The Biggest, Baddest, Warewolf Sale On The Planet

So, yesterday I went to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale. And I bought a lot of books. The End.

What, you wanna know how the whole thing was like? Ok fine.

Location-wise, yes it's in Balakong (Mines), but it's a lot better than the LAST place, where we had to take a shuttle bus from the car park to the sale. This time, you just park inside the convention center, and walk up.

And no, unlike this dude, you can't park IN the hall itself:



Darn VIP Wolf.

Anyway, here's my first tip: if you're going for the sale, BRING YOUR OWN BAG. Preferably one with wheels. Don't have one? You can buy one at the entrance hall!



You can also buy T-shirts and other Big Bad Wolf merchandise (WAH BOOK SALE ALSO GOT OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE!), and the designs are not bad too:



But never mind the car, the shirts and the bags... HOW IS THE SALE???

Well, let's head in, shall we?



OMG. BOOKS. Books EVERYWHERE:



Ficton, non-fiction, fantasy, Sci-fi, children's books, magazines, coookbooks... there are literally TONS of books in there. Of course, as soon as I went in, I made a beeline for the graphic novel section, where I saw quite a number of familiar faces already hoarding the mostly Marvel stuff there:



It's safe to say that about 85% of the graphic novels at BBW were mostly Marvel trade paperbacks and hardcovers. there's some good stuff in there though - stuff by Frank Miller, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Marvels by Alex Ross... hardly any DC or books from other publishers around though.

Most of the graphic novels were priced from RM15, RM18, RM20, RM25 or RM30. There's also a few tables of manga but... meh.

I spent most of my 3 hours there at the comics section, but I also managed to take one quick round around the hall to pick up a few other things. Funnily enough, novels don't interest me much anymore, but I did find some great drinks books though:



I'd say the average price of each normal paperback is about RM8, though I saw some for RM5, RM10 and up to RM20 for hardcovers I think.

I have to say, this year's sale has to be one of the best planned and most organised book sales I've ever been to. They've pretty much thought of EVERYTHING to make book shoppers feel comfortable. No sifting through dusty boxes, no hot, stuffy warehouses... everything is neat and tidy, and browsing in the hall was pretty easy.

They've also got massage chairs (for those who are too tired to browse), food halls (books make you hungry!), and children's playgrounds (for the kids to spend their time), and the whole hall has nice cheerful colorful banners all over the place:



They've even got STORAGE SPACE for you to keep your unpaid stash (it's got a number system so you don't lose your books), so you don't have to zealously lug your precious stash around all the time!



This is an exceptionally great but evil plan, because it just makes you go back out there empty handed, and buy more stuff!

Don't worry if you can't carry all them books on your own though - they've even got porter services for you!

Yeah, I found the service at this year's sale to be pretty damn good. The so-called "Wolf Pack" were mostly friendly, and even offer to carry your stuff as you approach the cashier.



Maybe it's because it's just the first day and they're all still pretty fresh. I wonder how they'd be like by the end of the week... hehe.

SOOOO... in the end, what did I get? Well, my total damage came up to RM311 (I left my credit card at home and brought only about RM300 to the sale), and here's what I got:

1. Marvel Secret Wars TP
2. Marvel Secret Invasion TP
3. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear (Frank Millar)
4. Wolverine (Frank Miller)
5. Wolverine: Weapon-x (Barry Windsor-Smith)
6. Wolverine: Logan (Brian K. Vaughn)
7. Fantastic Four: 1234 (Grant Morrison)
8. Fantastic Four: World's Greatest (Mark Millar)
9. Captain America: Man Out Of Time (Mark Waid)
10. Spider-Man: Election Day
11. Spider-Man: One More Day
12. Spider-Man Mark Millar Ultimate Collection
13. 50% Wool 50% Asinine (RM8) - a collection of Argyle Sweater strips
14. Watching The Watchmen (RM25) - Dave Gibbbons on drawing the comic
15. The Beatles (RM15) - a hardcover coffee table book with loads of pictures)
16. The Everything Bartender's Book (RM5)
17. The Ultimate Guide To Spirits And Cocktails (RM20) - by far the best deal in my entire haul. only RM20 for a super thick, super detailed reference book
18. Shade's Children (Garth Nix) - The only novel I bought there.

