Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I still mostly read paper books, so the Borders rewards coupons work for me.  Every week I get a coupon for 30% or 40% off the item of my choice.  Its the only way hardcovers fit in my budget, otherwise I stick with my library.  I don’t have an ereader, but I love my Ipod and find myself looking for deals in audiobooks.

If I lived in the States maybe I would be more cavalier about book-buying, but given that it is a lot more expensive where I am book buying is strictly with coupons or on sale. Otherwise I head to the library.

And I’m not fussy about my coupons. Any type will do.

captcha: which42. When I get a coupon, I have to decide which of the 42+ titles on my to-read list I should buy.

I used some Amazon offers, such as 3-for-2, which would usually lead to getting some long-lost classics or one of the books-I’ve-been-meaning-to-read-forever-but-never-got-round-to-it kind of thing.

But then I found bookdepository, and never looked back, because of one simple thing: free shipping. (Given Amazon’s shipping rates, in the past, I would often team up with friends to get just one package and split the shipping costs.)

Other than that, I think that I have never used coupons and discounts on specific titles. It’s because books are so specific: I don’t look for any historical that I haven’t read—I want the new Loretta Chase; I’m not tempted by any new fantasy—I want the new Steven Brust title, and so on. And when it comes to authors I love, I don’t look at the price, either, and buy them in hardcovers. It gives me the double pleasure of reading the title as soon as its possible and, at the same time, rewarding the authors more. Not that it’s good for my budget… or for my shelf-space.

I’m with mia. Borders has the best coupons, IMO. A percentage straight off any book (usually - at times they have deals on specific titles). And they have sales on romances occasionally, usually of the buy 3 get one free variety. And I get at least one coupon a week. They also have Borders Bucks, which accumulate as you buy, and you get $5 off your purchase.

No, I don’t work for Borders. ;) But I’d be glad to, if they want to hire me.

I would love to see coupons for e-books, or downloadable audiobooks.

I think we may be shopping twins. The difference in what I buy in dollar stores and Big Lots, and that type of store, is that what I buy there I think I need. Or will need in the future. Or need 5 of those things I may need sometime.

With books it’s all about what I want. Now. Or as soon as possible.

For paper books Amazon Prime has proven to be the best deal for me. Free shipping, plus pre-ordering gets the lowest price and I love it when Amazon takes 12 cents off my credit card due to a lower price point. So cute.

I’d like a “forever”  percentage off coupon on ebooks. Whatever the cover price is on the paper book then I would get that “forever” percentage off if I buy the ebook instead. I would get that for all the reasons that have already been stated a billion times by ebook buyers; the publishers save on shipping and fuel, warehouse storage, no returns, etc.

I read this and weep, because I’m still miles behind.  I (stupidly) bought a Kindle, and now find book after book after book that I’d pay for that isn’t available to me because I live in Australia.  When will publishers and authors and agents wake up to this?  I thought my Kindle would become part of my big big reading habit.  instead, it’s gathering dust.  The device istself is fine; content availability to Australia is dire, stupid and endlessly frustrating.  I wish I’d never bought it.

So forget coupons (I buy paper books from Book Depository, whose free shipping beats the lot on single titles); as regards e-books, I’d settle for being ABLE to buy what I want at an acceptable retail price.

Maybe in five years’ time it will be different.  By then, I’ll have a vintage Kindle very likely still in nearly mint condition.

Code: others32.  That would be US Kindle owners having what feels like 32 times more books they can buy as opposed to use second-class overseas peasants who aren’t worth selling to.  Bitter?  Angry?  Me?  Yup.

Most of the Borders coupons I get are for 25% off which is a pretty good discount because even after you add the sales tax it’s still reduces the price of the book. If a coupon isn’t for 20% or more off the price of something I won’t use it.

When we were still stationed Stateside (3 years ago) I had a BooksaMillion card that yielded pretty decent discounts, and if there’s a BaM near our next duty station, I won’t hesitate to sign back up. Books are a necessity for me, ranking somewhere after cigarettes and before Dr. Pepper.
I’d be more interested in store-specific book coupons rather than book-specific, because I read a variety of genres and won’t buy a book I’m not interested in just because I have a coupon. I’d go for “10% off any Hardback from This Store”, but never “10% off Some Book Outside Your Realm of Interest”.

I used to do the major food coupon thing, but too often buying store brands ended up being cheaper than the big brand even after the coupon was deducted. Plus, now it’s just the two of us. I do like the BB&B coupons (and they’re good for about 2 years after the expiration date, so I hoard them—which was a Major Savings when we moved and had to buy everything). Books? I belong to The Mystery Guild for mysteries (and they carry some romance). I just ordered the Nook Color, and we’ll see if that hikes up my book spending. The lack of places to store books has made me think four times before buying a new print book.

Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist—of Mystery

I’m a Borders Rewards fan.  I not only depend on the 33% or 40% off coupons each week, but I like the additional discount I get plus the points I accrue to Win Free Cash!  This past week I purchased the new Robin McKinley hardcover, Pegasus, for $1.55 using a combination of Borders Bucks, coupon and the free shipping that goes with the Gold Rewards status.

