Borders and Bookstores

With the news that Borders filed for bankruptcy, I started thinking about the Borders that I went to when I was younger, back when a giant huge bookstore was a luxury I’d never experienced. There were fireplaces! And big huge chairs! And more books than I’d ever seen in my life, and the employees were friendly as opposed to condescending like the people in the local bookstore near my house who never had any good chapter books for kids.

Colleen Lindsay was saying that if the local Borders near her brother’s home closes, there won’t be a bookstore for 35 miles. As part of their bankruptcy, Borders will likely close 200 stores, which means a lot of people will lose their bookstore.

UPDATE: This is a link to a PDF of all the Borders stores scheduled to close.

Meanwhile, last Sunday, my husband wanted to take our younger son to the library, only to find that due to budget cuts it was closed – despite the website listing it as open that day. So, since my younger son is 3 and he wanted BOOKS PLEASE DADDY, they went to Barnes and Noble. It was a horrible shopping trip because the books were a marginal focus, since the minute you step in the door it was TOYS TOYS TOYS. Hubby said he wouldn’t take the kids back there again because it was so unpleasant, and books were not the focus. Toys and games and gifts were.

The floorplan of big bookstores is changing to include things other than books. Yesterday, at Tools of Change (larger entry about the conference coming, yes, with drinking game since I’m sure many people need it), the Indie bookseller panel was asked about what will happen when Borders goes bankrupt or closes some if not all of their stores.

Their answer was, it will leave a hole, and a smart bookseller can help fill it, through doing what those indie booksellers already do: building communities locally and online, and offering something unique that’s more than just selling books. Now, these indies, Greenlight Books and WORDBrooklyn, are among my favorites because they are familiar and curious about romance fiction (as opposed to some Indie folks who look at the genre and at romance readers as if we carry some papercut-inducing disease, as I’ve heard from some readers).

But there is room for the hole left by Borders to be filled, as they put it.

So let me ask you, as a reader: where is your nearest bookstore? Do you shop there? Do you have a Borders near you, and do you shop there? If your store closes, does it affect you? And what could a physical bookstore do to lure you as a customer now?

And to Borders employees who face job loss: I’m so sorry this is happening.

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  1. Castiron says:

    Both the Borders in my area are closing.  I’m very sorry for the employees and for the bookbuyers who lived near those stores.  We’ve still got an excellent large indie, a couple B&Ns;, four Half Price Books, a library system that’s hanging in there, and a smattering of specialty bookstores, however, so there’s still plenty of places to go if you want to browse books in person.

    I’m trying to remember, though, when I was last in a bookstore.  It might have been one of those Borders, last August, because we had to cut through it to get from the parking lot to the Apple store, so of course we might as well look around and buy a couple books.  Since then—haven’t been in one, not even that great indie.  They’re all far enough away from my house and from my workplace that I have to make an intentional trip there, and usually I don’t have a big enough block of time to do that.

    (What makes this particularly sad is that I work for a publisher….)

  2. Overquoted says:

    The closest stores to me are a used bookstore that has been in Mesquite, TX for as long as I can remember and a relatively new Borders, which is closing. I shop there sometimes, and it’s the store I came across Margaret Ronald’s urban fantasy books. I rely heavily on Amazon for recommendations, especially UF which is often mixed in with PNR, but there are gaps in the recommendation system. Now I don’t know where to go to fill those gaps, as the other store I went to maybe twice a year is also a closing Borders. Just a few weeks ago, the Blockbuster near my house closed down.

    But the truth is, this is the result of buying online (often at cheaper prices), and renting through Netflix, VOD and Redbox. Amazon does get quite a bit of my book money, even though I tried to funnel some of it to Borders. If I hadn’t gotten a free student Prime account, I suspect Borders would’ve gotten more. Sometimes, at 3am, I want to order a book before I change my mind…and Amazon is there. *sighs sadly* So I blame me. 🙁

