Quote:
Originally Posted by rcentros
I lived in several cities and towns growing up. Almost all of them had healthy, local bookstores which competed fine with the mall stores, PickWick, B. Dalton's, Waldenbooks, etc. When B&N came to town, they almost all went out of business within a year or two -- as did the smaller mall bookstores. So it really doesn't matter to me if B&N was particularly "predatory" or not, the end result is that they ran out the smaller bookstores. Hence, I don't feel that sorry for them if they refuse to compete with Amazon. And I don't really consider Amazon particularly "predatory" either -- they just want to sell their books.
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I'm not saying bookstores didn't close in the wake of B&N's spread across the national marketplace with their superstores.
I'm simply saying that it was a confluence of market forces that caused it. I have never seen proof that there was a particular plan on B&N's part to run other booksellers, either in general or in specific, out of business.
B&N, at least back in the 90s when they made the nationwide leap, offered some things that consumers wanted:
- A larger selection than most markets had seen before
- Better pricing on bestsellers
- Generally, stores that were well-staffed with knowledgeable and helpful booksellers
B&N has pretty much moved away from 2/3 of this and only maintains what discounting it does to stay competitive with the internet.
The end result, as you say, is fewer bookstores overall. But this was really the result of market and consumer choices.
Many indys adapted and continue to thrive.
Some got caught out for the mediocre business operators they were. I've encountered too many bookstore owners/shops who:
- Confused their personal and business finances and got in deep trouble.
- Had other "habits" that put their finances in trouble.
- Were unhelpful or downright rude to customers.
- Were horribly maintained/stocked/organized/merchandised.
- Treated their employees terribly.
- Refused to carry anything they "didn't like".
- Bad mouthed (using quite colorful language) their competitors large & small in front of and to customers.
I've also seen quite talented and worthy bookstore owners adapt to the times and marketplace.
Heck, Dawn Treader books in Ann Arbor
http://www.dawntreaderbooks.com/index.html is on the same block as the main Borders used to be. They competed with and outlasted that giant who, along with B&N, was often blamed for running small bookstores out of business.
The mega retailers and the internet changed the bookselling marketplace, no doubt. And the results have not always been good, especially if you liked things the way they were. But times change. Retailers either adapt or eventually fail.
B&N itself is suffering from this fact, as the heyday of the big box mall retailer is seeing its sunset with the rise of the internet. So, while I don't feel sorry for them, I don't think it's accurate to say they ran others out and are getting their comeuppance now.
What I miss more is a plethora of good
used bookstores. Too many have gone out of business or closed up their storefronts and gone internet-only. The interwebs make it pretty easy to find whatever out-of-print or used book you want, and pretty cheaply unless it's a really rare collectible. But the thrill of trolling several used bookstores, hunting down what you are looking for has mostly gone away.