efordvt

Used a 20% off member coupon (had to be manually entered) and the code only 20% off from page one of the b&n thread. Employee questioned the code one, I had printed out the details link. He tried to tell me it was just the details page for the member coupon, but I just politely explained that it was different and said to just try it and if it doesn't work, no biggie. He was happy to try. Worked no problem. Got Eyes without a Face and Slacker for $14 and change each. Definitely pays to get to know your clerks. I live in a small town and know each of the 4 or so people That work in that department. 3 out of 4 don't give a shit and will do anything to make the coupons work, the other one is a hard liner.

laidbacklarkin

Good job...but just how did the price go to $14 ish each ? Not getting the math - are you saying you can use multiple coupons on a single title?

My Other Self

If the title is $19.99 on sale, and you use the 10% member discount and then the 20% coupon, it comes to $14.39+ tax.

laidbacklarkin

got it, thanks

Kedrix

Welp, got the Following last night. $16.99 will do me fine (Sale - 15% off coupon). I will never be in there enough for the member stuff, so that's a good price for me

BuckNaked2k

You are really stirring up a big hornet's nest here which could ruin a good deal for everyone. Calling customer service to ask for an explanation is a great way to get coupons shut down permanently.

To say "They need a corporate policy across the board in regards to the coupons. Have big signs up then saying "Not Accepted..."", would be just great, wouldn't it? In that case you wouldn't have gotten the great deal you got the day before, would you?

Clearly, the intent of B&N corporate is to disallow coupons across the board during the already generous 50% off sale. That it's still YMMV at many stores is a great thing, and results is many of us (including you) getting an extra discount where one should not be given. If you get shot down, just smile and say "thanks anyway", and move on. It's your approach above which is going to kill a sometimes great deal for all of us.

Brooklyn

Did the exact same thing this morning. The 10% membership won't apply due to it being processed as an online order (even if you have it sent to the store for pick-up).

ntnon

Is there a good reason not to wait until it comes out, to also shave the 10% membership discount off the price..?

BuckNaked2k

The word is, it will not be carried in stores. Special Order only.

Rumor is, there's a 30% off B&N coupon coming out on 11/21 requiring the use of a MasterCard. I am going to wait until then to try my luck on the Zatoichi box pre-order.

ntnon

I've been advised that if you special order it, it takes approx. 5 days to come in, and then they'll keep it for up to two weeks.

So I intend to phone up on the 20th/21st, and pick it up when it turns up for me.

ntnon

That's a good idea... I wonder if it'll come in a few days early, so people could pick it up in person utilising the end of the MasterCard coupon AND the membership 10%...?!

My Other Self

No "hornet's nest" was stirred. I was put on the spot and people were staring at me. It was embarassin.
I was more than entitled to file a complaint about the asshole who checked me out. It could've been for something not even related to this sale and I would have still called. His refusal to accept the coupons was, again, not why I contacted them.[/quote]
Structure needs to be in place. Obviously I wouldn't really want them to kill the coupon acceptance, but it's absurd to "get lucky". If the system lets them do it (which it clearly does), then there should be no refusal by any employee. Period.
Yeah, I'm well aware that the coupon worked for me. In fact I'm the one who told you specifically that it did.
Wrong. The situation was out of hand, and I didn't argue with the guy. His gingivitis infected mouth was spewing enough bullshit that I didn't have it in me to argue with him. I've been on this board a long, long time. I know better than what you're accusing me of.

I think you misinterpreted my post. I told customer service about the guy being a dick and demanding I "describe" what the cashier the night before looked like. Asking whether he should've accepted the fucking coupon was an afterthought, but with confirmation from the customer service line that it is fine to use it I'm glad I did. Whether or not you think I did the right thing is irrelevant, a line was forming and it got to the point where he wouldn't let it drop or finish ringing me up until I described them.

If you think I'm the only one who would've called over something like that, you're nuts. You post on the Blu-ray.com forums and clearly there are people that do ruin good deals.

I knew there'd be someone thinking what you did, though.

tl;dr version:
I've been on these boards too long and have gotten enough deals to know what can ruin a deal. I complained about the guy specifically, and didn't complain about the coupons. It was merely a question afterwards.

Sweet Baby James

^

I'm surprised that you went ahead with the purchase after being denied the coupon usage and interogated by the cashier. I would have told the guy to go fuck himself.

My Other Self

I don't do well in confrontational situations. I wasn't thinking, obviously.

I went to the other B&N today and was able to return and re-buy the titles with the coupons, but it doesn't change the fact that he was a tool.

BuckNaked2k

I see that your main point of contention now was the dickhead cashier.

I've been down with these sales since the very first one 4-5 years ago. Invariably, there is someone who gets snubbed, and is denied the use of a coupon while others are reporting wild success. He then states that he's going to "get to the bottom of this", and calls corporate to explain the varied, random acceptance of coupons.

My point was that this approach will merely result in the equal distribution of misery for all of us. When you posted about "having a big sign", this seemed to be exactly what has been seen before, and exactly what we do not want to happen. I'll take a snub or two every sale, if it means preserving the random, sometimes "wild west" YMMV aspect of this sale we frequently enjoy.

auto

It amazes me how little some value their time that they spend it buying and returning blu rays over a couple dollars.

BuckNaked2k

What do you mean, that the Zatoichi box will come in early and they'll break street date on it? Never happen. The rumored 30% MasterCard coupon is supposed to run from November 21-24, ending just before the Z box comes out.

Heck, I'll be plenty happy getting an extra 30% ($33.75) off!

My Other Self

Fair enough, and I agree.

Personally, I'd never drive out of my way to do that. After gas is figured in, it's not worth it. I knew I was going to be in the same shopping plaza of the other location, though, so figured what the hell.

laidbacklarkin

in every Criterion sale thread, there's a 'chosen one' by B&N :-)

Future Man

That coupon would be especially sweet for those of us with the BN Mastercard that provides an additional 5% credit.

The Questyen

I received two 20% off coupons and can't get either of them to work online on Zatoichi. It says "Your order does not qualify" and I don't see why.

Brooklyn

Since (as of what's being told to us now) it has to be ordered with a pre-pay it works the same as ordering online, hence no way to add the 10% membership discount (you get free shipping instead). As for getting there early, I ordered mine this morning shipped to the store and when I arrived home I had an e-mail stating mine was scheduled to be shipped on the 26th. It listed my name with the store's address, and upon calling the store to ask if that was normal (I've never received any type of shipping notification ordering things shipped to store), I was told that it was and that it would arrive separately and be held aside for me. I mention this as it seems this method negates it just being plucked from inventory they are shipped, ie; goes along with it possibly not being carried in-store.

My Other Self

No coupon will work online in conjunction with the sale.

Robert

Picked up The Spy Who Came In From The Cold with the 15% coupon from the Walpole, MA store.

Chad

Just successfully pre-ordered the Zatoichi set for $78 and change (excluding tax) utilizing the 30% Mastercard coupon. No hassle whatsoever. And this is now officially the best Criterion sale to date.