  3. Hell Cat says:

    My nearest bookstore, big chain-wise are B&N and Borders. There’s two B&N, each about 10 minutes away, and a Borders about 12 minutes away. That’s traffic time, not actual time. I don’t go to them, though. Why? Because a) they’re expensive, b) usually limited in what’s stocked, and c) around heavily densed traffic. I live in the Atlanta suburbs. I don’t want to deal with traffic when I’m going to relax, which is what a bookstore is for me. Unlike others, I don’t mind the cafe feel. There are times when a coffee or pastry is welcome, namely when I’m going into low-sugar and I need to get a book with big print to read while I’m readjusting. (If I take the focus off myself, I seem to recover since I’m not as stressed.) Even if I have to read with one eye open only

    I think the one thing I enjoy about Amazon is the 4-for-3 promotion. I’m not a casual reader. I read a ton of novels and it’s cheaper to get the fourth on a promo. With free shipping, it makes logical sense for me to avoid the evil traffic with a benefit. Perhaps with our paying 25/year, we could get some kind of similar promotion. I miss the stores like B. Daltons, which I grew up going up. Yes, corporation, but it always felt like the people remembered you. There’s something missing in the current system.

    Actually, it reminds me of “You’ve Got Mail” when Meg Ryan is forced to close her store. If a big corp could figure out how to make a bookstore with appeal (and I don’t mind the other merch, either, since it usually keeps crying kids quiet) but with a sense of community. Engage the customers. Do something to keep drawing them back in.

    The brilliant thing on Amazon is you have reviews, you have some kind of information on hand if you see a new book or author. Physical bookstores are missing that. Maybe have more employees versed in areas, like say, educational/study guide/reference so that when a customer (say me) says “I need help in Chemistry, where do I find the best options?” They’ll know. Because if you’re in an area full of schools and colleges, you’d expect them to at least have some kind of forum or feedback on what was more helpful. It seems to me that not everyone who works at the store knows the products – just a vague hand wave of quick show and run. For something like a book store, where you’re selling a particular product, you’d have to be have someone on staff that can answer questions.

  4. tracykitn says:

    My nearest bookstore is nearly an hour’s drive away in Savannah. There’s no Borders (although there USED to be, at one time, apparently, a Waldenbooks in one of the malls) but there are a Barnes & Noble and a Books-A-Million practically right next door to each other, and I’ve heard rumors of a bookstore of the used- and rare-books sort in the historic district (although I haven’t personally seen it.) Since I have to limit myself budget-wise, I tend to use my cell phone to take pictures on the rare occasion I’m at a place to actually buy books, then research the books online to figure out which ones I’m most likely to enjoy—and where I can buy them cheapest in order to get the most bang for my buck.

  5. Suzannah says:

    I remember when the Borders in London’s Oxford Street opened, and how huge and amazing it was.  Floors and floors of books, and even a cafe.  Other bookshops have those now, but at the time it was pretty cutting edge.  I also liked the depth of their stock – not just the latest one in a series, but all the others.  The kids’ section was also terrific, and I bought lots of gifts there.  But then Borders left the UK, as others have said above.  I work at Canary Wharf in London, where there are two smallish branches of Waterstone’s.  The one downstairs from my office has no romance section (I’m pretty sure they used to, but not any more.  However, this is a fairly male environment, so maybe they weren’t selling well).  Even the local library got rid of its romance section to another branch, but it was only category romance, which is cheap enough to buy on my Kindle, or through eHarlequin.  Plus I think I’d read everything they had in my favourite lines anyway.  Mostly I get books from the library, but if I buy anything it’s usually from amazon, either in hard copy (rarely) or Kindle.  I do use Waterstone’s for gifts, though, as I never trust amazon not to send something with a ding in the cover, and picking out my own copy means I can get a perfect one.  Amazon’s prices are inevitably lower, although Waterstone’s has a number of “3 for 2” tables with popular things on display, and if you happen to find three things you want then it works out about the same as getting them from amazon.  But I always feel slightly railroaded into buying three things if I want something on the table.  I suppose that’s why they do it 😉

  6. ttownjane says:

    It’s so sad that all these people are going to loose their jobs.  But anything in print is an endangered species these days.  Books, newspapers, magazines…publishing as we knew it will never be the same.

    That being said, I support independent bookstores like Posman’s Grand Central location, a wonderful indie with a fabulous, knowledgable and helpful staff …especially in the romance section where i spend a GREAT deal of time.

