Borders in USA to close

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

That husband, leaving all those poor shoppers in the heat....

Also, you were close - schadenfreude.

I know, right? He's a meanie. Not the least of which because he won't let me have 5 eReaders.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Seattle, Borders opened an hour later on Sundays. In fact, quite few stores around here open later and close earlier on Sundays.

Yeah, I didn't say it was unusual. My point was that it should perhaps have been a business decision reconsidered before the company bled to death.

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Ana reflects on the irony that Borders is going out of business while people wait in the heat to buy things.

People wait in the heat to buy things from a store that is running a Going Out of Business sale. They are trying to get their 10-40% off before anyone else takes the things they want. Also, Borders is only honoring the Rewards program discount until the end of July and gift cards have a limited redemption time as well; the sooner they get in, the better selection they have for the money they have to spend.

I don't believe that opening at 11 am on Sunday contributed to the decline of Borders, especially considering that on every other day they are open a full hour earlier and close an hour later than any other store around them. Also, since most stores that are not grocery or discount department stores don't open until noon on Sunday, their Sunday hours are longer than the others too.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by sakura-panda

People wait in the heat to buy things from a store that is running a Going Out of Business sale. They are trying to get their 10-40% off before anyone else takes the things they want.

People wait in the heat to buy things that are on sale.

If only Borders had figured that out BEFORE they had to have a Going Out Of Business sale.

(I already said this, by the way. Hi. )

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

People wait in the heat to buy things that are on sale.

If only Borders had figured that out BEFORE they had to have a Going Out Of Business sale.

(I already said this, by the way. Hi. )

I'm sorry; the last few posts you seemed fixated on the hours and the people waiting to get in, rather than any other reason, so I was addressing that.

I don't know why bookstores don't have sales -- they discount best sellers, but you can buy best sellers anywhere for cheaper than at dedicated book stores -- but they never have random sales on the rest of their stock. (Sometimes they do on their clearanced books, but no random sales that would make people drop in "just to see what is on sale this week".)

That is what they really needed to do -- encourage people to drop into their store and browse even when they aren't looking for a particular item that they can call up by name on Amazon.

I don't know that Borders had anything that would bring people into the store on a whim -- I liked their children's area and would choose them over B&N because of it -- but as far as looking for an actual book, Borders was always my third place to check, after the local store and B&N. (I am not an Amazon shopper. I know it's weird to say on an ebook forum. I don't care what I use to *read* a book, but I want to hold the actual paper copy in my hand while I'm considering it.)

[anamardoll]

Eh, sorry for the snippiness. I can't expect you to memorize everything I say no matter how awesome my posts are. (sarcasm directed at myself, not you.)

Yeah, the "discounts" on hardcovers and bestsellers are pretty ridiculous seeing as how they're marked up heavily before the discount so that they can slap that 40% sticker on it. Customers aren't stupid enough to fall for that.

Browsing is so important for physical stores -- it's what separates them from Amazon since they really can't compete on price. I'm distraught to see that my favorite B&N has removed all the soft chairs from the store because people who browse for books are apparently dirty freeloaders according to store management.

Considering that I'd planned to use the soft chairs to "read in store" and buy a book a week as a weekly treat, that was a bad call on their part. Now I'm addicted to the Amazon Kindle sales and Amazon just got... carry the 2... round the .99 to a dollar... I'm not sure. I bought 40+ books in their recent sale so it's something between $40 (at a dollar each) and $160 (at four bucks each).

I'll bet B&N would have liked to have that money........

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I know, right? He's a meanie. Not the least of which because he won't let me have 5 eReaders.

I feel your pain. My husband is always complaining about my pbooks. He doesn't complain about my ebook readers, though, because I just gave him my old ebook reader and he loves it. Perhaps you can get a Kobo and 'gift' your husband an ebook reader that you don't use so much...

[queentess]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Browsing is so important for physical stores -- it's what separates them from Amazon since they really can't compete on price. I'm distraught to see that my favorite B&N has removed all the soft chairs from the store because people who browse for books are apparently dirty freeloaders according to store management.

I have several friends who go to Borders/B&N just to read store books in the chairs and get a coffee. They never actually buy books there, just coffee. It makes me very sad.

[Ditchleyportrait]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

How about the same time as the other days? That would be 9 am.