I never have to worry about not using a Borders.com coupon since I always have “to be purchased” books on my Borders Wishlist.

I also grumble a little but appreciate their in-store only coupons, since it makes me go to my local store where I can greet the staff (who appreciate loyal customers), browse the books, and keep the money in my local economy.

For me, Borders is a winner.

I used a Borders coupon and took advantage of a Booksamillion 20% off sale just this weekend. As for groceries, the Publix around here takes all coupons, even if they have another store’s name on them, which simplifies matters. I saved @ $27 the other day, just in coupons!

I know Borders and BN and Amazon etc have their own store coupons and deals - but do publishers ever offer coupons off a book that you’re aware of?

Penguin usually has a discount code (usually 15% off) in their monthly email newsletter, unfortunately ever since the agency deals took effect the code isn’t good on ebooks anymore.

I WAS a Fictionwise Micropay person, and the death of Micropay didn’t bother me nearly so much as the death of the vast majority of my wishlist off that site. I buy from Fictionwise a lot less than I used to, and generally they only tempt me back in if they’re having a significant discount day. Last time they did that, it was a fifty percent off your whole order all weekend kind of deal, and I did come back to them for that.

The vast majority of my ebook purchases are from B&N right now, to fill up my nook. I am also a B&N member and was long before the nook showed up—and it vexes me that I can’t use that membership on my ebook buying. It HAS significantly impacted my paper book buying, though, and so the periodic coupons they hand out to B&N members are about the only way I’ll go in and get something in print these days. (Unless one of my shortlist of Authors I Want in Print Anyway has a new release, in which case I’ll go get that anyway.)

Deals on purses and dresses and shoes and things? Don’t care. Other women buy purses and dresses and shoes and things, me, I buy books. ;)

When I bought paper books AND lived near a Borders I regularly used the weekly coupons.  Now I hardly ever buy paper books and the nearest Borders is over 30 miles away, I haven’t used one in ages.  I would love some Amazon coupons since that is where I do all my book buying now, but until then I’m happy with my prime membership

You’d think they’d be all, “Wait, we’ve reduced or eliminated the price discounting that other retailers can offer. Why don’t we offer 30% off at our own storefront? We can be like Ellora’s Cave! Anywhere else, the book is your mortgage payment but here at our home site, it’s $5.99!”

AFIAK they way the agency deals are set up if the publisher sells it for less on their own site then Amazon, B&N, Kobo, et al can lower their price to match that lower price.  Most publishers aren’t in the right mind frame to build a nice online store and sell stuff themselves with extra benefits to consumers, their online stores are pretty much an afterthought.  Many publishers, especially the biggies in NY, still see distributors and retailers (Amazon, B&N, WalMart etc) as their customers as opposed to the individual buyer.

I love me a good discount and do use coupons for shopping groceries and stuff.  I don’t live near enough to a Borders or B&N or any other new book store to do any real shopping, though.  For new books, I’ll take the discounts from Amazon on trade or hardback, and Target on paperback.

For used books, though, Half-Price Books has periodic coupon weeks, and I am all over that.  40% off a book on Monday or Tuesday, 30% off a book on Wednesday or Thursday, 20% off a book on Friday or Saturday, and 50% off a book on Sunday.  Why, yes, I was there four days last week.  Percent off already half-off is a bargain, but of course you are limited to what’s been brought in.  But it’s a good way to glom backlist or try a new author.

Kobo has coupons pretty regularly, and I go nuts every time.  Not all ebooks qualify for the coupons (thank you, Agency Model), but many do.  Harlequin is really good about that.  At one point I had almost every Carina Press book thanks to Kobo.  (I’ve fallen behind lately thanks to internet problems and the realization that at the rate I was buying I was going to have enough books for two lifetimes pretty soon.)

Sometimes I find out about Kobo coupons through other readers, but usually it’s by following them on twitter.

I use a lot of grocery coupons and we do get the Sunday paper primarily for the ads…though DH reads the Sports section too.  I routinely save 20% or more on my weekly bill.  Yay!  What irks me is that many coupons require the purchase of 2 or 3 or more items to save a few cents.  Why can’t manufacturers just give 40 cents off a box of cereal instead of making you buy 5 boxes to save 2 bucks.?

As for books, since I got the Sony reader last year I don’t buy too many paper books.  I have a B&N membership but haven’t used it this year.  Even if it was good for eBooks, my Sony can’t read BNePub format anyway…grrr.  A few months ago, Target had Sony giftcards on sale for 40% off so I got a bunch of those and now have an account at the Sony store.  I get a lot of my eBooks there.  Plus, our library just started lending eBooks.  They don’t have much of a selection yet but I hope it will build quickly.

I don’t like to pay full price for anything. I use coupons, shop the sale or clearance racks, or go thrifting. For me, finding a good deal is half the fun. Groceries and the “omg we are out of ______, we need some RIGHT NOW” situations are the exception to the rule.
So I never pay full price for books, unless I’ve been given a gift card to Barnes and Noble. I don’t pay for their membership, so I don’t get the discount.  If I’m buying from a major retailer, it’s usually Borders because they usually send out a weekly coupon. The down side to that is that you can only buy one item at a time. Also, there have been multiple occasions where they don’t have what I’m looking for in the store.
For the most part I skip the major retailers, and shop used bookstores or library bookstores. (The libraries in my city have perpetual book sales, as opposed to semi-annual sales. It’s so cool.)

