Borders Books Liquidation Sale - Nursing Book Stock Up

Southern Magnolia · Jul 24, 2011

Just spent an hour adding books to my cart on Borders.com. There were a lot of nursing related books that were $1.00 - $2.00 (lots of nursing study guides - some an older version but still a resource for a student at that price). My husband added a few books and we picked a few for the kids. Ticker on the cart said free shipping of $50 order. Well - even though we had $50.46 and the header at the top of the page said "you've qualified for free shipping" they tried to charge over $20 for shipping. Lookout. Apparently they're having website issues or trying to screw people on the way out of business.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2011

Living here in NYC have considerable experience with bankruptcy/liquidation sales, most recently Circut City. *LOL*
Here is the bottom line: the longer you wait the better discounts, however stock will also decrease to the point that by the time things reach >50% or >75% off there may be slim pickings.
Many dealers/resellers make their living trolling liquidation sales looking for inventory. Indeed this is where so much of the stock you see on places like eBay comes from.
IIRC once the court orders liquidation the company no longer has control but usually an outside business comes in and takes over. Such companies will often move stock around between stores for maxim sales, and or sell off job lots to the big dogs (see above), to move goods.
My rule of thumb is to know what the best "normal" price one can get for an item is (that includes eBay), then compare against whatever discount the store is offering.
Ten percent off is basically saving me the NYS/NYC sales tax and getting the item for a few dollars off. If I really want or need the thing will lossen the mousetrap, otherwise I keep stopping in daily or so and see how things are going.

A home video rental place near me went out of business (to this day wondering why, they were so busy) and they hired an outside company to do their liquidation.

There were little discounts here and there to be found at first, but nothing to exciting. They created a whole wall of videos that were designed to sell each other. The more you bought, the less you paid each.

Things that were popular were not discounted at all. By the time the % off reached 30%, it wasn't even worth going into the store, the stock was all crap.

I bought one video set at 40% off (not so popular TV series I love) and that was it. From what I hear though, a lot of people fell for the gimmick sales and spent a lot of money.

You won't save anything much going to Borders if they do things the same way, unless you desire something NO ONE else is in the hunt for.

kenyacka · Jul 24, 2011

Just an FYI... someone mentioned they went online and it wasn't any cheaper. Their website says in big bold print that only the stores are going out of business. The website will still be used. So, for the best deals, I'd recommend going to the store. They aren't all closing right now. It will be a few months before they are all shut down. I called my local store and they don't even have a date for when they will start liquidating. Could be a few more months. So if it's a good drive for you, might be worth it to call first.

DoGoodThenGo · Jul 24, 2011

Just an FYI... someone mentioned they went online and it wasn't any cheaper. Their website says in big bold print that only the stores are going out of business. The website will still be used. So, for the best deals, I'd recommend going to the store. They aren't all closing right now. It will be a few months before they are all shut down. I called my local store and they don't even have a date for when they will start liquidating. Could be a few more months. So if it's a good drive for you, might be worth it to call first.

Unlike Amazon.com, Borders does not own it's online store, rather when internet sales took off they out sourced that part of their business which is probably the reason for the above post.

Barnes and Nobel managed or is managing to survive the new era of mainly online book sales, but alas Borders simply was a classic business school text about mistakes and not adapting to changes fast enough.

Amazon.com does not have brick and mortar stores to keep up. Barnes and Nobel has changed many of it's stores around, updating, closing where necessary and keeping stores where there is traffic. Borders OTHO has lots of stores in malls/shopping centers where traffic has been dying for ages.

The only Borders book store in Manhattan is way down and across town near Penn Station. Cannot bring myself in this current heat wave to roll that way just to "look", so that is that for now. If I do go down will post back what if anything is left in the way of nursing books.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 24, 2011

Where I live - unemployment is way high so when DH and I went yesterday to Borders, no lines, a few more people in the store than usual, but the shelves were filled.

MombearNurse · Jul 24, 2011

I think I read or heard somewhere that Amazon actually owns the Borders.com website so it makes sense that they would not discount the products online.

elthia · Jul 24, 2011

I went to the local Borders, and the shelves were full of Romance novels, they didn't even have a good selection of our favorite modern authors, but the children's section was huge. 1 1/2 shelves only for health, and only LPNclex and NCLEX review for nursing, and two drug guides. NO audio books at all, which greatly disappointed DH.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2011

Elthia.

I glanced at your screen name, thought it said "Elvira" and now I have this song stuck in my head:

Hmmm, wonder if that CD is on sale at Borders.

lrobinson5 · Jul 25, 2011

Elthia.
I glanced at your screen name, thought it said "Elvira" and now I have this song stuck in my head:
Hmmm, wonder if that CD is on sale at Borders.

:lol2:

And to think I loved you even before this post! :redbeathe

For me that song is awful. I can go months without thinking about it. Then randomly, out of the blue, no trigger. EHLVAHRUH *cue cheezy guitar*

elthia · Jul 25, 2011

Elthia.
I glanced at your screen name, thought it said "Elvira" and now I have this song stuck in my head:
Hmmm, wonder if that CD is on sale at Borders.

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

I've been called Althea before...but never Elvira....visions of goth with cleavage dancing through my head...

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2011

:lol2:
I've been called Althea before...but never Elvira....visions of goth with cleavage dancing through my head...

Better that than the song that came to my mind.