Communism RUINING small business

self | 12-21-2008 | self

[jjonas]

I only discovered here last month and it's great to have a proper place for REAL conservatives to talk on the web without being infested with democRAT trolls.

I have been running a small book shop for years. This years sales have been lower than ever due to families struggling and competition from web shops like Amazon. This is a real worry. But around the corner the library is CONSTANTLY packed. There's literally QUEUES OUT OF THE DOOR! How am I supposed to compete with somewhere that basically gives new books away for FREE? They're even planning to SPEND MY MONEY expanding it! What can I do?

And having seen this happen, I worry about other industries. Imagine the government owning big parts of car companies, banks or even healthcare. How are businesses going to be able to compete in this climate when the government is GIVING IT AWAY?

I'm extremely fearful of the next 4 year that other businesses will be crushed like mine is being as MARXISM and 0bama takes over. WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO STOP THEM AND NEVER GIVE UP!!!

[firebrand]

The computer ruined the book market, even more than TV and movies, because everyone who can type, and some who can't, is writing a book and they all stink.

Even the people with the big names are churning them out too fast and giving us drivel. Copyeditors can fix errors, but they can't make good prose out of bad prose, even if they are capable of it, because the editors and authors would scream that you are changing their precious words.

God bless the good writers, but they are fewer and farther between than ever before.

Then there's the question of whether the average reader would recognize good writing if it jumped up and bit them.

[firebrand]

Postal service is in the Constitution.

[cripplecreek]

Postal service is in the Constitution.

That it is. Despite the whining about it that people do, our postal service is still the best in the world as well as the cheapest.

[mplsconservative]

Unfortunately, you will not find any sympathy among suburban residents. They think that libraries are free. They do not care about private enterprises competing against libraries.

Perhaps I'm nitpicking, but I find your slight at 'suburban residents' offensive. The suburbs and ex-urbs tend to be more conservative. We understand where our tax dollars are applied.

I lived in an urban environment for most of my adult life. The library was considered a daycare, a free flophouse escape from the cold, a place to pee and a place to surf porn. All of those fine individuals certainly understood that their (non) tax dollars were paying for the privilege better than us ignorant suburbanites.

[Mister Da]

Books & book-selling are a part of the Media industry. This industry is currently transitioning from paper/film/tape/disc delivery to Internet delivery. The cost savings & convenience of the Internet are making the retailing of all media into a dinosaur.

Witness the collapse of video & music stores. Software being purchased/installed on-line. Newspapers folding from lack of readers & advertisers.

Today, the record industry announced they were no longer going to pursue music copiers. Future Madonnas may have to give away their music.

I have 4 large bookshelves full of books, & I cherish every one. But, gently, your business is going the way of the blacksmith, & it has nothing to do with the library, which is itself doomed to extinction.

[Mr. Know It All]

Nice try, but let's be honest: Freepers don't run boutique book shops, they run boutique gun shops — although they might also sell books there.

For example, Jackson Armory where the father and son sell guns. Also, out of the same space with the gun shop, the son runs a shop that sells and restores rare books. That's a Freeper book store, son (Note: I have no clue whether the family are Freepers or even conservatives).

You liberals think you're sooooooooo smart and you can't even make up a realistic post. Lame.

[businessprofessor]

I live in a suburban area also. Perhaps I am over generalizing. In the Denver area, I think that my comments are accurate. The suburbs in Denver used to be conservative. They have swung to the left side in the last few elections. Even when they were conservative, suburbanites still liked their free libraries.

[Greysard]

everyone who can type, and some who can't, is writing a book and they all stink.

I came across a few of those in fan fiction. Most of the genre is horrible, some are OK. But I also had a few professionally written (?) books that I just couldn't read past a certain point, when the plot devolved to complete garbage. On a few occasions when I forced myself to keep reading (say, Baxter's Titan) I was usually sorry that I did.

IMO, computer is good - it gave access to free publishing to people who had no chance before. Even if 0.1% of them are talented enough to become professional writers (a sad fate, as many professional writers confess) then we, the readers, win.

With regard to the original poster and his troubles, I can only join others in advice to provide services that a) wanted and b) not provided by the library. For example, libraries are not that quick with new books, so here is one avenue. Availability of books in libraries is also poor. He could even rent new, recently printed books for a small fee and directly compete with a library; many avid readers could find this option useful - $1/wk for a paperback is absolutely nothing, but it moves goods ("another day, another dollar" as they used to say.) He could also look at Tor and see what they are doing online (I do, and they have lots of great stuff given away and other books promoted and such - they get it.)

[Knute]

I have 4 large bookshelves full of books, & I cherish every one.

At last count, we have in excess of 2 dozen bookshelves in our home. A week rarely goes by that either my wife or I find a book or three that follows us home. Good insulation on the exterior walls? We both had good sized libraries prior to getting married 35 years ago... Electronic distribution is a reality, but there is something special about holding & savoring a real live paper book

[Allegra]

You know, I had this one hair in my left eyebrow that was LONGER THAN ALL THE OTHERS. I just could not pluck that thing and it was DRIVING ME CRAZY.

Finally, last night, I tweezed that annoying hair out of my brow.

WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!!!

[Allegra]

Y’all might just want to hang around here for a bit...

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Move to Seattle and open a Marxist coffee/book/Bolshevik artifact shop. You know, right next to that statue of Lenin in the city square.

You'll pack them in and be loved by all.

[luvadavi]

Husband & I had a secondhand store in the '90s. I discovered that books amounted to at least 30% of our sales, and made a special book room. We had many repeat customers and did well. The Net was new then.

You don't say whether you deal in new books, or new + paperback, or only used books w/some paper, and many collectible books.

Do you do any buy/sell/trade on Amazon or eBay? I know a lady who had a small bookstore and was doing well but also went on Amazon. Eventually she gave up the physical stobecause I lack the inventory at present.

Can you move to a better location, away from the library? I know moving books is a nightmare, but if you think you can make it work, why not?

Books are not a thing of the past. As someone pointed out, today's publishing is garbage for the most part fiction or non-f. There are many old books people can't find in libraries--I dealt with a store that carried only history and technical books (old ones).

Good luck to you!