Borders in USA to close

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I'm conflicted about this. I think it sucks for those directly affected by it (namely the people who work IN the stores, not the cushy folks that just sit in an office and count their money).

You don't seriously believe that everybody that works in an office has a cushy over paid job, do you?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

You don't seriously believe that everybody that works in an office has a cushy over paid job, do you?

If they are, I've been suckered by the office I work in. I demand more cushy and more money!

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

If they are, I've been suckered by the office I work in. I demand more cushy and more money!

. Exactly what I was thinking!

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Wow! You must live a long way from civilization.

Here in the Seattle Metro area, we have 7 Borders and 14 B&Ns; plus numerous independents.

Wow. I checked online and there are only 8 Borders in the entire state I live in.

There are 25 B&N and 2 BAM concentrated in 2 areas. Half the state has nothing.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Wow. I checked online and there are only 8 Borders in the entire state I live in.

There are 25 B&N and 2 BAM concentrated in 2 areas. Half the state has nothing.

Maybe that relates directly to the chain not making a profit for years.

Oversaturation in some areas while others are unserved is not the best business model. On the other hand, it fits perfectly with some of their other corporate decisions.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Well,

I guess I consider my self lucky then. I'm in Houston. I have a B&N as close as 5 min from home. Other one (my favorite one) 20 min driving. And the other one is like about 30 min from home.

The one that is about 20 min from home is my favorite one. Lot of couches ... and great selection of computer books that I can read for free, during hours, before hitting the button and buy from my Kindle, of course ...

Glad that works for you. Of course if everyone did it, there would go those couches and the ability to read for free. Me, any time I go into a store it's with the idea that I can be sold. Great service, great selection, something I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't seen it in the store--then they've earned my business.

It's not that other people don't know they can, it's that they feel when the store has provided value, then they owe the store something. And yes, I know that B&N's business model has to take into account the freeloaders. Let's hope that enough feel obligated that they can continue to provide the ambience that's so appealing to you.

Originally Posted by Fbone

Wow. I checked online and there are only 8 Borders in the entire state I live in.

There are 25 B&N and 2 BAM concentrated in 2 areas. Half the state has nothing.

But then's there Monroe Township, and all those B&N warehouses and idling trucks, sending stuff all over! It's like the cobbler's children having no shoes.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Wow. I checked online and there are only 8 Borders in the entire state I live in.

...

Yeah, but that's NEW JERSEY!

[NVash]

They were seriously overpriced and they NEVER had anything in stock. They wont be missed.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by issybird

Glad that works for you. Of course if everyone did it, there would go those couches and the ability to read for free. Me, any time I go into a store it's with the idea that I can be sold. Great service, great selection, something I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't seen it in the store--then they've earned my business.
...

And that's exactly why Amazon works even better for me, I can read samples to see if I like the book and get a plethora of opinions/reviews to even better help me decide. The selection can't be beat, nor can my own couch!

And all I have to do is click one button and it's on my Kindle. What could be better?

(of course most of the same is true of B&N online)

[xg4bx]

i would have loved to continue supporting borders but like an earlier poster, i could literally never find anything i was looking for. its not like i was looking for obscure titles, even your standard mmpb became "unavailable. order it".

[petrucci]

Originally Posted by porkupan

Yes, they did hurt some local book retailers, though in the long run, I think, they helped a lot more than they hurt.

How did they help other local book retailers?

Originally Posted by porkupan

... And I doubt the majority of book buying public was seriously upset about the demise of "mom and pop" bookshops replaced by spacious deep catalog superstores-cafes.

This may be true, but the book buying public should have been upset. The mom and pop stores were run by people who lived for books. They could offer advice for a good read, and their stock reflected their knowledge. Moreover, many mom and pop shops specialised and had a larger selection of books in their genre than the big stores. It is my opinion that most people chose the big chains because they sold books for less than the mom and pop shops. Such choices have caused the rise of Wal Mart and Amazon.

Originally Posted by porkupan

There had been no bookstores in most suburban communities before the big chains. Nobody was hurt by them coming into these communities, into the malls and shopping centers.

In my area, this was not true. There were bookstores in most of my local suburban communities before the big chains moved in.

Originally Posted by porkupan

The question is, when five years from now Amazon finally succeeds in killing off the last standing competitor, what will replace the bookstore? Libraries? In today's culture of incessant "wasteful spending" cuts that's unlikely. Starbucks? Walmarts? What?

It is quite possible that it will not be replaced. Most record stores were put out of business by the digital music revolution. No new locals for music have sprung up since their demise. Space is simply too expensive.

One thing that really scares me about the digital revolution is that people are not needed to conduct business. One electronic book can be sold to millions of people with no human involvement. This will clearly change the face of the economy. Another fear that I have is that electronic commerce has the potential to siphon money out of local communities. The money from my e-book purchase would go to Amazon and the author rather than through a local store.

[DiapDealer]

One thing that really scares me about the digital revolution is that people are not needed to conduct business. One electronic book can be sold to millions of people with no human involvement.

The server that the ebook resides on does not set up, maintain, and upgrade itself. The code written to provide the "storefront" functionality does not write itself (or upgrade and improve itself). Nor does the carpet in the room where the physical hardware resides sweep itself. The "digital revolution" may alter, re-prioritize, and/or relocate its "Human Resources", but it doesn't eliminate them.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

The server that the ebook resides on does not set up, maintain, and upgrade itself. The code written to provide the "storefront" functionality does not write itself (or upgrade and improve itself). Nor does the carpet in the room where the physical hardware resides sweep itself. The "digital revolution" may alter, re-prioritize, and/or relocate its "Human Resources", but it doesn't eliminate them.

So you would prefer that those human resources be relocated to India for pennies on the dollar while Americans end up out of jobs in their own country?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

So you would prefer that those human resources be relocated to India for pennies on the dollar while Americans end up out of jobs in their own country?

How do you prevent it?

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by petrucci

It is quite possible that it will not be replaced. Most record stores were put out of business by the digital music revolution. No new locals for music have sprung up since their demise. Space is simply too expensive.

Birmingham UK either contradicts the trend or things are very different where you are... with the advent of hugely successful music D/Ling, we actually have more music stores than before... nearly all specialists, pretty much in city centre and very small but doing OK as most are seeming to stay around.. the only one, having serious problems, is the biggest, the chain HMV and they're closing stores and had to sell Waterstones (books) to reorganise...