As far as coupons in general go, I have never been much for them. Growing up in a single-parent household, where we lived paycheck to paycheck, coupons were a big thing, and (rightly or wrongly) I still associate coupons with that niggling sense of embarrassment I had when I was six and my Mom was going through a big sheaf of them at the cash register just so we could afford groceries. I’m not saying you should be embarrassed by them, just that for me they’re kind of inextricably intertwined.

As far as books go, well, generally the only time I bite on discounts, aside from membership cards, are on things like Amazon’s pre-order prices. I’ll be scrolling around, realise that Stephen King has a new book coming out that will UNDOUBTEDLY suck but I will ALSO UNDOUBTEDLY buy because I’m whipped like that, so I might as well order it now, when I can get it for the pre-order price of Whatever.99 instead of full value for something I’ll hate myself for reading later.

I really should coupon shop more, especially with books, since I’ll walk in looking for something to read with my morning cup of coffee and walk out with three books I’ll read two pages of, decide they suck, and never touch them again. I guess for me, books are always one of those things that are okay to splurge on once in a while; even if it’s a trashy romance or a cheesy horror novel, it’s still better for you than a McMuffin.

Library, Library, Library! Or that’s what I keep telling myself, but it’s so hard when you can download a book in seconds. I’m not sure what gets me into more trouble, ebooks or bookstores. It’s hard to browse on my small Iphone screen for other books. In a bookstore all the possibilities are in front of me saying if you like her you like me too, or look at my pecks they’re larger than his

I get almost all my ebooks from allromanceebooks.com. I like the “free book after 10 books” thing. I also like that there will randomly be percentages off or rebate rewards. I only wish that there was a way to combine payments there.

For paper books - I buy wherever I get a discount. I work at a grocery store part time (mainly for the discount on the groceries) and I get a nice discount on books, too. I also joined Borders and B&N reward programs, too. Sometimes, Target is the cheapest for books and I’ll pop into there.

Sarah, I’m in Southern CA and I have 3 Borders that are accessible to me.  I got in trouble w/my credit card a few years ago, so I go to the store and pay cash for most of my purchases. Also, the lady ahead of me in line had a coupon on her phone which I thought was awesome cause I ran out of printer paper and had to print my coupon on lined loose leaf paper. : P

“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left over, I buy food and clothes.”—Erasmus

I was a loyal Borders shopper when I read print books and never paid full price for a book. Yes, that meant I had to wait for the right coupon and could only buy one book at a time, but, as Darlene Marshall indicated, that was a great way to buy books.

Recently B&N sent me a survey and I begged for Borders-like coupons for their ebooks. I so seldom bought print books from them because their coupons were always title-specific and I don’t read bestsellers.

And then Fictionwise was more or less eviscerated and I’ve been stumbling in the ebook dark since.

Until ebooks are routinely discounted (via coupon or the happy demise of Agency pricing), the best way I’ve found to save is to purchase gift cards at a discount, but I will definitely look at the other recommendations in this topic.

Coupons on a phone?! Who can tell me more about this?

I’m generally a library girl, but I run out of books on the train—and take long trips—often enough that I do a fair amount of buying, too. (And will probably do more, when I have money, now that ebooks are more common: I’ve moved a lot, so buying Actual Things makes me twitchy, because they’re all stuff that will have to go in a box someday.)

My problem with coupons is…I hate physical coupons. I’m no more organized than I absolutely have to be: keeping track of bits of paper, remembering to switch them from one bag to another, making sure I have them on me when I go to the store—which would require *planning* trips to the store—no! Hate! Why can’t there be a database in stores? I could scan my card, they could tell me the deals I have, and the discount could happen at the register?

Then again, I’d totally have a microchip implanted in my head if it meant never having to keep track of my T pass again. ;)

and I feel a really sick sense of kickass when I get more than $10 off my grocery bill with a stack of coupons

Hi Sarah. BIG OL’ COUPON USER! I’ll admit it, I probably have a coupon for everything; restaurants, groceries, books,... you name it.  And I always look to see what money I’ve saved at the bottom of the receipt.

@Mia, I live in So Cal too, and have numerous Border’s around me. When I get a Border’s coupon for 30% or more off a book, I’ll go on the hunt with my trusty phone, with the email. I thank the Border’s staffer who told me over a year ago I could save a tree if I could access my emails with my phone. Who knew? Otherwise, it’s off to my local UBS or Amazon.

On a side note, I haven’t bought an ereader yet ( I’m still researching), but what cheeses me out the most is that there are no real discounts for ebooks. WTH! no production costs, no paper costs, no series bundle savings…you’d think the ‘books’ would be cheaper.

MarieC:

On a side note, I haven’t bought an ereader yet ( I’m still researching), but what cheeses me out the most is that there are no real discounts for ebooks. WTH! no production costs, no paper costs, no series bundle savings…you’d think the ‘books’ would be cheaper.

