Borders

I always hated Crossgates, but was glad to see they finally got a bookstore after many years without one after the Waldenbooks in the «old» section closed. I guess the bookstores in this mall are just doomed, as the Borders is now days away from extinction. I managed to score a few heavily discounted gems out of the mass of Sarah Palin books while they lasted…

Two weeks ago I was in Borders replenishing my book supply and was informed by the cashier that my paid rewards membership had expired, so being the voracious reader that I am, I renewed it for $ 20. Then I get an e-​mail today informing me that Borders is liquidating. If I had been given this information I would not have renewed the rewards program, which apparently is only good for another couple of weeks. Fine, its only $ 20, but I would have preferred to have spent that on books, not a useless rewards card. So for that, y’all can GTH.
Oh and SCREW THIS DUMP

This Borders is wonderful-​its constantly kept organized. I love how spacious it is. Arm chairs are spread out throughout the store and FREE WIFI. Gotta love the free wifi! I am often spending time in the café – which offers a good selection of coffee, tea and café food. The cookies are on and off. I found the snickerdoodle lovely but the oatmeal raisin cranberry was just blah. The service at the café is ALWAYS slow-​whether the line is long or short – there’s only one person working the café and its just ALWAYS slow. But I can forgive it because of the spacious café sitting area with outlets!

I love how you can get a rewards card for free, as apose to Barns and Nobles. Make sure you sign up for thier emails, I’m always getting great coupons. The staff here is very friendly.
They have Seattles Best coffee. Some of the people who work in this area do need more training. When I asked for a frap, the lady looked at me like I had 2 heads, due to I’m not sure it’s on thier menu, but they made it for me anyway with great attitude.
If you go into the mall, you have to go to the 2^nd floor to get into the store. If you park outside the store, you take an escalator up to the store.

CLOSED. All Borders stores nationwide folded in 2011.
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This Borders looks bigger than it really is from the outside, which is located on the second floor of Crossgates Mall and has a convenient outside entrance/​exit via a long escalator on the Western Ave side of the mall.
This is one of my favorite Borders Stores because this store has a pretty good selection of books, bargain books, magazines, periodicals, movies, music, games, kids section, and a Café serving Seattle’s Best Coffee with free wifi access and copies of Metroland to read, all on the same level. There are also a few racks of bargain books at the bottom of the escalator to the Western Ave side parking lot.
I really enjoy the very good selection of local history books (including Images of America) from across Upstate NY. I can’t find those local NY books at the other Borders in NH (Concord, Keene, Lebanon), where I now live and stock only very limited quantities of NH and MA history books, a regional thing with each store.
Recently, I picked up a very interesting hardcover book about Wolf Road in Colonie, chronicling its century of development. Ahhh, I had very fond memories of former Wolf Road businesses including the Colonie Fox Theater, Ground Round, Herman’s World of Sporting Goods, Platt’s Place, Beefsteak Charlie’s, Cranberry Bog, Lexington Grill, Parc V, Service Merchandise, and Present Company, the good ol’ days!
To get discounts, sign up for the Borders Rewards program, which is free to join and all they need is your email address, where they will send you discount offers and coupons (20%-40% off one item) each week. For every $ 150 spent, they will send you a $ 5 rewards certificate. For every 5 drinks you purchase at the Café (scan membership card), you’ll receive a coupon via email for a free drink of your choice. Also offered is a Borders Rewards Plus membership for $ 20 per year, in which you get an additional 10 percent off on almost anything in the store (except magazines) including sale prices and Café purchases. Happy reading!