Poll: Are bookstores dissapearing?

[Atticus89]

Are they in the decline? I'd reckon yes.
Are they disappearing? The big places, yeah. Small local bookstores, so long as they target a niche audience, will survive as long as the niche exists.

However, I think that Barnes & Noble will still survive since it's not only got brick and mortar stores but also an e-book device and they've got a website where you can buy books that may not be in the store as well as used books through their site.

The comparison to music stores is somewhat misguided in my eyes. If you buy a CD, the first thing you'll probably do is rip the music onto your computer and put it on your mp3 player. That CD is nothing more than a back-up if you somehow lose the music. That's why music downloading is more preferable since that disc will become nothing more than a waste of space. You don't go buy a book to scan every single page into your computer and load it onto some portable device. If you buy a physical book, you intend to read it as it is.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I don't think so. Borders made some bad decisions but there are 3 book stores within about a half hour of where I am (2 Barnes and Nobel and a Books-a-Million). There is a borders nearby but that'll be gone soon enough.

I think there will always be a demand for physical books so there will always be book specific stores.

 

[Rin Little]

That's also Amazon though rather than a regular bookstore. I don't prefer to buy books off Amazon just cuz I want to make sure they're in good condition when I get them, just the whole internet risk.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

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.

It depends where you work at. Judging from what you've said, I'd take a guess and say you work at a local bookstore.

I agree with you on that. Local and independent bookstores will always say around even if Barnes and noble closes down. But, usually local bookstores, like I said in my first post, aren't always up to date on new books. Nor do they have a huge variety like the big chains.

If I'm wrong, then I guess it's just like that where I live.

 

[Jodah]

Borders just tried to appeal to the "hipster" generation. Problem is, they figured it would last longer. Instead, the tech generation came which either favors e-books or wants quite areas to read. Its a shame about Waldenbooks (one of the Borders chains) shutting down though. Those tended to be more straight forward without all the silly frills. They were a good place to go if you needed a specific book but didn't want to spend the day browsing.

Also Borders didn't have a branded e-reader to compete. Large chain bookstores pretty much need one now. Barnes and Nobles will be okay in the near future because their Nook can compete with the Kindle.

 

[ZombieDarwin]

i think major retail chains are having issues in this struggling US economy and digital age, but there's a Half Priced Books right across the street from me, still kicking i think. i'll check....yep. here's to the demand for real, cheap books.

 

[scorptatious]

The Borders in my town is still around thankfully. Although probably not for much longer.

I don't really like the idea of e-books replacing regular books. Sure they may technically be better for the environment, but it just wouldn't be the same.

 

[Polarity27]

I will miss the Boarders by my house, but the Library is just a few miles away from it. I think Boarders just played a bad hand in the markets. I will always go hardcover over digital.

Off Topic: Always support the mom and pop bookstores before going to a corprate or online bookstore. It's better for the community and makes me feel good.

The problem I've always had with the mom and pop bookstores is that they're located in places that support foot traffic but not parking. I have a disability, I can't stand and walk for a large amount of time, and the chain stores have good parking, long hours (what mom and pop bookstore is open at 10pm?), and used to have a chair you could sit in while you decided what to buy.

That, and they'd have a bunch of different subjects rather than having to go to the mystery store for mystery novels, the game store for game books, and the Pagan store for Pagan books. IDK, I think there will be more boutique bookstores coming out now that the chain stores are dying, but for me it means I'll be doing all my book-buying online. No book is worth having to park 5 blocks away or circle and circle and circle until a space actually opens up.

 

[Joel Soh]

They are. All those Borders stores around Australia closing down...

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yeah, we lost our Surrey Stationers, which was half books, half, well, you can guess.

WHSmith took over, who tend to sell the top 20 and a selection of other stuff.

I think as time goes on, most non-chain, second hand bookstores are going to hit the wall, as charity shops just do so much of the second hand book business, and online is so easy to find what you want.

I've just started to re-read a sci fi series I gave up on 10 years ago, all out of print, but I'm picking them up thru a seller on Amazon for 1p + £1.30 P&P, and they're all rated in terms of condition.

 

[omega_peaches]

To me they are, because Borders was the only one I liked.
WHERE ELSE AM I GOING TO BE A CHEAP HIPSTER AND SIT AROUND FOR 2 HOURS FREELOADING OFF OF THEIR BOOKS AND FREE CAFE SAMPLES?

 

[basedg0d_a0s]

yeah i've noticed there aren't as many bookstores compared to five years ago. more and more stuff is being done online. we do have a barnes and noble here and that is by far the biggest book store we have.

 

[DustyDrB]

I do most of my reading on my Kindle now. Barnes and Noble seems like a pretty savvy business though (Borders? Not so much). They'll adapt. I do think e-readers are the future, but bookstores will still be around.

To people who say they hate reading off of a screen: Have you ever looked at a Kindle? It looks just like a page in a book (except you can increase the text size and orientation for your convenience). And as a guy who reads on the beach a lot, I am glad to not have to fight the wind to keep my pages from flipping about.

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

Amazon is still going strong, AFAIK. Brick and mortar bookstores, or at least chains, seem to be a dying breed. (Unless we get a B&N in my town, there will be nothing within around a hundred miles except used-book and specialty shops, some of them quite poorly run. True facts.)

I blame it partly on e-books (and no, I am not that impressed with the Kindle and its ilk; keep refining that screen, quit doing stupid shit like revoking people's "content licenses," and maybe I'll change my mind), partly on the fact that people don't seem to be reading as much.

 

[targren]

Not a chance. As long as the publishing industry continues to cripple the ebook market, in what can only be either intentionally or mind-crushingly stupid, the masses won't hop on.

I love my Nook Color. What I don't love is that most of the books I want to read (which are not current bestsellers or anything like that) are either not available at all in ebook format, or, for some inexplicable reason, cost MORE than the paperback version. For something with no printing or transport costs, zero overhead, and profoundly LESS utility than the dead tree version (can't lend it to a friend, sell it to half price books or donate it to a library when I'm done, or even put it on my old Sony PRS-505 in case the NC battery dies).

I had hoped Apple would bring the same pressure on them as they did to the recording industry, and get a saner pricing model like iTunes did for music, but instead they caved and carved themselves a nice chunk of the ripoff for themselves. An iTunes for books, where you can get ebooks for $1-$2 each? I'd blow hundreds of dollars on it.

$15 for an ebook that currently costs $12 in hardcover (Mike Hammer Vol 3, last time I looked), though, ain't happening.

 

[targren]

They are. All those Borders stores around Australia closing down...

All the Borders everywhere are closing down. The company cratered.

 

[Chasing-The-Light]

I don't think bookstores are disappearing. I'm one of the many who refuse to read a book on a tablet or anything other than having it in my hand. A tablet can't immerse you in the same way. It doesn't have the same cracking sound of the spine, or the same smell. I don't think you even get the same satisfaction of finishing it with a tablet, where it just ends, as opposed to actually closing the book, being able to look at it and see the story you just read sitting right in front of you.

... On second thought, maybe I'm the only one who thinks of it that way. XD

 

[targren]

... On second thought, maybe I'm the only one who thinks of it that way. XD

Probably. Most of the bibliophiles I know would injure you severely if you cracked the spine of one of our books. XD

 

[Chasing-The-Light]

... On second thought, maybe I'm the only one who thinks of it that way. XD

Probably. Most of the bibliophiles I know would injure you severely if you cracked the spine of one of our books. XD

But if it's a book YOUR own. xD I always like to be the first person to crack the spine of my books.