Barnes & Noble Readers' Advantage Program

[Grouch]

I finally broke down yesterday and joined B&N's Readers' Advantage Program (you pay $25 and get: 10% of all purchases for one year, a free tote bag [mine's Old Man and the Sea] and a one-year subscription to BOOK Magazine). The reason I broke down was because in yesterday's purchase alone I saved $14. You do the math.

That's right, boys and girls, I'm a confessed bookaholic. The ingress far exceeds the egress. I'm a sick, sick man.

Anyhow, the reason I'm posting is to share a bit of a tid-bit...

I already have a subscription to BOOK and when I asked the B&N clerk if I could just pretty-please extend my existing sub, she said, "I dunno. Lemme call my manager." Whereupon said manager said, "No, you bloomin' idjut. You'll get duplicate issues and there ain't a thing you can do about it." (But not in so many words).

When I politely inquired as to whether I could pretty-please give it as a gift sub to one of my friends (thinking of the EA gang, here), I was met with snorts of derision.

Whereupon, this morning, brimming with customer angst and vinegar, I dialed BOOK Customer Service and, lickety-split, the person at the other end of the line assured me that, yes indeedy, I could extend my current subscription for an extra year.

Birds are singing. Bells are ringing.

Moral of the story: Don't stop at the first two no's until you get to the third yes.

[KristenNC]

Hmmm... not sure that I like said B&N manager.

I got the Grapes of Wrath (and saved a whopping $19 on the first purchase - more than half was a single diagnostic psych book - gasp.) I too have come out way, way ahead.

I like the Books magazine!

Kristen

[MrsNormanMaine[$]]

My major complaint with B & N is that its put most of the large independent general bookstores out of business. These stores tended to be staffed by book people who could help steer you towards good reads and gifts. Most of the B & N clerks I've run across seem barely literate.

MNM

[mtbat]

I like B&N quite a lot, while I do prefer to buy used(that's hereditary) sometimes I just can't find what I am looking for unless I go to a big chain bookstore like Barnes & Nobel or Borders.

I haven't done the membership yet-I'm tempted. We are doing the B&N summer reading program for kids.-You gotta love a store that gives away free books to kids to encourage them to read-

[bupkiss]

I would be a B&N-Books-A-Million-Borders-aholic. Alas, I am too poor to purchase most books not associated with courses. Plus, I found a really nifty used bookstore near my boyfriend's place.

[pluckyduck]

I "Amazon" everything. It's quick, it's easy, and I'm an Internet shopaholic. Nothing more satisfying to shop for than books on the Internet. No returns necessary. I'm on an internet shopping break though. DH pointed out that spending $100 to $150 a month at Amazon was a weeeeeeee excessive. I haven't actually "one clicked" in four months and my fingers are itching to.

Don is a voracious reader. He goes through about 10 books a month, and buys most of them hardcover at Sam's, bestsellers for a fraction of the list price. MNM, if you think the B & N people aren't literate, try discussing your literary selection with the cashier at Sam's.

About once a month Don does a Barnes and Noble run. I thought he was a member of the Advantage club, but we have no Books magazine, so I'm going to ask him about it.

No such thing as a "real" bookstore in these parts. I'm sure they still exist in center city Philadelphia, but South Jersey? Large and beautiful Barnes & Noble or Borders....cramped B Daltons in the malls....bestsellers in the aisles at Sam's, but no real bookstores.

I'll take Amazon.

Andrea

[jenninca]

The reason I love Barnes & Noble is that they have a teacher discount card--20% off anything to be used in the classroom--YA-HOOOO!!! Besides, they don't usually look carefully and I end up getting 20% off my entire purchase. Between that discount and book orders, I almost never pay full price for a book. Although, there is a growing list of things I want to buy through Amazon because I can't seem to find them anywhere else. Would you believe I've never ordered through Amazon before?

Cindy
whose moving estimator is coming this morning and is dreading the moment he sees all the books she has everywhere

[bupkiss]

Plucky: Are you anywhere near New Hope, PA? I am fairly sure that town would have a small bookshop. (PS, I love Central and South Jersey. My boyfriend's parents live in Hunterdon County.)

[frazzledspice]

David, you ARE a sick, sick man!!!!!

Did you read the post about thebookcart.com?

There you can "trade" books, both giving and receiving, just for the cost of postage (you get a $1.65 credit when you "give", and a $1.95 credit when you receive.)

My sister gets lots of her reading material from Ebay.