  7. Kathleen O'Reilly says:

    All this talk about the biological fluids and/or pests attached to the comfy-chairs are totally ruining my bookstore ideals.  Next thing you know, we’ll be discussing bodily fluids in books, on books, over books..  AGHHHHH!!!! 

    Reality?  I write fiction!  Fiction, I say.  Reality? What is this reality you speak of????

  8. Tracy says:

    I guess I haven’t learned to hate our Barnes and Nobles yet.  It’s only about 5 miles from here, and I don’t mind the people who work there—very personable.  I still purchase books for my nook and less print simply because I prefer the format.  So a trip there is mostly for browsing.  When I do buy print, it’s typically non-fiction photography books—must be in full-size color.  Even color nook wouldn’t be able to do it justice.

    However, I will say this for Barnes and Noble (and big box electronics stores for example).  If you don’t carry anything but what I can purchase at Wal-Mart, don’t expect me to buy anything.  Telling me “We can order it for you” is a huge turnoff.  I can order it for me too, and usually at a discount.

  9. thekaps says:

    The Borders near me in MA is not closing thank god.  It was my favorite store.  I also have a local bookstore in town that i also love called Willow Books.  I love to walk in to both stores to browse, its comforting to me.  They both have a nook that sells coffee and snacks.  I can browse for a long time!

  10. madam0wl says:

    My nearest bigbox bookstore is a Books-A-Million and I can’t say that I’d recommend it to anyone.  Horrible organization and locked bathroom, wtf.  There might be something in the mall There is one tiny used/trade-in bookstore in town with a huge romance section (I’ve found several B. Small’s there) but last time I went there they were saying they were having cash flow problems and changing their trade-in policies.  Hopefully they can stay open.  The nearest Borders is an hour away and it (along with 3 others in that metro area) are on the list to close.  I haven’t been there forever so it won’t effect me much.

  11. Alex Ward says:

    Borders stores, and their sister company Angus & Robertson, are closing in Australia, too. I have to say I’m a little conflicted, because I’m a fan of independent bookshops, but it doesn’t seem to bode well for smaller enterprises. I also feel a little guilty, because since joining my local library 3.5 years ago I’ve gone from buying >300 books/year (with a fair smattering of HB and small print run books) to <10 for personal use, with many of those bought online from Aus retailer fishpond.com.au, Book Depository or Amazon.

    My closest bookshop is Readings, a small chain of excellently stocked stores around Melbourne. Their staff are knowledgeable, and they run regular (not free) sessions with well known authors – thanks to Readings I’ve heard Alain de Botton and Joanna Trollope. They also run the annual Mebourne Writer’s Festival. The shops tend to be crowded and a little cramped, with nowhere to sit if you’re older than 5.

    My favourite bookshop is Reader’s Feast, in the city. They have comfy seats, a great range, very knowledgeable staff, and only book-related merchandise (eg DVD of book adaptations). They mail out a monthly newsletter of new releases and staff favourites, with reviews and an editorial. They also offer a free loyalty program, with twice-yearly vouchers of 10% of the value of what you’ve spent, and an additional reward if that was over $100 in a calendar year. Their romance section is fairly generous for a general bookshop.

    For a wider range of romance I go to Rendezvous, also in Melbourne city – they’ve got a wide range and very knowledgeable staff, but the ambience is considerably more sterile since they moved from their Collins Street site several years ago.

    What would bring me back to buying? My library has great cards by genre, with “If you like X, you’ll like…” and a list of twenty of more similar writers, many of whom I didn’t previously know.

    Between browsing and blogs I’m rarely stuck for something new to read, but haivng well informed staff makes a huge difference, particularly for reluctant readers or those less familiar than I with all things bookish. And how about more community-based activities, like book groups?

    I know it’s hypocritical, given my own shift in book buying, but I really fear the demise of bricks and mortar bookshops. And, reading other comments, dread the idea that the death of libraries some of you report could also drift south to us.

  12. Keri Ford says:

    my closest is 45 minutes, maybe. I’m not sure if they have a bookstore in the neighboring town anymore or not. haven’t been over there in years. Beyond that, there’s a B&N about 70minutes away.

    My bookstore is online.

  13. Keri Ford says:

    Or walmart. Occasionally they do manage to have the book I want…but hardly ever on release day.