On this PARTICULAR visit to the grocery store, this happened:

1. @ 9:30. Arrive at store.
2. @ 9:35 "Oh! Borders! Honey, I want to see the Kobo!"
3. @ 9:40 Husband explains that Ana has 4 eReaders already and that the store doesn't open until 11.
4. Grocery shopping: 1 hour.
5. @10:30. "Oh! Borders! Are they open now? Honey, I want to see the Kobo!"
6. @10:35 Husband patiently explains that the groceries are melting in the 100 degree weather.
7. @10:40 Ana notices 20+ people waiting in 100 degree heat to get into Borders as Husband drives them (Ana and Husband, not the other shoppers) home. Some of the people are peering in the glass doors like hungry zombies. Ana reflects on the irony that Borders is going out of business while people wait in the heat to buy things. Ana enjoys a smug moment of schadefraude before realizing she can't spell that word. Mmmmm... cheesy bread from grocery store. Yum.

hahaha

[NVash]

Okay Ill admit, I skimmed alot of this. What does Sunday have to do with anything? You know years ago I had a huge problem with my boss over making me on work Sunday to which she told me that technically the Sabbath is on Saturday. So Im not sure whether that had anything to do with Borders or not.

I think it was their having everything in stock but what you wanted combined with ridiculous prices.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I feel your pain. My husband is always complaining about my pbooks. He doesn't complain about my ebook readers, though, because I just gave him my old ebook reader and he loves it. Perhaps you can get a Kobo and 'gift' your husband an ebook reader that you don't use so much...

I've tried that. He likes his dead tree books. Makes me sad.

[Teyrnon]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Well I agree with you on the point that if you do something (sales, hours-change, etc) and don't ADVERTISE it, then it's the same as if you didn't do it at all.

That reminds me of something a Borders store did that seemed strange. I used to drop by it sometimes on my way to work. The last time I went was on a Monday at about 9:30 in the morning. They weren't open There were several people waiting outside. I decided to wait a bit. At 10:00 someone appeared at the door and put up a sign announcing they'd changed their hours to 11:00 to 9:00 on weekdays. Never bothered going back.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Boston

That was exactly the point I was trying to make...if you enjoy spending time in a store (whether it be a chain or independent, a book store or not), you need to support it. The article I read interviewed customers in a store with high traffic...many told how they liked spending time there but never bought because they could get books cheaper on-line or read for free there. Likewise, we want to keep jobs/wages but buy where things are made cheaper.

NO arguement. If I went and browsed Borders, I bought what I found interesting from there. Same with B&N. I did not browse there and then buy online.

If you have a good store, of ANY type, if you do not buy from them, they WILL go under.

I see the same thing in thehobby world. People want a store with everyting stocked, so they can run in when they need it NOW, but then they want to make all their normal purchases online. And whine with the store closes.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

NO arguement. If I went and browsed Borders, I bought what I found interesting from there. Same with B&N. I did not browse there and then buy online.

If you have a good store, of ANY type, if you do not buy from them, they WILL go under.

I see the same thing in thehobby world. People want a store with everyting stocked, so they can run in when they need it NOW, but then they want to make all their normal purchases online. And whine with the store closes.

*coughs*

Speaking as a hobbyist, I hate ordering my materials online. Fabrics and yarns really have to be seen and felt in person.

And yet, ALL my hobby purchases are online because I HATE JOANNS AND HOBBY LOBBY WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND FIERY SUNS. Their customer service is awful, the lines are unbelievable, their promotions are sneaky and convoluted, and they treat all returns with a suspicion bordering on hostility.

At least in my area. When they close down -- and they will -- it will be a bittersweet day. I hate having to purchase my crafting materials online, but I hate dealing with the local places at my disposal even more.

[Hellmark]

I would go into borders every few weeks, and while I didn't always buy, I didnt use it as a place to browse so I could buy elsewhere. When I didn't buy, it was because they had sold out of the book I wanted.

And I am with you on the craft stuff. I prefer local stores, but certain types of goods are just hard to get anymore. I mean, I do hobbyist electronics. For many places, the only way to get components anymore is via online or Radioshack. If you've been in to radioshack in the past 15 years, you know how desperate you must be to try them (prices 2-3 times any competitor, and what few components they have are in a small shelf hidden in the back corner). I use fountain pens, and it is impossible to find anything for that in stores anymore. Good paper is hard to find in stores, and last time I saw ink, it was of the lowest grade I've ever known.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Speaking as a hobbyist, I hate ordering my materials online. Fabrics and yarns really have to be seen and felt in person.

And yet, ALL my hobby purchases are online because I HATE JOANNS AND HOBBY LOBBY WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND FIERY SUNS. Their customer service is awful, the lines are unbelievable, their promotions are sneaky and convoluted, and they treat all returns with a suspicion bordering on hostility.

A bajillion times this. I'm a craftser too (yarn is my favoritest hobby right now). I don't mind JoAnn's so much because my local one is pretty decent, but Hobby Lobby and Michael's I have issues with.

I hate hate hate buying crafting materials (especially yarn and fabric) online. The colors are never right, you don't know how it feels.