Border's bookstores to close for good

[Texas Star]

Just heard on the TV news that Border's is closing all of its bookstores by the end of Sept. Sad news for readers...and for authors.

T-Star

 

[sigp220.45]

I'm afraid I contributed to their demise. I haven't bought a paper book since I got my Kindle at Christmas.

 

[max]

Our local one closed earlier this year.

 

[Dennis The B]

Border's Books is a classic case...

...of a business expanding beyond the management's ability to grow, and its failure to recognize early on, the power of Amazon.com.

I live east of Ann Arbor, and the site of the original store. The concept was great. Border's was very nearly a destination. They had a huge selection of everything readable.

My wife and I could shop there for hours before making our selections.

After they were purchased by Kmart in the early 1990's, they lost their focus, and they didn't keep up with technology.

Sad, but inevitable.

 

[johngalt]

The one here closed a couple years ago. It was a big surprise - it was always busy and had a large selection. Unfortunately bookstores have been closing all over. First Borders, then Barnes & Nobles. Both B Dalton and Walden in the mall. Even the Half-price book store closed. There aren't any left near me.

There are still a few left on the more affluent side of town.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I guess I'm the only one not surprised at all by this. They charged full price for books, they were usually in some state of disarray, with utility rates doubling every five minutes the are a monster to heat/cool and keep lighted, and way too many people treat them like a lounge/library/hang out. I see all the big bookstores like these dying slow deaths. The bright side to this is Amazon and other online retailers are doing very well and the mom and pop book stores, especially the used book stores, might come back. I am lucky to have an outstanding used bookstore not too far from me and it is a gold mine for low cost books. E readers are nice, but they are still only a small group of buyers at best. I see these bookstores closing the same way I do Blockbuster closing. When the economy was a bloated fat hog of money to spend, we could afford these stores. Now that the bloated pig has burst, nobody wants to or can afford to buy the volume of books at cover price to keep these stores afloat. Factor in the increases in minimum wage standards and the government meddling in benefits and top it off with massive utility fees and you get big box stores closing up.

 

[Texas Star]

Barnes & Noble gives 30% off on bestsellers and an additional 10% off if you're among their members.

I love big bookstores, and love browsing new selections to see if I want them before I buy. I can't do that at Amazon.com and don't want to pay by credit card.

Amazon told me that they don't want checks or money orders.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

The one near me closed in December after 15 years. I spent many pleasant hours there, always found the layout and feel of the store more appealing than Barnes & Noble.

 

[LVSteve]

A sad day indeed.

 

[blujax01]

Barnes & Noble gives 30% off on bestsellers and an additional 10% off if you're among their members.

I love big bookstores, and love browsing new selections to see if I want them before I buy. I can't do that at Amazon.com and don't want to pay by credit card.

Amazon told me that they don't want checks or money orders.

The Public Library doesn't take checks either ...

Listen, there used to be a Blacksmith in every town, until Blacksmiths were no longer needed. The same for lamp oil salesmen, I imagine.
In the long run, do we need to cut down trees when E-Readers are available? I know, nostalgia dictates we need the feel and smell of a book.
Our children don't. And it is their world now after all.
The Post Office is next followed by newspapers. Get ready for it.

 

[Texas Star]

The Public Library doesn't take checks either ...

Listen, there used to be a Blacksmith in every town, until Blacksmiths were no longer needed. The same for lamp oil salesmen, I imagine.
In the long run, do we need to cut down trees when E-Readers are available? I know, nostalgia dictates we need the feel and smell of a book.
Our children don't. And it is their world now after all.
The Post Office is next followed by newspapers. Get ready for it.

I think I'm glad that I lived most of my life when I did...

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

The Public Library doesn't take checks either ...

Listen, there used to be a Blacksmith in every town, until Blacksmiths were no longer needed. The same for lamp oil salesmen, I imagine.
In the long run, do we need to cut down trees when E-Readers are available? I know, nostalgia dictates we need the feel and smell of a book.
Our children don't. And it is their world now after all.
The Post Office is next followed by newspapers. Get ready for it.

Well aren't we Mr. Cheerful this morning....Must have posted before that first cup of coffee.
Now where's my slide ruler???????

 

[NFrameFred]

I think I'm glad that I lived most of my life when I did...

Looking back and looking ahead, I can agree with that sentiment.

 

[mtgianni]

The one in Montana closed this spring. It could not compete with the other chains and local stores.

 

[GatorFarmer]

E readers need a technological support structure that doesn't exist everywhere and might be problematic even here. They are also, for the most part, not ruggedized. Drop a book down a flight of stairs and you can dust it off. Spill coffee on it and you can dry it in the sun. Shoot it and you can read around the bullet hole. You can also use one to roll cigarettes, start a fire or for ersatz toilet paper. It is the Swiss Army knife of random objects.

Electronic reading devices also put all ones eggs in one basket. Lose it, or the infrastructure to support it, and you no longer have the knowledge base in your books.

I'll keep paper books around even if I have to get a pencil and hand copy the things out.

Blacksmithing by the way has become a hot ticket occupation to learn. Most schools that teach such are full up. One nice thing about an inevitable collapse, all that was old becomes new again. (Oil lamps are also selling well and small scale farming is becoming a popular occupation.)

 

[Peter J.]

Who's buying books when they have to cancel summer vacation and are struggling just to pay the electric bill? (not me, but a lot of other people).

 

[NFrameFred]

The written word in tangible form has been a necessity since man discovered how to communicate that way, even to the point of carving it in stone. It is hubris to believe that electrons will replace that anytime in the foreseeable future.

No doubt that technology will continue to evolve, but it hasn't yet progressed to the point yet where digital archiving can be trusted to be as durable as tangible print.

As far as the book store topic, meh.

Things come and go based on the market and if you cannot continue to convince enough customers with prices or benefits they cannot readily find elsewhere, then someone else will find a way to put that money in their pocket. We get comfortable with the familiar and miss it when it's gone. But even if something like this does disappear in it's current form, if the concept and demand was valid to begin with, a better vehicle will emerge to fill the need in a free market society.

If it doesn't, then the need wasn't there to justify it's existence. Reminds me of all those hobbyists who learn how to make pottery and decide it would be so wonderful to open a shop so the world can beat a path to their door to buy all these 'treasures' that nobody wants. I've seen several and never seen one that lasted more than a few weeks/months.

On the other hand, Ray Kroc took the local burger joint concept to the stratosphere with his takeover over of the McDonalds brother's small chain of stores. Build a better mousetrap . . . (though I'll be the first to admit I don't consider McDonalds to be a better mousetrap, but you can't argue with success . . . )

 

[Armyphotog]

Yes, it is sad. They gave me one of my first signings as a writer. They also carried more "gun" and military books than any of their competitors.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

My mother is in her 70's and recently purchased a Kindle. She loves it. She has always been one to eagerly embrace the future rather than cling to the past. I think she lives a happier life for it.

Gotta go now... Mom is on video chat with her MacBook Pro.

 

[cmort666]

A real shame. After the closing of the local Booksellers chain, Borders was literally the ONLY really good bookstore in the entire Cleveland area. In terms of quality, Barnes & Noble was always a distant second. B. Dalton and Waldenbooks simply took themselves out of the equation, closing most of their local stores here and having a mediocre selection at best.

Kindles and other e-books are utterly irrelevant to me since 99% of what I'm interested in reading will probably NEVER make it to that format.