Who's Your Author? discussion
Archives - '11 - '12
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Borders Closing
are you serious? why!? so mad right now. Mine's listed. I have pros and cons about both Borders and B&N's, but I am angry that soooo many of them are closing. Is Borders shutting down all together? b/c that is a lot of stores shutting down. I haven't been in Borders a lot b/c when I come home B&N is closest to me, but when I do go in there I really like their great deals, they have better deals than B&N usually.I am probally part of the problem as well, I rarely buy in B&N and Borders b/c I am poor and broke and Amazon has the better deals, I Would never pay in full for a book. I usually pay only about 9-12 dollars. but I like the idea of going in a bookstore. We barely have any bookstores where I live or I have to drives aways to go to one.
I wish they had an Amazon store. An actual store you can go to.
A physical amazon bookstore that would be great!! Just load and loads of books :-)But to answer your question they are not closing per say but filing chapter 11 so they have to close a third of their stores. The money they owe to publishers is CRAZY like 41.2 million to penguin...ack!
Basically, Borders is downsizing and they'll consolidate their debt, but won't close. If they have to file Ch7 then they'll have to liquidate everything.
I've heard that many Barnes and Noble book stores will also be closing.
Jess wrote: "I've heard that many Barnes and Noble book stores will also be closing."Really I had no idea! I thought there stock price had been improving since the nook and their new and improved online store.
I cant help but to wonder if the nook is assisting B&N in the loss of its stores. If you have an ereader then what is the point of going to the store? Seems to me that the book stores are going the way of net flix...On a side note, wouldnt it be cool if there were Red Boxes for books?
I hate going to my local library. I had several books out for a few weeks and when I brought them back, they charged me for the replacement of the books (hard back prices on all 6) instead of late fees. They wouldnt even remove them since I had brought them back. That was $120.00 for mine and $80 for my husband. I know its my own fault for not returning the books on time but I hardly think a month is worth charging me that much for...
Has anyone had one close in their area yet? I was wondering if they are going to have some really good sales. I figured this would be the only positive. :(
Its sad that Borders is having to close stores. It won't affect my book buying since there is only one within an hour of my house. I don't have to say that even though I have a kindle I am more likely to buy a physical copy of a book than the ebook. I buy some used but I believe that you have to spend money for the this you love so I buy probably 70% of my books new. If Barnes and movie closed stores I would die. :)
The Borders near me is closing. I went yesterday, and just about everything was offered at 20% off. The place was pretty crowded. Fortunately for me, my favorite indy bookstore is moving into new, larger quarters even closer to my home. And I thought I was in trouble when they were 5 miles away. Two miles away is going to be very detrimental to my pocketbook!
Mine closed about 2 years ago and in the end it was 90% off. I got loads of books for 69-89p! Keep checking :)
Dawn wrote: "Jess wrote: "I've heard that many Barnes and Noble book stores will also be closing."Really I had no idea! I thought there stock price had been improving since the nook and their new and improved..."
I think that's part of the reason that so many stores are closing. They aren't making as many sales of actual books. Many people are buying ebooks now.
From what I understood, stores were closing but the e-store would still be open.
I also wouldn't die if there closed b/c I barely buy from any of them. I do sometimes and I just love to go in the bookstore to look at books I will consider buying on Amazon. ANd I'm not really a big kindle buyer though, so I am not part of that problem. only the problem of not buying from them. I'm so broke I can't afford the prices there so I buy from Amazon where the prices are just right.I was so mad I was gonna go over to Borders yesterday so I took the bus up to the mall and the bus suppose to go over to Borders never showed..I was like WTF?! So I went home. I hope a lot of stuff is still there by monday. I really wanna see if I could get some good deals on some of the books XD
Both of our Borders are closing. The sale started yesterday. They sent an email to Rewards card holders. Well I got one anyway. Books were only 20% off (30% if you have a rewards card). I bought 9 books. Most of them were already marked down a dollar or two and then the discount came off of that. Other stuff like stationary, bookmarks and various things were 30-50% off. I stocked up on bookmarks. I do a Tea swap on PBS and I like to include a bookmark in my tea packages. It was jam packed but the checkout line actually moved pretty quickly. If you have a rewards card you will still be able to order books from Borders and earn Borders bucks. I don't know how often I'll do that though. They don't always have free shipping. Plus if I follow a link from PBS to Amazon then PBS gets a commission which helps support the site.
I'm a die-hard print book lover. So I guess I'll go to B/N now and hope they stay open.
I gotta get down to Borders tomorrow ASAP!!
I imagine they'll all be closing at different times depending on leases and such. Although if I had an unused gift card, I'd get my but overthere quick while they seem to still be taking them.
Mine doesn't close til April, well the one I live close by anyway. I can't get down there til tomorrow though b/c I don't have a ride.
Checked out mine today. The place was a zoo, but they still had a nice selection. 20% off hardcovers isn't a deal, but was good for paperbacks. The "accessory" stuff was 40% & 50% off. Was using a Vampire Diaries tote bag I found on a table to carry my books in and when it was only $9.00, I bought it, too!
Only 20% off for hardbacks?! the paperbacks were 20% off too though? I hope I'll be able to find something tomorrow.
