Have you ever wondered how to tell if a book is a Book Club Edition (BCE).  This guide will explain it to you in detail. 

Most BCE books are smaller in size, lighter in weight and printed on lower quality paper.  The book on the right in the picture below is a book club edition.  There are other differences in the art work of the dustjacket but you would need both the full size book and the BCE book to tell.  In the picture below notice the placement of the flower above/behind the letter "A" in Jean. It is above the letter "A" on the full-sized novel (left book) and slightly behind the letter "A" on the BCE DJ (right book)

The dust jacket usually will not have a price on the inside front flap.  There are exceptions to this:

1. High-end Art Books
2. University Press Books
3. Text Books
4. Some small press books

There may also be an indication on the dustjacket that it is a book club edition (see picture below).  Usually there is no number line on the inside credits page. However, this is also true of full sized books that are not first editions.

The reverse of the title page may carry an advertising statement.  See the statement beginning BOMC... in the picture below.

Many BCE books will have a blind stamp on the lower right corner of the back cover.  A circle, square, maple leaf, dot or star blind stamped indicates a Book of the Month Club (BOMC) edition.

A short string of numbers printed vertically near the gutter on one of the back pages indicates a BCE book.

A string of four or five numbers in a box on the back cover indicates a BCE book. However, there are exceptions to this including:

1. Simon & Schuster uses an 8 digit code (month, year, FPT price)
2. McGraw Hill and Prentice Hall used boxed numbers before the ISBN became standard

Most people are unaware that there are BCE paperback books.  A few indications of a BCE paperback include:

1. No price on the book
2. Often there is an alphanumeric code printed in the margin of the last printed page
3. "Printed in the USA" may be printed on the back cover
4. Often mistaken for an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC)

I hope you find this guide helpful. If so, please let others know by indicating the degree of helpfulness found at the end of the guide.

I invite you to visit my eBay store - Buck Creek Books- where you will find a large selection of deeply discounted First-Edition and BCE books. I try to identify all my books as BCE in both the title (space available) and in the book description. I also identify First Editions and which printing it may be.

Thanks for reading my guide.