|
I have never been a big fan of Barnes & Noble, and it started in college when I read an article that B&N owns a number of university bookstores. That right there was enough. In the article was a story, now hearsay since I cannot produce it, that B&N Uni. bookstores would brook no competition and would slash prices until it ran a rival out of business, then ramp the prices up once more.
I concur that Borders' website should state "We find that synergy is great, and coupling with Amazon lowers our overhead, our prices, and our workload. So go there." The ridiculous "re-branded" website really irks me.
So I have not been inside a B&N store since 1996. Every time I go to a Border's, I get all antsy; there's just too much, and I grow weary of not finding older titles, only the new literary hotness. Case in point: I was looking for a couple of books written by a Simpson's series writer. The one work available was out of print (I think it was five years old) and I could have it for the steal of a price $124.95.
I am sure this rant has come up before, but why is it that I can purchase a huge pile of CD's that contain audiobooks, but not a single CD with an ebook, or better yet, why is there no cute display of SD cards with various and sundry titles on them?
It seems to me that Publishing companies despise e-books and lament the day they ever allowed the format, and that large Bookstore chains share this disdain. I find it ludicrous that Border's sells the SONY Reader, but absolutely no content for it.
If Border's and B&N merge, there will be little to distinguish between the change, save that pricely may very likely increase for most of the titles available, and smaller press books may be omitted. The only way most smaller, independent bookstores can survive these day is a dedication to a particular genre or niche.
Anybody know of any really cool electronic bookstores that let you bring in coffee?
|