From all the posts I’ve seen on various publishing-related blogs about this, the physical production costs of a book are actually not a very big percentage of the cost of publishing it. A lot more of it goes to paying editors, copyeditors, cover artists, the people who design and lay out the book, and such, all of which are costs that still have to be accounted for even if it’s an ebook.

Plus, bookstores take their own cut out of the price, and of course, there’s the royalty that needs to go to the author.

So even though there’s no physical object to show for it, an ebook ain’t necessarily cheaper to make than a print one. FYI!

What an excellent post & serendipitous too!
I just got an email for off Book Depository IF I bugged 10 more people.
I thought about it for all of 1 second.
Average price of book 6.00 = 60 cents off.
Definitely NOT worth bugging my friends.
Not even for 1.00 off would I do that.
:)
If I want a book, I’ll buy it if it is on sale or not, though I won’t turn down a discount!
:)
All the best,
RKCharron

Being a college student, which means I have fairly limited funds and time, I don’t get to indulge in reading as often as I like. I have three books wish listed right now that I’m trying to justify the cost of, but I don’t have the time to read them or the money to get them, not if I want to get to Africa for my senior design trip. So if I’m really jonesing for a fix of romance, or something that does not take the brain power and attention of my engineering text books, I’ll hit the local Betty Griffith house thrift store. Paperbacks there are a quarter a pop. Although, it’s kinda hit or miss when you consider the selection ranges from old skool, (although not quite as crazy WTF as RHG’s last review) to the occasional semi-new title. It feeds the addiction at a price that I can stomach on my limited budget. I usually walk out with four to eight books that are new to me. If one is halfway decent, well it makes the $1.75 I spent on the other 7 worth it. Then I can donate them back and share the 25 cent love.

WV: steps85. Is there an 85 step program for this reading addiction?

I love coupons, and would love to use coupons for books, but I have the same problem - there never seems to be any coupons that include the book types I want to read, or that don’t have a $50 minimum purchase, or if I DO find coupons I don’t have any spare money to buy books, or I already went ahead and bought the book at full price.

I admit, sometimes if there’s a few paperback books I want, I’ll add on to an Amazon order until I get free shipping, but that tends to happen around Christmas and birthdays when I’m buying books for more than just me, and rather than just adding things that look ‘okay’, I’ll get the next one in a series my SO is reading that I hadn’t intended to buy but I want the free shipping…

I love when I can find ‘bundles’ for my nook, or when Barnes and Noble have their ‘Freebie Friday’ deals. (I end up trying new authors that way…and buying the rest of the series),

My big temptation revolves around Audio books. Audible.com does ‘deals’ ““Buy 4 get $10 coupon” “Half price sale’ “Audiobooks for paperback prices” are the three that hook me every time. I go through the sale books looking for authors I love, or books that have been on my wishlist already.  I love my audible membership, but those three ‘deals always hook me”

spamword love72= I love downloadable book deals 72 ways….yeah..

Oh, yes, I rock the Borders coupons. I have no trouble deferring gratification until they offer 33-40% off, which happens pretty often lately. My problem w/any other coupons is that I collect them, and promtply forget I have them, purchase an item I have a coupon for & then don’t need to purchase it again until the coupon has expired. Arghh!

@Anna the Piper: Thanks. That explains alot. Still kind of blows, but what can you do? I just wish they had 4-for-3 deals for ebooks that are seen for print books.

Speaking of deals/specials, I just saw this one…

Diesel Ebooks deal of the day is (they put a deal up most days on their Facebook page)...

Chosen by the Sheikh
by Lawrence, Kim / Harris, Lynn Raye

It’s a twofer that includes The Sheikh and the Virgin
by Kim Lawrence Prince and Kept for the Sheikh’s Pleasure
by Lynn Raye Harris

and it’s on sale for $0.84

No idea if those books are any good or not, but…

It also looks like their deal from the weekend; The Mercenary’s Bride by Terri Brisbin for $1.69 is still available too.

I’m all about the coupons. So much so that I come home from grocery shopping and announce “guess how much I saved?!” It’s also the reason that I get the Sunday paper. And talk about a deal, Groupon just had a 26 weeks of the sunday paper for $20. I saved money on my coupons with that!

I buy paper books: occassionally full price (must have now! books), sometimes with the Target discount, usually with a coupon.

I’m totally a Borders girl. Could be because I grew up in Ann Arbor where they started, could be the weekly coupons. :) We even splurged for the Rewards plus program to save an extra 10%. Add in the recent, buy $50 in gift cards, get a $10 gift card…I’m such a junkie. And they’ve bought my brand loyalty with the great deals.

Not even 24 hours ago I didn’t buy an big book because I couldn’t use up the Borders Bucks that are useless to me unless I drive 2 hours to the nearest still-open store.

I was a Waldens/Borders customer for 30ish years. I am a very loyal to retailers / publishers. But right now I am up for grabs. If pubs let Borders do their thing online, or let Books on Board restore their prior program, if they priced anywhere near what Target does for paper, I’d be buying books like crazy.

