Has Barnes&Nobles browsing policy helped or hurt business?

[JEDI]

You can browse all day at B&N. Has the increase of paying customers offset the freeloaders?

 

[waggy]

hmm whenever i just browse i tend to find other books i want. so i spend more.

 

[boyRacer]

i dont know how that business makes enough money.

 

[PoPPeR]

i'm not sure I understand the question. You mean people can go to B&N and use their computers and browse forever? Why would you want to?

 

[fyleow]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
i'm not sure I understand the question. You mean people can go to B&N and use their computers and browse forever? Why would you want to?

I think he means the other kind of browsing, you know, like books.

 

[Grey]

Borders is the same way. More often then not I find another book I didn't mean to buy when I go there. I am pretty sure it has helped for books. Magazines on the other hand, I usually read them cover to cover in 10 minutes and leave them on the rack. Five bucks for 20 pages of actual articles is BS.

 

[Sid59]

i like browse the porn and CPU. but not simultaneously.

 

[thomsbrain]

i knew someone who worked there and i guess they have a huge theft rate in addition to letting people browse for free, so i seriously don't see how they make money.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

What did they do if you browsed too long, throw you out?

 

[guyver01]

i worked there for 10+ years.... it is a profit-making business, when you factor in that since they buy in massive bulk quantities, it's only costing them about $1 for those $5.99 mass markets... and bout $10 for those $24.95 hardcovers.

Magazines? forget it.... $2 for a $5 magazine, depending on title. dinky 3-4 copy magazines had little profit built in, but noone buys those anyways.... people buy People.. Time... Newsweek...

 

[PoPPeR]

oh browsing books. Well the longest I've ever stayed there was about 30 minutes, and that was only because I couldn't find the book I was looking for and then the line was huge.

What if they didn't allow you to browse? I'd rather have high theft + sales than low sales/theft. And as someone else mentioned, they'd have to have like a lot more stolen books then increased sales because they get teh books for so cheap

 

[JEDI]

i didnt mean theft. i just mean people using these bookstores as a library and freeload.

 

[Gunbuster]

I dont see how they could have a no browsing policy and avoid 10 daily pissed off customer screaming episodes

They would have to shrink wrap all the books

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: Gunbuster
I dont see how they could have a no browsing policy and avoid 10 daily pissed off customer screaming episodes

They would have to shrink wrap all the books

I've never been in a bookstore where they don't let you browse.

OTOTH, I've never seen anyone go in and read a book cover to cover, but, I suppose that's a possibility.

 

[hahher]

whenever there's magazines that are shrink wrapped at bookstore or market, there's usually 1 copy that's been opened up. kinda funny

 

[Orsorum]

There's an older bookstore in Seattle like that (The Elliot Bay Bookstore); I used to go there when I was a kid, and I would actually spend an afternoon holed up somewhere reading; I usually would read a few books cover to cover, but I'd end up buying one as well. I would say it contributes to the ambience and the ability to attract customers who otherwise might not normally buy books at a bookstore.

 

[Amused]

It's got to hurt their magazine business. I go in, order a frap and read a few magazines but never buy them. Books, on the other hand, I buy.

If I were B&N I would ban magazine browsing in the cafe.

 

[GasX]

I would argue that this policy helps foster a love for reading which indirectly increases book sales. That and most B&N's have starbucks for sale to their browsers and coffee is one of the highest margin businesses around...

 

[Ness]

B&N is one of the most sucessful stores BECAUSE of their environment. People are lured to the store because they know they can go in, relax and get a cup of expensive coffee. That's the draw of the store, and that's why they make money. Honestly, go to a B&N in a college town... students hang out there for long periods of time, and seeing as you really only need a handful of employees to keep the place running, if one or two people buy a book or two, you have labor covered.

 

[Indolent]

Originally posted by: Amused
It's got to hurt their magazine business. I go in, order a frap and read a few magazines but never buy them. Books, on the other hand, I buy.

If I were B&N I would ban magazine browsing in the cafe.

so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Indolent

Originally posted by: Amused
It's got to hurt their magazine business. I go in, order a frap and read a few magazines but never buy them. Books, on the other hand, I buy.

If I were B&N I would ban magazine browsing in the cafe.

so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine?

but does b&N get a cut of starbucks profits? or do they just pay rent? if they just pay rent, then having all these freeloaders does not improve their bottom line.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Indolent

Originally posted by: Amused
It's got to hurt their magazine business. I go in, order a frap and read a few magazines but never buy them. Books, on the other hand, I buy.

If I were B&N I would ban magazine browsing in the cafe.

so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine?

but does b&N get a cut of starbucks profits? or do they just pay rent? if they just pay rent, then having all these freeloaders does not improve their bottom line.

 

[0roo0roo]

sure they do, those starbucks in b&n are not really starbucks, more like licsenced starbucks... if you try to use a b&n gift cert for starbucks stuff at a real starbucks, doesn't work.