Who killed the bookstore?

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by mldavis2

For me, there are two types of books -- those that you want to keep for display in a bookshelf or coffee table, and loan to friends in exchange for their loaners; and those disposable, quick-reads for fun that you never care to read again.

I agree that books can be divided into these two categories at the broadest level. And at that same level, the former I buy in hardcover at a local bookstore, whereas the latter I buy in ebook form.

Unlike others, I am not a fan of Amazon. I used to be, many years ago, but my opinion evolved as I saw Bezos imitate Steve Jobs's attitudes. I also dislike, very much, Bezos's attitude towards collecting sales tax. He's already doing it on every agency ebook he sells, so it clearly isn't a major business disrupter. But he prefers to have every taxpayer subsidize his business rather than just the ones who buy from him. (By which I mean that the local governments have to make up for the lost revenue so they increase everyone's taxes, which means I who don't buy from Amazon, in addition to paying sales tax on my purchases also now have to pay a portion of the Amazon buyer's taxes.)

Adding even more to my distaste for Bezos is his preference to cut off affiliates rather than collect the sales tax, which hurts small and local businesses, and his stated intent to put people out of work by closing his Texas distribution center rather than collect Texas sales tax.

I find the way Bezos and Jobs do business offensive.

[AlexSno]

Originally Posted by FastPop

We will always have bookstores and libraries. It's form and format will just change.

After all all the society is evolving;why this be different ?

[jbcohen]

May years ago I took a class at the office that talked about technological shifts. The basic premise 1) was when technology shifts everyone goes back to zero; and 2) Past sucesses guaranty nothing. What has happened to borders is they failed to see technology shifting on them and got caught when technology took their customers elsewhere. The local bookstore is obsolete and will soon make way for a different store, however the bokstores that we all know and love will survive but only by adapting to the new technology that has emerged. Amazon and Netflix have been the initators of the change and other companies need to adapt such as Borders and Blockbuster. In both these cases the companis have failed to adapt and have filed for chapter 11. I also believe that that there is no need for libraries anymore, overdrive is more than capable of doing the job for less dollars then the library did (the cost is in the gas in the car, since overdrive comes to you not the other way around there is no cost in gas). These companies will adapt, as the borg would do, and will go on just in different form.

[mldavis2]

When you have to drive 150 miles round trip to a Borders or B&N, Amazon IS your friend, like it or not. Borders and B&N don't like my Kindle.

[jbcohen]

You will be one with technology, resistence is futile.

[mldavis2]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I also believe that that there is no need for libraries anymore, overdrive is more than capable of doing the job for less dollars then the library did (the cost is in the gas in the car, since overdrive comes to you not the other way around there is no cost in gas).

That makes some assumptions. First, not everyone can afford a $150 eReader, especially in rural areas where income is pathetically low. Second, eBooks cost money to buy with the exception of some old classics. Most of the books people would choose to read are not 'free' except through public libraries. Third, there are many rural communities with no viable internet connections still in the U.S. The cost of Overdrive may well increase with the shortened "lease" being pushed on libraries and lenders by publishers, making eBooks less and pBooks more attractive.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by faithbw

This has probably hurt bookstores more than anything. It's not the Kindle itself that is hurting bookstores but the fact that you can get cheaper books at places like Amazon, Half.com, etc. People just aren't getting books from bookstores. They like the experience of the bookstore but not buying books from bookstores. E-Books are just helping to speed up the process.

The internet is killing the bookstore. Physical stores have limited space, which means limited titles. OR I can go to Amazon and order absolutely anything, and usually cheaper. When bookstores started to lose money, they began subsidizing their book sales with miscellaneous junk: trinkets, dvds, cds, cups of coffee... and that may be fine for the average person, but that drove me to Amazon even more because all those other things meant even less room for books. (And why on earth did they start carrying dvds and cds when everything was going digital???)

I essentially stopped shopping locally when I could never find the book I wanted (as 'local' as B&N and Borders can be considered...). I typically only buy two types of books in paper format: crafty books (knit, crochet, etc) and cookbooks. It's much faster to get these books from my library or Amazon than to special order them from Borders or B&N.

Bookstores need to find a way to 1. carry the titles I want and 2. give me access to ebooks. I can imagine a store that has 1-2 copies of, say, one million different books. Let people browse the physical books, then let them purchase the ebook right there. Maybe it's as simple as scanning the book somewhere and telling the computer to send this book to that device. Of course, in order to make this truly effective, DRM will have to fall by the wayside at some point... otherwise bookstore survival will become all about the device rather than the book.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by queentess

The internet is killing the bookstore. Physical stores have limited space, which means limited titles. OR I can go to Amazon and order absolutely anything, and usually cheaper. When bookstores started to lose money, they began subsidizing their book sales with miscellaneous junk: trinkets, dvds, cds, cups of coffee... and that may be fine for the average person, but that drove me to Amazon even more because all those other things meant even less room for books. (And why on earth did they start carrying dvds and cds when everything was going digital???)

I essentially stopped shopping locally when I could never find the book I wanted (as 'local' as B&N and Borders can be considered...). I typically only buy two types of books in paper format: crafty books (knit, crochet, etc) and cookbooks. It's much faster to get these books from my library or Amazon than to special order them from Borders or B&N.

