Is This The Beginning of the End For Waterstone's?

fireluxlou said:

One thing I am sad about is British Bookshops and Stationers has gone out of business and into administration this month. There is one next to a Waterstones in Abergavenny and this does not look good at all for their high street.

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Really! Hadn't heard. We have one of those too, and I like them. They are in a prominent position at the entrance to the shopping centre so will be sadly missed.

WH Smith has piss poor quality in book titles. It's even more limited now than it used to be since they got rid of their DVD and focus mainly on cards, stationary and magazines.

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Smith's never deigned to stock my books so they piss me off!

fireluxlou said:

WH Smith has piss poor quality in book titles. It's even more limited now than it used to be since they got rid of their DVD and focus mainly on cards, stationary and magazines. They are more or less turning into Rymans.

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Or, to put it another way, it's turning BACK into the newsagent it started out as?

Terie said:

Or, to put it another way, it's turning BACK into the newsagent it started out as?

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Possibly but it is a bit late to be doing so I'd think? it did become quite well known for being good with books for awhile they recently brought the Gadget Shop I see. I thought newsagents were a thing of the past and were resigned to being little shops on housing estates. =p

fireluxlou:
WH Smith has piss poor quality in book titles. It's even more limited now than it used to be since they got rid of their DVD and focus mainly on cards, stationary and magazines. They are more or less turning into Rymans.

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WH Smith doesn't actually know what it wants to be. It's got post offices in their stores, they try flogging you chocolate at every cash till, they do books, DVDs, games etc etc etc. They're jack of all trades and master of none and they don't really have enough of any of their areas for me to want to go in and buy something from them.

MM

Momento Mori said:

WH Smith doesn't actually know what it wants to be. They're jack of all trades and master of none and they don't really have enough of any of their areas for me to want to go in and buy something from them.

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Same thing that killed off Woolies.

seun said:

Same thing that killed off Woolies.

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This is true but I think WH Smith have cut their losses whereas Woolies hung onto them. http://www.google.com/hostednews/uk...6AgB3cVqZ5R8Q1pmg?docId=N0289111295617207544A

Momento Mori said:

[WH Smith]...don't really have enough of any of their areas for me to want to go in and buy something from them.

MM

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I don't have a lot of choice in Aldershot. They are the only bookshop and the only DVD seller in town. They don't sell CDs any more (apart from a few stocking-filler type titles) which means that no-one does, as the second-hand record shop has closed.

Oh, and it has the post office inside its store and unless I'm lucky (as I was this last Saturday morning) you can expect to queue for the best part of half an hour.

eyeblink said:

Oh, and it has the post office inside its store and unless I'm lucky (as I was this last Saturday morning) you can expect to queue for the best part of half an hour.

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*derail* if it's just stamps you need -- I've taken to buying them online, because even at our "real" post office the queues are terrible. /*derail*

I buy books of stamps in Wilkinsons. Seeing as stamps are now about eight quid each, it gets pricey.

Wilkinson's I love it, the only place I can find that sells Mountain Dew. Stamps are pricey. I usually just head straight to the post office now.

Haven't you guys heard of email?

How many agents in the UK still want hard copy sub packages?

Luckily my PO has some of those automated machine thingies. Never any queue there. Just stamps I can buy at work.

As for British Bookshops and Stationers, did this come as a surprise for the company? They moved our local one two, three months ago. Not to a smaller place, either. If they thought they were going under or were in trouble, they wouldn't have gone to the expense, surely?

I wonder if the sudden demise of one of the competition will buoy up Waterstone's.

IdiotsRUs said:

As for British Bookshops and Stationers, did this come as a surprise for the company? They moved our local one two, three months ago. Not to a smaller place, either. If they thought they were going under or were in trouble, they wouldn't have gone to the expense, surely?

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Most of the press releases are blaming the weather for disastrous Christmas trading. Does anyone know if there is any truth to the rumours that BBS might merge with The Works?

gothicangel said:

I took to buying books of stamps in the supermarket years ago.

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Oh yes, I have those too -- but if you've got a bulky letter or package (full ms?) or bigger stuff for overseas, you can weigh it, buy the postage online, and print out your own label.

IdiotsRUs said:

Luckily my PO has some of those automated machine thingies. Never any queue there. Just stamps I can buy at work.

.

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I tried that once but couldn't get it to work. Doing it from home also saves a walk to the post office... yep, I'm just lazy.

JimmyB27 said:

Haven't you guys heard of email?

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Wots dat den? Iz it lyke wen a compooter speeks 2 anuva compooter? Wee dunt got dat din eest englua.

tirial said:

Most of the press releases are blaming the weather for disastrous Christmas trading. Does anyone know if there is any truth to the rumours that BBS might merge with The Works?

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Hmm - well in my town, the building they moved to was previously The Works, and they had a display of stuff they'd not previously sold. Maybe so in that case? Not sure.

I tried that once but couldn't get it to work.

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You need a five year old. They can make anything work!

JimmyB27:
Haven't you guys heard of email?

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I can't get it to accept the cuniform script that I use with my clay tablets ... Microsoft say it's an interface problem.

MM

I bet it would work on a Mac.

JimmyB27 said:

I bet it would work on a Mac.

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Works better on a Tablet.

The two in Dublin don't surprise me - completely outclassed by Chapters (awesome, independent bookshop btw, if you're ever there).
They're still leaving two here though...