Briefly: "Where Will Borders’ Books and Customers Go?"

[elemenoP]

Our local B&N has been devoting more space to toys (and you have to walk through the toy section to get to the kids book section) and I say, if it keeps B&N in business, bring on the toys! I even bought over $100 in toys there before Christmas. The kids book section at our B&N is used as a free indoor playspace (where reading is the way you play). When my daughter was younger she would spend hours and hours there with her babysitter every week. It would really be a detriment to the community if it were to close. So I'm happy to spend some money there, whether it's for books or other things. And my daughter is happy to pick our her own books, the experience of shopping online is not the same.

eP

[TechnoCat]

Originally Posted by charmian

I didn't think Borders's prices were high if you take into account the discount coupons they were always offering. They would often have 20-30% off coupons, and sometimes even 40-50% ones.

I don't. I don't have time or inclination to track down coupons. I also don't consider "membership" prices at grocery stores; any store that charges me 40% more to retain my privacy loses my business.

[cHex]

Half the time I went to Borders for the coffee, and to read a magazine or book for free. Other times I went to browse titles and look for a new author or series to get into. They also had a decent selection of music CD's. I'd go to Borders sometimes intending to purchase a book. Borders' "Look Inside!" feature was much more robust than Amazon's.

It seems to me there will be a place for bookstores for several years yet. First, there's the value-added: people go to buy coffee, let their kids play with other kids, meet an author and get a book signed, etc.--make money off them while they're there. Second, there are products (like music CD's) that convey more "digital rights" than the downloaded version (I can put songs from my CD on several MP3 players, upload them to the Cloud, etc.). Third, there are books I wouldn't want to rely on an e-Ink reader for: SAT Study Guides, Loeb Classics, Bibles, Catalogs, coffee-table books, art books, and the like. Fourth, sometimes premium one-day shipping just isn't fast enough. And finally, there are all those things in the checkout line to tempt one.

Just make sure you have a good business model and there should be money to be made in bookstores yet.

[dbeman]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i would have bet my arm that b&n would have disappeared before borders. imo b&n has always stunk and was the last resort book store.

Ten or fifteen years ago I would have agreed with this statement; but in the New England area Borders Stores started a steady and rapid decline both in selection, price and customer service about half way through the last decade that they were never able to recover from.

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i went to amazon. its kind of refreshing not being "told" what to read by both advertising and what the store decides to stock.

Amazon frequently works some funky mojo by prioritizing what comes up when you search for items; so don't pretend that you're not being marketed to!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by cHex

Just make sure you have a good business model and there should be money to be made in bookstores yet.

Oh, no question.
The problem is that all the evidence is indicating that giant warehouse stores *isn't* the right business model.

My own take is that the viable model is the old B.Dalton "small-everywhere" model, enhanced with ship-to-store and regional POD, and is more likely to provide the sales-per-floor space ratio needed to survive in an age of declining print sales.

To an extent B&N using its floor space for non p-book products is a variation of that model. And, as I pointed out above, if B&N in fact ends up doing a 50% floorspace reduction across the board, that would be the equivalent (from the publishers' point of view) of closing half their stores. Some of that floorspace reduction will be made up for by stocking less copies of individual titles but that has its limits and inevitably it will result in smaller B&M catalogs.

Less titles will be stocked and/or new release titles will be featured for shorter periods. Any way you slice it, it adds up to smaller B&M sales volume and more incentives for consumers to shop online and/or migrate to ebooks where practical.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Oh, no question.
The problem is that all the evidence is indicating that giant warehouse stores *isn't* the right business model.

My own take is that the viable model is the old B.Dalton "small-everywhere" model, enhanced with ship-to-store and regional POD, and is more likely to provide the sales-per-floor space ratio needed to survive in an age of declining print sales.

To an extent B&N using its floor space for non p-book products is a variation of that model. And, as I pointed out above, if B&N in fact ends up doing a 50% floorspace reduction across the board, that would be the equivalent (from the publishers' point of view) of closing half their stores. Some of that floorspace reduction will be made up for by stocking less copies of individual titles but that has its limits and inevitably it will result in smaller B&M catalogs.

Less titles will be stocked and/or new release titles will be featured for shorter periods. Any way you slice it, it adds up to smaller B&M sales volume and more incentives for consumers to shop online and/or migrate to ebooks where practical.

I always browsed Dalton's at the Mall when it was there and picked up some things from time to time. It is gone now. That Mall now has a BAM which like some have described is like a Toys-r-Us and a coffee and gift shop combined with books. The BAM was moved from another place where I used to go and buy magazines that were hard to find, but now it has lost a third of its magazine section. I have never bought anything at the new BAM.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I used to go to Borders every Friday afternoon. I would enjoy a nice coffee (SBC beats Starbucks anyday IMHO!) and buy several magazines. I was never able to resist the temptation of the 4 for 3 tables which had great selections. One of the things I liked about Borders was that they had a computer where you could look up any item, and it would tell you what shelf to go to. I was very sad when my local Borders closed last February.

B&N is located across the street at the same intersection as the old Borders. Do I go there now? No. In fact, I decided not to renew my annual membership there. Browsing the shelves isn't like it used to be. They got rid of all of the comfy chairs spread throughout the shelves. The Starbucks is filled with people on laptops. I bought my Nook Color in Nov 2010 and have never once used the read in store feature.

I now buy the majority of my books in digital format. If I need something in paper, then I buy it at Amazon.

I hope that independent booksellers can still succeed. There are none near my house. It's B&N only now. The Half Price Books that I used to enjoy is gone too. There is no BAM near me.