But no. Also, paper coupons are useless to me - I almost never remember them. a place with ‘automatic’ coupons gets all my attention.

I buy mostly ebooks from the U.S. Kindle store and would like a deal such as this one—for $40, you could buy a store credit for $50 worth of ebooks. Discount coupons would be nice as well, or a membership program like BN or Borders have. I don’t think it’s going to happen though because Amazon already has such deep discounts.
Regarding Borders, the two stores that were convenient for me closed a few years ago, so I almost never shop there anymore.
I recently started using coupons for food and other household goods and it gives me such a thrill. I live for double coupon day at my local discount supermarket!

@RKCharron: Perhaps you didn’t read carefully—the Book Depository deal is for 10% off your order, not just one book. I’ve got a $300 wish list that I’m fulfilling this Christmas, so that’s thirty bucks for me. Also, you don’t have to get ten friends—you only have to get one, and for me? I just sent my “invite” to one of my spam addresses. Easy as in peasy.

I’m a paper book reader.  Pretty much the only time I buy backlist books for myself is when I get a coupon.  B&N periodicaly e-mails coupons to their members, and sometimes it’s a straight-up 15% off one item in store or online.  Since I’m close to one I usually take in the store coupon and only use it online if I can’t find anything on my shopping list.

And I love the free shipping on all orders for members.  I used to go into the store unless I had the $25 minimum for free shipping or the order included CDs or DVDs (of which my local B&N doesn’t stock many), but now I’ll also order books with a pre-order discount.

I can walk two blocks to a Barnes and Noble from home and there is one two blocks from my office but most of my purchases are on line due the free shipping they have for members.  The online prices are discounted from in-in store prices for many items, plus they email coupons every so often for 15% of one item.  Since there is always some book on my wish list I take advantage of the coupons.  They seem to have suspended them for a while as they were going through a bid to have the management removed, but they are arriving
regularly now.

I try to use coupons at the grocery store but since I live in NYC the brand and size selections don’t always fit the coupons in the papers.  I am totally in love with CVS
extra care program where there are many opportunities to get brand name products for free or close to it.  Good stuff for dollar store prices.

@Beth - phone coupons - if you get your email on your phone, you can pull up the coupon on your phone and don’t have to print it out.

No coupons for ebooks is a major gripe for me.  I like the library.  I like getting a deal.  I love Harlequin’s sales.  In fact, if I remember right, they had a big sale last Nov/Dec and I’m hoping something like that will happen again.

I used to do Fictionwise’s Micropay and was very disappointed when much of their store disappeared due to the Agency nonsense.  Now I shop allromanceebooks.com because of occaisional coupons, the 10 book deal, and excellent customer service.  I buy online direct from Harlequin for a good sale or coupon.

I’m extremely frustrated with Borders.  I loved their regular coupons when I was buying paper.  They opened their ebookstore (yay!) and then they make sure that none of their coupons work there.  What the heck?  Why not????  Why go to the expense of setting up an ebook store if you hate your customers like that?

Another former Fictonwise Buywise club member. I’ve still got a bit over $7 left in micropay there, but with the lack of books available overall, and even fewer of them available for the UK, I’m not sure what I’ll spend it on. Probably something from Harlequin or one of the epublishers. I should probably do it soon, as I’m not sure how much longer Fictionwise will be around, to be honest.

Another former Fictonwise Buywise club member. I’ve still got a bit over $7 left in micropay there, but with the lack of books available overall, and even fewer of them available for the UK, I’m not sure what I’ll spend it on. Probably something from Harlequin or one of the epublishers. I should probably do it soon, as I’m not sure how much longer Fictionwise will be around, to be honest.

Some folks have been having their remaining micropay disappear so it’d probably be best to use it as soon as possible.

Some folks have been having their remaining micropay disappear so it’d probably be best to use it as soon as possible.

Yeah, I’ve been afraid of that for a while, so I cleared out loads of it a few months back. My problem is that the books I really really wanted at the time (that they have) were all slightly over the amount I have, though I know there are a few Harlequin books I want now that are under it.

I have a feeling that no matter what happens, I will lose a few dollars, but as I never put “real” money into it, I won’t be too upset if it’s only a small amount.

Since I rarely read ebooks, I live for the Borders coupons.  Usually, it’s 33% off INCLUDING CLEARANCE!!  And every month there’s a 40% off coupon.  Also, since I have Borders Plus, this means that I get an additional 10% off whatever it is, including drinks in the cafe.  Borders Plus also means that I don’t pay shipping when buying online.  Add all that to the Borders rewards, no wonder I spend more than I should there.

(sometimes I offer to let the people at the cafe use my card so that they get the 10% off and I get credit for their purchase - win/win all around)

Book coupons from Borders have been killer on my attempts to budget my money.  I don’t bother with coupons for the most part, but when Borders sends me a coupon for 33% off I start thinking “it would be such a shame not to use it.”  Never mind the fact that they always send them and I have over a hundred books that have yet to read—wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not (anyone want to start a support group with me?).  It was really bad when I lived in Las Vegas a few years ago because I had THREE Borders stores within a 10 radius—so evil.

