Event coverage by Fiona Marie dela Cruz and Jez Dimalanta
Are you ready for the biggest and baddest book sale yet? Big Bad Wolf Manila is back at it again with its mega 50% – 90% discounts on books, toys, and other items at World Trade Center in Pasay City! This 2020, they partnered up with PayMaya again to give you those juicy cashback on your purchases.
Not only will you get amazing price steals, Big Bad Wolf’s doors are also open 24/7 from February 14 to February 24, 2020. Feeling the hype yet? Well, here’s a quick survival guide to make the most out of your book shopping spree experience.
Know how to get there
First, ensure that you’ve got your routes planned out even before you visit. We don’t want you to get lost, of course! Simplest landmarks that you can take note of would be LRT-Gil Puyat Station or SM Mall of Asia (MOA):
- From MOA: Go to the jeepney station and look for the ones enroute to “LRT Buendia”. You can also ask barkers if the jeepney will pass by World Trade Center.
- From LRT-Gil Puyat: Ride a jeepney or e-trike going to Mall of Asia. You’ll see the World Trade Center on the left side so it’s easy to spot where you need to alight. You can also take an “Evangelista” jeepney but you’ll need to walk and cross the intersection after going down the U-turn slot across the gasoline station.
- If you’re not up to explore and commute, we highly recommend that you to take a Grab or use Waze while driving.
Mask up, safety first!
Let’s ensure that we’ll make it out alive in a healthy state even before we go in. In the light of the coronavirus outbreak, it is important to be prepared. Make sure to wear masks and bring hand sanitizers or alcohol with you. Big Bad Wolf prepared the entrance with sanitizing booths and a temperature check is required to ensure the safety of attendees entering the venue. Expect a long queue at the security areas because of these protocols.
Bring a backpack or eco bag
Whether you are planning to buy a few books or a cartful, we recommend that you bring your own bag. Not only is it convenient, but it’s also helpful in reducing your carbon footprint. If you don’t have any bag with you, you can also get eco-bags at the counter. Ensuring that Mother Earth also survives should be part of survival strategies, right?
Satisfy your hunger beforehand
Before going inside the main hall where the books are located, drink plenty of water and eat first. Food and drinks are not allowed in the venue (books are very prone to damage after all). If you get hungry during your haul, you can buy from the food stalls outside of the hall. Just make sure that you pay for your books first (or else they might be gone forever)!
Dress comfortably
Although the venue is air conditioned, wearing comfortable clothes is recommended. You’ll never know how many people will turn up the same time as you! We’re sure that you’ll be at ease as you walk around and you’ll be able to hunt those book titles comfortably while in rubber shoes. Heels are a no-no, unless you want to know what real pain is!
Walk, walk, walk!
Again, walking is the most exhausting activity here. Just because a book that you wanted cannot be found under its appropriate book section/category, that doesn’t mean that Big Bad Wolf already ran out of stock. Just keep walking and you might be able to find it after the second time of going around. Or the third. Or fourth. Point is, you have to walk a lot to find what you’re looking for. Besides, walking is healthy! You burn calories while diving into books galore.
Bring a book buddy with you
You’re sure to survive if you bring a pack with you instead of being a lone wolf during your visit! The hall is quite huge and one hour isn’t enough if you’re really keen on checking as many titles as you can. Bring a book buddy or two with you! You can help each other scout the entire hall for interesting books.
Splurge responsibly
We know it’s overwhelming to see so many affordable books in one venue and we also tend to splurge on everything! However, it’s still best to ask yourself if you’re really willing to allot time, money, and effort in the future to finish reading the books in your cart without giving up halfway. Every peso counts, so let’s also be responsible about our purchases!
Secure your belongings
Expect a lot of people at the venue, especially on weekends! Better safe than sorry so we highly suggest that you only bring important things with you. Instead of packing way too much cash in your pockets or wallets, you can just opt to just bring your card with you or #ScanToPay via QR for payments via mobile. Both are possible with PayMaya. Plus, you can also…
Use PayMaya for more savings!
No need to line up for the ATM or long queues at the checkout counter. PayMaya users have a special checkout lane inside hall! Paying via mobile QR can get you 1%, 10%, or 100% cashback while paying via card gives you an instant P50 cashback for every P2000 single-receipt purchase.
Since we used our QR to pay for a total of P1,540, we instantly received a 1% cashback (better luck next time, I guess?) or P15.4. It’s still something! Now, imagine if you’re lucky enough to get 10% or 100% during your turn!
Our favorites are at the fiction and comic book sections. Majority of the books this year are for kids and young adults, but they also have a wide selection of self-help books and educational topics. We heard that best-sellers include Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes (now P350 from P2,526), Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park (now P190 from P630), and Walter Isaacson’s Leonardo da Vinci (now P290 from P1,112).
Other interesting finds:
Happy book shopping, millennials! If you have questions about Big Bad Wolf Manila or PayMaya, feel free to reach out to Manila Millennial via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!