  14. UAC says:

    I’m not really smart or very knowledgeable when it comes to business management and it’s been quite a few years since my high school economics class…but the situation to me is that it is the time of the end of gluttonous mega stores and a chance for the return to Mom & Pop stores.  What happened to supply and demand?  Haven’t been seeing much of this for years; instead these huge companies have been shoveling the “We know better than you what you want and need,” and these are the same companies that have been bailed out and filing for bankruptcy.  I do feel bad though for the people who face job loss.

    I agree less focus on the coffee/gift shop stuff would be good and more emphasis on books/writing/authors. 

    Maybe try something like…well my son’s Nintendo DS and his Pokemon game for example.  Often at the local gaming store he can go in to the store and wirelessly download a special shiny pokemon and now since he’s there he’s looking around at the new games and usually ends up coming home with a newly purchased one.  Why not try something similar at the bookstores? 

    Have a book signing where not only can the PB’s be bought and signed but the ereader owners could buy and dl a special signed copy of the author’s book? 

    Or a weekly/monthly “New Authors on the Scene” freebie dl event, drawing people in and exposing them to authors they might not have tried beforehand and do this for all the different genres.

    I’ve never actually been to a book signing, and I read lesser known authors more than I do the “A-Listers.” I’d be more likely to chortle with glee over getting a signed e-copy of Viola Grace, Morgan Hawke, Tymber Dalton, Selena Kitt, Theolyn Boese, Jet Mykles…than I would big name authors. 

    What about cover artists?  Do they get chances to be spotlighted in bookstore signings?  I’d be curious enough to go see them and their artwork.  How about offering for purchase special signed cover art copies for dl?  How many of us would bolt for the bookstore if we knew we’d get to meet the model for Jaci Burton’s The Perfect Play and be able to dl a signed copy for a screensaver on our ereaders, show by a raise of hands….?

  15. Elise Logan says:

    The closest bookstore to us is a B&N about 5 minutes away. There’s also a half-price bookstore about… 7 minutes or so away. The nearest independent is similarly 7 minutes away, but is solely rare books and high-brow. The nearest usable independent bookstore is… heck if I know where. Nowhere.

    Our Borders stores all closed already, the nearest one now being about 40 minutes away. It’s slated for closing, so that will leave us without a Borders in our area.

    I’d LOVE to have a good independent book store near me. Unfortunately, romance doesn’t seem to be high on the list of the independents around here. If I weren’t moving, I’d put serious thought into opening an independent book store focused on genre literature.

  16. Heidi says:

    I hate B&N and wont shop there either in person or online. Thankfully their store near me closed years ago.  I am actually sandwiched between 2 Borders stores.  Both of them fairly large.  I have always loved Borders because of the same reasons you stated.  The staff were always down to earth and were genuine readers.  The stores were always comfortable and filled with books. 

    Then something happened.  They started adding more extra’s to their stores and removing the comfy chairs.  Half of their downstairs is filled with “gift” items and not books.  There are also no chairs anymore.  They do have a coffee shop but its not the same as it once was when you could go have a sandwich and read now its more snacks and coffee.

    I don’t shop in the store as much.  And I used to be there a few times a week.  I mostly rely on Amazon, I’m a prime member and the books are cheaper than buying at the store. 

    What could they do to lure me back? Try going back to what they were.  A bookstore.  Bring back the comfy chairs, remove the music, gift and dvd section and bring in more authors and book signings.  I would pay more for the book if I got to meet the author.

  17. Miss Jane says:

    We do have a Borders here (small town in Western Washington State), and yes, I shop there. It’s a pretty good store – good book selection, and not a lot of toys and other distractions. We’re sad that it’s closing. It’s been our go-to place for birthday party gifts – good kids’ books reasonably priced, and free wrapping!

    There are two other books stores in town: a small independent and a used book store (owned by a friend of mine). I love both of them, but we’ll definitely miss Borders.

    We’re also Kindle owners, so we get a lot of books online. And frequent library patrons as well.

  18. gypsydani says:

    So sad.  Border is my favorite bookstore and is also the nearest to me.  Judging by the PDF it looks like my store will stay open so that’s a bit of a relief. I feel badly for the patrons who will be inconvenienced the employees who will lose their jobs.

