Borders' Ad: "20%-40% Off." That the Best You Can Do?

Paul Levine · 02-25-2011, 11:46 AM

Just got an e-mail from Borders announcing the closing of its big Sherman Oaks store. (Barnes & Noble closed one in nearby Encino within the last year).

The Borders ad promises "Everything must go." Prices 20% to 40% off. Big whoop. Not much different than the prices last month or last year.

Why not bigger savings? Because everything need not go. Whatever isn't sold will be shipped to remaining stores....yep, rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Paul Levine

ATDrake · 02-25-2011, 11:51 AM

I'm sorry, but if you don't consider this a "Deal", then why are you posting about it in the Deals forum?

Wouldn't General Discussions be better suited?

soondai · 02-25-2011, 11:55 AM

dude, it's crazier than that. Almost all the books are 20% off and they no longer accept coupons. However, there is a 33% off any one book coupon active from Borders right now (there almost always is either a 33 or a 30). So it's cheaper to buy from a non-liquidating store.

The constant coupons were always a big plus with Borders. Still a little dumbfounded that B&N stayed on top. Just on cost they were always a very distant Plan C for my book buying.

amybobamy · 02-25-2011, 12:13 PM

The Sherman Oaks store has been a lovely place to shop, with helpful staff, and always busy. I haven't been to that store without there being a line of shoppers making purchases. Very, very sorry to see it go.

Also goes to show that if one area of your corporation is loaded with expenses (including debt) then it can really sink your whole ship of commerce. What a pity!

Lemurion · 02-25-2011, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Levine

Just got an e-mail from Borders announcing the closing of its big Sherman Oaks store. (Barnes & Noble closed one in nearby Encino within the last year).

The Borders ad promises "Everything must go." Prices 20% to 40% off. Big whoop. Not much different than the prices last month or last year.

Why not bigger savings? Because everything need not go. Whatever isn't sold will be shipped to remaining stores....yep, rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Paul Levine

Ummmmmmm that's how they always do closeouts. They still want to get as much as they can from the stock on site, so they're going to start with 20% and work their way down from there - but first they will want to clear as much as they can at the smallest discount possible.

Eventually they'll reach a point where lowering prices isn't worth it - and then ship stuff to other stores, but that's going to take a while. My local Borders is likely to stay open at least another month - so they won't be in too big a hurry to drop prices on everything.

dallas · 02-25-2011, 12:20 PM

Border's is not running the liquidation of it's stores. That is being handled by companies who specialize in this sort of thing. Depending on what you want, store liquidations are rarely a good deal. They tend to play on people's need for a good deal while manipulating pricing (legaly) and signage to maximize returns.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...00-stores.html

This really more akin to modern salvage operators going back in time to April 14 1912 so they can watch as the thing goes under and know where to look later.

Kali Yuga · 02-25-2011, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soondai

The constant coupons were always a big plus with Borders. Still a little dumbfounded that B&N stayed on top.

The reasons for Border's declines are numerous, including but not limited to:

• Expanded too rapidly and too widely (e.g. international)
• Increasing competition from B&N, Walmart, Target, and online services (notably Amazon)
• Made terrible real estate leases
• Had Amazon manage their website for years, rather than roll their own
• Hit a big cash crunch in 2007, when it was very difficult and expensive to get credit
• Had to close lots of stores, which meant a decline in revenues
• Upper management turned into a revolving door, including some
• They couldn't afford to put together a real ebook strategy, thus they partnered with Kobo (i.e. repeated the Amazon mistake)

B&N has its own issues, but I don't believe they're quite this bad.

jbcohen · 02-25-2011, 03:07 PM

Yeah I hear you loud and clear 20% off a $10 book would be $2, big woop that brings the cost back to $8 where it should have been to begin with. Typically I do not even notice sales such as this until they get to 50% off. At that point we are talking some better prices.

02-25-2011, 11:46 AM	#1
Paul Levine Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 725480 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kindle	Borders' Ad: "20%-40% Off." That the Best You Can Do? Just got an e-mail from Borders announcing the closing of its big Sherman Oaks store. (Barnes & Noble closed one in nearby Encino within the last year). The Borders ad promises "Everything must go." Prices 20% to 40% off. Big whoop. Not much different than the prices last month or last year. Why not bigger savings? Because everything need not go. Whatever isn't sold will be shipped to remaining stores....yep, rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Paul Levine

02-25-2011, 12:20 PM	#6
dallas Member Posts: 21 Karma: 552 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle, Nookcolor, iPod Touch	Border's is not running the liquidation of it's stores. That is being handled by companies who specialize in this sort of thing. Depending on what you want, store liquidations are rarely a good deal. They tend to play on people's need for a good deal while manipulating pricing (legaly) and signage to maximize returns. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...00-stores.html This really more akin to modern salvage operators going back in time to April 14 1912 so they can watch as the thing goes under and know where to look later. Last edited by dallas; 02-25-2011 at 12:27 PM.

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02-25-2011, 11:51 AM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	I'm sorry, but if you don't consider this a "Deal", then why are you posting about it in the Deals forum? Wouldn't General Discussions be better suited?

02-25-2011, 11:55 AM	#3
soondai Guru Posts: 672 Karma: 1109784 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Paperwhite	dude, it's crazier than that. Almost all the books are 20% off and they no longer accept coupons. However, there is a 33% off any one book coupon active from Borders right now (there almost always is either a 33 or a 30). So it's cheaper to buy from a non-liquidating store. The constant coupons were always a big plus with Borders. Still a little dumbfounded that B&N stayed on top. Just on cost they were always a very distant Plan C for my book buying.

02-25-2011, 12:13 PM	#4
amybobamy Befuddled Neophyte Posts: 49 Karma: 3138 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Nook Color	The Sherman Oaks store has been a lovely place to shop, with helpful staff, and always busy. I haven't been to that store without there being a line of shoppers making purchases. Very, very sorry to see it go. Also goes to show that if one area of your corporation is loaded with expenses (including debt) then it can really sink your whole ship of commerce. What a pity!

02-25-2011, 03:07 PM	#8
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	Yeah I hear you loud and clear 20% off a $10 book would be $2, big woop that brings the cost back to $8 where it should have been to begin with. Typically I do not even notice sales such as this until they get to 50% off. At that point we are talking some better prices.

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