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Get a free 100-photo flip-book from Groovebook

Just upload your favorite photos from your phone; this service binds them into a sweet little flip-book. There's just one weird little catch.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

For a mere $2.99 per month, Groovebook delivers a perforated flip-book of a whopping 100 photos, all uploaded from your smartphone.
For a mere $2.99 per month, Groovebook delivers a perforated flip-book of a whopping 100 photos, all uploaded from your smartphone. Groovebook

The other day I told you about an app that lets you order Polaroid-style prints from your iPhone -- for 99 cents apiece.

Today, let's talk quantity. If you snap a lot of photos and frequently hit up, say, Snapfish or Walgreens for big batches of prints, I've got an interesting deal for you.

For a limited time, you can get a free 100-photo flip-book from Groovebook when you apply coupon code CNETGROOVE at checkout. That's a colossal savings of...wait for it...$2.99!

Update: The promo code has expired, but Groovebooks are still priced at just $2.99 per month.

No, seriously. Without that code, a 100-photo flip-book would cost you exactly $2.99. Shipped. What kind of crazy craziness is this? I'll explain.

After installing the Groovebook app (Android|iOS), you simply choose up to 100 photos from your camera roll, then wait (for what promises to be a while) for them to upload.

What if you don't have 100 photos you want printed? You can upload as few as 40; Groovebook will duplicate photos as needed to get you to the 100 mark. (Think of it as "double prints.")

The glossy-finish photos are bound into a 4.5 x 6.5-inch book, with each one perforated so you can remove it for framing, sharing, hanging on the fridge, or whatnot.

So, what's the catch? How can Groovebook do this for just $2.99 -- or, in this case, free? When you order, you're actually signing up for a subscription to receive a new flip-book every month, each for $2.99. With the coupon code, your first month is free.

I'll admit that strikes me as a little odd, but only because I don't take that many pictures -- and don't necessarily want them printed monthly. On the other hand, you can cancel your subscription whenever you want (including after getting the freebie), and with a price tag of only $2.99, why not enjoy a big, bound stack of photos every month?

Indeed, for Instagram junkies and anyone else who's constantly shooting photos, Groovebook has got to be the deal of the century. I'm ordering my first one as we speak and will update the post if anything problematic or unusual crops up.

In the meantime: your thoughts?