Sunday, March 19, 2006

Barnes & (Not So) Noble


So, my parents came to visit this weekend and I actually offered to make lunch (what?!). It all went very well. It was actually a joy to have them here (No, I'm not on medication). No fighting. No "suggestions." No "accidental" snooping. No drama. It was great, yet somewhat alien.

After they left, I was in such an upbeat mood I decided to take myself out to dinner and shopping...RETAIL (I must've been in a good mood!). What-the-heck was in those chicken enchiladas anyway?!

So, I went to eat at some little dive near my house (everything around here has the word "Grill", "Skillet" or a combination of the both, in the title). It's a fairly new place and it was nice. The employees were really nice and it had that small town atmosphere that I enjoy.

Afterwards, I head over to Barnes & Noble, which I haven't been to since my last post about them. I love browsing around the store, but I generally avoid it like the plague because it's so infested with the mochachino crowd, especially on weekends. Plus, I always have the urge to strangle the freeloaders sitting around reading the books like they're at the fuckin' library. But I digress.

I browsed the magazine section and picked up a copy of the latest issue of Details, with Vin Diesel on the cover. ROWR! He looks good. Apparently there are multiple covers available. I opted for the one where he's wearing a white shirt and black tie (shown). YUM.

I finally see a copy of the short story on which the movie Brokeback Mountain is based. I've been looking for it since before the movie was even released, assuming it would be at the grocery store with the rest of the movie tie-in paperbacks for lesser films like King Kong, Daredevil, etc. No such luck. So, here it is, a whopping 1/32 inches thick. Eh, that's okay, just means it can't be that expensive. How much is it? $10? For a book the size of a pamphlet with an inflated ego? That's retarded. I'll pass.

Then after checking out the "bargain" area, I hit a few more sections before going to check out the DVD/CD area in the back of the store.

Before I go any further, let me preface this by saying I do 95% of my shopping for music/books/movies online. This is mainly because: [A] I don't want to deal with driving somewhere only to find that they don't have the item in stock, don't carry it, or deal with an empty-headed employee whose idea of great cinema is whatever's playing at the theater right now. And [B] 99% of the time, I can get it considerably cheaper online, used or otherwise.

So, I head into No Man's Land and begin looking around at the DVD titles. Ooh, they have the new Johnny Cash movie, Walk the Line, and it's a mere $29!! WTF? Heh, that must be a pricing error. Let's see what else they have. Ooh, Johnny Knoxville, but I already own that DVD (The Dukes of Hazzard). What the hell, let's see how much they are selling it for...$29! That's TWICE as much as they're being sold everywhere else! Three times if you wait 3 weeks and buy them used at Hollywood Video. Whoever is pricing these things is on some serious crack... I continue to look around. ALL the goddamn DVDs, with the exception of the "bargain" DVDs, are thirty fuckin' DOLLARS! (and you don't even wanna know how much they want for DVD boxsets! Loan applications are at the entrance.) The bargain DVDs being $10...that you can buy for $5 at the grocery store. Goddamn. How does this place stay in business? Who shops here? People with a history of head injuries?

So, avoiding the DVDs like the plague, I head over to the CDs, which are actually priced relatively normally. I have to admit though, I have a hard time paying nearly $20 for a CD anymore, though. I guess Half.com has spoiled me. And even though I enjoy the occasional download from Limewire, I'm one of those people who'd rather actually own the CD, case et al.

Against my better judgement, but fearing I may not be able to find them anywhere else, I purchase 3 CDs. Still mentally grumbling over how much I spent on CDs, I had the foresight (for once) to check Half.com for the titles BEFORE opening them...on the off chance that they might be cheaper there. So, I get home, type in the titles of the 3 CDs I bought. Here's what I found:

CD 1- B&N Price: $22.98 (double disk) Half.com Price: $8.00
CD 2- B&N Price: $17.99 • Half.com Price: $6.00
CD 3- B&N Price: $16.99 • Half.com Price: $4.95

I'll give you three guesses where I'm going tomorrow. Receipt in hand.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I heart Half.com. I usually try to buy used from either Half.com or eBay. The only time I ever buy new from brick and mortar stores is when I have a gift card.

