Our Books-A-Million store here in Bradenton is having a Hunger Games party today. Sounds great. However, anyone who brings in their movie stub gets $5 off of a $25 order. What kind of message does that send to my kids and families like mine who promote, or at least try to promote books over movies? Also, I try to raise my kids to not go out and buy the lastest fad. I feel like Books-A-Million is telling my kids that our values are wrong, so we shouldn't get to be part of this discount.
We are the type of family that snaps pictures of people in lines before Black Friday, so that we can laugh. We have no cable, very few tv channels, no ipads, or such. And we LIKE it this way. We very rarely go out to see a movie before it makes it to the dollar theater. This is part of our family culture that values other things besides the latest fad. Now, my daughter did go see Breaking Dawn on opening night, but she had read the books first. Whether or not the books were great literature or garbage is not relevant. My point is, she READ them first and then was allowed a treat of seeing the movie. I am sure that many of Books-A-Million customers who saw the movie will have read the books too. I am not commenting on the customers. That is their business. There are plenty of movies that I have seen without ever having read the book.
My point is about the message that the discount if you bring in your movie ticket sends. I understand that the bookstore gets lots of business because of the movie. I'm glad that the movie has sent more traffic into a bookstore.
I used to love the Harry Potter parties, but those coincided with the release of a book, not the movies. I think it is wonderful that Books-A-Million is having this celebration. My first thought when I saw the flyer was to attend the event even though I have never read these books. I thought it might get my 13 and 12 year olds interested in reading these books. We've been on the lookout for new books to read.
However, it is more the insult hurled out us for not being a fad-obsessed family that has made me decide that we have better things to do with our time than attend this event.
Movie ticket stub? For a discount at a BOOKSTORE! Really?
Dear Books-A-Million, what message do you think you just sent to my kids? You're basically telling kids like mine who probaby would have read these books out of their own natural curiosity that said curiosity in and of itsef is not something to be rewarded. Society will reward those kids who need to be enticed with movies and electronic gadgets, but God forbid MY kids get a discount. MY kids broke the rules of our culture by choosing NOT to see a movie.
Keep in mind she read the books two years before the movie came out.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you Mary but I also wonder if maybe they do this to get more kids involved in reading. It is sad but a majority of teenage kids will go see a movie before reading a book. Don't you think maybe they are trying to get more kids involved in reading by offering discounts because most teenage kids see movies quite often.
ReplyDeleteHi Kasey, I have no problem with the discount in and out itself. If the discount was merely get $5 off with a $25 purchase, I wouldn't have blinked an eye. It was the fact that customers were required to bring in a movie ticket in order to get the $5 off with a $25 purchase that annoyed me. I'm all for discounts and getting people into bookstores. I just don't think a discount to a bookstore should REQUIRE having to go to a movie. Thank you for commenting.
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