Borders' food-related book clearance info

[Midlife]

I hope this topic is appropriate for the board as I'd like to see if CH's can help each other out to get the best deals as Borders marks down inventory during its store closings. The Borders store closest to me was one of those that escaped the initial closing list and it's just a bit hard to visit frequently to see whats going on. If others can post about percentage price reductions in their areas we can make our own decisions on when to buy locally as the price drop pattern is likely to be similar.

[rockycat]

Cookbooks in Raleigh, NC (Six Forks store) are at 60% off and I believe that will be it. A few interesting odds and ends left. I picked up a few books as gifts for friends/family with specific interests: celiac baking, BBQ, etc. and got a Lynn Rosetto Kaspar and Fuschia Dunlop for myself. Probably didn't need them, but what the hey. Also got Andrew Coe's social history of Chinese food in America because I've been after my library to acquire if since publication and they haven't. Buying it is likely the only way I'll get to read it.

A few little gems left depending on your personal interest. As a side note, ALL the grade school level books are gone, but there's still selection on very little kids' books and YA books.

[Bunson]

The kids books are always the first to go it seems....a decent amount of cookbooks left at the 3 Borders I've been to though most of the "celebrity chef" cookbooks are gone. Two exceptions are Jamie Olivers "Jamie's America" and MIchael Chiarello's "Bottega" every store seems to have a stack of those. The food related books I've managed to pick up are Momofuku, Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook, Cheese: Exploring Taste And Tradition, and The New American Olive Oil, and The Making Of A Chef. There was Kim Chi Chronicles companion book I had my eye on when it dropped in price, but someone had already grabbed it.

[Rella]

Funny thing about Bottega. It was waaaaaaaaaay up on the top shelf in the Biography Section which was 70 or 80 percent off - not the 60% that cookbooks were. I had someone get it down to look at it, still thinking it was listed under biography. When I went to check it out, of course, it was coobooks 60%. I wanted another 10% off since it was there. I can't imagine anyone actually putting it on the top shelf (with only one or two other books and facing front), so I was caugh-in-the-momentt by my own greed, and didn't buy it. Today, I thought about it and figured that it was OK that I didn't buy it. But, strangly, it was the only one of Bottega anywhere.

There were several copies of 'Jamie's America,' but I passed on that book. Many others like Jamie's recipes, but I just can't get past his first shows where he was with his mates in the kitchen. I could never watch that. Then later when he seemed to settle down and do the garden thing, I just kept thinking about his 'past' show.

[Midlife]

Well.......one of the things that's happening in the stores now is that they're focused on selling and not on stocking so there are lots of books in the wrong places. It could be that a customer decided to "sequester" that book so it'd be there when the prices went down further. Who would do a thing like that? ;o)))

My local store's cookbook section had maybe a total of 75 books (not titles..... books) left in it............ and that's a generous estimate.

[Rella]

I'd never thought about the sequestering aspect -- but it is a real possibility - History/Politics/Biography are in a totally different area than the cookbooks. Mostly guys looking in those sections. (P.S. I'm a female - though Rella is not my real name, one wouldn't know for sure.)

[Midlife]

Mission Viejo, CA - entire store 40 -80% off.

Pretty well picked over but still a lot of stock. Not sure what he was up to but I saw one guy buying what looked like maybe 50 books. I bought ONE interesting cookbook.

[Rella]

Manassas, VA -
cookbooks 60% off. Found only 3 that I bought. Still there was a decent amount left.
History 70% and a few 80% - bought 12!

[jujuthomas]

this morning's email - entire store 50-70% off, Mon-Wed take an extra 15% off fiction, history, biography and sports books.

[jujuthomas]

today's email: Final Weeks, entire store 50-70% off.

now they are selling non-book clearance as well "great gift ideas - baby blanket set was $12.99, now $5.99!!"

[flourgirl]

I wasn't going to buy any cookbooks at Borders until they hit at least 50% off - but I got an offer for an extra 15% off the entire purchase at Borders via e-mail so I figured it was sort of worth at least checking things out. I'm glad I went - I bought 4 cool little books, three of which I'd had my eye on for a while - and I got them all for less than I would have paid on Amazon, tax included. But I have to say, the cookbooks have been picked pretty clean & I doubt I'll be finding much more even with further price drops. I either already own most of what's left, or I'm not interested in purchasing them.

[jujuthomas]

that's how I feel about most of the books left on the shelves. just not that much i'm interested in anymore.

[alliegator]

Still at 40% in Fort Worth, TX. Everything is very picked over, nothing I needed to have there :(
But to soothe my disappointment, I ordered David Thompson's Thai Street Food from amazon--very excited about that.

[jujuthomas]

hold on to your hats... another discount. cookbooks are now 40% off. you'd think they'd REALLY cut prices to get rid of the books... this is so slow it's almost painful!

[Midlife]

40% may be getting close to the Amazon-matching "strike price".

