA FOR KIDS FREE FREE

Interested parents also can find free information in brochures, which distributors and publishers often display in restaurants and other stores. Katzmann suggested that interested parents contact their children's schools or educational organizations and ask administrators if they are aware of any encyclopedia distributors who are seeking prospective customers. A group discount may be available through an educational organization or may be extended to holders of a certain credit card. The maximum discount for Encyclopaedia Britannica is $200, for example.

These programs may save buyers 10 percent to 15 percent off the retail price. Some encyclopedia distributors run discount programs, said Burt Katzmann, vice president of sales development for Grolier Interstate, a division of Grolier Inc. The company depends on direct- mail solicitations, information booths in malls and sales representatives in retail bookstores for sales, according to David Van Tosh, executive vice president for sales for Encyclopaedia Britannica U.S.A. Most encyclopedia publishers rely on platoons of door-to-door representatives to market their product.Д®ncyclopaedia Britannica is an exception. Collier, a division of MacMillan Inc., in New York. in Danbury, Conn., Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. There are four major encyclopedia publishers in the United States: Grolier Inc.

They are usually less expensive than the adult versions Encyclopaedia Britannica's children's set, for example, costs $300. Children's encyclopedias offer more basic information than the adult versions and more pictures.

Collier's standard set of encyclopedias costs $1,499. Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, charges $1,399 for the standard hardback version of its popular 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica for adults. Encyclopedias written for adults - as opposed to children's sets - cost thousands.

Encyclopedia britannica for kids free