If it is a matter of 10% discount to order from Amazon I’d be happy to pay the premium to walk out with the book today. But when it is a matter of 30% or more difference in price with no other added value (as is commonly the case with technical books and writing materials) the you bet your ass I’ll order it from Amazon, right from my phone. Why would I pay such a large premium for indifferent service?
Like to browse? Go to the library. It isn’t my responsibility to support a business that can’t or won’t be competitive.
Are you kidding me?!?! I don’t make a whole lot o’ money but at Christmas I like to buy gifts for people in family, you know, kind of a strange thing I like to do. Call me crazy! I don’t have a lot of money to spend so I go online to Amazon to shop because I know that I can still afford to buy something for everyone without breaking the bank.
What I don’t understand is that you seem to be angry with people because they want to save money. Maybe next year I just shouldn’t buy anyone gifts. That would be joyous! “Sorry family I didn’t get you anything for Christmas this year because I can’t afford to buy anything at Borders or Barnes and Noble and I’m just too stubborn to save money by shopping online.”
I mean are you saying that you should never comparison shop? You walk into a store, you see a sofa you like for $1,500 and you just buy it instead of going somewhere else where you could have bought the SAME sofa for $800? If so I really don’t understand that logic. You are purposely spending more than you have to? That’s completely wasteful. Are you a millionaire?
And it’s not like I’m not supporting my local Mom and Pop store by not buying a book from Borders or Barnes and Noble. These are huge box stores. I could understand if you were upset that people were shopping at box stores instead of supporting their local businesses. I see that argument.
And it’s not like I’m not buying books because I don’t shop in the physical store. It’s not like I’m saying “no I will not buy that book, instead I will buy an IPad” or some other electronic monster thing that will devour all that was once good in this world. No. I’m still purchasing books.
So…I just don’t get it.
The difference between a bookstore book and an online book is perhaps $6.00 to $10.00. That’s not comparable to the $700 difference you’ve got in this example.
No, I’m not a millionaire. In fact, I’m unemployed, but I still buy my books at the bookstore on principle. Call me stupid, call me illogical, I don’t care. The day is coming when there will be no more books printed on paper because it’s cheaper to send them electronically, and oh my god! We must save the trees! And something beautiful will be lost, but who gives a shit. It’s progress, right? Conform or get out of the fucking way!
I mean, we never thought newspapers would die out, right?
Only forty or so more years, and I’ll be dead, thank god. May I never live to see this.
I love, love, love book stores. I love used book stores more than the big chains. But books are one of those things that you can buy online cheaper and easier than at a store. Part of me thinks it’s a shame. Part of me loves ordering crap from my PC. It is what it is. Some things can’t compete with e-tail.
That sounds like my experience. I was looking for Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations for my nephew this Christmas. It wasn’t in stock at either Borders or Barnes & Noble locally (and we were prepared to pay the list price of $50 for it). So I ordered it from Amazon.com for $31.50 on December 21, opting for the free super saver shipping, and knowing that it probably wouldn’t arrive in time for Christmas. But it arrived two days later.
Five or ten years ago, this would have made me very sad. Not anymore. Borders has systematically gotten rid of nearly everything that made me shop there. Twelve years ago, going to Borders was a night in itself. They had lots of events, usually a local band or two playing on weekends. I could go to the cafe, have a soda and a bowl of their great chili, browse books and magazines, check out some classic jazz CDS, maybe even grab some obscure movie the staff had recommended. If they didn’t have an item I wanted, they could get it. If it turned out to be a lemon (which was rare), it was easy to return.
Now, the events are down to nil–if the local store has one band or author signing a month it’s a big deal. They didn’t have a charity come in to wrap Christmas presents; when I asked why, I was answered with blank looks. They don’t sell music or movies any more–with the exception of some “flavor of the month” display at the front of the store featuring something I could buy anywhere else for 75% of the price. They don’t carry the local *Reader *any more; one of their employees went so far as to tell me it went out of business, which was blatantly untrue. The cafe food is for the birds, and their days of serving soup are long gone. They don’t even serve soda anymore! They won’t order books to pick up and preview at the store–any special orders are done through a cut-rate version of Amazon. They use a personality test to determine new hires, effectively cutting the eccentric staff with good recommendations out of the picture. Their return policy has gone from refreshingly open to Draconian–not that I ever used it much, but it was nice when I didn’t have to provide a vial of blood to exchange a book. It’s damn sad, especially considering how much time I used to spend there. I used to be the Norm Peterson of Borders; now I only go if I have a gift card.
As **Gangster Octopus **pointed out, Barnes is really doing very well, and it does seem that they’ve stayed much truer to their business model–and made real efforts to ramp up customer service. As it sits, though, Borders has made it very easy to frequent our local bookstores. Borders has effectively given up.
The Borders on Michigan Avenue in Chicago is closing, but allegedly that’s because a new retailer wants the space. The Borders on State Street isn’t closing AFAIK (nor the Barnes & Noble on the south end of State). Still, North Michigan Avenue without ANY general bookstore seems wrong.
You know, there are a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market today that are just as tasty as the real thing.
Seriously? You have Powell’s City of Books, which is truly a great bookstore. Borders is half-melted vanilla ice cream in comparison.
All those decrying the demise of Borders and Barnes & Noble should consider that these “big box” stores are exactly what drove many independent bookstores staffed by experienced and literate employees out of business in the 'Nineties. So the wheel turns round.
My local Borders and the B&N have gotten rid of their big comfy chairs. So, if I do go to one of them to browse and maybe read a few pages, there is no place for me to sit!
Oh, you’re absolutely correct! I was just thinking in general terms of losing a brick and mortar store, not this specific store. I can envision a time when there won’t even be a Powell’s - or any place where you can leisurely browse for hours through the stacks.
I saw this thread after I got home from work and immediately grabbed my $100 gift certificate and headed for Borders. Everything seemed normal, they were fairly busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Was a little surprised they didn’t have a wilderness first aid manual in the place. Managed to spend nearly the whole thing, though.
To clarify a minor point, when I said “swallowed” I did not in any sense mean “purchased” because, you’re right, no one’s going to buy Border’s. I meant Amazon would swallow them by taking away their customers and market share, which they are doing for reasons already illustrated upthread.
I, too, love bookstores. In fact, after finding the book I wanted on Amazon, I physically went to Borders with the intent of buying it there. However, the price at Borders was double what it was at Amazon. There’s no way I can spend $25 per purchase to subsidize Borders.
ETA: Oh, I also saw this:
At least in my real-world example, I’m talking about at $25 difference. In most situations where we’re talking about a, say, less than 20% difference in price, I’d be apt to pay the ‘local’ markup and walk out with the book. Much beyond that and you’ve lost me.
And, I agree completely with Stusblues’ observations. The Borders here in town has the worst inventory of a large book store I’ve ever seen, but it didn’t used to be that way. A few years ago they did a re-model of the interior, and devoted massive amounts of floor space to little gifts and non-book/media related products, while shrinking a number of genres’ shelf-space. They have the smallest Sci-fi section I’ve ever seen, which is sad in a place as big as it is. Barnes and Noble is a much more satisfying store.
