Through a Facebook post, I learned about Scholastic Asia’s Warehouse Sale. Scholastic Asia is a global publisher probably more well known for one of its divisions, the Grolier International Inc. which publishes multi-volume encyclopedias. The warehouse sale is to run from April 18, 2017 to June 18, 2017.
In my quest to look for the best book, I immediately planned to drop-by their warehouse in Pasig City. As I wanted to be one of the first ones to experience the warehouse sale, I scheduled to go there in the first week of the sale, and alas, I got the chance to do so last April 21.
How to Get There
From EDSA:
- From Robinsons Galleria Ortigas Avenue side, ride a jeep or bus going to Rosario, (signage: Cainta/Taytay). Tell the driver to drop you off C. Raymundo Avenue, landmark: before Shell Station.
- Ride a tricycle and tell the driver to drop you off at the warehouse just after Sorrento Oasis, landmark: Floor Center.
From Pasig Palengke:
- Take a jeepney bound to any destination in Rizal.
- Tell the driver to drop you off at the corner of C. Raymundo Avenue and Bernal Avenue, landmarks are BDO and Caltex.
- Walk towards Floor Center. Scholastic’s warehouse gate is just right across Floor Center.
From Marikina:
- Take a Pasig Palengke-bound jeep.
- The jeepney will traverse Dr. Sixto Avenue, parallel to C. Raymundo Avenue.
- Tell the driver to drop you off at the corner of Dr. Sixto Avenue and Bernal Street.
- Walk the whole stretch of Bernal Street or ride a tricycle until you reach C. Raymundo Avenue.
- Once at the corner of Bernal Street and C. Raymundo Avenue, turn left until you reach Floor Center.
My Experience
What really drew me into the Grolier Scholastic Warehouse is the book buffet. The mechanics, as provided by Scholastic Warehouse’s Facebook page are given below:
- Scholastic Buffet Box will be provided upon entry. Only official boxes are allowed.
- Books selected must be stacked up to the rim of the box only. Books that will exceed the rim of the box will be removed.
- No folding, rolling or altering the shape of the books to fit into the box. Books damaged during the stuffing process are considered sold.
- Books purchased from Scholastic Book Buffet cannot be returned, exchanged or refunded.
Upon availing of my box upon entry, I am now ready to dig into the hodgepodge of literary works. There are a lot of books on the shelves and on the central table. However, I got dismayed when I learned that majority of the works for the book buffet are for children. Some of my fellow buyers were palpably dismayed of the books for book buffet.
With a lot hesitation, I circled the area about 10 to 20 times to check and double check which books am I interested in buying. Fortunately, I saw Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part–Time Indian which I’ve been trying to avail of in the local book stores. There were a lot of copies in sale!
Other notable authors I saw were Anthony Horowitz and Katherine Paterson, the author of the Newberry Award-Winning novel Bridge to Terabithia. There were lesser-known authors. Oh, I saw a book of Candace Bushnell, the author of the sultry work Sex In The City. The 39 Clues books were also on sale. However, it seems that the series on sale is incomplete because when I tried to complete one, there are books that were missing. Too bad because I wanted to purchase it just to fill my buffet box.
Overall, I was underwhelmed of the books offered for book buffet. I just put in whatever I could put so as not to waste the box. Ultimately though, I wasn’t still able to fill the box. Although I was disappointed, I think that the Scholastic Warehouse Sale would be great if you want to purchase books and activity materials for your kids, students, nephews, and nieces.
Value for money? If you discount the heat and the way to get there, you will get your money’s value. Sans discount, my purchase cost PHP 3,930.00. Because it is for book buffet, I ended up paying only PHP 799.00, for a total saving of PHP 3,131.00.
However, if the book buffet doesn’t entice you, there is a book sale on the other side of the warehouse. Books are discounted up to 70%. I saw a complete set of Harry Potter series there though I haven’t seen The Cursed Child. Please note that the books for the regular sale and the book buffet are separate.
Just recently, when I checked into Scholastic Warehouse’s FB page, I saw others who were able to purchase some noteworthy books. They said that it is for the book buffet although I cannot confirm the veracity of their claims. If such is the case, too bad. I guess I went there at the wrong time.
So what does this box have in store? Do watch out next week for the contents of my Scholastic Warehouse Sale book buffet box. 🙂
The Pine-Scented Chronicles 