FangsFirst

http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/33j...id=SL_20100119 33% till the 25th (online STP7145A)
http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/103...id=SL_20100119 $10 off $30 till the 25th (online...no!)

gryffinmaster

Is this $10 off $30 before or after tax?

kenbenobi

Awesome, thanks! My email only gave a 30% off coupon this time:
http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/30j...id=SL_20100119

beer me

Before tax.

Schreker

The $10 off $30 is the MUCH BETTER deal IF you purchase items ALREADY ON SALE.

For example, I purchased two blu rays normally priced $38.99 but ON SALE for $14.99 each.

Used coupon (no problem with SUBTOTAL being LESS than $30--read fine print of coupon) and my total was $19.98 plus tax--almost 75% off!!!

So find a bunch of SALE items which add up to $30 and you will do much better than 33% off LIST PRICE of a SINGLE ITEM.

Schreker

P.S.

Now's the time to pick up the Beatles remasters from Borders if you want the cheapest price:

e.g. $18.99 titles sale priced at $14.99--use the $10 off $30 and you can get two Beatles titles for $19.98 plus tax--that's better than Amazon, B&N, A1, etc., etc.

cdollaz

Did they let the other 2 cents slide?

misterchimpy

FYI, apparently Borders has stopped paying some of its creditors, so if you have gift cards, use them up or if you were going to return something, I wouldn't delay.

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowat...d=yahoobarrons

Borders Reportedly Not Paying Some Vendors; Some Publishers Hire Bankruptcy Counsel

By Eric Savitz

Borders Group (BGP) is only paying some of the publishers that supplies the book store chain, according to Debtwire, citing six suppliers to the company. “The company is paying its largest vendors in timely fashion but is in growing arrears to a number of smaller publishing houses, some of whom are preparing to take legal action,” Debtwire reports, in a story published on FT MergerMarket.

The piece says a group of publisher has retained bankruptcy group Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel, according to two sources. One of those sources told Debtwire that the group inquired with the company about a potential restructuring, but never received a response.

The story says that three major publishers say that have been paid in full by the company, but that three smaller firms have had payments delayed.

According to Debtwire, the company responded that Borders has continued to pay its vendors and is not aware of any material dispute relate to its December 2009 payments.

BGP today is down 5 cents, or 4%, to $1.19.

Schreker

Yes, "they let the other 2 cents slide"--but the coupon actually states:

"Borders: Ring items; if total is $30 or more, select S3, select S4, scan or enter coupon #366025370000000000, select S1, enter $10, and Total."

Now NOWHERE on the coupon does it say the SUBTOTAL (i.e. WITHOUT TAX) has to be "$30 or more." It says "total"--and that means WITH TAX.

They may have MEANT to write subtotal on the coupon, but total is what is there and TOTAL INCLUDES TAX.

I've used coupon twice with subtotals LESS than $30 without a problem.

Schreker

I wouldn't jump ship just yet from Borders--read the full article from FT MergerMarket and you will see Pershing Square's loan comes due in April 2010--that should be the next hurdle for Borders.

Meanwhile B & N isn't exactly being generous with anything but 10% discounts and they totally screwed their members during the holiday season by giving everyone their "member's price" on everything. Anyone else feeling like B & N should give their members a FREE RENEWAL in exchange for the shabby treatment they gave you during the holidays?

dino88

So, how long have you worked for Borders?

Sweet Baby James

If you read what the employees are saying, it doesn't sound very promising. It would also seem that corporate enjoys sending out threatening e-mails to their store employees.


http://community.livejournal.com/iworkatborders

Zbu

You can tell Borders is badly run when they have three separate stores in their hometown of Ann Arbor. Granted, two would be fine since one is up on campus and requires paid parking, but three? And there are dozens more shattered across Metro Detroit. I don't see how they can really manage this kind of Starbucksian growth without some pruning.

Especially since their big selling point of finding books from anywhere is becoming increasingly untrue as time goes on. I'm not asking for Amazon's selection, but it's obvious they've forgotten their roots or simply haven't adapted.

Schreker

So, how long have you worked for Barnes & Nobles?

But seriously, I'll be the first to admit Borders has problems--and certainly looks to go the way of the Dodo before too long--BUT, I'm not in such a hurry (as some of you appear to be) to see them disappear.

Once Borders closes I think you'll see Barnes & Nobles and Amazon raise their prices and offer fewer discounts because of the decreased competition.

Over the past few years I've frequently taken advantage of Borders wackiness--like when they misprice a $150 book online for $95--and I use their 40% off coupon to get it for $57!!! (Done that one more than a dozen times = $1200+ savings). Or when they keep deleted product in stock: Criterion Blu Ray Third Man went out of print and skyrocketed to $60 on Amazon marketplace--but I used the reserve in store option and a coupon and got it for $27. (Sorry Barnes & Nobles shoppers, title was pulled from system when it went out of print so no easy way to find those stragglers out in the stores).

Presumably we all read this thread to get the cheapest prices on things we want, and while you may loathe their business practices, Borders in certain instances (when you figure out how to exploit the loopholes) gives you the best price.

Here's one example I found today: Ian Mckellen Acting Shakespeare DVD released January 12, 2010; List price on Amazon $29.98, on sale $22.98; List price on B&N $29.99, members price $26.99; List price on Borders.com $25.99 and with current 33% off coupon $17.41--use ship-to-store option for free shipping.

