Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Just checking. 
Cause I used to be in the "slow, steady adoption" camp (mostly because of the impact of BPH obstructionism) and the economic tipping-point idea is new to me.
Now, the more I think on it, the more I think we're in for a BPH "betrayal" of print books. Too much of print book economics is tied to batch printing and returns, especially of "bestselling" hardcovers, for the business to sustain much volume erosion. The business model is unsustainable and once they realize their rearguard action (the Price-fix scheme) is not enough they're just as likely to panic and blow everything up. Just like the record companies stopped accepting returns (yes, I do remember that now), I think the BPHs are going to add insult to injury and stop taking back pbooks from B&M retailers at some point in the next couple of years.
Which now that I think of it, is another good reason for Borders and B&N to try to go private ASAP. Cause if that news hits while they're publicly traded...
I'm going to chew on this for a while. The consequences...
It's starting to look like there's a storm coming to bookselling and a lot sooner than most of us expected it. |
Good comments. I'm surprised that B&M bookstores for new books still exist. I've even seen local start-ups in the new book business. There must still be some viability in this market.
I do think that when the changes come, the incremental decline will have been behind the scenes for the most part. It will probably involve a shock to the average person, "What happened to the bookstore?"
Dean