I also have a BN card, and a Nook, and no, the discount doesn’t apply to ebooks.  I’m thinking that all those coupons they offer for the cafe when you’re in the store w/ your Nook are supposed to be a consolation prize. . .

I’ve been an audible.com member for years and love it.  I buy packs of 24 credits (1 credit=1 audiobook) for 9.49 each, total about $230.  For audiobooks, that’s an incredible deal.  Audible is owned by amazon.  Imagine if amazon would sell packs of ebook credits, 1 credit=1 ebook.  I’d buy a pack of 25 ebook credits at $4 or $4.50 a credit and blow through it in three weeks.  It would be SICK.

Or, memo eharlequin, they could sell me packs of credits for $2 or $2.50 apiece, if they’d like a quick cash influx.

@Carin That is fancy.

Up until I got my Kindle, I was a power user of those Borders coupons. In fact, I had almost entirely stopped shopping there (in favor of local independents) until they started sending me the coupon emails. I continued using those coupons pretty heavily until I got an Amazon Prime membership. Because I live in a big city, many of the items I order via Amazon only take one day to get to me—so I end up with free overnight delivery on about half of what I order from them.

I agree that the lack of discount options on ebooks—especially now that publishers are raising the prices to be closer to hard-copy books—is sort of frustrating, especially since free delivery of ebooks means that my Amazon Prime membership doesn’t really count for them anyway. It would be nice if Prime members would get a percentage discount on every ebook or if there was some sort of frequent buyer plan (such as, $10 off after every 10 ebooks downloaded).

I don’t use coupons very often. Whenever I happen on food coupons, they are for stuff I don’t usually buy. But as far as books go, I am a sucker for discount and closeout racks, and I have found great stuff, fiction and nonfiction. I use the Borders rewards thing now and then, but my big savers have been the member discounts at my local Science Fiction Bookstore and my local comics shop.

I use coupons for everythnig but books for the same reasons. I just can’t be bothered. I don’t remember when the last time I walked into a Border’s was.

Big Lots on the other hand is right down the road and a dangerous place for me to go. Best. Christmas. Decorations. Going.

I have been a coupon clipper for years.  Bottle returns too.  I actually keep track of how much I save from each and deposit that savings into my “fantasy vacation” account.  In fact, I am in the process of building it back up since it took me to NZ earlier this year :-)

Although I used to book and music shop almost exclusively at Amazon, an independent bookstore opened up last year near where I work so I have been giving them most of my business book-wise.  And they have deals periodically like 20% off new hardcovers (which they will extend to audios if it is anew book).  They also offer $10 off a purchase after you have spent so much with them.

I still use B&N coupons when they come along - especially the extra % off ones.  I don’t use the ones for specific titles but the generic ones.  And I do check out all the Audible sales but I don’t buy just for the sake of buying - they must have something I really want in order to take advantage of the offer.

On the other hand, the Penguin Warehouse Sale (it is an annual event here) is on all week this week and I bought about $250 worth of hc, pb, and unabridged audio for $52.  Whoo-hoo. Going back tomorrow to go through the nonfiction section :-)

EBATES, baby!

While my bn.com nookbook fixation is not discounted by my dh’s membership card, I still log in to bn.com from ebates and get my 8% back on every purchase. It is a little bit but it adds up. Like a coupon only they send ya a check!

All recreational reading is now done on my iPad (love the side-by-side in landscape, just like a print book only better), so I’d LOVE store specific coupons for e-books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBooks (yeah, I won’t be holding my breath on that last one). And I would use them, especially if they were for a limited time, say three days to a week.

I won’t be renewing my membership with Barnes & Noble because it doesn’t help me with e-books and their coupons don’t discount textbooks.

I purchase probably 90% of my new paperback books from Amazon. But many I get from PaperBackSwap, these cost me around $2.40(postage).As I live in a small rural town, we don’t really have much in the way of independent book sellers . I keep a wishlist on the books I need so that I can tell when they go on sale on Amazon. However, as a big percentage of what I read is series books and because I generally won’t start a series until at least 3 or 4 books are out in it, I tend to wait to get them when Amazon has them on sale. You know the buy 3 get 1 free deal and no shipping if it’s over $25(or if you have a kid in college, it’s free as long as you ship under their name). And I never buy the hardback or trade size, I’m just too cheap. These I either get on swap sites or used. The 4- $7.99 books average out at $5.69. A pretty good deal. And I always double check the prices if they are a Harlequin print because they frequently have some very nice deals at eHarlequin.
I’ve never actually seen coupons for paperbacks on Amazon.

I do like Books on Board’s rewards dollars and the eHarlequin site’s regular discounts and I’m just about up to my free book from AllRomanceebooks (although I noticed that their prices are often a bit higher than other places - I tend to buy books from there that I can’t get at BoB or eHarlequin etc).

