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Originally Posted by DavidI
I'd like to agree with Kali's point about the big box stores impact on the chain bookstores. Most publishers make their money on just a few massive selling titles each year and now that Walmart, et. al. are selling these for $10 or so the chains can't make the money they used to make.
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And Walmart and Target are getting squeezed by warehouse stores like CostCo and Sam's Club. Don't expect the smaller titles there: outfits like that buy in huge quantities and expect to sell in huge quantities. If they don't think a title will move in high volume, it won't get ordered.
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On the other end of the scale is the huge number of smaller titles not carried by Walmart, et. al., but that's carried by Amazon. Once again the chain bookstores can't compete on price (or selection), and thus can't make the money they used to make.
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The independent bookstore is an endangered species. The ones still extant around me all have a specialty niche focus.
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I remember when Amazon first started selling on the web, and B&N and Borders both made the decision to downplay web sales, because they didn't want to cannibalize their in store sales. When they did start selling on the web their stores complained about it too (Borders has franchises).
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And it's a problem for publishers. They are increasingly pressured to sell directly to the consumer, but have a fundamental conflict with the retailers if they do so. They want to protect their retail partners, so are treading carefully.
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Where I would disagree with Kali is that I do find the ebook phenomenon very significant. It is my understanding that many of the individuals who bought ebook readers in the last few years are the heavy readers in society. These are the very people that kept the chains in business. I was one of their big customers, and I used to visit my local Borders store (it was the closest chain) about once every week or two. Once I bought a Kindle this visit became maybe two or three times a year. If other ebook readers are like me, this is a significant blow to their bottom lines.
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It is, but it's a reason why Barnes and Noble invested in producing the nook, and Borders has a deal with Kobo. Increasingly, remaining bookstores will sell things that
aren't books.
My local Borders is a Borders Bookstore and Cafe, selling coffee, soft drinks and food. A change to make it a Borders Cafe and Bookstore would not at all surprise me. Instead of, "Cone in and buy books, and have coffee and food while you're at it", it may become "Come in and have coffee and food, and buy books while you're at it."
The biggest blow, however, hasn't been the spread of ereaders. There have simply been too many books chasing too few readers for a long time, and book sales over all are down. Ebooks are a contributing factor, and the effects will increase, but the problems affecting book retailing would still be there if ebooks didn't exist.
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Dennis