Quote:
Originally Posted by bhartman36
The problem is broader than that. Borders had a Web site. Towards the end, they had an e-reader. You could've done no-pants shopping on either one. What Borders didn't do was give anyone a reason to do either one rather than using Amazon or B&N.
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Well, yes, they had a website, but its prices were no better than Amazon's and its delivery terms were worse. And I was already an Amazon customer (I have been since Amazon started) so they had to get me to go from a business I already patronized to one I didn't. I never had any interest in the Kobo because I'd already bought a Sony 505 (at a brick-and-mortar Border's) so they weren't likely to sell me another. I don't buy DRM-locked ebooks for it, which left out most of Borders' ebook offerings.
If they'd given me a reason to drive the better part of an hour to get to their stores, I would have been a regular physical customer. They never did.
If they'd given me a reason to use their website instead of Amazon's (equal prices would have been a good start), I would have been a regular online customer. They never did.
If they'd given me a reason to replace my Sony PRS-505 Reader with a Kobo, I would at least have bought an ebook reader from them. They never did.
If they'd given me a reason to buy DRM-locked ebooks from them, I would have been a customer. They never did.
I like Borders. I don't like Borders more than I like myself, though, and they were asking me to trade things I already had and liked (my time, my money, my ebook reader, etc.) for something I didn't have and didn't like quite as much. That never works.
In business, you can be first, or you can be best. If you're neither first nor best, you're an also-ran, and you close hundreds of stores trying to stay afloat.