I do buy things from Amazon and B&N, but Borders wackiness often gives me the best deal.

If you want to feel sorry for Borders employees nastily abused by their corporate headquarters I suggest you donate money to the thousands of Tower Records, Virgin Records, Wherehouse Records, Camelot Records, etc., etc. (ad nauseum) employees equally abused by their bosses as their chains went under. Wake up and smell the coffee: you want lowest prices, largest selection, most knowledgeable and helpful customer service, and unlimited returns policy? move to another planet--'cause you ain't gonna get it here in America circa 2010.

kyle

I would order the upcoming Dr. Who specials Blu-ray from them with some gift cards I have and the 33% coupon, but their price is $5 above MSRP!

Schreker

Looks like your best price for now is from B & N: $47.99 then either create a new account and use the 20% off coupon (D3H8J8J) for $38.39 total

OR if you are a member $43.19 and 20% off coupon (F8L9Y2R) for $34.55 total

Neither coupon works for pre-orders so you'll have to wait until February 5--by which time Amazon, Borders, Deepdiscount, etc. may have better deals.

kenbenobi

Non-members can go through bn.com/library to save an additional 10%...

Ghostbuster

I like Borders better than B&N because the Borders Rewards program is free and Rewards discounts are often 25% or more. Whenever I visit the B&N coupon thread, I see coupons with significantly lower discounts. Also, while I occasionally watch a Criterion Collection film, I am not interested in purchasing (and taking advantage of the rare B&N 50% sale).

BKenn01

I dont think Amazon or BN care much about Borders. BN maybe a little, but I dont think their prices are going to change because they go the way of the dodo. That said I dont want to see them go out of business.

The do seem to have a problem with the concept of a loss leader. They really struggle when it comes to offering real deals. I guess 40% off list when its available on titles not on sale elsewhere may be ok, but Amazon and BN kick their tail when it comes to serious promotions. That is my experience with DVD's anyway.

dino88

I've never worked at Barnes & Noble. I'm not even sure why you would ask that when I said nothing at all about B&N. It's quite obvious that you work for Borders, I'm just wondering how long it's been.

Schreker

"quite obvious I work for Borders"--when I'm telling you how to shamelessly exploit their loopholes????

Like when they ran the "Buy $50 in gift cards and get $10 free" promotion and let you purchase it with giftcards and gave you borders bucks on top of it--i.e. you could buy $150 worth of gift cards with gift cards and wind up with $185!!!

Or how about early last year when they gave you the $5 off coupon and you could just keep using it by creating new accounts: I got twenty Columbia Jazz CDs (regularly priced $5.99) for 99 cents each--and then I added the credits (using the Request Credit page) to my main Borders Rewards account too!

Using all the various loopholes in the Borders system I wound up getting the Beatles Mono Box Set (list $302.98) for $133.

If you think I work for Borders you sadly are mistaking them for some kind of non-profit organization!

Sweet Baby James

^

No wonder that you rue the day that Borders closes their doors.

Schreker

You are so right Sweet Baby James!

But Barnes & Nobles also has cracks:

I recently bought a $195 book from them mispriced online at $135--member's price $121.50 minus 20% off coupon for $97.20.

And during the Criterion 50% off sale you could use the "$5 off a regularly priced $20 or more" DVD coupon plus your 10% off member discount to bring the price down to $8.50 for the $29.99 regularly priced titles!

A little bit of ingenuity can get you great deals from the various retailers.

greylocke5

Today I used the $10 off $30 coupon at Borders.

They had Coraline and Australia - sticker price $29.95 - on sale for $12.99 each. Plus I bought a copy of the Liam Neeson/Geoffrey Rush Les Miserables for $7.99.

Total price for all three DVDs - including sales tax - was just over $25.

Not too shabby. And yes - you can feel them sliding downhill. The store I visited is a "flagship" store that has a larger selection - but it looks like they are stripping the DVD shelves - they are about a third empty. They have signs all over the place that they will give you free in-store delivery on anything that is listed at Borders.com. Duh - I've been aware of that for a long time. The poor cashier - she seemed almost apologetic when she routinely asked me, "Did you find everything you were looking for?" I just looked back at her sheepishly and said "sure."

I, too, will hate to see them go. But first they file for reorganization - and try to continue for a while longer. But if someone doesn't buy them out I think they will go under.

It's ironic because it was Borders (and Amazon) that drove Olssons - a DC-area chain of long standing - out of business last year, after many years of that old-fashioned customer friendly service. And now Borders seems to be heading down the same road.

Schreker

It's a progression: Borders and Barnes & Nobles (with Best Buy, Walmart, etc.) drove the Record Retailers (Tower, Virgin, etc.) out of business by stocking music and videos as well as books.

Now major big box chains (Target, Walmart, etc.) are stocking books, cutting into Borders and B&N's main business. Amazon survives because they have expanded from books to shoes, clothing, electronics, etc., etc.

Barnes & Nobles have already scaled back their store inventories and when Borders goes under you'll see them cut even more.

It's the nature of the retail game in the 21st Century--great for pricing, but it's only through blogs like this where anyone will be able to find out about new releases, etc. because all knowleadgeable staff everywhere will have been sacked along the way in cost-cutting.