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- May 12, 2006
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The Wall Street Journal is predicting Borders Bookstores will go into bankruptcy early next week. Borders denies this rumor, but most sources seem to believe WSJ.
I don't understand the DVD rental market. The Blockbusters in my area (like everywhere else, apparantly) closed a few months back, and within weeks reopened as a local DVD rental place. There's another one a half mile away that's been in business a few years too. Do locally operated stores know something Blockbuster didn't?The Borders around here closed last year but B&N still has plenty of competition from Powell's and other independents in this area. I would love to see more independent booksellers spring up.
My local DVD shop (aka Three Guys Who Know Have Seen Every Movie Ever Made) is booming since the close of Blockbuster and Hollywood. I hope it goes the same way for books.
I've heard of Powell's for forever, and of Portland being "The Land of 10,000 Used Bookstores." Some day I may have to make a pilgrimage.I guess I'm spoiled. I live about ten minutes from Powell's City of Books. It's enormous and their selection is far more extensive than any chain I've ever been to. It's a three story maze and they sell new and used. It's teh awesome. (And is smells like old books. NIRVANA!)
I only have one thing to say, Cliff. Move to Portland. There. Problem solved.
I don't understand the DVD rental market. The Blockbusters in my area (like everywhere else, apparantly) closed a few months back, and within weeks reopened as a local DVD rental place. There's another one a half mile away that's been in business a few years too. Do locally operated stores know something Blockbuster didn't?
I've heard of Powell's for forever, and of Portland being "The Land of 10,000 Used Bookstores." Some day I may have to make a pilgrimage.
Atlanta had Oxford Book Store for many years/decades. It's "Oxford Too" was Atlanta's biggest used bookstore until it closed circa 1997, then the Oxford new stores closed. If all the Big Box stores close, I wonder what, if anything, will come back.
Borders closes 200 shopsIn addition, US book sales have been falling.
According to researcher Nielsen, which follows 70% of the US book market, book sales declined from 751 million to 717 million in 2010.
Ok. So Borders has filed for Chap 11 protection and will be closing almost a 1/3 of their stores... 200 of 642 stores.
This is the bit of news from the article that piqued my writer's notice:
Borders closes 200 shops
That is quite a lot of lost sales. What I wonder is are they counting ebooks and books sold online or are those Nielsen numbers just coming from books sold through stores like Borders, B&N, etc? Are people in the US really buying fewer books? Is this a consistent trend year by year, or a once off bad year? And, if it is true that people are buying fewer books, how will that affect me as a writer?
Questions. All I ever have are questions...
Places like Borders are being replaced by Sam's Club and Costco for sales of new stuff, and if anyone wants old stuff, they can can go on line and get it. I doubt fewer books will sell because of this, they'll just sell someplace else.
I've heard of Powell's for forever, and of Portland being "The Land of 10,000 Used Bookstores." Some day I may have to make a pilgrimage.
Are people in the US really buying fewer books? Is this a consistent trend year by year, or a once off bad year? And, if it is true that people are buying fewer books, how will that affect me as a writer?