Quote:
Originally Posted by teadonkey
Our only bookstore, a Waldenbooks, is closing. They've already made the announcement.
I really dislike the prices and huge lack of diversity at our Waldenbooks, but I'll miss the browsing. I'm a big time browser. I guess I can't complain, since I hardly ever buy anything there. Even before eReader, I ordered my pbacks on Amazon for the cheaper price.
But I will definitely miss the browsing.
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This is the problem that ALL local retailers are facing in the Internet age. Local citizens use local stores like shopping catalogs -- to check things out but not to buy. In fact, this was the topic of my blog this morning,
The Demise of Borders, Blockbuster, and Choice. We consumers typically want it both ways -- the absolute cheapest price in a local brick-and-mortar store, which is a combination that can't be.
One of the things that amazes me, aside from the lamenting of the demise of local businesses, is how vociferously we Americans complain about our local tax burden and its constant rising, yet we make it a point to shop at places like Amazon that refuse to collect local taxes or to pay into the local community, which events would help lower the local tax burden.
And Amazon's power is such that Texas recently backed down in a tax dispute with Amazon, losing billions of tax dollars. The Republican governor's take on it is that it is better to close schools and cut public services than to have Amazon collect taxes.