We are often told to put phrases like “limited time only!” or “act now!” or “final sale!” into our sales copy, with the idea that if people think they’ve got no time to waste, they’ll buy now rather than risk missing out. It’s an old trick, though, albeit a classic one, and you might wonder if, in this day and age, it actually still really works on people.

The answer to that is “yes,” and you need only look to Borders’ recent bankruptcy filing to see it in action. On February 16th, the troubled chain bookseller filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and announced plans to close 30% of its stores as a result. Now, we could discuss the myriad reasons for this one – failure to keep up with the times by getting in on the e-reader action, for example – but that’s a different kind of post entirely. No, this one is not about what Borders did wrong, but about the rather fascinating reaction consumers are having to the announcement.

Reports are coming in all over the web from Borders employees and others observing the downfall firsthand, and one thing is clear: people will sacrifice anything to get a bargain…including actually getting a bargain.

How? Easy – as soon as the announcement came through, people went nuts, because a store closing must automatically equate to incredible sales. And all of those lurid red, yellow, and black signs the liquidators bring in to the closing stores definitely don’t hurt.

The problem? Stuff really isn’t all that much on sale. The “deals” aren’t really deals yet – in fact, according to employees, you can save more money just by using your store rewards card than you can by buying at the “closing discount.” But it’s not stopping customers from stampeding in to throw money (and stock) everywhere. And people aren’t only mobbing the stores that are closing. Even Borders stores will remain open are getting clobbered.

So thanks to the signs, triggering copy, and the subconscious lure of a mythic great deal, Borders is raking it in hand over fist. Maybe they should’ve tried channeling their local mom and pop furniture store (you know, the one that’s been “going out of business” for the last 12 years?) before filing for bankruptcy, and they wouldn’t be having this problem?

Whatever the case, it’s an interesting phenomenon to observe, and it teaches us a few good lessons:

• People really do respond to the “act now before it’s gone!” hook, because here we see people running to buy things from stores that aren’t even closing.

• People also really do react to the “final sale” idea, because again, here we see people buying things that aren’t actually a great deal, because all that flashy signage apparently overrides actual math.

• Even when faced with ample evidence that those “liquidation deals” are rarely really deals, people will lose their minds and empty their wallets anyway.

Oh, and:

• If you are in the market for a real bargain from your own nearby doomed Borders (or any dying store in the future, except those aforementioned furniture stores that don’t really ever close), wait til it’s closer to the actual shut down date, when things are actually, truly marked down.