Barnes and Noble / Bookstores?
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- fredddddd
I went to a Barnes and Noble today for the first time in a while. The store is huge, has late hours, and is two floors of books.
It's a nice store, but every single book in there is about 30-40% less on Amazon.com. It wasn't so crowded, and I browsed the magazines and looked at some books. I wrote down a title to order from Amazon later.
How do these places stay in business? Does anyone actually buy books there on a regular basis? Between Amazon and e-books, I can't see how they afford their huge rents and overheads.
I like small book shops and like to support them, but very few book stores have books that aren't on Amazon for less too.
Unless you're a very specific kind of book store, how do you even compete?
- oey0
My favorite bookstore.
Most of my books were bought here...and also on Amazon.
- orrinward20
You're not the demographic. They will die soon unless they adapt.
They're for:
1. non-tech savvy people who read
2. people who read who like to get out of the house
3. People who like in-person advice on what to read
4. People who like to cosy up in a cafe and read a bit before buying.
etc...Blockbuster/HMV/Tower Records etc are all dying now, as the generation that used them got tech savvy and technology pushed them out the way.
Books will last a bit longer as they still have a generation that hasn't gone techy yet.
My mum used to love going to our small bookshops but I got her a Kindle and over the past year she's started to learn how to use it. It's a shame in some ways that these small independent places are getting killed but their USP is becoming less and less relevant.
They stay in business because they have a lot of money. They're certainly not thriving though.
- Only tech savy people buy on Amazon? Blockbuster/HMV/Towe... Records are already 99% gone. There's lots of B&N.fredddddd
- orrinward20
Some small bookstores do well still because of the things they offer you can't get on Amazon. My local store regularly gets in authors for QandA's. They host a bunch of book clubs and they have great cakes.
- d_rek0
I received a hand-me-down kindle touch (was basically brand new) over the winter holidays this year. Haven't picked up a printed novel since.
To be quite honest it's a damn pleasure (99% of the time) reading on that thing. Easy on the eyes, feels good in my hands, and most importantly - i have every goddamn library in the world at my fingertips.
- ukit20
Looks like they are planning close about 1/3 of their stores over the next few years.
http://www.deseretnews.com/artic…
They obviously overextended themselves with a new store sprouting up in every strip mall. Still there will be a market for this stuff for a while. Some people like to actually drive to the mall and shop.
- mg330
Borders and Barnes & Noble were two reasons that I chose the specific location I am in in Chicago. There was one of each about 100 yards apart. I would spend a morning every weekend reading new magazines and having coffee and browsing books. I preferred Borders.
They both closed around the same time and several Borders around Chicago closed too. There are a few Barnes & Noble's left but not within walking distance from my house. I really miss having them close by that was a regular weekend ritual.
- duckseason0
There's a B&N close to my work that I go to sometimes on my lunch break when I need something new to read during my train rides. I don't mind spending the few extra dollars it costs to buy in-store.
I tend to shop around for more expensive books online.
- pr20
I visit B&N every month. I love discovering new titles and usually pick up 3-5 books. I don't know about you but the online experience is simply not the same (actually it's vastly different). It's never really about the price - it's business expenses so i don't care, it's not like we are talking about huge savings - a few dollars max per book.
I HATE reading off computer screen - i do it all the time but the experience of reading is very shallow - i skim through searching for information. When i find an interesting piece of information i research it more. With books when i find a piece of information that interest me or sparks curiosity i put the book down for a few moments (and i suspect everyone reads like that) to think it through - how it fits my life, my view of the world - what not. By definition one experience (online) is about collecting information while another (book) is about contextualizing that information.
- omg0
Many people do not want to wait 2-3 days for a book, they got right there in their hands.
- BaskerviIle0
Here in the UK they've all shut down. There's one main bookshop left which is on its last legs too. Read a book by Chris Anderson called 'The long tail' and it deals with the limitations of bricks and mortar bookshops, and why amazon's virtually unlimited bookshelves (that have almost zero rental costs) will always win out.
Oh and buy the book online here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Long…
OR alternatively go to that link, write down the title and author on a piece of paper, walk to a bookstore and ask if they have it, then buy it! ;)
- animatedgif0
Nothing of value would be lost if they died
- ThisIsMe0
Chapters in Canada sells more gifts now then books. They've adapted pretty well.
- Maaku0
Went to B&N the other day to buy some books. Too damn expensive:
2 books + taxes, around $100I got both books and another one for $57 on amazon.
Try the used books, they usually are in pretty neat conditions and can save you up to 50%