Monday, March 20, 2006 1:59:00 AM  
Blogger RagDoll said...

I don't know why even bother going into that crack house they call a bookstore anymore. Oh wait. I turn into a freeloader, find a book read a few pages and decide whether or not I want to buy the book online. Bwa ha ha ha! Now I know why I never look in the DVD or CD section. I have been spoiled my Rasputins. (Buy and Sell store)

Glad you had a good weekend with the 'rents.

(ooooh I had to type 'sqxei' to comment!)

Monday, March 20, 2006 9:51:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I work there and don't even by my dvds and cds there...We are supposed to remind customers of the service BN gives them...Bend over!

Monday, March 20, 2006 10:53:00 AM  
Blogger Kirkkitsch said...

Marvo-
Bravo! Good for you! I'm pretty much the same way, though I've known some people that have at-ti-tude about buying "used" things. Whatever! I've saved thousands of dollars buying my DVDs, CDs and books used! Not that I'm opposed to new things, but I just refuse to pay the kind of prices they charge for some of this stuff! Besides, a lot of stuff I like is no longer in print, so used is my only option.

Keep on keepin' on! Fight the power! \m/ heh heh ;)

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Ragdoll- (AKA sqxei)
Lol! That's a great idea. I do the same with their CD area now that you can scan and listen to every track of every CD in the store! And why not? If they can rape the public on prices, why not turn the tables and use them a free resource? They can afford it!

Rasputin's. What a great name for a store! We don't have them here (we have Half-Price Books, instead...but they also sell CDs, DVDs, Laserdiscs and Records).

Thanks for commenting!

Princess Wild Cow-
LOL! I wasn hoping if you read this that you wouldn't be offended, but then I know you have no control over their policies/prices.

I can't say I blame you one bit (re: not buying your DVDs/CDs there). I was just telling one of my friends that you worked there and I was telling him "Even with her employee discount, she's probably still getting robbed!"

Yeah, like I said, I like the LOOK of B&N and enjoy browsing there, but in the end I'll probably just take voice notes on my cellphone and check for the item online when I get home.

Thanks for commenting and lending some authenticity to my observation. ;D

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 2:04:00 AM  
Blogger Nathan said...

Okay fine...you're gonna shit when you read this.

So you had a hard time finding Brokeback Mountain? Well, a few weeks ago, I saw it in the books section of Wal-Mart, in a small Tennessee suburb. How weird is that? Wal-Mart carried a book about gay lovin', and you couldn't find it in. shocking, huh?

I completely understand your gripes about the price of CD's and DVD's. Bleh. Too expensive.

But honey, it's 2006, there's always iTunes. Most albums are just $9.99.

Of course, I know you better than that. You want the actual CD solely because you *love* the album artwork.

Am I right? Well, I can't blame ya. I'm kind of like that too.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 3:01:00 PM  
Blogger Kirkkitsch said...

Nathan-
Wha wha what?! I naturally assumed that Wal-Mart wouldn't carry it since they edit their music CDs, offer DVD editing services and don't carry magazines like Cosmopolitan because they're not family valuelicious. I was surprised Target didn't have it. They're usually pretty on top of (no pun intended) the new movie tie-in paperbacks.

Chile, I'm one of those wacky ol' coots who doesn't 'do' the whole downloading of albums (paid or otherwise). And trust me, it has nothing to do with ethics, but more to do with me wanting the reliability of an actual CD/cover art/packaging, etc. I can just see myself downloading the album to my computer, then when the inevitable crash occurs, losing hundreds of dollars in music. Fun! Not. Plus, with Half.com, Pawn shops, Used CD stores, etc. (and my musical tastes), most of the time I don't pay over $8-9 anyway, plus I have something to collect dust forever (I know somebody's thinking it)!

I still wanna read Brokeback Mountain, dangit! I'd like to read it before I see the movie. Plus, I've been dying to blog about it. I've collected so much BBM-related stuff, the folder is about to overflow!

Friday, March 24, 2006 3:41:00 AM  

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