Leveled Up ReadingRewards is Here!

Meet Elite, better birthday rewards, and more updates

When I started in my role here at ThriftBooks five years ago, I couldn't wait to share the news with my mom. My mother was an avid reader and supported my love for books from my earliest age. When I excitedly shared with her that I would be leading the marketing team for the world's largest online used bookseller, ThriftBooks, her response was, "Who?" She hadn't yet heard of ThriftBooks (silly Mom, ordering all her books from Amazon) but she quickly went from unaware and unfamiliar to ThriftBooks biggest fan. I'm not kidding when I say there was hardly a week that passed when she didn't tell me about the friends (or strangers) she had introduced to ThriftBooks.com during the week. She would even provide hands-on computer help to her friends if they needed it to set up their ThriftBooks accounts.

My mother went from 0 to 120 on her usage of ThriftBooks and very quickly achieved Literati status in our ReadingRewards loyalty program. Then her conversations with others grew from "ThriftBooks is the best place to buy books" to also include "And be sure to join ReadingRewards to get free books." She and I would have many conversations about the books she had chosen for her many free book rewards…Louise Penny and Danielle Steel were some of her favorites.

Over the years, I've had the pleasure to meet other Literati beyond just my mother. Okay, I've only met a few in person but reading your comments online makes me feel like I know you. I know you have a love of books unmatched by most. And you devour books at a rate that is pretty darn impressive. While my mother never directly said to me, "What's next, Barbara? What's after Literati?" I'm pretty sure she was craving a little something more beyond Literati.

Today we have "a little something more" for our ReadingRewards members which we have been working on. Well, actually it's "a lot something more" and we are thrilled to share it with all of you.

Introducing Our Leveled Up ReadingRewards

Meet Elite!

Okay Literati, this is for you…something more to aspire to! I'm pleased to announce a new top tier we are calling Literati Elite for those who spend $250 or more in a calendar year. Literati Elites will earn more points for Used book purchases, receive a Free Book for their Birthday reward, and enjoy three Personal Double Points days (more on this below) per calendar year. Because you have worked hard for this tier (so many books!), we created a new badge and exclusive Literati Elite swag just for you. Congratulations for all those who have achieved Literati Elite status as of today. For those of you who are not quite at that tier yet, you have four more months this year to get there.

Personal Double Point Days

Introducing Double Points days! For Bookworm, Literati, and Literati Elite, you can choose your very own personal double points day, a day when you would like to double your points earned. Bookworms receive 1 day/year, Literati will receive 2 days/year, and Literati Elite will receive 3 days/year. And this starts now, so you can use your days between now and the end of the year. Then in 2025, your double points days will reset. Please note, though, that you cannot double up on a site-wide double points promotion already scheduled.

Better Birthday Rewards

We have upgraded our Birthday rewards! First, birthday rewards will now be valid for the entire month of your birthday, making it simpler to remember when you can redeem them. Next, for Reader and Bookworm, we have increased the birthday points awarded to 100 and 200, respectively. Finally, for Literati and Literati Elite, we celebrate your birthday with a Free Book Reward valid for an item priced up to $7.

More Points for Used books

We love our purpose of saving books from landfills and finding new homes for them. We love it so much we are giving you even more incentive to buy Used. So we are slightly reducing the points earned for New books and increasing the points earned for Used books. After all, shouldn't Used books get more love?

New Account Overview and Tier Badges

We've added more information into your ReadingRewards account overview, introduced specific colors for each tier, and updated each tier with a new badge.

Our first-ever merch store!

We know how much everyone loves ThriftBooks merch so now, for the first time ever, we have a pop-up merch store for you to purchase swag. We have exclusive merch for Literati and Literati Elite as well as general ThriftBooks branded items. This is a limited time store so order now before it goes away on October 17!

"A little something more" for my mom

Last year, my mother passed away very suddenly. When I arrived at her home in Denver for services and all the other family stuff that needs to be tended to, I found in her mailbox a teal ThriftBooks package from an order she had recently placed.

I have kept that package, unopened, as a reminder to me of my mom's commitment to ThriftBooks and how proud she was of me and all I do here at ThriftBooks. So, I'd like to dedicate our Leveled Up ReadingRewards and the new Literati Elite level to my mom, Helene, as finally "a little something more" for all our customers.

To all of our ReadingRewards members, especially our Literati and now our Literati Elite, thank you for your love for books and for your passion for ThriftBooks. We like to think of ThriftBooks as The Bookstore for Booklovers and we hope our updates to ReadingRewards helps you love books even more.

Barbara Hagen
VP, Sales and Marketing, ThriftBooks

About the Author: Barbara Hagen is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales here at ThriftBooks. She has more than 20 years of experience as a senior marketing executive, with an undergraduate degree in marketing from Syracuse University, an MBA in international marketing from NYU's Stern School of Business, and an MS in data analytics, also from NYU's Stern School.

Read more by Barbara Hagen