[Rella]

Just checked at Paxatonia, Pennsylvania. Cookbooks are holding at 40%. Nothing there to buy for me at 40%. Waiting - waiting - waiting.

[Bunson]

During the first round of Borders' closures the lowest I saw cookbooks get was 50% off. Not sure if they'll go any deeper than that but at 50% off you really start to get to the bottom of the barrel after a few days.

[Rella]

When they closed several months ago here in Winchester, VA, they were at the bottom of the barrel at 60% for cookbooks. Then the last three days I bought 10 books (not all cookbooks) for $2.99 each. Certainly no big deal, because I can't remember what they were. Oh, yeah I remember 2 of them: Ferran, and Momofuku (whatever that is - I can't wrap my head around that name).

[jujuthomas]

New email today, 10% additional off the sale prices Mon-Wed. Nothing specific about discounts on food related books.

[itryalot]

How can you keep track of which stores have closed? Have any?

[jujuthomas]

i don't know how to keep track - I know of 2 in my area that closed in the first round of closures, but I didn't know they were gone until I drove by their former locations. I suppose they probably drop off the locations list on the borders website once they close.

[jujuthomas]

today's email says 25% off cookbooks, 30% off diet and nutrition, bluray 50%... emptying the warehouses, new merchandise in Borders Superstores. BordersPlus rewards extended thru Sunday.

[Rella]

Today in Hagerstown, Maryland 20% off cookbooks.
Today in Paxtonia, Pennsylvania 25% off cookbooks. People were buying at 25%.

Waiting for at least 40% which I can usually find at Amazon or Jessica's.
At any rate, I didn't see any that I really wanted at 40% off.
My cup runneth over.

[jujuthomas]

we went over Sat night, I wanted to look at the magazines which were 40% off. got a few, and a couple other things... probably won't go back.

[flourgirl]

I'm not even entering the store again until the cookbooks are at least 50% off. I have a ton of new cookbooks I haven't even been able to crack yet, and I bought all of them for at least 40% off, and many of them I bought for even less than that. I did buy a few food mags at 40% off the first day of the liquidation but that's been it so far.

[Rella]

Borders today in Hagerstown, Maryland 30% off cookbooks. Not much has happened in 10 days; i.e. 10% lowered in 10 days.

[jujuthomas]

New email this morning: 20-40% off the store.

20% off kids books, cookbooks, ereaders, fitness and travel
30% off best sellers, romance
40% off newsstand, bluray

I don't think it's really different discounts than the last email, just more specific.

[Midlife]

I just registered on their site a couple of days ago and haven't gotten any emails yet. It may be that they're just not adding new people to their lists at this point. Actually, 20% is still higher than Amazon, even with the shipping. I guess this will be a game of 'discount chicken'.

[jujuthomas]

i have their "bonus" card... so I've been getting their emails for a couple years now.

[josquared]

I think a lot of it depends on when the Borders in your area started their closing.

If yours was on the originally slated bunch to be closed, then they're probably a lot further along with the discounts. I hit one Borders awhile ago that was a simple closure a few weeks into it (this was before and perhaps a prelude to the first wave of closures) and they were in the 30% discount range for cookbooks.

I know of one nearby that was originally on the "to stay open" list but now is going to go into liquidation. I imagine the percentages off will be very minimal at first (as is the usual) but the percentages will increase in a few weeks.

[emmyru]

The big Borders in Downtown Crossing in Boston just started their liquidation today. Cookbooks, children's, fiction, mysteries are 10% off. Magazines 40%. Travel 10%, Maps 20%. Dvds and cds 20%.Paperchase items 10%. Greeting cards 40%. Bargain items (of which there are a lot of cookbooks) 10%.

[cheesemaestro]

10% for cookbooks, fiction and travel? I 'm glad I didn't waste my time going today. That is really low for a liquidation sale, even in the first few days. I'm sure they'll up the discounts considerably as time passes and the books don't sell fast enough.

[flourgirl]

I live right by one in Flemington NJ and their liquidation started exactly the same way. I did buy a few food mags I had had my eye on.

[jujuthomas]

My email from Borders this morning says everything is discounted up to 40% off... no specifics unfortunately. Borders Bucks are good until 7/31, Borders rewards discounts given until 8/5. I wish I could get over there today, but I won't get there until next week.

[Rella]

Where are you?

On the last 3 days of my Borders Winchester, VA closing, I just happened to be there and found that "most" all the books were 80% off. They said they had emailed to Borders members regarding that days' beginning of 80% off, but I never received one.
Usually I am not 'in town" on that particular day,but I was lucky to purchase a few at 80%.

[jujuthomas]

I'm just north of Philly, I go to the North Wales, PA borders. We have a closer Borders Express, but they're totally useless.

the first Borders I ever visited was at the Crystal City Metro stop in Arlington, VA... what an experience that was. They were new, and you could find all sorts of unusual reading material.