When I visited Anchorage last year, there was a wonderful used bookstore, two whole floors, not too far off.

We have a BooksAMillion store near us, and I sometimes use booksamillion.com I think they might be a better buy. Their 10% extra off club only costs $10 a year.

I find 1bookstreet.com to be pretty good, especially when you only buy one book, because shipping and handling in the US is always free.

One of the disadvantages of having moved to a much smaller metropolitan area is the inadequacy of the library system. The St. Louis County Library System was heaven! You browsed on the computer, reserved books over the computer (or had them forwarded from other libraries) and got postcards when they arrived at the local branch. I don't think there was ever a book I really wanted that I couldn't find. Here it happens quite frequently. I have only requested a book from another library once so far. I was told (when I had interviewed the library director for a local publication) that it costs them $2.75 every time they have to access the national database to obtain a book. Since that is money that could be used to acquire books for everyone to enjoy, I felt guilty.

Luckily, the book I wanted was available through the state library in Little Rock, and they didn't have to access the database.

But it sure is depressing when books I used to find for free at my public library are only available for $24.95 in hardcover in some bookstore

[Grouch]

Originally posted by frazzledspice
When I visited Anchorage last year, there was a wonderful used bookstore, two whole floors, not too far off.

Ah yes, that would be the wonderful Title Wave Used Books. It, along with the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene, Oregon, is one of my absolute favorites. It's a place where, contrary to my recent experience at B&N, the employees really know and love books.

So why aren't I working there part-time, you ask?

Do you honestly think I'd be able to bring home a whole paycheck?

[pluckyduck]

Originally posted by bupkiss
Plucky: Are you anywhere near New Hope, PA? I am fairly sure that town would have a small bookshop. (PS, I love Central and South Jersey. My boyfriend's parents live in Hunterdon County.)

I'm really far from New Hope That's across the river wayyyy up from where I am. I'm across the river from the city (philadelphia).

New Hope is wonderful. I used to hang out there all the time, in another life, when I was young, before kids.

If I was really motivated to get to a real bookstore, I'd only have to drag my tush to either Center City Philly or South Street which are real close. I make it sound like I live in the boondocks, which is positively silly. I'm 20 minutes from being in Center City Philadelphia....another half an hour to park, of course.

Andrea
who misses living in the city, no parking required

[frazzledspice]

I just bought a book from Amazon for the first time in a long time, and now I know why.

No ebates!

No stockbacks!

No coupons!

And the shipping on ONE book, standard delivery was $5.47.

This was just awful. I never pay full price for anything, much less $5.47 in shipping.

The only reason why I went with Amazon is that my friend Kathy in Sioux City, Iowa just e-mailed me that her cookbook of traditional Amish recipes and devotionals is available, and Amazon was the only e-site that carried it.

But I sure wouldn't shop Amazon to get a book that was written by a stranger.

You could do worse than B&N, Grouch.

I have one of these cards, and my wife and I have saved HUNDREDS of dollars with it. We buy a lot of books (and I have bought a lot of MCSE/A+/Linux reading and viewing material for big-time tax writeoffs) and it's come in quite handy.

Sure, if we waited for new released to become used released in the half-priced book store (called Half-Price Books, if you can believe it) we could probably save more. But hey, we're still saving money for our dream home hand over fist and there's nothing like adding a few dollars to the corporate executives coffers in Publishingville.

[conradd]

Originally posted by Grouch
Ah yes, that would be the wonderful Title Wave Used Books. It, along with the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene, Oregon, is one of my absolute favorites. It's a place where, contrary to my recent experience at B&N, the employees really know and love books.

Oh yes!!! The Smith Family Bookstore is wonderful. It really captures the quirky nature of Eugene. But the most wonderful bookstore in Oregon has to be Powell's Books in Portland. Eight color-coded rooms in a store that takes up an entire city block (plus another 6 satellite stores around the city). Maps are available at the door which come in handy...I've gotten lost in the stacks a time or two. A great mix of new and used books and the staff know their books. I can spend an entire afternoon reading my way through section after section.

One of the best things for me is that I can make a list of the books I want, then search their database at home and either order on line or show up at the store with my list. I've never been able to limit myself to only my list. There are simply too many choices. And, everytime I get their newsletter, my list of must-have books gets longer.

They don't have any discount programs that I'm aware of, but the used prices are very reasonable. There's not a lot of consistency...if there are 5 copies of the same book on the shelf, you'll be likely to find 5 different prices. Part of the charm, I guess.

Deb