Where's Ann Coulter? Why is Barnes & Noble hiding all copies of TREASON from their customers?

Self ^ | June 27, 2003 | tuna battle

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

If you take a stroll to your local Barnes & Noble, in search of Ann Coulter's new book, Treason, you may find yourself looking long and hard for a copy. I found the purposely elusive, strategically placed best-seller only after nearly 10 minutes of browsing the bookstore.

Why is Barnes & Noble hiding this book? Treason is currently #3 at bn.com, easily beating out Living History, yet the Barnes & Noble on Monroe Street, in Toledo, Ohio, has conveniently removed the book from plain sight.

I landed at the new releases, best-sellers, non-fiction section; one whole shelf is dedicated to Ms. Clinton's lies (and 20% off too; 30% off, if you're a Reader's Advantage member).

But, no Ann Coulter.

In addition, although a best-seller, Treason is not on sale. Barnes & Noble has apparently broken their own policy by asking the cover price -- this is the first time EVER that I can recall Barnes & Noble asking the cover price for a new best-seller.

What's going on here and what can we do?

Go to Barnes & Noble tomorrow and just try to find Treason without asking for assistance. I’m serious – I dare you (and please post your findings).

[mware]

Here is an account from my trip to the local book stores (Marlaton, N.J.)yesterday.

Talk about Book War's!!!!!!! My first stop was the local Borders Book Store. Of course Hillary's book was very prominately displayed.

I began to search in various parts of the store attemping to find the latest Coulter book. After about 10 minutes I found three copies of it tucked between some other books stacked rather high.

At this point my rightous anger got the best of me so, getting extra copies of Treason and another of Dereliction Of Duty, I looked for a nice visable place to put them. Treason looked lovely in its new position in front of the Michael Moore book. Dereliction of Duty found a very prominent place in front of Living History.

With my anger abated I left with a copy of Tammy's Bruces, The Thought Police, Inside the Left's Assault on Free Speech and Free Minds.

Now it was off to Barnes and Noble. This was even worse than Borders. There were 65 copies of Hillary's book lying on the floor right next to the Information Desk, and another 15 right in front of the doors as you entered. Off I was again hunting to find where they had stashed away Anne's book. After a 10 minute search through Current Events, Politics, Recent Releases I gave up and went to the Information Desk.

When I was finally asked if they could help me, I told them I have been looking through the store and could not find any copies of Treason. At first he looked at me and said, "It has not been released yet." I informed him that he was released last week and he began to check the computer. At this point a very nice woman behind me spoke up and said, "Yes, it is out, it is number 2 on Amazon."

That seemed to clear the guys mind and he said, "Oh yes, I remember where it is." He then lead me and the lady behind me to where they had placed them, It was a small display with room for about 20 copies (only 10 were left.) The thing is the display was behind the barriers at the check out area. The only way it was visable was if you had already purchased your books and were leaving.

I commmented on the positioning of the book as I and the other woman took copies of the book. He gave me a bit of a dirty look as I walked away.

[copycat]

Coulter was talking about this on Scarborough Country yesterday.

Joe should have called his show "Scarborough Fare."

[copycat]

I can 'smell' the liberalism arrogance emanating from the young clerks.

I frequently spend time in the back room at Borders servicing their copier, and you are 100% correct. It's like Save the Whales Day and the Million Mom March all rolled into one.

One observation, though, it's not just the young clerks. The older workers appear to be hippies that never "saw the light."

[mware]

I think I will give Drudge a call tonight during his show on WABC NYC.

1-800-848-WABC

[Ben Bolt]

Good heavens Adam .. That picture actually made me jump !
Damn man .. I was expecting a reply and got a face full .

[EGPWS]

I landed at the new releases, best-sellers, non-fiction section; one whole shelf is dedicated to Ms. Clinton's lies (and 20% off too; 30% off, if you're a Reader's Advantage member).

Sounds like poor management on the part of B&N to me.

Perhaps, they overstocked on "Hitlery's book" and underestimated the sales of Treason? This would explain the overexposure of Hitlery's "novel" and the underexposer of Treason.

[RedWhiteBlue]

I just got home from my local B&N. Immediately inside of the entrance was a table full of Harry Potter books and toys. Just behind the table is a very long isle that goes to the back of the store. To the left of the isle, facing the front of the store, is a series of racks where all of the best sellers are displayed. Lying Hysteria was there, occupying a section that was three books wide and five deep -- 15 books total and none had been taken.