I used to use Borders coupons all the time but then I got an ereader and also discovered The Book Depository.  The problem in Australia is (and this is despite the fact that the $AUD recently achieved parity with the $USD) that a MMP will cost $18-22 at Borders in the first place.  If you’re lucky enough to want a book they stock at KMart or Target you might pick it up for $14 because they permanently discount their books (but their range sucks donkey balls).  If I can get around geo restrictions, I can buy an ebook (even with agency pricing - which also sucks the aforesaid donkey balls) for way less than I can get it here.  Or, I can pick it up from the Book Depository for $6-9AUD delivered for free (if I don’t mind waiting a week or two).  Trade paperbacks are even worse - you’ll pay $30-40AUD for a TP here (so of course, I never do)  whereas I can get it from TBD or as an ebook for around $13AUD.  So, all that for this, Borders rewards don’t mean much to me anymore - even with their discounts I can still get the book I want more cheaply elsewhere.

I buy a lot of books and very rarely use a coupon.  I have gotten away from buying new books lately, unless it is a absolute must have and I want it on the day of release.  I’ve just recently signed up for paperback swap and I think they may work out well for me.  Also, I’ve been reading a lot of ebooks lately instead of paper books.  I’ve starting consolidating my paper books only keeping my favorites that I know I will re-read.  So to answer you question, I very rarely if ever use coupons.

Oh, I forgot to add that I buy mainly used books, when I don’t buy ebooks.

BTW you don’t have to join Borders Rewards to get the coupons. Just type in “borders coupons” and usually within three links you’ll find a place that hosts a variety of coupons. You might as well join because the Rewards program is free and you’re supposed to get Borders bucks (which I don’t seem to always get), but it’s unnecessary for the coupons, which yes, I do love. (All coupons should just be straight percentages off the top. I wish it could also work for more than one book at a time, but the cashiers are usually nice about doing more than one purchase.)

And yes Sarah, they work online, though unless you’re a Border Plus it costs shipping if your under $25.

All of that said, I have a strange loyalty to Borders. I don’t really care who I buy my print books from (as long as it’s not Amazon, who I don’t support/spend money on for a number of reasons), it just tends to be Borders because they’re the closest brick store to me, and online they are usually cheaper than B&N (who you do need to pay to be a member and get discounts on). So I usually buy from Borders, but I’m willing to buy print books from whoever. 

E-books are different. Print books are conscious decisions when I go into a store to buy, so I can print off a coupon before heading out. And if I’m buying them online, they are still conscious, and I can still search out a coupon or wait to buy it. They are conscious in the sense that I am buying a specific book, because the majority of books I read I get from the library and I tend to only buy my favorite authors. 

But e-books are more impulse buys, because I only buy a specific sub-genre in e-book form, and I only buy it in e-book because it either a. doesn’t come in paperback or b. paperback is like fifteen dollars instead of the usual seven/eight. Print books I’m usually buying a specific title/author; e-books I’m usually buying the sub-genre because buying is the only way I can get it. So because I’m craving the sub-genre I don’t put as much care into finding and using a coupon that I do for anything else.

To be fair though, my e-book purchases are a very small percentage of my book buying, and my book buying is a small percentage of the books I actually read. (Seriously, I love libraries.)

@MarieC:

@Anna the Piper: Thanks. That explains alot. Still kind of blows, but what can you do? I just wish they had 4-for-3 deals for ebooks that are seen for print books.

You are very welcome and I very much wish we could get proper ebook discounts, too. :/ I already buy tons of them and B&N would get a lot more of my business if I could use my membership on them, too.

Okay, okay! So, I haven’t finished reading through all of the replies yet, but I wanted to butt in about Borders, in case someone hasn’t already mentioned it yet!

Borders has a new rewards program in addition to their normal free one, Borders Rewards PLUS, that gives you free shipping! And also an additional 10% off of all purchases that stacks on top of their regular coupons. AND, right now they’re running a deal—buy the upgrade for $20 and they’ll give you $10 back in Borders Bucks during the last week of December.

So that’s basically $10 for a year’s worth of free shipping and saving an additional 10% off of most everything (magazines, strangely, not included. o.o). The free shipping might be the best part for you though, Sarah, because you don’t live near a store. So if you got into this program, you could routinely get books for >30% off, with free shipping right to your door (they send a new coupon each week, sometimes multiple times a week).

And you mentioned that you don’t bring the coupons with you when you get to a store… do you have an iPhone, or another phone with internet access? If you show them the coupon from your email, they’ll give you the discount anyways! And also: They price match with other stores. So if you bring in Wal-Mart’s ad, then they’ll give you the same price.

Sorry if I sound over-excited, Borders is just my favorite place in the world to shop. I’m a major manga collector, and if I didn’t utilize coupons to the maximum effect then I’d not have nearly as many books as I have now—and I’m talking a difference of probably 500 or so volumes that I wouldn’t have had the money for if I didn’t use coupons. Buying full-price would make me cringe. xD

I bought a Kindle (and while I <3 it) I hate the prices for Kindle books. Usually they’re the same as the paperbacks, and I don’t think that’s fair. Yes, I understand they are “hidden” costs in Kindle books (magical place where copies of books are saved waiting for them to multiply themselves into your kindle) but I think that Kindle books definitely are cheaper than paperbacks.

I would like the Buy 3 get 1 Free Paperback Amazon deal. I think it would be nice for me to be able to purchase 3 ebooks and get a 4th one free. Maybe occasional discounts would be nice as well, like a Holiday 20% off coupon.

If I had space enough, I would get rid of my Kindle and read paperbacks (since they’re cheaper). However, I’m horrible with any type of books. I always rip the pages or bend the spines really badly. A Kindle has been my answer to longer lasting, readable books, lol :D (but then, there’s always that doubt. Is the Kindle here to stay?) I also hate that some (even new releases of) ebook versions have typos. God, how I hate that! D: I’m paying the SAME as a paperback only to get a POORLY FORMATTED version?

However, I carefully measure which books I can afford to pay (I refuse to purchase anything above $10 or more expensive than the paperback no matter how much I want it ). I have also been wanting to purchase Kindle versions of the books I already have in my small library, but that’s too expensive, so I hold out on that. Usually, I try to purchase the cheapest books or books on temporary discount (I bought Julie Garwood’s “The Clayborne Brides” for 99 cents).

If there were more discounts, I would totally purchase more books. Instead, I’m stick to free, public domain (even more horribly formatted) books unless there’s a book I really, really want, which trust me, I try to not have it happen often (else I’ll go broke in a month).

As to general discounts, I’m very like you. I’m always on the hunt for discounts, coupons or special offers. I have a special email account set up in which I sign up for lots of company’s newsletters/special offers mailing list. I sort through all the emails looking for the best discounts or free shippping. Last weekend I took advantage of a 20% off + Free shipping discount to purchase $400 in Christmas gifts and stuff for myself. Which in reality, was only 10% off since the tax rate in my area is close to 10% :\

I must admit that I am a sucker for any type of discounts. If there is a 33% off coupon for Border’s (like a few days ago) I’ll find something I’ve always wanted to read, but didn’t find a good excuse to buy or something (an author) entirely new that just looks soooo good I have to get it! I’m definitely impulsive when it comes to books, so it helps to have that extra percent off.

I find myself switching between ebooks and paperback books, so if it’s a really good book I’ve been waiting forever for, I’ll spend the extra money to buy it without the coupon and in print. If there happens to be a coupon, though, then I’m gonna use it! I especially love the free shipping discounts.

That being said, I like the Barnes and noble membership. I just got it and the extra discounts and free shipping on practically every book purchase just makes me way too happy :)  I’m spending just as much as I would usually, but getting some more with the extra money I save on the shipping. Plus, I get the version that I can hold in my hands which I love.

So, what am I saying? Coupons and discounts have saved me some much needed mula. While I don’t have to have a coupon to buy a book, it definitely helps.

I use coupons every chance I can get. I also price match.

I used to spend hours and hundreds of dollars at Borders per month, but the local one moved from a huge warehouse with great parking near the mall into a small cramped store inside the mall. Of which I hate. So. Freaking. Much. Now I visit about 1-2 times a year.

I also used to be a member of B&N and bought often enough to justify the $25 but let that lapse just before they changed their program to offer free shipping for any amount for members. Now I’m tempted to go back. I can split the membership with family to make it more affordable too. But right now they’re having that free 2 month membership (for new members but you can use a spam address) which I’ve used often the last month and it has saved me quite a lot of money. Ex. A cd I want comes out tomorrow. Hastings wants $15.99+tax and I pre-ordered it on bn.com for $9.49+tax with free shipping. Totally worth it.

I also depend on Hastings when I have credit so I can save my cash for other things. And bookdepository.com is a money saver for me as well (I take advantage of the annoying friend emails with my family-it saved me almost $40 this last July/August and I pre-ordered books up til April of next year). That way we all get discounts.

And as much as I would like to support my local independent book stores like Rediscovered Bookshop, location for me is vital. I plan trips one day per month for places more than 5 miles away so I don’t waste gas and time.

I still have my Sony reader but I don’t use it. Ebooks are more expensive in most cases than the print version with coupons, so I do what makes financial sense for me. It was the most expensive gadget I’ve bought that I regret the most.

I don’t buy often from big stores; I only buy from B&N if I happen to find myself at the mall (about 4 times a year or thereabouts) or from Amazon for special stuff or a really good deal on a preorder. I do love me some coupon codes on ebooks from places like Torquere Books, though—I tend to put off my book-buying till I get one of those!

I love Borders coupons.  I often use them to pre-order books from their website. 

And I miss micropay from Fictionwise.  That was the best program!  Of course, I haven’t really shopped there much since the whole Agency 5 fiasco.  I would if they carried Carina titles.  Sadly, their coupon codes/sales don’t usually include Samhain titles.

@Paola—Kindle books used to be quite a bit cheaper including 9.99 hardcovers….until some of the major publishers duked it out with Amazon.  Notice that when the paperback and eversion are the same price you’ll see This price was set by the publisher  The PUBLISHER wants to kill ebooks or at least has the ridiculous idea that they could be comparable to print which you can sell again, loan to friends, donate to the library or even turn into a purse if you like.  Not so for electronic books.  Back when Amazon was able to offer discounts on ebooks, I spent a lot more on books.  Now I’m on the hold list for the latest J.D. Robb when I have bought them in the past in eversion.  K-ching!  Lost money you fools in publishing, dollars flew away.  Too bad you’re too stupid to learn.