It is a sad day

[nick__45]

I just got back from Borders Book and found out they are closing and will be out of business. It has been a landmark in this area for years, for as long as I can remember growing up 50 miles away and now living 3 miles from it. It is the lazy and greed as well as stinginess of the general public that have destroyed a great bookstore. The libraries around here are a joke and Borders Book has always been a place I go to buy books locally. Everyone I go in, all I see is a lot of people reading stuffs for free and trash what I read by messing up the pages as well as cover and leave it right where they sat like garbage.

Now there is no bookstore around to buy or checkout new reading material. It is a sad day indeed.

[LuckyRobin]

I am sorry you have a bad library and your reading options got smaller, but I'm not sure the public is the greedy one. A few years ago you could buy a large paperback for $5. Now it is around $12 for the same size paperback or even more for a best selling series. If you can even get them in paperback as so many are issued in hardback first. I just can't justify that for every book I want to read. I do agree that people shouldn't be able to paw through things in the store.

[snafu]

Computers, internet, Facebook, Twitter have changed how people get information. Kindle electronic readers [pick the brand you like] allows you to get any book you want from publishers no matter where you live. Libraries are making electronic books available so you can likely sign up at the largest city in your state. If your library is behind, perhaps it needs more funding which translates to higher taxes since they are tax supported.

The loss of this retail chain put yet another group of employees out of work.

[cschin4]

You can look at is a sad day or look at it as the natural march of progress. Things change. Businesses come and go and must change with the times or not. They need to continually find that niche. I think book stores could find ways to offer electronic media, make it a place to gather, and make money. Someone will find a concept that people like and enjoy incorporating all those things. Yes, you might not have access to the same physical volume, but there are other ways to be introduced to the written word.
And, it isn't "laziness or greed or stinginess". Nobody has an obligation to put any business on life support. A business has to offer what people want at prices people want to pay. The consumer has the right to seek the best quality, price or whatever else they want in how they want to spend their money. Borders should have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and just like Blockbuster, find new ways to capture interests. We are consuming way more media now than we ever did before so there is market aplenty for the right services and products.

[mcfroggin]

Amazon is taking over the world.

[disneysteve]

Interesting perspective. When Borders first opened and started spreading around the country, many people cried over the death of the small, independent book store that had charm and character and was now being replaced by a behemoth corporation that offered discounts that the little guy couldn't possibly compete with (have you seen 'You've Got Mail'?). Now that the first entry in that big box category is going under, folks like yourself are moaning about that. Just goes to show how things have changed.

Around here (southern NJ/Philly area), Borders just never kept up with Barnes & Noble. B&N became the dominant chain, had more locations and even run some of the major college bookstores in the area. Plus, their website is very popular and their Nook e-reader is a big seller (though not as big as Amazon's Kindle).

Speaking of Amazon, that has certainly redefined the book business. As long as you know what it is you want, you can't beat going online and ordering it and having it shipped to your door, usually at a lower price than any bricks and mortar bookstore.

All of that said, I commented a while ago about a recent trip to B&N and how much the store has changed. More and more of the floor space is now taken up by merchandise other than books - toys, calendars, stationary, etc. So even B&N, now the leading bookseller, is probably heading for extinction, or at least down-sizing, at some point. As the internet and e-books grow in popularity, the need for a physical bookstore shrinks.

[krantcents]

I agree it is sad, but for different reasons. Companies that don't adapt or change to meet new challenges end up in this kind of situation. I say this as a Borders customer who enjoyed go to the store!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I, too, thought of how the "big box" style book store was much maligned for putting local bookstores out of business. Ironic, almost.

Borders and Barnes & Noble both removed some of their sitting areas in their stores around here, so maybe there was some validity to nick_45's idea that people would just read the books there, soil them, and abandon them. Or, maybe they just wanted the extra space to sell craft kits, display $80 marble bookends, gold embossed leather executive desk sets, Madeline puppets, American Girl dolls, and 3-D glow in the dark ceiling hung cardboards solar system models. (Actually I like all that stuff! )

When my child was young, we regularly met a group at one of these stores because they had tables and chairs where all could sit to discuss the books they'd just read. Then the kids would go browse and find enough copies of the same book that they could immediately buy the book for the next discussion. Always some additional books would be bought by two or three kids. Those seating areas encouraged our business, for sure.

So nick_45, do you see a business opportunity?

[jpg7n16]

Everyone I go in, all I see is a lot of people reading stuffs for free and trash what I read by messing up the pages as well as cover and leave it right where they sat like garbage.

You realize that when you are walking around checking out books, that everyone else just sees some guy trying to read books for free, right?

Perception is not always reality.


But I would say that there are some people who truly do come in and read a book, then leave without paying for it.

I would also say that those people have been there all along. It's not that America suddenly got cheap and greedy - some people have always been cheap and greedy. There just used to be enough full-price paying customers to counteract their negative effects.

Now with Amazon, other online retailers (even Borders.com), half price books, Wal-Mart, Kindle, Nook, etc. those full-price paying customers are thinning out. And buying their books for much less elsewhere.


Or at least that's what I've been doing. I don't visit B&N as much as I used to. Buying through Amazon is cheap, and the books are the same. I like physical books more than e-reader versions. And I also like paying 30-50% less than what Border's or B&N would charge me.


Cheap and greedy people didn't kill Borders - technology did.

[disneysteve]

Cheap and greedy people didn't kill Borders - technology did.

Bingo. That's true. I'm as guilty as anyone. I don't buy a lot of books, but when I do, it is done online 99% of the time. Why? it is cheaper. Plain and simple. I can buy an identical brand new copy for 20-50% less. Or I can opt for a used copy for as much as 90% less. Why would I buy in person?

With my iPhone, I can even scan the UPC right in the store and check the price online, ordering it immediately if it is cheaper. It is pretty tough for a physical store to compete with that.

[Redraidernurse]

I only buy used books through either eBay or Abebooks. Better to recycle and cheaper.

[Frugal]

I used to work at a library, so I was never too fond of book stores. Our local one closed in about 2009-10 due to the Depression we are currently in. It is sad that Borders is closing. Unfortunately, as someone said, you can't stop what is inevitable. The internet is changing how people read, and how they pay for what they read.

[juniehyatt]

I haven't been in a book store in awhile. I check out Half Priced Books once in a great while, but with amazon.com, I can do a quick and easy search, find what I'm looking for, and other books like it..and it's at my place within 5 days with free shipping. I can't do the e-book thing, I need to actually turn the pages, and feel the weight of the book in my hand..but I order my books at least once a month through amazon.com

[disneysteve]

I've been noticing a similar trend with music retailers and how they deal with online outlets like itunes. A big example would be Best Buy. Best Buy used to have a giant music section, which has now been dropped down to just two rows in most stores. Not that Best Buy will fold like Borders, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them stop selling hard copy CD'S all together.

Best Buy just started selling musical instruments and accessories. I'm sure the shift of music purchases to digital drove part of that decision as they now have these huge stores with a vacant section. People are less likely to buy a guitar or drum set online. That's something people want to see and feel and check out in person.

[bjl584]

Barnes & Noble = Ebooks are the future and are key if we are going to survive along side Amazon.
Borders = What's an Ebook?