US Book stores

[jbcohen]

What do you attribute the demise of Borders Books?

Will borders.com, the web based business be the only remaining remnant of Borders remaining?

I understand Barns and Nobels is close to bankrupcy itself, do you think that the company will wind up in the same position as Borders?

What about other US books stores such as Book A Million, do you forsee any of them going out of business?

Do you see a possibility of Amazon becoming the only electronic book store in business?

[Hellmark]

From what I've seen, B&N seems to be better off. While at the moment they're not flush with cash, but that is because they're putting the extra money toward nook development and marketing. They were wanting to sell, because if you can make a profit and have things be under a bigger company with more money, why not?

And I've said this in another thread after you asked, if borders.com remains, it will be a completely different entity, sharing the name only. Borders Group Inc is being liquidated as part of a bankruptcy, and any elements to be used afterwards would be operated and controlled by an unrelated corporation. This is the same with Circuit City and CompUSA, where TigerDirect owns and operates them now.

BAM has made some of the same mistakes as Borders. For instance BAM doesn't run their own ebook store, and has farmed it out to B&N. They've been taking over some of the Borders locations, so I wonder if they're on the same path.

[cfrizz]

I think you will see a drastic reduction of big book superstores and more specialty stores opening since ereaders can't do justice really to the large pictorial books.

I don't think paperbooks will ever totally go away, but I do think in time, ereaders will over take the format for novels thereby lessening the need for B&M stores.

As for Borders maintaining an online presence, I'm not sure. I just got an email yesterday telling me to act now to transfer my library over to Kobo, and to download Kobo's latest app to keep my library up to date. Why would that be necessary if they were going to maintain an online business.

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I think you will see a drastic reduction of big book superstores and more specialty stores opening since ereaders can't do justice really to the large pictorial books.

I don't think paperbooks will ever totally go away, but I do think in time, ereaders will over take the format for novels thereby lessening the need for B&M stores.

And kids books. I prefer hardcover kids books and I buy quite a lot of them.

(I just picked up a book from the locally owned bookstore on Tuesday that I had ordered for my second grader and was very disappointed when it turned out to be a paper copy. It didn't occur to me to ask when I ordered it -- the second book in the series that was in stock was hardcover and I had just assumed the first one would be too. )

For the last three or four years, the only thing I go into B&M bookstores is as a treat for the kids. I will be sad if that goes away.

[Phogg]

Borders was locked in a duel to the death with Barnes and Noble for years. If one built a storefront, the other moved into the same market nearby. Both of them spent at least as much effort making sure the other never owned a market unchallenged as the effort they put into reaching unserved markets.

How is it a shock that one of them eventually died, and why are there all these crocodile tears for the one that came up short?

[Hellmark]

Around here, It was traditionally the Borders store that opened up first, and B&N always muscling in after them. I can't think of an instance where Borders opened one up near B&N.

Yeah, it was a fight to the death, but was it two challengers facing off, or a predator chasing prey?

[taustin]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Do you see a possibility of Amazon becoming the only electronic book store in business?

There is no chance of that whatsoever. The barriers to entry in to the market are way too low, and it is the competition that produces that is hurting the traditional industry. There are literally hundreds of web sites selling ebooks, and thousands offering them for free. A homeless bum could start a web site selling ebooks for free at the local library.

[mldavis2]

There have been some good comments regarding eBooks and the reason pBook stores are on the rocks.

First, every potential author has free or at least cheap access to editing tools.

Second, the internet and attendant media gives any author cheap and easy marketing, though how effective remains to be seen.

Third, there is minimal risk involved since there are no physical costs involved in printing and distribution.

Another point is that eBooks are becoming more acceptable with the increase in choices and proliferation of electronic reading devices.

Add to those the ability to carry hundreds of books in the palm of your hand, and the immediate availability of an instant dictionary, and you have eliminated much of the publishing industry's stranglehold.

Questions of how "green" it is will continue. For every tree we save in paper and every gallon of fuel to transport it, we substitute mountains of electronic obsolescence each time a new reader is released.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by mldavis2

There have been some good comments regarding eBooks and the reason pBook stores are on the rocks.

First, every potential author has free or at least cheap access to editing tools.

Second, the internet and attendant media gives any author cheap and easy marketing, though how effective remains to be seen.

Third, there is minimal risk involved since there are no physical costs involved in printing and distribution.

