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Originally Posted by Xanthe
Intellectually, I like the idea of the continued existence of small booksellers because they do serve a need by providing books that might not be available elsewhere and the staff can be a storehouse of knowledge. In reality, though, I never patronize them; I've only gone in them when I've been on vacation, looking for something to read.
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And that's the problem in a nutshell. We *don't* need independent bookstores. Amazon and online bookstores have taken over the 'providing niche books' niche. There isn't really a need for small stores that only sell books anymore.
I have shopped at an independent bookstore recently, and it was frankly uncomfortable. I have a much better experience shopping at B&N, where I go at least once a month. I'm not at all inclined to go back to the independent store, or to look up other independent stores in my area.
I have better experiences at gaming stores that also sell comics and books. I wonder if we won't see more stores that combine books, comics and non-electronic games in a more thorough way? Right now some stores do, but it's not well done.
Based on the people I know, fans of tabletop games are readers and like to have face-to-face discussions with people who share their hobbies. There might be some benefits to capitalizing on that combination if saving the physical store location is important. When the market changes a business needs to change.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CommonReader
BTW, it is quite simple to take swipes at any nationality. Foreign nationals may neither own a TV station nor an airline in the US. Yet that is obviously fair and just while the French are just fuddy-duddy, anti free-traders if they don't want to see all of their independent bookshops steamrolled by a US company.
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Yes, it's very easy to generalize and sling mud instead of doing something productive.