Kinda bitter sign outside a closing Borders Store - Page 4

Worldwalker · 04-04-2011, 03:44 PM

Microcenter is a computer store. I've been shopping there since they had two locations, but I believe they're nationwide now. Good stuff, good prices, and if you can get to their physical store, their clearance sections and impulse specials are great.

Craft-store-wise, I vastly prefer A.C. Moore, Michael's, or even JoAnn's to Hobby Lobby. That place isn't open on Sundays (religious reasons), they fill up space with religious-themed stuff when it could be full of things I want to buy (selfish? of course! I'm the one doing the buying!) and their prices tend to be higher than the competition. Also, a lot more of their employees seem to be twits. So guess which is the only store less than 30 miles from here....?

wvcherrybomb · 04-04-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

what's a microcenter?

I avoid chain restaurants like the plague

Microcenter is a computer store. I had never heard of it either so I Googled it. Once I saw what it was I decided I must have one in my perfect mall.

My food court would include a smoothie shop (all natural) and a nice salad bar for those who want to eat healthier ... and yummier.

Piper_ · 04-04-2011, 03:46 PM

Add:

Blockbuster or at least Redbox
Merle Norman
Lord and Taylor
VS
Starbucks in the food court

Worldwalker · 04-04-2011, 03:48 PM

I don't shop at the places Piper lists (except for the occasional Starbucks hot chocolate) but yes, I could really do with Cherry's smoothie shop. And a Cinnabon, because I don't care what the pecan buns do to my diet, some things are just worth it (rarely, at least).

kindlekitten · 04-04-2011, 03:50 PM

hmmmm well I get to a mall about twice a year and that is usually been drug kicking and screaming. the town next to me has a newly built "towne centre", more upscale sort of deal I guess. there is no "mall" it is all outside access to the shops. my little town has a place that is laughingly called a mall that was built probably in the early 60s and cannot retain tenants worth a damn.

is this microcenter actually better prices than online?

ApK · 04-04-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garrybuck

If Borders can figure out a way to stay open, will they let me shop naked? If not, I'm staying with Amazon.

If they DO let you shop naked, then I'M staying with Amazon.

Piper_ · 04-04-2011, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I don't shop at the places Piper lists (except for the occasional Starbucks hot chocolate) but yes, I could really do with Cherry's smoothie shop. And a Cinnabon, because I don't care what the pecan buns do to my diet, some things are just worth it (rarely, at least).

If they'd fit, I'd be thrilled to throw in a Home Depot, or maybe Lowes... better?

For shopping as an amusement, I actually prefer those to the ones I listed, which are utilitarian.

fjtorres · 04-04-2011, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Major retail bookstores, of course, have gotten used to big buildings and big displays over the years... but they haven't taken advantage of the digital market to do the one thing that would've kept them on-site: Downsizing. Fewer, more clever displays, combined with the sales of digital products that take up no space, would allow the stores to shrink with the financial times but not go away. A borders could fit into a small- to medium-sized storefront, not take up a block.

If anything, the big chains have been moving in the wrong direction; they bought up the B.Dalton and Waldenbook mall store chains and shut them down to force traffic to their regional monsters. We've seen how that worked out.
Given the industry's love affair with NYT bestsellers what the chains needed to do was follow the Radio Shack/Gamestop model of small ubiquitous storefronts backed by regional warehouses and fast ship to store online ordering.
A moot point by now, though.

Worldwalker · 04-04-2011, 03:56 PM

They're fairly comparable with online prices (though it's hard to beat NewEgg) and have the advantage that you can run in there and go home with a bag of parts, and build your new computer before the FedEx man could get it to you. What they're really great for is things like cables and connectors where the shipping would murder you, especially from the places that don't combine shipping if you're getting five three-dollar parts and they all fit in one envelope. I've gotten everything from computers to canned air from them, and I love the place. Their website will give you a good idea of their prices.

Hmmm ... Trader Joe's doesn't do malls, but maybe they could go across the street, next door to Harbor Freight? I'm not sure what's worse -- the fact that the nearest Trader Joe's is over a hundred miles away, or the fact that I go there anyway. (a couple of big styrofoam coolers, the kind from Omaha Steaks, with gel ice blocks in them, will keep TJ's frozen stuff frozen long enough to get home, and a chest freezer stores it between trips).