    The Davis-Kidd bookstore here also closed recently.  I loved going there as much Borders.  I buy a lot of books online, but mostly used.  I always make a trip to the bookstore to buy new.  I really hope Borders rebounds because I only go to B&N if I can’t find what I want anywhere else.

  19. gypsydani says:

    My nearest bigbox bookstore is a Books-A-Million and I can’t say that I’d recommend it to anyone.  Horrible organization and locked bathroom, wtf.

    I affectionately refer to Books-A-Million as The Fustercluck.  If you ever want to not find what you’re looking for, that’s your store.

  20. Gwynnyd says:

    Is it really wrong of me?  I felt a happy glow when I heard that the liquidation sale starts Saturday at the Borders near me.  Bargains!

  21. Teresa says:

    We have a Borders, its the only bookstore in town—unless you include the UBS’.  I shop there, especially when the new books by my must read authors come out.  If it closes, I’ll either order from Amazon.com or go to the next county to their Borders.  (unless it closes).  Many of us are sorry to see Borders go, and have done our best to keep Borders going over the years.

  22. Apey says:

    The last place I lived was a teeny tiny college town with NO BOOKSTORES. NONE. In a COLLEGE town. That drove me nuts. I had to drive a couple towns over to get to the pathetic offering that is Books-a-Million (if I was desperate), even further for a B&N, and all the way to the nearest city for a (mall) Borders. It eats up gas to drive that much, lemme tell you. And so often no one had what I needed or wanted. I went from being a frequent bookstore visitor to having the store phone numbers programmed into my cell so that if I didn’t have a computer nearby I could just call and ask if it was worth my time and gas money to drive out.

    Where I am NOW, however, there’s a glut. I’ve got several B&Ns; nearby and there’s still a couple Borders here and there. And yet, no matter how often I try to buy books at any of them, it seems like every time I go in there’s nothing I want to buy. I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping a long list of books I’d like to read in my purse so that if I end up at a bookstore during the day, I have several things to look for. But time and again I end up leaving empty-handed.

    Sadly, I don’t even have the option of small, local shops since every type of business out here is a large chain so I inevitably end up buying all of my books on Amazon. I don’t mind Amazon. I certainly appreciate them for when I’m looking for obscure stuff. But sometimes I just want to go into a physical bookstore and find something I’d like to read, damnit!

  23. L says:

    I feel like online book sales are really the main factor in the downfall of brick-and-mortar sales. I can’t tell you how many times I lose sales to Amazon or even to our own company web site! People say they want a store where they can browse, but if they don’t buy the book from the store (because it’s cheaper online, which I totally get), that store ends up not restocking the item after it has been out for a certain amount of time, to make room for new releases. Stores end up putting in things like more toys & games to try to compensate. E-books, of course, just add to the problem—less store traffic.

    Totally agree with A. We’ve done this to ourselves. Even when we realized what e-tailers were doing to our beloved bookstores, we didn’t change our behaviors back to in-person shopping. As a culture, we became addicted to the lowest price possible and became very good at ignoring the hidden cost. It makes me sad, but it’s hard to be angry at any one person. I think I mostly just feel resigned. A few small independents will be able to hang on, but this is the beginning of the end for bookstores in general. And what breaks my heart the most about that is the feeling that, at 30, I am a dinosaur. I love nothing more than the hours spent in a dedicated bookstore, but I now live in a world where my love has no place anymore.

  24. Well.. don’t I feel bad. Maybe I am to blame for this, and others with similar book buying habits?

    My nearest bookstore is right here, at home! Yes, Amazon or eBook retailers are my choice for buying books these days, or the kids book club from school. I do visit Barnes and Noble from time to time, for a coffee. But 9 times out of 10, the kids never find what they are looking for—hence rarely going in to an actual book shop anymore. At least at Amazon, the chances are, they’ll have what you’re looking for.

