Today is the last day to take advantage of the RS $5 Travel Guide book sale. I understand that European travel has changed dramatically, and the value of guidebook information in this time of contagion may not be as high as it once was.
HOWEVER, the $5 RS Guide book sale ends today! Lots of information, lots of things to devour over the COVID Summer when real travel is only a dream. Don't delay!
They've run out of many (most) titles of the $5 promotion last weekend. There are none left today at the promotional price.
They were going quickly last week. I had two in my cart that were unavailable by the time I tried to check out.
The sale ended either last weekend or very early in this past week. Books went fast, too fast. They had to put a “limit” on purchases as someone (s) was buying huge quantities (assume for resale but who knows).
I to was disappointed when I tried to buy several books LAST weekend. I guess Rick could have limited the number of books each person was allowed to purchase by deploying the "I am not a robot" Captcha test- and/or adding the one time security code scheme to enforce the limit. I guess his IT folks were too busy to get involved in this sale...Or they were afraid a revenge-minded hacker would crash his server and nobody could buy... I congratulate those of you who were smart enough to buy early ...
Good deal, while it lasted.
I wonder if anyone who might be hoarding Rick’s guidebooks also still has a 7-month supply of toilet paper, which they hoarded in March?
They still have the 4 books I was going to order, but now they’re at the original price. It did say it was through August 9th. They should have honored their sale.
Sale is over, no grumps policy now in place , folks .
OK, but the next time you go to Target to pick up something you want that’s on sale in their ad, and they have them in stock but won’t honor their sale price listed in the ad. What do you do? I’m just saying...companies have to honor what they advertise. Or no one will shop there again.
Pam- if the item is on sale and I really want it, I bring the ad with me when I go the store and if they say it is not on sale I find a manager and show him the ad. This has worked for me every time the deal was very good. And sometimes I miss the restrictions in the fine print and they have given me the sale price anyway, especially in the "just for me" ads at Von's and Albertsons. Of course I couldn't talk to a supervisor at Ricks because I don't live in Edmond...
Stay safe!!!
It did say it was through August 9th. They should have honored their
sale.
Unfortunately, it also said something like "until supplies last", which gives a lot of legal wiggle room. They could have easily decided to sell quite a small number of books (say 1% of the inventory) at the $5 price just to clear off some excess inventory. The one book I really wanted was already sold out the first time I looked. I don't know when the sale began. There was an initial post about it, and most self-reported that they bought multiple books. It's just the way it goes with a fire sale... the early bird gets the worm.
Personally, I would delete this post since it's totally moot now and seems to bring out some bad feelings in people who weren't able to take advantage of the sale.
I have never really been into guide books. If anything, it would be ebooks for traveling.
I'm a planner but I also like the wandering around, free spirit type of travel.
I realize the $5 guide book deal was fantastic for those who really like a guidebook and use it a lot.
It's too bad that some people seemingly ordered a truckload full and depleted the stock for others to enjoy the sale price.
it brings back shivering memories going into the big box stores at the start of the pandemic to try to get supplies and the shelves were completely empty - something I have never ever seen.
it was a disgrace to humankind to see people fighting over milk and cat litter and toilet paper. apparently people were buying tons of toilet paper and cleaning supplies online and the warehouses were out of stock and could not restock the local stores. Unreal. 😷
Unless it absolutely has to be the 2020 issue, be aware that you can usually find used copies of older versions of the same guides for just a few dollars on Amazon.
It is still kinda weird wondering who the target market would be for reselling would be. Buying a bunch of travel books for $5 and then trying to make a profit selling them at a higher price assumes that there’s enough buyers that fall between the $5 price and bookstore/Amazon price. And especially this late into Covid, it’s clear it’s not just two weeks of hunkering down and then life returns to normal. My guess is that the return of American travel to Europe will be a very slow process, even with Covid controlled, there’s still a nightmare recession to deal with along with a very different travel world.
Sorry for the individuals that didn’t get to buy their guides. I assume they used the sale to deplete a bunch of excess inventory given that their entire tour season was basically canceled. Perhaps they’ll do another sale later in their year.
I've seen several comments here that people bought huge amounts for some nefarious reason which is why the stock ran down so quickly.
Does anybody have any evidence?
Maybe a bunch of folks saw a good deal and boosted their libraries and some folks turned up a bit later?
The evidence is that a 20 book limit was imposed that wasn't there originally.
I was one of the lucky ones that ordered early. Ordered 4 travel books for future travel dreaming and considerations. They have been a great read.
When I first saw the sale notice, I purchased a number of books, each unique. I saw it as an opportunity to get the basic skinny on a number of places for future trips. In actual fact, the attractive thing about RS Guidebooks is that they are updated every year, and the information is fresh and (usually) accurate.
There will be no European travel for me this year, and probably not in 2021, either, unless our COVID/death numbers start to decline dramatically, so the immediate value of the guidebooks is probably close to the $5 I paid for each of them. Timely information is precious; stale information is frustrating. Still, the books provide basic guidelines and hints for travel, even if an updated book would be preferable.
Perhaps people who purchased a large number of certain books for resale (if that is the case) will make a small profit in the short term, but my goal was to amass a small library of books on places I wanted to visit. My girlfriend is angry about my purchase, and I have promised her that I will get rid of earlier editions of books I already have to make room for the new arrivals.
With that said, on my last trip to Italy (2019) and to Paris (March, 2020), I found the Internet more useful in providing me with immediate and topical information about hotels, museums, restaurants, and other information about places of interest than any guidebook. I think things are changing in the world of European travel.
