"Special Offers" at W H Smith

lexia

In W H Smith today to get Writers' Forum mag to read while waiting for hospital appointment.

Decided to treat myself to a couple of books. Picked up "The Blasphemer", Nigel Farndall - buy one get another half price. But then chose "The Five people you meet in Heaven", Mitch Albom and "The Other Hand", Chris Cleave , so put Blasphemer back.
Meanwhile partner is saying "Spend £12 on any books and get one of these for £2.99"
Spent another 15 minutes looking at this selection trying to decide which was better value. Decided to go with what I had chosen and promised self Blasphemer next week. Got to till and was offered "Richard and Judy's Book Club offer...The Blasphemer... for half price. So bought it.
Got home and in bag with books and mag is a "spend £12 on books and get £5 off" voucher plus a "get Richard and Judy's Trespass for half price" voucher.

Are all these "special offers" designed to confuse ? Or is it just me ...
(if I look on Amazon for the 3 that I have bought, I bet I could have got them there cheaper anyway ! ;) )

Lolli

Just to confuse you I think (and get you to spend more, as well) I always find there is only ever ONE book I want on the buy one get one half price offers, so i struggle to find a second one; then with the 2 for £x offers the same thing happens. I usually end up spending far more than I intended!

Carol

They tend to have these offers for a short period of time. They have been doing special deals on all of this year's Richard and Judy books.

dora

In my experience, I've found the deal - buy three for two, in Waterstones, so the book that is half price in Smith's is free in Waterstones.

When I've checked later, the two books I bought, are cheaper than in Smiths. And they are books I want, not half want because in Smiths they never seem to have what I want.

Liz

I love the 3 for 2 deal in theory - but can also never find a third book! It's easier if you have kids as they also have 3 for 2 and you can always find a book your child will like. Well, usually. My kids now read adult books though! And if I ask my daughter if there's one she'd like, the one she wants is never on the deal. But I end up getting it anyway. Sigh.

Now i go to the library usually. You have to read the new books in a week, but it's worth it!

Carol

Usually no...

Neph

[quote=Liz!]I love the 3 for 2 deal in theory - but can also never find a third book! [/quote]

Thought that was just me!

Carol

No, I think we are all like that...:)

elizabeth

I must say i was going to get that whsmith offer i had a look at whsmith on line and the books were buy one get one free and in the shop it was buy one get one half price so i got them
off line

dorothyd

I tend to go to Amazon first for everything these days. I have got to the point when I can't stand Smiffs and their many and various offers. I have walked out loads of times without buying a book because I can 't find the second one. I mean, misery memoirs and chick lot, no thanks! Thrillers by James Patterson, definitely No Thanks! and there is not much else worth buying. Now I buy individually as needed.

louise

I'm a bit like Dorothy, if I see a "deal" and I can't find a second book I'll not buy a thing, even if I was only in there to buy one book anyway. I do like chicklit though :) and went through a phase of miserylit, but found myself getting despressed so now avoid them. Haven't tried Patterson.

But with Amazon, you can't browse as easily as in a book store. You can look up a book of yur choice, but how do you find a book that you'd otherwise not know exists?

dorothyd

You read who is reading what on the thread here, for one thing, you browse (sometimes) as another thing, but I rarely do that. I tend to trawl the charity shops looking for interesting titles, then if I like the person I discover, I go buy their books. I have found that to be invaluable, discovered some people I really like and others who bored me so where I don't mind spending say £2, I would have been very annoyed at buying full price. One example is Jo Nesbit, (is that right!) I got bored with Redbreast, looked interesting, turned out to be dull. Won't bother again. Daughter and I go raid the local second hand shop too, see what goodies I can find. (I say 'I' because she looks but never buys.)

elizabeth

this is true but i have noticed that charity shops hit there books with high prices .

dorothyd

we've managed to get some at £2. and £2.50 - which is OK by me.

dora

the charity shops are dictated to by their head office as to what to charge for their books

quite a lot do charge £2.00, £2.50 for books you could buy at a jumble for 30p each, although Sally Army, Barnados and Cancer Research, in my opinion are the cheapest. PDSA also do three for a pound.

I rarely go into Oxfam because their prices are usually silly although did go recently and buy a very nice hardback Harry Potter for £2.50 which I was happy to pay as my son hadn't read it and it was next on his list

dorothyd

That's the one shop we don't go in! Oddly, I never see jumble sales advertised locally. Problem is, if hey were a weekday, I am not able to go anyway, one of the problems with working 10- 4 and gone. Our Sally Army has an incredibly limited book range, I guess people aren't donating to them. No Barnardos, Cancer Research seems to be heavy on the chick lit, which I don't buy. I go to Save the Children (not brilliant for books but have gorgeous teddies and terrific greetings cards) PDSA, British Heart Foundation, Age, RSPCA and Red Cross.

dora

I think most jumble sales are weekends

dorothyd

Probably are. I don't see any ads for them, though. I think that is likely to be the lack of halls in our town. We really are very short on locations.

Lou Treleaven

The Other Hand is brilliant, lexia! But I really didn't like The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Apparently loads of people do, though (like it, not meet five people in heaven!).