  25. Steph says:

    I stopped shopping at Borders when they completely redid their rewards program. It used to be that a percentage of your purchase was put into your account and you had from November through January to use that amount toward purchases. Considering I would routinely have $60 – $100 accrued, it gave me an incentive to shop there vs ordering on-line from Amazon.
    Today, I shop primarily at Amazon. B&N and Borders are fairly close to my house, but I find that they don’t stock new releases of my fav authors… even those on the NY Times bestseller list, until later in the evening or the next day! (If they stock them at all.) They also don’t carry back list, so I usually have to go to Amazon for those anyway. I only know of one local indie, and they don’t have a very big selection of romance.  (And sales tax being insanely high also curbs the local purchases… 9.75%)

  26. Nicole says:

    I have a Borders near me, it’s the only chain bookstore in our area. It’s about 10 miles from my house, give or take. I rarely shop there unless I have a good coupon because they’re just too expensive compared to Amazon. I once worked for Walden Books, a division of Borders, and the whole focus at that time was on pushing the Preferred Readers club. They did away with that for a while, but now they’re back to pushing the new Borders Club membership. We were told that if we didn’t sell a certain number of memberships, we could be let go. I don’t know if that is still the practice for the new club membership, but it was very stressful.

    I’ll buy new paperbacks from Borders because the prices are similar to Amazon, but even at 40% off, I find their hardcover books to be much higher in cost than Amazon.

  27. henofthewoods says:

    My closest bookstore: B and N – closed over a year ago (there is a Trader Joe’s now). I would walk my dog over to that store most afternoons for a break from work. They gave him a treat, and I ogled the books and magazines. Sometimes I bought books, sometimes not. It was worth the $25 for the membership.
    Their rent went up 500%.
    They abandoned the space since they have other stores very close by (within 15 minutes walk).
    The Union Square Manhattan store not only puts the romances in the tiny back aisle as mentioned, they store extra folding chairs in that aisle. Also the store is full of young people trying to find a date. They clog the store on the weekends so that it is just not pleasant.
    The 5th ave location that is very old won’t allow the dog in. Never mind that all of the other locations do. I find it stuffy in there.
    Borders Penn Station will stay open. They are a complete madhouse at all times and you practically have to hit someone to get to sit while sipping a coffee. (Hockey fans hit back, be careful on game nights – they bring their take-out dinners there.) The store had a flood over the sci/fi, romance and mystery sections which caused months of unrest. I got out of the habit of going over there.
    Borders was not as good at providing me with ebooks from the time I bought my iPod, so I haven’t used them. I don’t order books online, but I buy ebooks like a fiend. I have recently special ordered two books from the Japanese bookstore near Bryant Park, they were in quickly and everyone was pleasant.
    I don’t ever buy books through amazon because I am still mad at them for what they did to mobipocket. I have recently purchased books at my grandmother’s using her wireless and my iPod so I could read them right away. No bookstore can beat that.
    There are independent bookstores around, but they are usually issue-oriented and very low on recreational reading. The rows of used bookstores are gone, there are two left in a half hour walk of my house – Strand (which I should go visit right this minute now that I think about it) and one that makes me allergic before I have been inside for 5 minutes. The dust is really bad, the books are unreadable for a day or two after being in the store.
    My library is one block away and has limited hours. But the Mid-Manhattan is available and they are open to 11 Monday through Thursday. 11 pm.
    I love going to the library that late at night. The staff gets time to actually straighten up the shelves by the end of the night, since the flow of traffic is lessened. I wish every library had late hours and a decent budget, but I do prefer having one library with late hours and the rest on limited hours instead of allocating more money to the smaller branches. Many people order books from within the system and pick them up at their local branch – similar to ordering your books through your local bookstore – but I like to read the shelves, see what was recently returned, see what the staff recommends or features. They do some ebooks, and the selection that I can actually use seems to be getting better.

    As time goes on and the industry moves toward ebooks, there will still be a time and place for browsing. My bookstores have made it unpleasant in the real world, so most of my physical browsing has to be at the library.

  28. Barry says:

    I have a Borders in the ground floor of my office building (100 Broadway, NYC). I find it pretty useless for my needs. Many of the books I want are not carried there. When they do have a book I want, the price is 40-60% higher than on Amazon (typical $27 non-bestselling hardcover runs $15 on Amazon, $25 at Borders).

    I’ve been primarily buying books from Amazon since 1997, then have switched largely to digital books (via Kindle and now iPad) for the past year or two.