ApK · 04-04-2011, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khalleron

Borders and B&N drove thousands of small booksellers out of business, now it's their turn.

FWIW, I think unless they put unfair pressure on vendors and suppliers or did similar anti-competitive things, it's the CUSTOMERs who drive little shops out of business, not the big chains. The big chains gave us an option, the customers chose that option.

fjtorres · 04-04-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

FWIW, I think unless they put unfair pressure on vendors and suppliers or did similar anti-competitive things, it's the CUSTOMERs who drive little shops out of business, not the big chains. The big chains gave us an option, the customers chose that option.

Volume discounts made the warehouse bookstores dominant.
Volume discounts are driving them to extinction.
What goes around...

Richard Herley · 04-04-2011, 04:09 PM

Hmm ...

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-John-66...ef=pd_sim_sg_2

ApK · 04-04-2011, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

Hmm ...

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-John-66...ef=pd_sim_sg_2

Brilliant!

Lemurion · 04-04-2011, 05:11 PM

Oddly enough, the last time I went into our local (closing) Borders - the bathrooms were still open - and they had the "last ten days" signs up.

Worldwalker · 04-04-2011, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

FWIW, I think unless they put unfair pressure on vendors and suppliers or did similar anti-competitive things...

They did.

And if you think they're bad, look up Toys-R-Us some time.

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04-04-2011, 03:44 PM	#46
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	Microcenter is a computer store. I've been shopping there since they had two locations, but I believe they're nationwide now. Good stuff, good prices, and if you can get to their physical store, their clearance sections and impulse specials are great. Craft-store-wise, I vastly prefer A.C. Moore, Michael's, or even JoAnn's to Hobby Lobby. That place isn't open on Sundays (religious reasons), they fill up space with religious-themed stuff when it could be full of things I want to buy (selfish? of course! I'm the one doing the buying!) and their prices tend to be higher than the competition. Also, a lot more of their employees seem to be twits. So guess which is the only store less than 30 miles from here....?

04-04-2011, 03:46 PM	#48
Piper_ ~~~~~ Posts: 761 Karma: 1278391 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle 3, Sony 350	Add: Blockbuster or at least Redbox Merle Norman Lord and Taylor VS Starbucks in the food court

04-04-2011, 03:48 PM	#49
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I don't shop at the places Piper lists (except for the occasional Starbucks hot chocolate) but yes, I could really do with Cherry's smoothie shop. And a Cinnabon, because I don't care what the pecan buns do to my diet, some things are just worth it (rarely, at least).

04-04-2011, 03:50 PM	#50
kindlekitten Professional Adventuress Posts: 13,368 Karma: 50260224 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Olympic Peninsula on the OTHER Washington! (the big green clean one on the west coast!) Device: Kindle, the original! Times Two! and gifting an International Kindle	hmmmm well I get to a mall about twice a year and that is usually been drug kicking and screaming. the town next to me has a newly built "towne centre", more upscale sort of deal I guess. there is no "mall" it is all outside access to the shops. my little town has a place that is laughingly called a mall that was built probably in the early 60s and cannot retain tenants worth a damn. is this microcenter actually better prices than online?

04-04-2011, 03:56 PM	#54
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	They're fairly comparable with online prices (though it's hard to beat NewEgg) and have the advantage that you can run in there and go home with a bag of parts, and build your new computer before the FedEx man could get it to you. What they're really great for is things like cables and connectors where the shipping would murder you, especially from the places that don't combine shipping if you're getting five three-dollar parts and they all fit in one envelope. I've gotten everything from computers to canned air from them, and I love the place. Their website will give you a good idea of their prices. Hmmm ... Trader Joe's doesn't do malls, but maybe they could go across the street, next door to Harbor Freight? I'm not sure what's worse -- the fact that the nearest Trader Joe's is over a hundred miles away, or the fact that I go there anyway. (a couple of big styrofoam coolers, the kind from Omaha Steaks, with gel ice blocks in them, will keep TJ's frozen stuff frozen long enough to get home, and a chest freezer stores it between trips).

04-04-2011, 04:09 PM	#57
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Hmm ... http://www.amazon.com/Travel-John-66...ef=pd_sim_sg_2

04-04-2011, 05:11 PM	#59
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	Oddly enough, the last time I went into our local (closing) Borders - the bathrooms were still open - and they had the "last ten days" signs up.