Brick-and-Mortar Store Thread - Page 22

scotty1024 · 02-15-2007, 03:38 PM

I'm testing a new firmware update technique (thanks for the assist igorsky!) and needed a new Reader as a test subject (I also wanted to get a copy of the original firmware to use for reverting units.)

So I visited my good buddies at the Borders in downtown Seattle and picked up another Reader today.

The kiosk has been moved to downstairs behind the main information desk, an improvement since they generally keep that desk staffed.

The kiosk had several units in it and they are still keeping units "Behind the sales counter". They have brown, red and green covers and the Sony Gift cards.

I grabbed a red cover as I haven't found a cover yet I want to buy and the bundled cover was really starting to annoy me.

scotty1024 · 03-30-2007, 04:31 PM

If you haven't heard Border's is phasing out their personal shopping days.

The store clerk told me that my buying a Sony Reader on my personal shopping day today I should be good for one more personal shopping day next month but that should be the end of it.

I think this made my fifth Reader purchase from the Downtown Seattle Border's. Never a bad unit and always an excellent customer service experience. The 10% and 25% discounts on the Readers didn't hurt either. :-)

NatCh · 03-30-2007, 04:53 PM

What the sam hill are you doing to those Readers, scotty1024? Or are you giving them away?

Alexander Turcic · 03-31-2007, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty1024

I think this made my fifth Reader purchase from the Downtown Seattle Border's. Never a bad unit and always an excellent customer service experience. The 10% and 25% discounts on the Readers didn't hurt either. :-)

Heh, Sony should definitely award you

I don't think there are many people who can call five Readers their own.

Btw I still haven't upgraded my Reader ...

Yaksha · 04-15-2007, 04:29 PM

I was getting ready to fly back to Phoenix from Seattle. My biggest problem was that my Sony Reader was out of battery and I had forgotton to bring the charger and USB plug with me (I use it as an mp3 player, so my battery life isn't the best.)

While walking through SeaTac airport I see a Borders bookstore. I decide to see if they carry the chargers and how much it would be. Unfortunately they only carried the Reader and the dock. The dock was $50 and I knew I wouldn't even use it that much.

That's when I saw a demo Reader sitting in a dock. I thought to myself, "Don't the docks recharge?" With no one around I pick up the demo Reader, move it to the side, and slip my Reader into the dock.

Probably not the best move.

It was only after I had done this that I thought about asking one of the Borders employees if this was OK. But it was already done, and I was too chicken to take my Reader, go up and ask, and go back. So I sit around the electronics area for about 20 minutes, randomly looking at stuff and keeping an eye on my Reader.

That's when a TSA security guard comes into Borders, eyes me for half a second, and then stands near the door. That's when I realized it was time to get going. I quickly grabbed my Reader, put it in my laptop bag, and make a not-so-swift-as-to-attract-attention exit.

Luckily, nothing came of it. But looking back, that was one hell of a stupid idea to try in an airport. I could've easily asked one of the employees if it was OK, but what if they said no?

Also, apparently the dock doesn't recharge the Reader, or the one they had wasn't working properly, because when I turned it on I still got the Low Battery warning (no music playing this time). The dock did light up when I put my Reader in, and the little red light on the side turned on.

NatCh · 04-15-2007, 05:34 PM

The docks do charge, it's the way I charge my own. But it takes about 3~4 hours from a low battery state, so I'd guess that the 20 minutes you got just wasn't enough to make a difference.

And yeah, that wasn't the most ... well considered move to make in an airport these days ... and I'd probably have done the same thing in your place.

scotty1024 · 04-16-2007, 06:25 PM

Well I did indeed get one more personal shopping day... I've also got a pile of Border's Bucks to use up as well.

I'm still not quite certain why Border's sells 'em but they're surely my favorite place to buy 'em. Too bad they didn't get any of the D&B units, sigh...

So its like this...

One unit for the wife. One unit for me. One unit to stay at original firmware for testing that. One unit to use as a "Crash Test Dummy". Two units given as gifts. I guess I counted incorrectly before, that's six right?

RWood · 04-16-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yaksha

I was getting ready to fly back to Phoenix from Seattle. My biggest problem was that my Sony Reader was out of battery and I had forgotton to bring the charger and USB plug with me (I use it as an mp3 player, so my battery life isn't the best.) ....

i use the iGo Juice recharging system. It has connections to use wall power, auto connection, or airplane connection as input power. For output I got the A54 iTip which plugs into the Reader and recharges it like the original Reader power transformer. This way I never have a problem with the Reader running low on a plane. (It also powers the laptop at the same time. It powers one laptop plus one other device at once. Other devices for me are cell phone, still camera, camcorder, and mp3 player.)

eskin · 04-17-2007, 12:23 AM

The Southern California CompUSA stores are closing their doors. I just picked up two brand new Sony book readers for about $170 each at the La Mesa, CA store just east of San Diego. Was able to still get the $50 credit on the Sony online bookstore for each of them, great stuff!

Leaping Gnome · 04-17-2007, 09:23 AM

Nice! I wondered how deep they would discount them. I was in New Jersey a few weeks ago and stopped by a closing CompUSA but they were only taking around 10% off most things. The stores in Kentucky are not closing so no great deals for me. :/

Alexander Turcic · 04-17-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eskin

The Southern California CompUSA stores are closing their doors. I just picked up two brand new Sony book readers for about $170 each at the La Mesa, CA store just east of San Diego. Was able to still get the $50 credit on the Sony online bookstore for each of them, great stuff!

What a great deal! I wonder what else they sold at such a discount... reminds me, I need a new workstation PC

Leaping Gnome · 04-17-2007, 05:21 PM

In the NJ store the laptop discounts count my eye, but they looked like they were going fast.

imaredr · 04-24-2007, 03:50 PM

Dont' know if it's been mentioned, but the Sony reader is now available at AAFES (US Military Exchange). It's not much cheaper ($339.00), but then again no tax to pay. Probably not many military here, but thought I post anyway.