    When my daughter was younger, she liked Borders (and B&N as well). Now, age 11, she goes to B&N to browse, then buys them in eBook form on the Kindle. It reminds me of when I was 20 and would go to B&N to find books I wanted, then go to the Strand (best NYC bookstore) and search for the 1/2 price reviewer copies. My 11-y-o asked me a few weeks ago “if people browse at B&N and Borders, then buy on their Kindle or iPad, how do they stay in business?” Smart girl, my daughter.

    The truth is that Borders has been asleep at the wheel, refusing to adapt during the most dynamic period in the history of book retailers. They drove the indy booksellers out of business in the 90s, then put their heads in the sand.

    I think there may be room for someone to fill a small part of that niche (especially around children’s books) but for many of us, brick & mortar bookstores add little value and are obsolete.

    BTW – I published on my blog the emailthat Borders CEO Mike Edwards should have written:
    http://www.contentmatters.info/content_matters/2011/02/a-letter-from-the-borders-ceo-truth-serum-edition.html

  29. Laura (in PA) says:

    Reading these comments, many of which mourn the lack of romance selections in their bookstore, makes me wonder why someone doesn’t jump on the idea of opening up romance oriented bookstores. We always hear that romance sells better than any other genre; romance readers are very passionate (heh) book buyers; other genre-oriented bookstores succeed (mystery, sci-fi, Christian) – am I nuts to think that if someone opened up romance-oriented bookstore(s), it would work?

    I wish I had the money to give it a try.

  30. infinitieh says:

    Thankfully, the four Borders that I frequent are still going to be open!  Yes!  I don’t have an e-reader and now that my old laptop has died, no access to my ebooks either.  I want to browse; I need to feel the books in my hands.  ebooks are fine for regular reading (to lessen the TBR piles I already have), but for keepers, I want a paper book.  Plus, my local Borders has the best cafe setup; my boyfriend loves to peruse periodicals while drinking his latte (while I go shop for books).  The local Barnes & Noble’s cafe setup isn’t that great.  Also, since my book purchases are either Romance, Sci-fi/Fantasy or Children’s, good luck trying to find all that in an indie bookstore (although I do love a couple of indies – but one is 65 miles away).  I rather not shop at Amazon for books, not when I get coupons from Borders and as a Borders Plus member, I don’t pay shipping.  I do shop at Amazon occasionally but not generally for books.

    I suppose if more bookstores close, I’ll have to get the local library to buy the (non-keeper) books I want to read…

  31. Michele says:

    Interestingly, one of the ideas from the panel on bookselling in the 21st century was suggested by the gentleman from BookTour, who challenged booksellers to identify what it is that they do in addition to selling books. What makes you special, ASIDE from “You sell books.”

    The larger book stores can do what most of the surviving independents (and libraries) do to stay in business: provide excellent customer service by employing people who actually READ! A variety of people who read a variety of genres and can give good recommendations for read-alikes and new authors and hidden treasures. All chain stores, book stores, online stores, libraries carry many of the same titles. Next to price, personalized service is the key to being competitive in the business world these days.

  32. becca says:

    don’t get cocky about stores near you staying open. Apparently there’s an additional list of 125 stores, 75 of which may close after 30 days or so. Nobody seems to know which ones are on that list, however.

  33. meoskop says:

    I can’t sign on the ‘we did this to ourselves’ bandwagon because that was EXACTLY what was wrong with Borders business model and it is EXACTLY what is wrong with Agency pricing.

    We do not owe anyone our custom. I shop many independent stores because they offer me something to offset the higher price. None of them are book stores. Borders made several bad choices that led directly to their downfall, and that is on their corporate team.

    When I had a Waldenbooks, I had personal service a fair frequent buyer program, and staff willing to hold my purchases to be certain they didn’t sell through before I came in. When they closed it and I had to shop at Borders I had no personalized service. I had no hold option. I had a punitive reward system. I did not cause them to fail, they stopped wanting my business. I got tired of driving an extra 45 minutes to find the books i wanted out of stock. I bought from Target and Amazon.

    The indies near me neither carried romance nor were willing to order it. They closed. I still spend absurd amounts of money on media. I give it to the stores that don’t make me beg for it. I don’t use B&N or BAM, if I want ratty, coffee stained material, I’ll hit a garage sale.

