Bookworm Experience | The Great National Book Store Warehouse Sale 2015
2:38 AM
August is one of the months this year that I am
grateful for because of various blessings and experiences. Some of those that
made me happy are the warehouse book sales from two of the known bookstores in
the country. I already blogged my Books for Less Warehouse Sale experience
recently. This time, it’s The Great National Book
Store Warehouse Sale.
The Great National Book
Store Warehouse Sale was held last August 13 and 18, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m., and was later extended to August 23, 2015. All items, from books to
supplies to gift items, were on sale up to 90% off! Everything that I love was here,
so I was very excited to buy books and some arts and crafts stuff.
I heard about this sale before, but I
never had the time, energy, or the money to go.
For this year, I had those plus I was in a good mood for more bookstore
sales. I decided to follow the reminders I listed in the Books for Less blog
post and took account the warnings of people who went to the NBS sale on the
first two days.
Based on what my friends and what other
people said on Facebook, the first two days were very toxic because there were
many people and the handling of the crowd was disorganized. It was very
crowded, the atmosphere was hot, everything was dusty and in disarray, and the
line to the cashier was so long that it took two to three hours to just pay. After
hearing this, my boyfriend and I prepared last August 15 by coming early,
wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, bringing an eco bag, and bracing for the
wave of people.
Being Early Really Pays Off
Arriving there early, I believe, really
paid off. We saw a very long line outside of National Book Store and we were
glad we had a car. We parked at the basement at 8:55 a.m. Luckily, the line for
those who parked was short and we did not have to wait long as they let some
people in a few minutes after we lined up. While I was very excited for the
sale, my boyfriend and I were not like the others who ran up towards the second
floor. We just kept calm and walked. :p
The thing that made me think this day
would be okay for me than the previous ones was when the security people became
orderly in letting people in. The line stopped at the second floor once in a while
throughout the day (even after our shopping) so as not to overwhelm the
warehouse with so many people.
I literally got excited when we reached
the warehouse and saw EVERYTHING! I did not think twice anymore, got a 2-basket
cart, and sprinted my way towards the book section while my boyfriend went to
another section.
The Shopping Experience
When we got there, there were only a
few people. But in less than 30 minutes, the whole place already became crowded
and we were all shoulder-to-shoulder. It was a good thing I got the basket cart,
as moving around became convenient.
Surprisingly though, the crowd was
tolerable. I think it was better than the jampacked anime and cosplay conventions
that we usually attend, as I was able to move around the whole place many
times. And of course, I followed my Books for Less Warehouse Sale reminders and
came in prepared. :)
My boyfriend and I shopped for one and
a half hours before finally deciding to line up. It took a while to find the
end of the cashier line because it was very long. We took advantage of the long
wait to the cashier by sorting out which items to buy and which items to leave
behind. It was hard to let some stuff go, but we had to stick to our budget. :(
After sorting our items, I took photos of
the whole warehouse. This was the crowd at past 10:30 a.m.:
 |
| The stick indicated the end of the cashier line, which was already at the back of the warehouse. |
Our NBS Warehouse Sale Haul
One of our strategies was to get all
the books that we really like, put them in the basket, and sort them while
waiting in line for the cashier. Since only
a few people were there when we came in, I went straight to the book sections,
where prices ranged from 30 pesos to P1000 pesos. I think the prices really
dropped, as I got a 680-peso book for just 300 pesos. Great deals indeed!
Before coming to the sale, my target
was to buy Young Adult books. But as I went around, I saw other non-YA books
that really piqued my interest and bought them instead. Most of them were
non-fiction again and related to writing and media. We also bought books that
we will give as gifts to our loved ones this coming Christmas. :D Apart from
books, we also bought some supplies, such as pouch bags, an iPad casing,
organizer refills, a clear book, pens, and a very durable tape dispenser.
Final Say
I think my experience in the NBS
Warehouse Sale was better than the Books for Less Warehouse Sale. It looks like
coming to the sale the moment it opens was a big advantage. We got great items,
a convenient shopping cart, and the line to the cashier took only about an hour
(in contrast to those who took more than two hours in the past days). We expected
to finish around 1:00 p.m., but we finished at past 11:30 a.m. :D
It was a great shopping experience and I would not mind going to another NBS warehouse sale again. The books on display were also great, though there were a lot of textbooks (I think that was expected from National Book Store). I am always a sucker for affordable books, so going to this sale and buying them at half the price was a wonderful experience!
It was a great shopping experience and I would not mind going to another NBS warehouse sale again. The books on display were also great, though there were a lot of textbooks (I think that was expected from National Book Store). I am always a sucker for affordable books, so going to this sale and buying them at half the price was a wonderful experience!
Maybe the only disappointment I had was I did not have enough budget to buy many items. I’ll be prepared next time. :D
~Hainrihi
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