Treason was prominently displayed about 5 or so feet away in a cardboard display that was about four feet tall with a large picture of Anne. The display had four cubby-holes for books that held about 6 books each, or 24 books total. About half of them were gone. And there was NO discount. So even with no discount, it appeared to be doing much better than Lying Hysteria.

This B&N is VERY large. I walked throughout the store, up and down the major isles, looking at the end displays and the tables in between. There were no other displays for either Lying Hysteria or Treason anywhere else in the store.

Of course, this is "Tom DeLay country." If you want to sell books around here, you have to carry what your customers want to read.

Apparently this location of B&N has caught on to that. I remember when one of Anne's earlier books came out. I can't recall which one it was, but it came out during the time of Clinton's impeachment. I looked for it in this particular B&N, and couldn't find it. When I asked one of the check out clerks about it, he just stated that they didn't have that book. Both hubby and I exclaimed "You don't have it? It is on the best seller's list! Why wouldn't you have a book that is on the best seller's list?" The clerk shrugged his shoulder and said "we have Alan Deschowitz's (sp?) book. Do you want that?" We burst out laughing. I told hubby and the clerk "no problem. I can order it online from Amazon and we'll have it in two days." We had a couple of magazines and books, and we laid them down and walked out.

[PaulZe]

here is my experience visiting Borders in South Bend Indiana.
I walk in and immediately see a display of new releaes with Hillary's face all over the place. I look around for about a minute..then go over to another table on new releases looking for TREASON. About a minute later a saleperson asks me if she could help me find something. I mentioned Ann Coulter's book

She replies, "Oh she has been on TV a lot and we have had a run on them. I could take your name." I said, "No, that's ok"
Then she made the offer a second time then pointed out another sales person who was standing beside the Ann Coulter Display and said,
"She has been working with the display, she would know more about if we have any more copies"

As i was walking over to where she was I saw at the end of the table one copy of TREASON and pointed it out to the salesperson who said, "It looks like the last copy"

I grabbed it and as I was making my way to the register I overheard her talking to another patron, "He has the last copy, but I could take your name..."

I smiled as i made my way and wondered if it was in fact that they had sold out or if it was a ploy to make it harder to purchase the book.

[mware]

I read another post earlier saying the display had 24 books in it. Even with the horrible placement of the book they had sold over half of them.

When I first went in I had not planned to purchase it that day, but after going on a scavanger hunt for it felt obliged to buy one for the cause.

[slohand]

I went to B&N in Kalamazoo MI. They said they were out of Slander. I went to a local bookstore and got the last copy.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

These store managers need to be fired for two reasons:

1. Blatent inconsistency of best-seller practices. Did they "forget" to put the book on sale? Or did they purposely not put the book on sale, in an effort to dwarf sales? Again, I'm speaking only of the physical stores, not bn.com.

2. As an employee, hiding a book simply because you disagree with the contents is a deliberate attempt to hurt business.

I don't know how B&N operates, but I used to manage a Waldenbooks, which is owned by Border's Group. If there ever was a particulary hot book, we had to have it displayed prominantly, and were expected to have the displays replenished frequently. With BGI, it was all about the money...if the book is selling...sell it, no matter what.

They also had a policy where we had to display ANY type of book they sent us, regardless of how we may have felt about it.

I suspect that the managers of these particular stores must not mind losing business. I'd suggest contacting the guilty manager, asking why the book is difficult to find, and follow it up with a call to his or her regional or district manager. If you ask the manager who his boss is, he's obligated to tell you.

[manic4organic]

I actually went to B&N yesterday for the sole purpose of determining placement of "Treason" in the store. I saw a huge Potter display just inside the entrance. I went further down, check all the displays...nothing. I finally asked an employee. She directed me to the back side of a display toward the back of the store where there was one copy propped up and about eight in a stack. It was full price. I had bought one from Sam's for about $15 and change for my brother and ordered one off Amazon for myself.

[joanil]

And your 'baptism of fire' is??????

[joanil]

Yes! Just as I suspected!
But perhaps that gives new meaning to 'top shelf'!

[joanil]

And the liberals complain about Rush on the Radio!!!
Looks to me like they run the book stores 100% in demo favor. And still the demos whine,whine whine about how their message is not getting across.

