Look, having worked for B&N in the past (I emphasize not currently ,and I am in no way speaking for the company, only about my opion/view of this issue) I can tell the membership is a numbers game.
On the store/employee side there are quotas and perfromance expectations. They are required to ask every customer if they have or want to get one. A certain percentage of their register transactions MUST be a new membership sale or renewal of an existing membership. The overall store has budgeted sales targets for memberships. At the store level, it's all about the sell.
From a customer standpoint (and I was honest enough to explain it to my customers this way), if you have certain buying habits it is worth it. Membership is $25. If you're walking in, buying a Rosetta Stone language program for $539 it makes sense to buy a memebership right then and there. You'll save $54. Subtract cost of membership and you're up $29 dollars. The rest of the year's savings are gravy.
On the other hand, if you're the customer who maybe buys a magazine and some drinks in the cafe to the tune of only $10 a month, you would only save $12 a year. Subtract the cost of membership and you're just giving B&N $13 a year cause you like them and can't do math.
The average customer falls somewhere between these ridiculous extremes. You have to decide for yourself, based on your anticipated spending habits (how much overall spend, are the items I want eligible for discounts) whether membership falls past the break-even point for you.
I don't like many things about the membership program, but many people save $$$ with it. I really think it is an obsolete program that is just kept around because it does turn a profit for the company.
Existing members, you can call to see how much you've saved in the last year if you haven't kept track of your receipts yourself.
Just my two cents.
