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Waterstones ditches three for two's


Talisman

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/31/waterstone-s-ends-3-for-2-offers

 

I don't know what others think, but personally I feel that this is a good thing, for all of the reasons they state. There must be countless times that I have gone into one of their branches, found two books that I wanted but gone away empty handed when I couldn't find a third, only to end up ordering those two online because they were cheaper. This will stop all of this, thereby encouraging people to buy more books which is exactly what they want. Mind you, now I have a Kindle it's a bit of a moot point anyway, as I don't suppose I shall be shopping at Waterstones anymore if at all. The way things are going, I would be surprised if they are still here in five years time. I suspect though that that is a whole other discussion ...

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I like the 3 for 2 offers. I went into Waterstones earlier (they should start charging me rent as I seem to live in there :lol: ) I wasnt buying but if I had been I would have gone for the 3 for 2 Terry Pratchett books. Also if I am buying books as a present for someone then it means I get a free one too!

Edited by shelley.s
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Sadly, I only go into Waterstones to check out the books I want and then order them from Amazon. I know it's wrong and I don't want to see the demise of the bookshop but what can you do when you know the books are cheaper online! I can't buy expensive books just to keep the bookshop alive.

Edited by SueK
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I only really shop in Waterstone's when I have a gift voucher. Like the author of the article writes, I often struggle to find my third 'free' book when I do have a voucher and therefore usually end up putting the other two back. Single-book offers would be better!

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I think this is a positive step. I think they've done the 3-for-2 deal to death, to be honest. Although I've switched allegiance to Apple for my iPad books and Amazon for my Kindle books over the last year, I actually think the reason many of the books left on my TBR shelf at the third book I've picked up in the offer, and haven't got round to reading yet, so I'm not sure that the offer was the bargain I thought! I do still buy books occasionally, but now it's more likely that I would buy from an indie shop rather than Waterstone's, as I'm often looking for a specific or unusual book which Waterstone's often don't stock. However, I like the alternatives the article says will be used to price books on offers, and I think I might be more tempted by a single book purchase while browsing now, even though I almost exclusively choose ebook alternatives if available. I also think this may tempt people back away from supermarkets for the mass marketed popular fiction, as I suspect these will be competitively priced in the £3 and £5 ranges the article talks about.

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I always like the 3-for-2s. I tend to go in find 3 things I want, add a few others to the wishlist, then never actually buy anything off the wishlist. I think better value single books might be better though, save more money overall anyway I think, I just worry nothing I'm interested on would be on offer, usually with 3 for 2 it's quite eclectic but the article makes it sound like there will be fewer offers.

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I kind of went off Waterstones when they sacked my sister! Having her work in a local one was cool too because I could get 20% of everything and if she was on the info desk I could ask all those questions I'd be too embarrassed to ask normally. I much prefer second hand bookshops, independent ones or charity shops though. Yes maybe not the choice but you get some great things! I love my 70s copy of Wilkie Collins The Woman In White! :)

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3-for-2 offers can be a bit seductive and lull you into thinking that you really wanted all 3 of the books you leave with - and I'm sure I've fallen prey to it many times in the past!

 

However, as others have said, these days I tend to buy books online after I've had a browse in a real shop... the more you save, the more books you can buy! :D

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I personally much prefer the idea of better offers on single books. Very often (particualarly towards the end of the month!) you only want to buy one book, as that's all you can afford, plus like I said, there are also a lot of times when you just can't find a third book that you like. If the offers are good enough (and hopefully not to the detriment of the author and/or publisher) it will be easier like Chesilbeach says for them to compete with the supermarkets, who somewhat depressingly are now Britain's leading book sellers. I have never been able to understand this, as I can never find anything in the supermarket that to my mind is even worth reading - unless you like chicklit and celebrity memoirs, which (no offence to those that do) are not my cup of tea. I prefer something with a bit more to chew on.

 

As to whether it will make me buy more books - probably not from Waterstones, but Amazon have a similar pricing poliy on their downloads - that is, offers on certain books, and so far this has certainly tempted me. So yes, for those who do still buy and read paper books, then I can see that this will be a lot better all round. I certainly hope so, as they need to do something to revive the book trade.

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I only ever shop in Waterstones if I have a voucher, but I loved the 3 for 2 offer - I never had any problem finding 2 books I wanted anyway and if I couldn't find a third from my "desperately want" list, I would take the opportunity to try something completely different for free.

 

The individual discounts sounds great, but they'll have to seriously reduce their prices to compete with the likes of supermarkets and The Works and Amazon. I'm all for supporting authors with fair prices, but I just can't afford Waterstone's prices, especially in today's economic climate. :(

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I never had problems finding a third book! In fact, I often used to end up with 6 for 4!! I can see why they're ditching it - in the current climate, a lot of people will only want to buy one book rather than two, I suppose.

