Rant of the day - Whitcoulls book pricing

I was in central Wellington today, not a common occurance in my world as I don't really like it.  I had an appointment but also wanted to look for a certain book or set of books for my daughter.  They are Dora reading books that come in levels and encourage word recognition etc.  They are only thin books of about 10 pages each, I have seen them in Palmerston North for $4.50 each.  Well today I went to two city Whitcoulls, to find that the same books were $8.99 in one shop and $10.99 in another.  HELLO they are only 10 pages long and of average paper stock etc.  How can they justify the price tag of $10.99.  Esspecially when at the Whitcoulls online store you can get a 12 pack of these books for just $23 dollars.

If you are wondering the reason I was looking in the shops is that I haven't seen many and I want to see what they are like before ordering them online, plus if they were as cheap or close I would have brought them instore.  I couldn't believe the difference in pricing.  Its like someone just randomly popped a price into the pricey thing and stamped it on.  Suffice to say at the most expensive shop I did say out loud "Holy Crapiola that's expensive".  There were 4 staff members in close proximity and not one blinked a lash at that.  I think they hear that quite a lot.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    Books are definitely a luxury to buy. It's so sad because I think it's so important to nurture a love of reading in your children, and sometimes you just want to buy them a book instead of borrowing from the library. I can see why e-readers are becoming so popular, at least books are cheaper online than in person (I believe!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Time FliesFebruary 5, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    WOW thats disgusting, i buy alot of books from snatchadeal now. i didt get a set of dr suess books 8 for $50 expensive but i love dr suess so couldnt say no and they can go for $20 for just ONE

    ReplyDelete
  3. KyromaniacMarch 3, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    It's no wonder Whitcoulls is going under! I hardly ever buy in bookshops because of the pricing, independent booksellers are no better. I love looking through bookshops but often I'll go in have a look then go buy it online, the pricing is waaay more competitive even with shipping costs! It's sad really, I like to support local businesses but when you're on a budget, books are a luxury and I'm always going to go with what's cheaper.

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  4. ToriMarch 24, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    Hi Tracey, it's Tori from CM. Look how pretty your blog is :)

    Around 80% of the books I get for Ronin are from second hand stores, mostly Salvation Army. I have picked up great books at a tenth of the cost full price. A couple of weeks ago I picked up Why do dogs Sniff Bottoms? for $0.50!! I always go in and look for books for the kids and me and knitting stuff. And I always find a bargain. I buy full price kids books for birthdays and christmas or a other special occassions and usually only from the Kilbirnie Childrens Bookstore (because I love them :) )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tracy007March 24, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    Might have to try that. I am going to also try and get the kids to the Library more. After the last disaster I realise that we are not going to stay for story time again. So might just go on an ad hoc Library adventure and get my kids this regions library cards (we move 15km and are no longer part of the Wellington city council region.

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