Think you will find a great deal at the Borders clearance sale?
Let me save you the trip.
I went yesterday (Friday) afternoon, in the bid to find some phenomenal prices. After all, this is no mere clearance sale, but an all-out liquidation. Borders (BGP) will soon be no more.
And while I prefer not to profit from another person's misery -- all those employees suddenly cast adrift in a terrible economy that seemingly has no new jobs for anyone, however skilled -- this was a match made in heaven. Borders, after all, had gobs of my money spent there over the years; so fair is fair.
But Borders still calls the tune. Or so it thinks. 40% discount? Magazines only, where the markups are equally tremendous. Books? 10-20% (science fiction a miserly 10%, mysteries a more giving 15%).
C'mon, who do they kid? Certainly not me. Better discounts were always available online at Amazon and elsewhere, who always had the book in my hands within 1-2 days, and charged no sales tax; Borders (at least my neighborhood store) almost never had what I wanted, charged full cover price, would order it and possibly have it in 1-2 weeks. Oh, and charge sales tax.
Bill Gates famously said something to the effect that, with the advent of the Internet, middle-men had better offer a premium service or a better price. Borders offered neither, especially the past decade. That trend continues with this so-called liquidation sale: the better price is found online elsewhere. And I can find the precise item(s) I seek.
Go to Borders? Perhaps for a coffee... but for the sad fact that the coffee outlets are closed. And most assuredly not for any deal. Save yourself the trip.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist
I went yesterday (Friday) afternoon, in the bid to find some phenomenal prices. After all, this is no mere clearance sale, but an all-out liquidation. Borders (BGP) will soon be no more.
And while I prefer not to profit from another person's misery -- all those employees suddenly cast adrift in a terrible economy that seemingly has no new jobs for anyone, however skilled -- this was a match made in heaven. Borders, after all, had gobs of my money spent there over the years; so fair is fair.
But Borders still calls the tune. Or so it thinks. 40% discount? Magazines only, where the markups are equally tremendous. Books? 10-20% (science fiction a miserly 10%, mysteries a more giving 15%).
C'mon, who do they kid? Certainly not me. Better discounts were always available online at Amazon and elsewhere, who always had the book in my hands within 1-2 days, and charged no sales tax; Borders (at least my neighborhood store) almost never had what I wanted, charged full cover price, would order it and possibly have it in 1-2 weeks. Oh, and charge sales tax.
Bill Gates famously said something to the effect that, with the advent of the Internet, middle-men had better offer a premium service or a better price. Borders offered neither, especially the past decade. That trend continues with this so-called liquidation sale: the better price is found online elsewhere. And I can find the precise item(s) I seek.
Go to Borders? Perhaps for a coffee... but for the sad fact that the coffee outlets are closed. And most assuredly not for any deal. Save yourself the trip.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist
Labels: Humanities
posted by David M Gordon | 9:38 AM
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