Posted on 07/22/2011 7:35:46 AM PDT by markomalley
I don’t see how any of the major booksellers are going to make it with digital books from Amazon and the like taking over. Let’s hope they can adapt, I like to spend time in my local Barnes and Noble browsing books and magazines with after I get a hot cup of their coffee.
I order a book for the kindle app on my ipad, I have the book in five minutes for half the price of going to a regular bookstore, parking, waiting in line, etc. And when I take a trip, I can bring 100 books on my kindle. And if I don’t like what I’m reading or want a new book, it takes 20 seconds to get a new book.
Not only that, but there are millions of free, out-of-copywrite books available online. I have a Sony PocketReader and fill up about monthly.
I guess my Literati is totally worthless now, not that it was that great anyway.
I buy hardback books, mostly (used - Amazon). The printed screen isn’t the same experience.
That said, I can see other folks opinions of a book at Amazon, and if I buy it new, it arrives in 2 days. Why would I go to Borders?
books?
The Borders in my town liquidated earlier this year. Shuttered now.
I think B&N may have a chance because Borders is going under due not only to the advent of the e-book but a slew of terrible business decisions over the last decade...from distribution to inhouse coffee to online strategy to e-book readers and a variety of other problems. B&N has done well putting starbucks in house, the Nook, their online site etc. They still have challenges, for certain, and they will need to make smart decisions to leverage their bricks & mortar correctly in concert with their Nook and web orders. Most likely their biggest challenge is balancing the high cost of real estate and staffing with the additional revenues gained from the stores vs online-only.
IMHO someone with deep enough pockets could buy and turn Borders around immediately, simply by putting a cash register between the books, and the reading chairs / coffee shop counters.
They made the fatal design flaw of making themselves a library, rather than a book store.
Keep the reading chairs. Keep all the current features and offerings. The same everything. But put a cash register BETWEEN the books and the reading chairs.
Couldn’t be simpler.
When we said “close the borders” this isn’t what we meant.
Or better yet:
Since it has always seemed to this poster, Borders’ intent was to recreate the “old dusty eclectic liberal bookstore” atmosphere — just with less dust and new books — perhaps a re-launch by some enterprising takeover artist could create a central new book vault - maybe 75% of the store area, around which is built a used book store with the coffee counters, reading chairs and music.
Keep the new books new, inside a central inventory, which has a dedicated cash register counter. Want a book? Buy it.
Want to read it? Then after it’s paid for, go on to the leisurely old bookstore area and have a seat, surrounded by an old dusty liberal bookstore.
Heck, maybe even browse some old used books while you’re there.
This way at least, when you go to buy a new book - it’s new.
Not all dog eared from people having read it before you buy it as “new”.
So many possibilities.
Maybe a conservative should buy it, just to show how it’s done. Wish I could afford to - I would in a minute.
There were some years there when I would browse the computer section and buy very expensive books. A lot of them. Then half.com happened, and the selection at the stores dwindled to nothing.
“bye”.
I have never had a bad experience with Amazon and my Kindle is my friend. Still, as bookstores fade away, I will miss them.
Borders contracted out its e-reader service to Kobo, a company that's doing fine. You might have to update the firmware to erase the Borders references.
Trendy Borders lost my business back in the 90’s..I walked into the Quarry location in San Antonio and saw all these “yellow pages” phone directories stacked up in the front windows.
When I saw the books were the San Antonio Gay and Lesbian Yellow Pages, I did a U turn..bye, bye Borders. RIP.
“Why would I go to Borders?”
To watch all the old hippies reading books that they’ll never buy while they socialize in a pleasant, free atmoshpere, but never buy anything?
I don’t see how any of the major booksellers are going to make it with digital books from Amazon and the like taking over. Let’s hope they can adapt, I like to spend time in my local Barnes and Noble browsing books and magazines with after I get a hot cup of their coffee.
I agree. I know it is “old fashioned” to want to go to a book store like Barnes and Noble, but I still very much enjoy the experience. I was actually saddened to hear about Borders and I go there VERY rarely.
I'm only 27 and like you said, the printed screen isn't the same experience. So who's buying and actually using all those e-readers. Honestly, this pace of technological change is surprising. If you asked me two or three years ago, I would had thought that Borders and the like would have been able to survive for at least another decade. Maybe two.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.