Another point is that eBooks are becoming more acceptable with the increase in choices and proliferation of electronic reading devices.

Add to those the ability to carry hundreds of books in the palm of your hand, and the immediate availability of an instant dictionary, and you have eliminated much of the publishing industry's stranglehold.

Questions of how "green" it is will continue. For every tree we save in paper and every gallon of fuel to transport it, we substitute mountains of electronic obsolescence each time a new reader is released.

1. I save old readers if they are functional - my goal is to have a reader every place I used to have books or magazines handy, Other people gift them or sell them.

2. A lot of electronic circuitry contains rare earth elements. It doesn't tend to just sit in a land fill, someone is looking to recycle it.

[Dulin's Books]

Borders main problem was management. But Borders and B&N (in fact most retailers) have serious problems keeping the margins high enough to pay the ridiculous rents at the Malls. The margins have been squeezed so tight by on-line retail that just a bad quarter can seriously damage those brick and mortar retailers.

[elizilla]

This morning I had an email from Borders announcing they are going completely out of business. I had heard this here, but hoped it was wrong. But hearing it from Borders makes it official. They are the local bookstore here. I have shopped there since there was only one store. B&N didn't arrive here until they were already a huge chain. Losing Borders will be another blow to the area economy.

The "going out of business sale" email seems to say it will be business as usual. 40% off "original price" as if anything sells for original price anywhere, as if that isn't what they have long been in the habit of offering in their sales. It starts today but I tell ya I'm certainly not going to brave the Art Fair crowds to get down there to their main store.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by elizilla

This morning I had an email from Borders announcing they are going completely out of business. I had heard this here, but hoped it was wrong. But hearing it from Borders makes it official. They are the local bookstore here. I have shopped there since there was only one store. B&N didn't arrive here until they were already a huge chain. Losing Borders will be another blow to the area economy.

The "going out of business sale" email seems to say it will be business as usual. 40% off "original price" as if anything sells for original price anywhere, as if that isn't what they have long been in the habit of offering in their sales. It starts today but I tell ya I'm certainly not going to brave the Art Fair crowds to get down there to their main store.

It is kind of the same thing here. For the most part, where I've always lived, we had small book stores at malls, like Waldenbooks and B Dalton, but they largely closed up 10-15 years ago, and the only bigger stores around were Borders( with B&N coming in and building nearby existing borders stores in more recent history). Where I used to live growing up, there aren't any B&N for about 15 miles, and where my parents are they have to go 25 miles. Where my apartment is, it is a fairly well populated area and it is 3 miles to the closest Borders, but 10 to the nearest B&N, and based on traffic and average speed limits, it would be roughly a half hour to drive there. Borders had more stores that serviced a far greater portion of the St Louis area than B&N.

[elizilla]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Borders had more stores that serviced a far greater portion of the St Louis area than B&N.

And the stores had more stuff in them. Well, the first B&N they built here was nicely dense for its small size, so that was OK. Then more recently they tore down my friend's house to expand into a huge storefront on the same corner, that looks like it should be five times bigger than their old store. But when you go inside, it's like one of those old western buildings with the false front - the store is much smaller than it looks, and it's echoingly empty. I think it has less variety than their previous small store. Disappointing. I prefer my bookstores nicely packed, a warren of small spaces between overflowing shelves. But even the Borders stores moved steadily away from that style. I guess other shoppers prefer nearly empty bookstores. Maybe they are inspired by the Apple stores.

[Pinecone]

I know one reason I bought at B&N more than Borders. The rewards program.

B&N picked up the very good B. Dalton reqards program when they merged/bought. Which I think came from the old Walden Books. Discounts on every purchase.

Borders had some wierd thing of having to have paper coupons (in this age) that they emailed to you (dumb). And they couldn't look up my account from my phone number, because they made a system that did not keep the area code???????

Just plain stupid.

[VydorScope]

I think in general B&M stores of all kinds are going away, Borders is just one more example. This was highlighted by the fact that I was in Borders try to buy a book not long ago and the cashier ringing up my order told me that I should put the book back and order it from their online store because it was 20% cheaper there.

There will remain some B&M stores, because people still prefer some tactile feed back in many markets, but over all I think they are fading away. I know I do at least 80% of my non-grocery shopping on one, and judging by the UPS/FEDEX trucks that make daily runs to my street alone, I am not the only one.