Laser Movies

New online coupons are now active.

25% off single item online CMONDAY14 Expires 12/2 2:59am ET

Save $20 off a $100 or more purchase online 20OFFDEC2 Expires 12/4 2:59am ET

Save $10 off a $75 or more purchase online BN10OFF75 Expires 12/4 2:59am ET

Josh-da-man

Any cheap items, say $0.99, that can be used to push an order up to the $25 free shipping threshold? I have a book I want that comes out to $24 and change with the new coupon.

Josh-da-man

I have heard that Barnes & Noble isn't in particularly good shape. The Nook hasn't taken off like Amazon's Kindle and they're getting pinched in the drift toward digital sales. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if the chain shut down in the next five years. The store I go to is huge, in an expensive shopping center, and it's never particularly busy.

EDIT: Or maybe not.

But, regardless of that, no business likes to lose money. Every Criterion they sold for $14 probably represented a net loss. Don't know how much they pay for them, or if they have some kind of deal in place with Criterion to get them at a reduced price, but when people are walking out of the store with stacks of $40 blu-rays that they're selling for thirty-five cents on the dollar, they might as well be watching someone shoplift a handful of them.

The coupon states one use per customer, and when you have people buying dozens of items in a separate transactions to skirt the rules it's going to be seen as a form of abuse.

I wonder if B&N corporate caught on to what people were doing and sent a memo/e-mail out to store managers to not let these go through. If this did happen, I suspect we won't see any more general use coupons, or if we do they will have restrictions that won't let them be used for items that are already on sale.

Shagrath

I think this talk of coupons going away is complete paranoia. How many years have we had people saying that coupons will not be available for the next sale due to "abuse" and then it's just business as usual every single time.

I would guess that B&N has some deal in place with Criterion for this sale, since it's promoted by Criterion itself (unlike say, an Amazon sale). Single-use coupons are pretty silly, in my opinion. You'll get many situations like Laser's this weekend where he was ready to spend much more money, but instead only purchased the bare minimum because he was only allowed one coupon.

mhurne

Agreed. Not long ago during one of the Criterion sales there was a restriction on using coupons on already discounted items like Criterion discs. I sense they may have seen a decrease in sales and decided to lift the restriction on one of the subsequent sales so we are at where we are now. Coupons are a loss-leader situation for stores where the coupons gets the person in the door hoping they will buy other items while they are there.

Spiderbite

My local B&N stores won't even allow the 30% coupon with the Criterion sale so consider yourself lucky if you get even one.

Lipid

The 30% off worked online so those who were denied in store usage clearly had a manager in the wrong.

Also, I can't imagine that they're at a net loss with each criterion they sell. It would not make sense in a business model to offer coupons that people could then use on items to make you lose money ultimately. Barnes & Noble may not have the greatest business model, but I don't think they're that stupid. If they could possibly be used on items that would result in a net loss, I think they would have in big bold letters "excluding blu-rays" or whatever it may be.

Strapped4Cash

I couldn't get the "25% off single item online" and "Save $20 off a $100 or more purchase online" to work together (big surprise). I'd hoped that one of them would be automatic, but alas, 'twas not to be. Still, good savings and thanks again to Laser.

Laser Movies

I knew going in with the one 30% coupon it might not go well trying to use it multiple times. I really wasn't too surprised at what happened. However it has been a while since the last time I have tried to see what the local stores would let you get away with on pushing the limits. Apparently nothing has changed.

I did manage to get the minimum Criterions I wanted out of the sale, but ended up having to work harder to get them. It took 3 trips to the stores along with 3 online orders for 7 Criterion blu-ray titles. Maybe I would have purchased 9 to 10 at the most if the stores were more lenient.

Laser Movies

Look for possibly another online 20% coupon tonight at 12 ET with the code BNEBATES14. Depending when the Criterion sale ends there might not be much time to use it if you wanted to make a last minute order.

Coupon is now active!

Kevy

Does B&N ever have a sale or coupon in regards to
"Textbooks"?? Went to purchase a screenwriting book
that they say is a textbook. Neither the 30 or 25 percent
off worked. And I have already took advantage of Amazon's
30 percent off coupon. So im trying to figure out a way to
save some money.

Laser Movies

There have been specific coupons for books, but never remember one for textbooks. If you paid with a gift card you could look into getting some discounted cards to save some money.

Laser Movies

Looks like the 50% off British TV sale is now up on the web site.

kenbenobi

They're advertising it, but it doesn't look like the prices are active yet. At least, not for the items I want, like Sherlock S3...

Laser Movies

I'm seeing some prices at 50% off. May take a little time for everything to switch over.

skippy3elf

wow - there site is super-flakey right now. I'm putting things in my cart and trying to check out and they're disappearing on me. I'm not even sure if my orders are going through.... Something tells me I'm going to be paying these guys a phone call tomorrow to see if my orders were picked up...

Laser Movies

^
Were you trying to order Criterions?

I noticed the prices have increased on Criterions and that was probably why they were disappearing.

skippy3elf

Not at all - I was trying to purchase a book and cd. I think this is probably when they do server/database maintenece (most US companies do this in the middle of the night to minimize customer impact - with varying degrees of success).

skippy3elf

Jeez - even today the checkout is unstable. Things are entering and leaving my cart as I'm trying to check out... This is the type of stuff that seriously makes me wonder how this company stays in business.

WhovianZorker

So which way is it working in the physical stores this year? All titles, no titles, most titles, or every title except the one I want (which isn't 50% off on the website, of course)?

Laser Movies

Sorry I don't have an answer, but would suggest calling your local store to check with them. I thought last year the online sale was on a limited selection of titles, while stores were on all titles they had in stock. I would assume the sale is more or less the same this year.

skippy3elf

The guy in the store told me the British sale goes through 12/15. I'm pretty sure that any British titles in the store at least would be included (including Acorn, etc). But even looking on line it appears that pretty much everything is included (with the exception of things which aren't release yet - e.g. Doctor Who Season 8)

skippy3elf

On a side-note - its amazing how quickly this board slows down after the Criterion sale...

Laser Movies

I have 20% store and online coupons if anyone needs any. Coupons are valid through Sunday.

kjl92

I'll take one in store and one online code if you can Laser, thanks