All I know is.........do not shop in malls if you want to keep your blood pressure in a moderate reading.

If you do decide to go to the mall for "Treason" be prepared for liberal hell!

Of course, you can make a big stink about the placing of 'Treason' if you will!?!

Forget the mall. Shop a small independent bookstore, where real intellectuals lurk!

[joanil]

Ah, welcome to life near the bookshelves of Indy/Chicago. Glad to hear someone else has seen the predjudice. Thanks for posting!
I am now vindicated!

[RandallFlagg]

I wonder when the New York Times bestseller list will be updated.. I heard it's done on Sunday but they sure are taking their time with it.

I ordered mine from the popup from Ann's website the minute I saw it. I almost wish I hadn't because I'd want to have fun with libs at these shops like some of you did.

[xm177e2]

Book World here in Wisconsin had it packed in boxes, unable to put it on the shelf "because too many authors starting with A thru D published books this month", leaving allocated shelf space short. I kid you not! I had her bring me three copies from the back. I bought one and placed the others in front of Shillary's book. As I was leaving I saw the lady carrying them back into the stockroom to put away from view.

Of course, they keep the pornography in plain view in their magazine section, right?

[RandallFlagg]

Here's what the latest NYT list reads as of this post:

 

This Week		Last Week	Weeks On List
1	LIVING HISTORY, by Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Simon & Schuster, $28.) A memoir by the junior senator from New York and former first lady.	1	2
2	A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING, by Bill Bryson. (Broadway, $27.50.) From the Big Bang to the 21st century: a guided tour of the sciences and what they tell us about the physical world. First Chapter	7	7
3	MONEYBALL, by Michael Lewis. (Norton, $24.95.) How Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, produces a successful team despite having one of the smallest payrolls in baseball.	5	6
4	BEYOND BELIEF, by Elaine Pagels. (Random House, $24.95.) The author of "The Gnostic Gospels" examines early Christianity through the Gospel of Thomas. First Chapter	9	5
5	*AN UNFINISHED LIFE, by Robert Dallek. (Little, Brown, $30.) A biography of John F. Kennedy by a professor of history at Boston University.	4	6
6	WHO'S YOUR CADDY? by Rick Reilly. (Doubleday, $24.95.) A sportswriter recounts his experiences caddying for (among others) Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, Bob Newhart and Deepak Chopra.	3	6
7	THE TEAMMATES, by David Halberstam. (Hyperion, $22.95.) The story of a friendship among four men who played for the Red Sox in the 1940's: Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr. First Chapter	2	7
8	OPEN, by John Feinstein. (Little, Brown, $25.95.) The author of "A Good Walk Spoiled" reports on the 2002 United States Open, held at the Bethpage Black golf course on Long Island.	6	6
9	DERELICTION OF DUTY, by Robert (Buzz) Patterson. (Regnery, $27.95.) A retired Air Force colonel who served in the White House contends that Bill Clinton "compromised America's national security." (+)	8	14
10	CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, by George Crile. (Atlantic Monthly, $26.) A chronicle, by a veteran producer for "60 Minutes," of a congressman's efforts in the 1980's to steer billions to the anti-Soviet side in Afghanistan. First Chapter

[RandallFlagg]

Here's what Amazon.com reads as of this post (They record actual sales, liberals!):

 

Top 100 Bestsellers
Updated Hourly

	1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator) Price: $17.99 You Save: $12.00 (40%) Used & new from $12.00
	2. Treason by Ann Coulter Price: $18.87 You Save: $8.08 (30%) Used & new from $15.50
	3. East of Eden (Oprah's Book Club) by John Steinbeck Price: $9.60 You Save: $6.40 (40%) Used & new from $7.75
	4. The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston (Author) Price: $14.97 You Save: $9.98 (40%) Used & new from $13.25
	5. The Essential 55 by Ron Clark Price: $13.97 You Save: $5.98 (30%) Used & new from $11.99
	6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Price: $14.97 You Save: $9.98 (40%) Used & new from $11.99
	7. Living History by Hillary Clinton (Author) Price: $16.80 You Save: $11.20 (40%) Used & new from $15.50
	8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Price: $16.50 You Save: $11.00 (40%) Used & new from $12.99
	9. Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-4) by J. K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator) Price: $21.67 You Save: $9.29 (30%) Used & new from $18.90
	10. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Price: $8.40 You Save: $5.60 (40%) Used & new from $7.10