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In case you STILL need it, here are the details for the sale:

Date: 7-23 December 2012
Time: 9am-9pm
Venue: Mines Convention Centre

63 Straight Hours of Book-Shopping Mayhem!

As if having 3 million books for you to choose from isn't enough, the guys at Big Bad Wolf Book Sale are giving you even MORE time to shop... they're gonna be open SIXTY-THREE HOURS non-stop from 6:30am on 7 December until 9:30pm on 9 December. Now THAT'S what I call a book sale!

After that they'll probably go back to the 9am-9pm schedule. After all, even Big Bad Wolves need to sleep SOMETIMES.

Here are the details of the sale:

Date: 7-23 December 2012
Time: 9am-9pm
Venue: Mines Convention Centre

I'll be there later today for the preview sale:



So watch this space for a full report of what the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale will be like!

The Big Bad Wolf Sale is Back!

Heads up, folks, the world's biggest book warehouse sale - The BIG BAD WOLF SALE - is back, and it's gonna be bigger and badder than ever!

With THREE MILLION over books this time, it's gonna be another mega-event for book lovers. And the titles they've previewed on their Facebook page so far look good. The comics and graphic novel section certainly caught my eye with some Marvel books as well.

Here are the details of the sale:

Date: 7-23 December 2012
Time: 9am-9pm
Venue: Mines Convention Centre

Hmm, at least it isn't as far as the last one...

Pixar-mad At the Big Bad Wolf Sale!

Behold... my haul from the Big Bad Wolf Books Sale!



A total of 30 books, including children's books, comics, hardcover graphic novels, and cocktail books. The damage? Only RM230 (I only brought RM250 cash this year to limit myself, and no credit card too...)

Anyway, this year they had a new system for the preview sale, apparently because there are winners as well as media people at the preview, so we had to pick up this pass from Bookxcess before going there.



The location is in Serdang, actually right behind UPM, at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), and you have to drive there, park your car, and take a bus that will take you to the sale. Word of advice: Bring a bag, or trolley to help you with your shopping, like this lady here:

Trust me, you'll need it. You don't want to be lugging a box full of books around THIS:

And that's just HALF the warehouse! Yes, it's THAT BIG.

It's all really well-organised, with BIG BIG SIGNS telling you which section you are in, be it Children, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, or Fiction.

Anyway, my favorite part of the sale was the piles of Pixar comic books by Boom! Studios, the studio run by Mark Waid, so the quality is pretty good. They've got WALL-E, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Cars and Finding Nemo comics, which were pretty awesome.

I sapued about 18 of these, all at FIVE BUCKS EACH! There There were some Muppet comics as well, but I didn't buy any cos I was on a budget...

The fantasy selection was pretty good as well, lots of new titles and old ones, and even the newer Wheel Of Time novels by Barry Sanderson. Hardover, going for... wait for it... EIGHT BUCKS!

As for non-fiction, there were lots of stuff too, almost half the hall was non-fiction, and cookbooks too.

Lots of dummies and idiots there as well:

I DID find the graphic novel selection a bit disappointing though. Mostly a lot of manga, Speed Racer, Star Trek, and Transformers stuff:

I found a Tank Girl: The Gifting for RM8, Maxwell Strangewell, a MAD Sergio Aragones hardcover book, and two Zits books for RM12 each. That was it, really. I also bought 3 kid's picture books by Oliver Jeffers, for RM8 each.

My haul this time round may not be as much as previous editions of the Big Bad Wolf Sale, but I was quite happy with it, especially all the cheap Pixar comics. Other than that, I didn't really browse much in the fiction section. No time. and no money. heh heh.

Anyway, The Big Bad Wolf Books sale will run from today to Oct 16 at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang, Selangor. Opening hours are 10am to 9pm. OCBC cardholders get an additional 5% off the total bill.

