madara

Anyone notice that alot folks at B&N grab a book and just read it in chairs there. Or worse yet take them to cafe area and eat as they read. Whats B&N policy on this? Instead buying the book I can just come everyday and read it? Maybe gunk it all up with a danish? lol

matome

I've always noticed that as well. LOL, they probably make more from their food stand than they do selling books.

Easy

I sometimes wonder if anyone has had the stones to take one into the bathroom. Just knowing they might be -ahem- used, seriously makes me hesitate to buy books there.

Quatermass

One time I was visiting a Barnes and Noble in a city containing a large university, I once observed two individuals with backpacks and notebooks with several of the store's books mixed in among their own papers and calculators. They were communicating with each other in a language I did not exactly recognize, but which appeared to be similar to that of another ethnic group whose culture may not have included a bookstore where patrons are allowed the privilege of extended perusal of reading materials. This cultural difference might have led to a misunderstanding on their part as to the spirit and intent of that privilege. The fact that they were operating in plain view for a long period of time indicated that the management of that particular establishment had no problem with their use of the materials and therefore neither did I.



<Fixed>

Shagrath

If they didn't want you doing this, they wouldn't have big comfy chairs and tables sitting all around the bookstore.

DVDFreaker

Exactly

eau

The same problem occurs at Borders too.

forumsmy

That is why Borders has the theft detection sensors at the bathroom hallway entrance. Some of the BN's do, I believe and some do not.

mndtrp

I've wondered that myself. I've known people who go there daily to read, and that's it. They read for an hour or so, put the book back, and then leave.

Of course, these people also have an old handicapped placard they use to get handicapped parking spots.

honeybefly

Was it necessary to mention that they were Asian? Typical.

rich-y

Where have you guys been hiding? Ha! I have been visiting B&N for more than 9 years now and they're always full of people reading.

Personally, I go every month, grab a stack of magazines, head to the cafe, buy a $5 Frapp (and often a $3 cookie) and read until my eyes start to cross.

I've seen numerous reports that the book stores make such a huge profit on coffee and baked goods (compared to books and magazines) that they're willing to let customers read to their heart's content. I bet my $8 worth of coffee and cookies cost them a total of 50-Cents.

Also, I can't tell you how many times I've gone in to simply browse and read but discovered something that I felt I had to own. I probably would have never purchased those items had I been hustled in and out of the store!

victant

This is what I've concluded, too. I believe that it's a win-win situation for everyone, since these stores are indeed large enough chains to absorb the cost and can afford these gambles....

Lastdaysofrain

They build them so that people will do this. Why else would they put comfortable chairs, tables, etc everywhere?

They want people to go there and hang out for a long time.

Big Worms

Except that books and magazines don't have sensors on them. They are only their for cds and dvds.

renaldow

Regardless of the sensors, I've never been in one of the stores where the wasn't a sign in the bathroom area stating, "No unpaid for merchandise beyond this point."

retihsuhnt

Thats not true. I have found several 'sensors' in books I have purchased at Borders. Heck I've even seen them stuck to the inside of the 'jacket'.

Big Worms

Well I have never seen them at B&N, but who knows every store is different. But I have seen the signs that say no unpaid merchandise.

forumsmy

Maybe not the magazines but when reading some books I have found a very thin sliver of metal that was a sensor close into the binding, between the pages somewhere in the middle of the book. Basically it was dropped in after the binding was maybe bend back alittle in order to secure it in there.

Also some places I went to used to "magnetize" across the spine which must be deactivated - so there was no obvious strip, sensor or other "device." In these places, the cashier would wipe the spine across the demagnetizer several times.

fourwalker

I read once that when Bezos was starting up amazon he did interviews in B&N

fujishig

When Borders and B&N first came out, I always wondered about this. There are always tons of people reading books, and especially magazines, all over the store. I guess the concession sales make sense, but I'm not sure you can take food into the store, where most of the chairs are (unless they don't mind coffee stains all over the books). I was always told that this kind of reading actually encourages some people to buy the books that they like, but I don't really see the correlation.

I know for sure that the majority of the kids sitting on the floor reading comics and manga are not going to shell out money for the stuff that they are reading...

HistoryProf

i'd hazard a guess that for every sale "lost" to the kind of person that will repeatedly return to read the same book, many many more are made by people who sat down for fifteen minutes and got hooked by whatever they were reading. I mean really, if they weren't making more money off them do you think they'd be encouraging it?

Quatermass

Fixed

dentam

I was at a BN this weekend in the Clearwater, FL area where I suspected this. I went in the restroom to wash my hands and heard pages turning in a bathroom stall. I didn't stick around long enough to see the man exit, so I can't confirm what he was doing.

Seinfeld fans will remember an episode about this very subject.

Gizmo

Yes...poor Uncle Leo...

Chad

The same also occurs at Books-A-Million.