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Has Barnes&Nobles browsing policy helped or hurt business?

JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
You can browse all day at B&N. Has the increase of paying customers offset the freeloaders?
 
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?
 
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?
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I think he means the other kind of browsing, you know, like books.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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...

 
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
 
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
 
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
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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.
 
whenever there's magazines that are shrink wrapped at bookstore or market, there's usually 1 copy that's been opened up. kinda funny
 
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.
 
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. 😛
 
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...
 
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.
 
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. 😛
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so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine? 🙂
 
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. 😛
Click to expand...



so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine? 🙂
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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.
 
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. 😛
Click to expand...



so how much did that frap cost you? probably as much as a magazine? 🙂
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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