Have fun, and remember to bring a trolley!

The Big Bad Wolf Sale is Back! Be there or be less broke!

YAY! The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is back! The biggest, baddest, cheapest book warehouse sale is back!

Remember all the other times I went to the sale? It used to be at Amcorp Mall (where Bookxcess is now), and the first time it came around, it DEVOURED my money because of the choices and the prices.

Now it's back, and promises to be the BIGGEST and with over a MILLION books for sale. It's claiming to be the biggest in the WORLD, and I'm pretty sure these guys wouldn't exaggerated. Heh heh.

Anyway, the next Big BAd Wolf sale is on from 7th - 16th October, and will be held at Hall A, MAEPS, Malaysian Agro Exposition Park, Serdang. Click on the poster above for more info and the map to the venue!

Be there or be... er... stay un-broke, but with fewer books!! :-D

The Big Bad Wolf is Back. Quick, Hide Your Wallets!

Ok, something other than beer and alcohol this time... but equally money-sapping.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Warehouse Sale is BAAACK!





Oh dear. Talk about bad timing. Just when every sen I have has to go into funding my personal biggest event of the year (and my life, actually hehe).

Luckily, it's in South City Plaza this time, so I won't be tempted to 'just pop in' liek the LAST one in Amcorp Mall...

Anyway, if you want to know exactly how money-sapping this sale really is, check out my past posts about it HERE.

Beware of The Big Bad Wolf Sale. It's Crowded and Eats Your Cash.

Apparently, it was madness on the first day of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale at Amcorp Mall just now.

I wouldn't know, because I went yesterday and already went through most of it. Jacqueline of BBW/Bookxcess told me they had opened 80% of the boxes by then, so I'm happy in the knowledge that there is unlikely to be anything else I want there.

Considering my bag was full within 15 minutes of getting there, I'd say it was a pretty damn good sale.

So, what did I get?

1. 3 x Asterix 3-in-1 Omnibus = RM12 each
2. 3 x little cartoon books = RM5 each
3. Dexter In The Dark (Jeff Lindsay) = RM8
4. BatManga = RM20
5. Tan Tuan Eng's A Gift of Rain = RM8
6. 2 x Will Eisner graphic novels = RM8 each
7. 2 x cookbooks = RM10 each

And a couple more I can't remeber. I only spent RM150 this time because I only BROUGHT RM150 this time, and no credit card. WHEW!

I also saw:

• The Scholastic coloured Bone graphic novels going for RM8 each (which I already had, having bought them for full price, GRRRR),
• A gorgeous leatherbound hardback of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare for RM80. I didn't buy it. No more money
• Loads of Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin's Dreamsongs, Dune books and assorted fantasy, for RM8 each.
• An awesome Pop-up X-Men children's book. I didn't buy it either. No money. SIIIGH.
• A book called 'Lose Weight, Get LAID, Find God'. Who READS these things?
• Loads of imported magazines for RM3-5

There's a lot more I didn't mention because I can't quite remember what else there was. I'll try to post pictures later!

Oh, and unlike the last one where the books were strewn all over the place with no system whatsoever, this time all the books are sorted according to genre - fantays, fiction, romance, non-fiction, cookbooks etc etc.

The sale is on until December 2, and opens from 10am onwards. And BTW, if you're going these next few days, be prepared to queue up for a while just to get in, and also when you're checking out. The venue is smaller than usual, and I reckon there'll be a LOT of people going there during the long weekend...

Don't say I didn't warn you....

How The Big Bad Wolf Sale Devoured My Money...

Place: Big Bad Wolf Book Sale
Total number of books: 33
Money spent: RM117 on first day, RM124 on second day.
TOTAL DAMAGE: RM241

Signs of domesticity. Those cookbooks only cost me RM5 each!



Fantasy & Sci-Fi, including five Philip K. Dicks at RM8 EACH, and an entire SET of Garth Nix's Seventh Tower series for RM5 PER BOOK!