Bookstores need to find a way to 1. carry the titles I want and 2. give me access to ebooks. I can imagine a store that has 1-2 copies of, say, one million different books. Let people browse the physical books, then let them purchase the ebook right there. Maybe it's as simple as scanning the book somewhere and telling the computer to send this book to that device. Of course, in order to make this truly effective, DRM will have to fall by the wayside at some point... otherwise bookstore survival will become all about the device rather than the book.

Yeah. I have a used bookstore as well as a Books A Million and a Barnes & Noble within easy drive (10-20 min). For now, there are 2 Borders and a Barnes and Noble in the city as well as a couple of independent bookstores and some very cook used bookstores in the city 45 min-1 hr away. The Borders are closing, though.

There used to be an independent bookstore run by Walker Percy's wife called the Kumquat within walking distance of where I grew up. It closed many years ago. Another independent bookstore tried to open on the same block but it had no stock!

I can go into any of the big, B-name bookstores and find something. I admit to buying from Amazon sometimes, though, especially if I find a good deal on a used hardcover through them. I have a friend who lives about an hour south of Jackson, MS. There is literally nothing there. She has to drive 30 minutes just to get to a Wal-Mart. A regular Wal-Mart, mind you, not a Super, much less a bookstore. She relies on Amazon.

As to libraries being obsolete due to Overdrive, yes, as someone said, there are areas without good Internet access but, even in the areas that do, not everyone can afford a home connection, let alone a WiFi router. They could go to a McDonalds, which now offers WiFi with their device, I suppose, but they probably don't have their own computer, either, and I have to hook my Kobo up to my computer to get Overdrive books on it. A lot of people use the computer lab in my library because they don't have a computer or Internet at home. I can do everything on Overdrive and not go to the physical library if I have to, but some can't.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I can do everything on Overdrive and not go to the physical library if I have to, but some can't.

Most people can't do everything on overdrive because the collections are so small - my library has a good collection of e-books (8,000), but that's tiny compared to the over 2 million other items (the vast majority of which are books) it has. And if you are interested in non-fiction, or children's books, you are not very well served by either overdrive or e-books generally. (Not to mention the $150 price of entry; particularly expensive if you have a family with 3 kids).

[elcreative]

So anybody who can't afford a computer and/or eReader no longer deserves to be able to read... nice...

Originally Posted by jbcohen

May years ago I took a class at the office that talked about technological shifts. The basic premise 1) was when technology shifts everyone goes back to zero; and 2) Past sucesses guaranty nothing. What has happened to borders is they failed to see technology shifting on them and got caught when technology took their customers elsewhere. The local bookstore is obsolete and will soon make way for a different store, however the bokstores that we all know and love will survive but only by adapting to the new technology that has emerged. Amazon and Netflix have been the initators of the change and other companies need to adapt such as Borders and Blockbuster. In both these cases the companis have failed to adapt and have filed for chapter 11. I also believe that that there is no need for libraries anymore, overdrive is more than capable of doing the job for less dollars then the library did (the cost is in the gas in the car, since overdrive comes to you not the other way around there is no cost in gas). These companies will adapt, as the borg would do, and will go on just in different form.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Most people can't do everything on overdrive because the collections are so small - my library has a good collection of e-books (8,000), but that's tiny compared to the over 2 million other items (the vast majority of which are books) it has. And if you are interested in non-fiction, or children's books, you are not very well served by either overdrive or e-books generally. (Not to mention the $150 price of entry; particularly expensive if you have a family with 3 kids).

Oh, I know and, as I pointed out, it is more than a $150 entry, really, because you really need your own computer as well. Most computer labs in public libraries are set to delete anything you saved when they reboot and most public libraries don't want you to hook up foreign devices to their computers, with the exception of jump drives.

I'm totally on the side of libraries, physical libraries. You are right that kids books wouldn't work in eBook format. Neither would graphic novels like Sandman, Fables, or Locke & Key.

[Ravensknight]

I killed the sheriff, but I didn't shoot the bookstores
/end singing

just saying, you know?

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by queentess

The internet is killing the bookstore. Physical stores have limited space, which means limited titles. OR I can go to Amazon and order absolutely anything, and usually cheaper. When bookstores started to lose money, they began subsidizing their book sales with miscellaneous junk: trinkets, dvds, cds, cups of coffee... and that may be fine for the average person, but that drove me to Amazon even more because all those other things meant even less room for books. (And why on earth did they start carrying dvds and cds when everything was going digital???)

When they started selling coffee at the bookstores I thought they were getting ready for a time when books would be printed on demand, that book will be ready in just a few minutes, why don't you try one of our lattes? Sure, I like lattes.

But I like my ereader more than printed books now.

[Joonbug1]

Bookstores will always still be around. They may just have to restructure a bit

[L.J. Sellers]

I've always loved bookstores too, but spent more time in used-bookstores than in the big chains. I started buying books from Amazon and Powell's online store years ago though and never felt guilty. Shopping online is more environmentally friendly than driving across town. And e-readers are better yet.
L.J.