Quote:
Originally Posted by QuantumIguana
It wasn't Amazon that hurt the independent bookstores, they were already having difficulty competing with big box bookstores.
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I'm surprised they're not more concerned with the on-line book trading sites.
I'm sure those have put a huge dent in the new and used markets. Especially since the price for media mail (which is the sender's cost to trade) can be lower than what I've seen at the UBS.
And if you don't mind waiting, you can get in a Wishlist line for any book. The more popular it is, the longer the wishlist, but the more people who break down, buy and read it, then post to trade for a credit. Now you can order new books through their site as well.
The one site I'm on has facilitated over 13 million trades of books between people in the US since it opened.
That's got to cut into the local book business'. I know I just go online and use the trade site for a lot of my books anymore. The locals don't tend to read what I want to read, so I don't see them at the UBS much. And when I do, they're actually more expensive than what I can get by paying media mail prices or less.