Books that make me look intellectual:



Comics, very little choices, thank god, or my damage would be MORE:



And that's not all. THIS is the girlfriend's stash... THIRTY SEVEN BOOKS for a total of... RM298! That's an average of RM8 PER BOOK!



Needless to say, we're VERY AFRAID of going back there again, even with the thought of even MORE boxes being opened today and tomorrow....

How To Shop Like Eyeris At A Book Warehouse Sale: An Expert Guide

• Bring your own bag, preferably one of those canvas shopping bags they sell at the supermarket. It's easier to carry than baskets, or those cardboard boxes they usually give you. Plus you don't even have to take plastic bags when you check out!


• When browsing, don't bother trying to take in every single title. Just skim through the pile or row (you can use your finger to guide you through) and only pick up books if the cover/name/author catches your eye.


• If you see something you THINK you might buy, put it in the bag first. Because if you put it back on the pile, you probably won't be able to find it later when you WANT to buy it.


• Take first, sort later. Take the books you want first, then before checking out, take everything out and sort them into piles of 1) I MUST HAVE IT; 2) If got extra money then buy; 3) I can live without it.


• If you go to a warehouse sale with the intention of only looking for ONE or TWO SPECIFIC books, good luck with that. That ain't what book warehouse sales are for, bub. The whole point is to go there and BROWSE and HUNT for books that you would normally buy (or have THOUGHT of buying but were turned off by the price) at lower prices. Keywords here are BROWSE and HUNT.


• If you're the sort who really can't control yourself when confronted with thousands of super cheap books at crazy low prices, then FORCE yourself to limit your purchasing by bringing ONLY RM100 or RM150 to the sale, and LEAVE THE DAMN CREDIT CARD AT HOME.


• If you're not sure whether you already have a book (because like me, you've bought so many before that you can't keep track of which ones you have), then DON'T BUY IT. Chances are you already DO have it, and even if you don't, consider it as money saved for OTHER books.

Will add more when I think of more...

It was BIG, it was BAD, and it Wolfed down all my money

Went to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale yesterday around 2pm, and it's pretty damn good. The crowd wasn't so big when I went, though apparently it was 'madness' in the morning, according to Jaqueline (of Bookxcess fame, also behind Big Bad Wolf Books).

Lots of good stuff around - His Dark Materials books for only RM10-15 (forgot to check the prices), fiction and non-fiction novels for RM8 only (MOST of the books were RM8), cookbooks for RM3-5, Magazines for RM3.

Lots of fantasy stuff, though a lot of it were Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance stuff. Saw lots of Wheel of Times too. Lots of Archers, Grishams, Ludlums, and so on around too. Apparently the kids section was good too, but by the time I got there most of it was gone. They MIGHT have more today and in the weekend though. Lots of unopened boxes around...

What did I get? Well, I bought a total of SEVENTEEN books, for a grand total of.... RM117. That's just crazy. I've never gotten so many books for so little money EVER.

I got some good cookbooks (!), a Guide to Drizzt (which I nearly bought from Kino a few months back for RM75...), some Garth Nix Seventh Tower books (RM5 each!), and lots of RM8 novels by Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men, Alice Sebold's Almost Noon, Haruki Murakami etc etc.

Now... excuse me while I go see what else I can find today... :-p

Bad Book Blogger. BAAAAD Book Blogger.

I've been rather slow on the uptake when it comes to books lately. Haven't finisheda book in AGES, and haven't even bought a single book in almost 4 months (oh wait, do cookbooks and home improvement books count? You know you're getting to domesticated when you start hanging out in the cookbook and DIY section...).

HEck, I even missed the MPH Warehouse Sale recently, and god knows I love THOSE.

Oh well, at least there's something to look forward to this week. The people behind Booksxcess have come up with the Big Bad Wolf Books, which will be having it's inaugural book sale this week, from 14 (Thu) to 18 (Mon) May 2009.

According to their leaflet, all books will be between RM5 and RM20 only... Awesome....

Here're the details: