Waterstones comes out fighting and Daunt-ed

[Guest]

After ten years, Waterstones the highstreet book chain under new Russian ownership, is to abandon its popular 3for2 offer under new man James Daunt

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/31/waterstone-s-ends-3-for-2-offers

Were you a fan of this famous offer? Did you always manage to find the third book to complete your set or was it at times a bit of a trial? What strategies could Waterstones employ now to tempt you away from buying your beach reading in Tesco or Asda?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

What strategies could Waterstones employ now to tempt you away from buying your beach reading in Tesco or Asda?

Switching off the piped music.

[Mandryka]

Often useful when present-buying but have never felt the need to scoop three in one go for myself.

Can't see myself going back into Waterstone's in the near future.

[Flosshilde]

Switching off the piped music.

completely agree, Alpen.

I've never found the 3-for-2 offer very enticing - I usually find it difficult to find the second book, let alone a third! At the moment my branch has a 3-for-2 offer on all fiction paperbacks, which is much better, as it will include those books that aren't on the best-sellers lists. Although a book I'm interested in, that they've had on the shelves for a while, & which I hadn't got round to buying, is no longer there.

[Chris Newman]

The Waterstones bookstores in larger towns (Bournemoth, Southampton, London etc) could stop the practice of buttonholing you as tou enter the door or change floors. It reminds me of the men with the metal ended tape measures in some men's tailors' shops:

"Suit you, Sir!!"?

Also the 3for2 offers would be more successful if they were "Second Book Half Price" which is the same thing really but takes away the pressure to choose.

I never buy books in Tescos: the range is pathetic. Our nearest ASDA is 20 miles away. A new remainder shop has opened in Salisbury called "The Last Book Shop". I wish them luck as they have some good books going for pennies (Faber, Virago, John Murray etc).

[teamsaint]

I work in sales for a small (but important!) publisher.
from what I see and hear, we can expect Waterstones offer to at least look a little bit different. Expect a more "upmarket look" at least in certain stores.

However, I actually expect the range of books offered to be narrower if anything. This will be partly because of even more centralised buying, and partly because certain publishers may well find their titles restricted if they don't agree to play ball with the new regime on terms.

Daunt is determined to get better terms, perhaps with good reason.If he doesn't get them, he will be tough, I think.

[Al R Gando]

It's clear that there are many advantages to buying books from online suppliers - and probably most of us do so.

But there are also occasions when buying a book in a bookshop is a handy and pleasant thing - a spur-of-the-moment gift for someone, a little treat for oneself, forgotten reading-matter for a longish trip. Lawks, you might even want the help of a human being Neither an e-reader nor an internet purchase is going to help in those situations, and although bookshops may become a more niche market, I'm certain they'll continue to exist :)

[VodkaDilc]

It's clear that there are many advantages to buying books from online suppliers - and probably most of us do so.)

In my case, I prefer an online supplier which will deliver to a shop, rather than face the problems of postal delivery here (possible rough treatment in transit and difficulties of being at home to receive delivery.) Waterstones do this excellently (as Borders did in the past). However I really prefer to go to the shop to buy books (in the traditional way, chosen from the shelves) and I do this in most cases. The nearest large Waterstones is excellent and has some enthusiastic specialists on the staff; I hope the new approach to the business is successful.

[Ferretfancy]

The offer of three for two always seemed to contain an awful lot of novels about middle class people having a bad time, which seems to what most modern fiction is about. I have sometimes managed to find three in other genres.