  34. Karin says:

    Hmm, the Daily Finance article Becca linked to @8:35 am is enlightening. I didn’t know they had stopped paying their publishers. I guess that’s why I couldn’t find the new Elizabeth Hoyt release in my local Borders. I’ve looked for it there at least 3x this month. In the meantime, my turn came up on the paperbackswap wishlist, so I guess I just saved some money. Usually I like to buy my favorite authors as soon as the book is released. I know if it’s not a keeper I can easily trade it at paperbackswap and get an older book that’s out of print or hard to find.

  35. Aimee says:

    Oh no – my Borders is the second one on the list of closing stores!

    I used to live just a few blocks from the store, and I was in there every week, buying at least one book (sometimes several).  Now, there’s nothing within walking distance, so I buy most of my books on Amazon.  We do drive to St. Vincent de Paul every few weeks, where you can get paperbacks for 65 cents, or to Half Price books (where sometimes the prices are not half!).

    What would get me into a bookstore?  Being within walking distance of my house would be enough…that, and not having mean staff.  I don’t know if I look like a criminal or what, but I am constantly being hovered over wherever I go, and this makes it difficult to browse in peace!

  36. quichepup says:

    I’m one of the unlucky Borders employees who will lose her job. I want to say it gives me warm feelings reading all the nice things y’all have said about the staff. Most of us are here because we love books.

    I just want to give a shoutout to redheadedgirl and the other Borders people past and present. Know that you did make a difference.

    And, I can tell you that the managerial missteps of the company were pretty awful- this didn’t just happen, this was a very long time in coming.  It sucks, because the people who are going to pay for this mistake- the ground level employees and the customers- aren’t the ones who made them.  We hear about the bonuses the execs get, and it’s disgusting that they’re getting a windfall while the bills aren’t getting paid.

    Most of the people making these decisions were retail people, used to merchandising purses and not book people. They didn’t understand the customer and they didn’t understand us either. Most of us have seen this coming and while we are sad we aren’t surprised.

  37. becca says:

    @quichepup: Don’t forget the grocery store people, who saw books as interchangeable as cans of soup.

  38. Lucy says:

    I haven’t been to the Borders downtown since major construction started on the roads getting there, but there wasn’t much of a reason to go before then—if you were interested in a UK author other than J.K. Rowling, you were met with blank stares—though I am sorry to see anyone losing their job.

    The last paper book I purchased was a comprehensive examination of the orchestral scores for The Lord of the Rings films, as a gift; e-books comprise the majority of my purchases, as I have serious visual limitations that adaptive software lets me ignore for a little while.

    Browsing is something I miss and long for, but I am resigned to the fact that in most cases I’m not going to be able to read anything I’ve pulled off the shelf.

  39. meganhwa says:

    it’s interesting because today Angus and Robertson/Borders announced closures in Australia too – but although some of the GFC effects and some of the managerial stuff that was having an affect on the US closure, for Australia, I believe, the biggest cause would have been the publishing laws. We have to buy australian published books that cost double the amount of overseas books and subsequently people have been buying books online overseas like from the bookdepository. Ebooks (namely because of the publishing laws and the territory thingy that makes near impossible to buy ebooks in the first place) only account for 1% of the market in Australia (SMH, 17-2-2011).

    Anyway I was wondering since I’m relatively new to ebooks (and as mentioned back in Aus its pretty limited) are there bookstores that let you buy books online through their bricks and mortar shop. Cos as I mentioned before I love browsing through bookstores but I cannot at this moment afford to buy physical books cos i don’t have the space. But if I could browse, select books take them to the counter, pay and have the ebook loaded into my account – and if the sale was somehow attributed to the book store rather than the overall “mass online” store – that may help. And you could still have the lovely sales people (preferably only the lovely sales people and not the cranky ones that look down on you) help you and make recomendations and to read the first couple of chapters etc. I dun kno – is that practical. I guess would people use it? But it would be nicer than doing what i did the other day which was browse through borders listed a few books that looked good, went home, jumped online and ordered the books. – Which i couldn’t even buy from borders because i’ve only just moved to the states and don’t have a US account yet *rolls eyes* Whereas if they had that option i could have bought the book there and paid in either cash or debit account and hopefully some of the sale would have gone back to the seller. (I dun kno anything about marketing, sales, economics – so if this sounds crazy i appologise)

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