Poll: Are bookstores dissapearing?

[Saucycarpdog]

After the announcement of borders bookstore chain closing down, it got me thinking. Are bookstores becoming obsolete now with things like amazon and e-books?

The biggest and best bookstore in my town is Barnes and Noble, which I found out is currently selling itself to counter falling profits. If it ever closed down, it would be hard to find a place that has a wide variety of books. Even the libraries here aren't that big and aren't always up to date on the newest books.

What do you think?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I work in a bookstore. We're seeing profits increase steadily.

Borders et. al. collapsed because they tried to screw the market. People know they can get better deals online, so retail stores need to offer more, not less, than the 'net.

A friendly face and a good price does that. Coffee and loud music don't. Borders didn't click on that until WAY too late.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I hope I'm dead and buried long before bookstores are hard to find. We lost Borders in my town just recently, which means I have to go to Barnes and Noble now. I will always prefer holding an actual book in my head, and being able to get the book right away the day it comes out--not have to order it online and then wait a few days for it to come to my house, or pay more in order to have it 'rushed'.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I think they are in the same way that CD stores are going out. its a slow death, cause people are still stubborn to let go.

I mean, I'll be honest. I'd love an e-book, just cause I could have so many books on one machine,a nd it wouldnt take up all that much space.

But I love holdinga book more. Feeling that crisp fresh page, or that old wrinkled one thats been worn after many a good read throughs.

So I dont know. Im a barnes and noble person. I like the atmosphere, and the friendliness. I'm hoping they stick around, but I somehow doubnt it. the young will inevitably push out the old, and the customs will disappear in wake of progess.

 

[Gesepp]

I have no special affection for paper books, and downloading a new release to my iPod is cheaper than buying a hardcover copy, so I've been starting to do that more and more. However, I still get gift cards and such, so my paper collection grows as well.

 

[godfist88]

Boarders is going out of business right now, the printing industry as a whole is vanishing.

 

[Echo136]

I had never even heard of Borders until after it was announced they were closing. Ive never seen one of their stores. Coincidence?

 

[thethird0611]

To give an example apart from B&N and borders, I am a big fan of Half Price Books (cheap books and real good old ones), and every time I go into one, it seems pretty busy, even the smallest one has about 8 people in it just when I go in.

So I think the only way the book stores will go out of business is if all of them try to jack up prices and dont try to compete with online businesses.

 

[theevilgenius60]

Man, I hope not. There aren't many things i like more than a good physical copy of a book, especially one that I have had to wait for if it's in a series or by one of my favorite authors. E-books are great and all, but there's something about having the book in hand, knowing it won't run out of battery power. Plus, the way a new book smells, I just love that. I guess I'm just a bibliophile, but I prefer a good book to any form of entertainment(yes , even video games)because my imagination is much better than anything anyone has put out on TV, movies, video games or just about any medium. Books, on the other hand, let my crazed mind imagine things however I want them to be. Please , whoever hears(or, I guess reads) this out there, if it's in your power, keep the physical bookstores open. thanks

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

All in All... I dont know where I stand here

I enjoy a good book and I enjoy reading

I hate the most in these stores is the fucking taped on Starbucks

Also the reasons profits are falling (ebooks are one reason(maybe)) but the fact these people buy the $6 MapleCappaCarmelIcyJoelotte and then sit around READING the books...flipping thru I understand perhaps Xavier Authors new book is written in a new style and if you read maybe 2-5 pages


The last time I was in Barnes and Nobles I saw people sitting around in the lil chairs reading the book and sipping his overpriced coffee...

Lets not go down the road of all the weeaboos sitting in the aisles reading the entire manga

 

[Hungry Donner]

If books on demand (basically having a printing press in the back) becomes an affordable option in the near future I think book stores will continue to do very well. However this area in particular has still competition from ebooks.

I like book stores: I like to browse, and I like to be able to quickly look around and see what's available. It's also easy to return books to a physical store, although the ability to browse makes this moot - but there have been several books I've gotten in the past few years from Amazon that I didn't end up liking, an returning them is generally too expensive to be worthwhile.

I don't think book stores are likely to die, but I do think we'll see fewer of them in the coming years. As The_root_of_all_evil has already said bookstores need to do something more to attract and keep customers, those who don't won't survive, but I think the remaining will do well.

 

[badgersprite]

I work in a bookstore. We're seeing profits increase steadily.

Borders et. al. collapsed because they tried to screw the market. People know they can get better deals online, so retail stores need to offer more, not less, than the 'net.

A friendly face and a good price does that. Coffee and loud music don't. Borders didn't click on that until WAY too late.

All of this. Borders closing down was no shock. They overpriced ridiculously, their selection was a mixed bag, and they expanded to include DVDs and music, which they really couldn't compete on.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

I honestly don't think bookstores are becoming obsolete.

I'm a huge bibliophile, with both a Kindle and a massive collection of books, and I regularly expand both collections. Borders just made some bad business decisions, thus they closed.

 

[Vakz]

Nope. I haven't read a book in a looong time that was shorter than 600 pages, and fuck no am I spending 5-6 hours a day reading at the computer.

*takes a moment to consider the time spent on the Escapist*

Well, whatever, it's still not the same as reading a proper book.

 

[Doclector]

I hope not. There's something about a physical book that is far more valuable to me than a damn e-book. Hell, they can't take every book aboard the virtual ark, which means some overlooked classics could become the preserve of museums and private collections.

It's bad enough already, what with rip-offstones (waterstones, humour fans) and wh smith holding a firm monopoly on books at the moment, and the few indie book stores left seem to have a great love of not stocking...well...anything interesting.

 

[Coffinshaker]

yeah, in my area we went from about a dozen stores to approximately 3 in the last decade. that's not very good. >(

 

[Slenn]

As long as mail can still be sent by paper, there will always be books in print as well. The convenience of having a book at hand is more reliable than an electronic library. There's no worries about batteries or power, all you need is a light source and a brain.

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

Christ, I hope not. I hate reading things on a computer monitor.

 

[Weslebear]

Still a load in my area, I don't know a single person with a Kindle or any form of eBook reader.

I cannot fathom the need to have thousands of novels with you at once, your not going to be away from somewhere with books long enough to warrant needing to read that many damn books. And nothing will ever replace the smell of the paper and that familiar feel of flicking the pages in an old dog eared favourite book.

 

[Helscreama]

I'm answering yes to the OT question that they're disappearing but no they're not obsolete.

Like everyone else it seems I love the feel of a book and being able to actually pick up up off the shelf and leaf through it, not just the first 1 or 2 chapters...