Ellen

NatCh · 05-01-2007, 11:20 PM

Guess what I saw in this month's Microcenter sales circular? Yup, that's right, the Sony Reader. It's not (presently, anyway) coming up on the website though.

JSWolf · 05-02-2007, 12:55 AM

I'll have to have a look at the Microcenter flyer. Just got it in th email yesterday. But from what I understand, if it's not on the website, it may be sold out.

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02-15-2007, 03:38 PM	#316
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	I'm testing a new firmware update technique (thanks for the assist igorsky!) and needed a new Reader as a test subject (I also wanted to get a copy of the original firmware to use for reverting units.) So I visited my good buddies at the Borders in downtown Seattle and picked up another Reader today. The kiosk has been moved to downstairs behind the main information desk, an improvement since they generally keep that desk staffed. The kiosk had several units in it and they are still keeping units "Behind the sales counter". They have brown, red and green covers and the Sony Gift cards. I grabbed a red cover as I haven't found a cover yet I want to buy and the bundled cover was really starting to annoy me.

03-30-2007, 04:31 PM	#317
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	If you haven't heard Border's is phasing out their personal shopping days. The store clerk told me that my buying a Sony Reader on my personal shopping day today I should be good for one more personal shopping day next month but that should be the end of it. I think this made my fifth Reader purchase from the Downtown Seattle Border's. Never a bad unit and always an excellent customer service experience. The 10% and 25% discounts on the Readers didn't hurt either. :-)

03-30-2007, 04:53 PM	#318
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	What the sam hill are you doing to those Readers, scotty1024? Or are you giving them away?

04-15-2007, 04:29 PM	#320
Yaksha Member Posts: 19 Karma: 246 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: PRS-500	I was getting ready to fly back to Phoenix from Seattle. My biggest problem was that my Sony Reader was out of battery and I had forgotton to bring the charger and USB plug with me (I use it as an mp3 player, so my battery life isn't the best.) While walking through SeaTac airport I see a Borders bookstore. I decide to see if they carry the chargers and how much it would be. Unfortunately they only carried the Reader and the dock. The dock was $50 and I knew I wouldn't even use it that much. That's when I saw a demo Reader sitting in a dock. I thought to myself, "Don't the docks recharge?" With no one around I pick up the demo Reader, move it to the side, and slip my Reader into the dock. Probably not the best move. It was only after I had done this that I thought about asking one of the Borders employees if this was OK. But it was already done, and I was too chicken to take my Reader, go up and ask, and go back. So I sit around the electronics area for about 20 minutes, randomly looking at stuff and keeping an eye on my Reader. That's when a TSA security guard comes into Borders, eyes me for half a second, and then stands near the door. That's when I realized it was time to get going. I quickly grabbed my Reader, put it in my laptop bag, and make a not-so-swift-as-to-attract-attention exit. Luckily, nothing came of it. But looking back, that was one hell of a stupid idea to try in an airport. I could've easily asked one of the employees if it was OK, but what if they said no? Also, apparently the dock doesn't recharge the Reader, or the one they had wasn't working properly, because when I turned it on I still got the Low Battery warning (no music playing this time). The dock did light up when I put my Reader in, and the little red light on the side turned on.

04-15-2007, 05:34 PM	#321
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	The docks do charge, it's the way I charge my own. But it takes about 3~4 hours from a low battery state, so I'd guess that the 20 minutes you got just wasn't enough to make a difference. And yeah, that wasn't the most ... well considered move to make in an airport these days ... and I'd probably have done the same thing in your place.

04-16-2007, 06:25 PM	#322
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Well I did indeed get one more personal shopping day... I've also got a pile of Border's Bucks to use up as well. I'm still not quite certain why Border's sells 'em but they're surely my favorite place to buy 'em. Too bad they didn't get any of the D&B units, sigh... So its like this... One unit for the wife. One unit for me. One unit to stay at original firmware for testing that. One unit to use as a "Crash Test Dummy". Two units given as gifts. I guess I counted incorrectly before, that's six right?

04-17-2007, 12:23 AM	#324
eskin Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007 Device: Sony Reader	The Southern California CompUSA stores are closing their doors. I just picked up two brand new Sony book readers for about $170 each at the La Mesa, CA store just east of San Diego. Was able to still get the $50 credit on the Sony online bookstore for each of them, great stuff!

04-17-2007, 09:23 AM	#325
Leaping Gnome Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 1641 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Louisville Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	Nice! I wondered how deep they would discount them. I was in New Jersey a few weeks ago and stopped by a closing CompUSA but they were only taking around 10% off most things. The stores in Kentucky are not closing so no great deals for me. :/

04-17-2007, 05:21 PM	#327
Leaping Gnome Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 1641 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Louisville Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	In the NJ store the laptop discounts count my eye, but they looked like they were going fast.

04-24-2007, 03:50 PM	#328
imaredr Collector Posts: 441 Karma: 1002238 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Harker Heights, Texas Device: Cybook	Dont' know if it's been mentioned, but the Sony reader is now available at AAFES (US Military Exchange). It's not much cheaper ($339.00), but then again no tax to pay. Probably not many military here, but thought I post anyway. Ellen

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05-01-2007, 11:20 PM	#329
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Guess what I saw in this month's Microcenter sales circular? Yup, that's right, the Sony Reader. It's not (presently, anyway) coming up on the website though.

05-02-2007, 12:55 AM	#330
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,796 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I'll have to have a look at the Microcenter flyer. Just got it in th email yesterday. But from what I understand, if it's not on the website, it may be sold out.