 

I've heard that they're going to offer a uniform price of £5 per book. If that does apply to all books, it's great for customers, but how can it be good for Waterstones? Even if people buy three books, they'll be spending £15. In the 3 for 2 offer, with most books being £7.99 (give or take a pound), Waterstones would generally get £16 for selling three books! I've also heard that they'll be staggering prices for all books and they will cost either £3, £5 or £7. (Apologies if this is all in the link which Talisman posted; I can't the link to open on my very temperamental computer.)

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Having her work in a local one was cool too because I could get 20% of everything and if she was on the info desk I could ask all those questions I'd be too embarrassed to ask normally.

 

I am always too embarrassed to ask as well :smile2: I normall go into book shops do a quick tour around and if I can't see immediately what I want then I leave without and try the next book shop. This is another reason why I like the waterstones 3 4 2's as they have them laid out on the table so its easier to see whats avialbale rather than doing a quick scan of the spines that are lined up on the shelves. And lets face it we do all judge to a certain degree books by their covers and reading spines doesn't give you that same judgement as seeing the cover.

 

I don't really buy from the supermarkets but I do look as I find thats normally a good was of seeing new releases.

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I've heard that they're going to offer a uniform price of £5 per book. If that does apply to all books, it's great for customers, but how can it be good for Waterstones?

 

NOT that I live in an area that even has a Waterstone's, but I thought the article was interesting, and then read that your link wouldn't open on your comp, Ruth! Thought I'd try to help. :) The article SEEMS like it won't be placing every book at $5 (forgive me.. I don't know if we even have 'pound' signs on our comps in the US!), just individual books that are part of a campaign:

 

The 296-store Waterstone's business is now said to be looking at introducing money-off deals for individual books from September, instead of the blanket three-for-two, either pricing campaign books at £5, or introducing a "staggered" offer for paperbacks at £3, £5 and £7.

 

Not sure if particular campaigns will run for a month, 2 weeks, 3 months, etc... but regardless, it seems that only certain books will be part of that $5 special. Hope this helps!

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NOT that I live in an area that even has a Waterstone's, but I thought the article was interesting, and then read that your link wouldn't open on your comp, Ruth! Thought I'd try to help. :) The article SEEMS like it won't be placing every book at $5 (forgive me.. I don't know if we even have 'pound' signs on our comps in the US!), just individual books that are part of a campaign:

 

The 296-store Waterstone's business is now said to be looking at introducing money-off deals for individual books from September, instead of the blanket three-for-two, either pricing campaign books at £5, or introducing a "staggered" offer for paperbacks at £3, £5 and £7.

 

Not sure if particular campaigns will run for a month, 2 weeks, 3 months, etc... but regardless, it seems that only certain books will be part of that $5 special. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks Bethany, that does make things a bit clearer (and makes a bit more sense than what I had heard) :)

 

I had a few spare minutes at work, and I find my work computer is slow and temperamental. :(

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Interesting the number of people saying they deliberately browse a bookshop but then buy on-line. I suppose it's partly because I have a son who works in a bike shop, where they have to deal with this sort of customer all the time - picking their brains, trying out the bikes etc etc and they buying online (it's quite fun the number who then find they've made a big mistake, but that's another issue) - but I just couldn't do that, even with a multiple like Waterstone's (supermarkets, however, are a different matter, but then I don't browse in a supermarket).

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Same here - when I used to work in the electrical business it was the same. They even used to come back to the shop after they had bought stuff elsewhere and ask us for advice on why it didn't work ! To me it's just not an ethical thing to do. If you don't have the money to buy from book shops then don't visit them, it's as simple as that - either stick to the Internet for all your browsing and buying, or if you are really short of cash, use the library.

Edited by Talisman
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  • 8 months later...

I was never a fan of the 3 for 2 offer, but only because the books I wanted were less mainstream and therefore not in the offer. I am not sure how they decided which books to go into the offer but I don't understand why more weren't, I would have expected at least 90% of all the typical paperbacks to be in the offer but it seemed more like 40%.

 

Saying this I went in to Waterstone's the other day and they seemed to have replaced this offer with.. nothing, nothing at all. All the paperbacks were at full price, which is now never below £7.99. Tonnes I wanted but I can't justify spending that kind of money when I know they are sooo much cheaper on Amazon, I wish I could afford it because I would like to help out the book stores. The only offers they have are on the brand new hardbacks (which I don't like) and this is only £5 or £10 off from the RRP which is £20 and considering no where sells hardbacks at the RRP it is not a good offer.

 

I found this very disappointing from Waterstone's I expected better from the biggest high street book seller in the country. Even WHSmith's who have been struggling in the recession have a buy one get one half price offer on nearly all their paperbacks. I much prefer shops like The Works, where they do paperbacks 3 for £5 and £2 or £3 each as well. I picked up a brand new Hunger Games Trilogy from there last week for only £6.

 

So all though I wasn't fond of the 3 for 2, I have used it once or twice and much prefer it to nothing at all!

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