I'm sorry to hear this news, it's always a sad day when a bookstore closes. :(
On one hand I know how many little guys they put under. Well more BNN than Borders but still. Now they remove my two favorite locations just as they push me to join their dumb plus level frequent buyer club.
I probably won't order online from them unless I get a really good coupon. If I have to pay for a BN rewards card then that's where I go besides Amazon.
Mary wrote: "I imagine they'll all be closing at different times depending on leases and such. Although if I had an unused gift card, I'd get my but overthere quick while they seem to still be taking them."Not all are closing. It is just a reorganization. Hopefully they will survive. My local one is staying. Although 15 in the Chicago area are closing. :(
All of mine are closing except one store and I can't go to it b/c it is too far away.
As much as I hate that the Borders near me is closing...I spent almost $200 in books yesterday and the place was also PACKED. Granted, their sales were usually better than these going on now (confirmed by the cashier who rang me up) but I imagine that the more time goes by, the bigger the discounts will be. It sucks now, though, because all I have in DeKalb here is a Barnes and Noble. It used to be that if I couldn't find something at one store, it would be at the other. :/
I saw that the Dekalb one was closing. I think Rockford's is staying open. I few up near Dekalb in sterling and borders closed it's waldens store last year. There are no bookstores in my hometown anymore! The nearest one is 45 min away either in Dekalb or Rockford. Now that sucks.
Right but I meant that not all of them on the list are necessarily closing right now. They're probably doing the ones where the leases are up or almost up or can be easily bought out or something now. And if they're debt or the company gets bought out they could stop honoring gift cards. It's happened with other stores that have had to do this. Someone bails them out and part of the deal is that gift cards are not a debt assumed by the new creditor or owner of the company.
Ebook sales out number paper and hardback, it is no wonder why so many stores are closing. That is a massive amount of Borders stores! JR Ward will be at the one in Crestview, KY in May.
Actually all the stores on the list are closing.I have been thinking about this whole Borders thing and I decided I have an opinion. After looking at a few stock prices I found the B&N stock has actually improved and amazon has had huge sales this past year despite the declining economy. I am sure a lot of this does had to do with the e-book for B&N but for amazon it is all about convenience. I know if I want a specific book I am going to B&N first (I get free shipping) then amazon to compare prices one of them will usually win. Borders on the other hand is where I go if I am wasting time or to browse. It is rare I go in there and find a book I want or need that is not a best seller. Usually I get a coffee flip through a few books decide what I want to buy later on my nook or see if I can swap on paperbackswap or buy used on amazon. No matter how you flip it Borders looses. Plus if I want to buy a best seller (i.e. Jeanine Frost or Kresely Cole) I am going to target where I know it is 25% off and I can get it the same day.
Also I think Borders made a bad business move when they failed to reorganize after Kmart started to decline. I think I saw in the Wall Street Journal that Borders has not turned a profit since 2006. WOW!
It is sad about Borders mostly because it limits the bookstores I can visit. But honestly what I really want back is my old independent book store where the person who sold the books actually knew about books. A suggestion was like a guaranteed good read. Ok all done thanks for letting me rant :-).
I'm not that affected by the Borders stores closing, because for the most part my area is dominated by Barnes and Noble. There was 1 Borders store by me but that one closed down a few years ago.Nowadays I look at amazon first for my kindle books, (after the library of course) and then Barnes and Noble.
But I agree with you Dawn about the smaller independent stores. I particularly enjoy browsing through used bookstores but they aren't around anymore!
I agree about the smaller bookstores. Where I grew up there weren't any bookstores within 40 miles so it was special to get a new book. My mom got a lot of our books from the goodwill because it was that or the library.I don't think that the e-readers are the problem. Simply because you could get books on your pc in the 90s. I think the real problem is the high prices that Barnes and Nobles and Borders charge. I really wanted a book and I had received a gift card, I was charge 22 for the hardcover in the store and then found out it was only 12 on Amazon. Why would people go into the store when the prices are so different? If I have a question about a particular book, it's easier to call my local library then go to the bookstore because most of the employees don't know the answer or even where to look, even when I have the author or title.
I love my print books and even though I have the iTouch with all the book apps, I still prefer them in print and I only buy the books that are only in the e-book format, e.g. P.C. Cast's "Divine Beginnings" or Rachel Vincent's "My Soul to Lose".
I completely agree with you. Who would want to pay how much they charge, I go to Amazon b/c it is reasonable. People just can't afford the prices the bookstores charge. I mean come on, would you pay 17.99(Borders/B&N) or 10.00(Amazon) for a hardback? I say Amazon!!!and I went to BOrders and there really wasn't much of any great deals. I think I'll go back the last week to see if they up there deals some.
I'm with you Mariya. I went to a closing Borders a couple days ago and it was crazy packed, but 20% off isn't really less than I can get on Amazon or at used book stores, so didn't bother waiting in line.
I was going to go to one of the stores that are closing near my work, but I wasn't sure if some of the better selling titles would simply be shipped to the locations that are staying open. Also, I would think that by the time that the discounts are crazy good, most of the inventory will be gone. They can create this buying frenzy with the 20% and people that aren't regular shoppers have no clue that the discounts are less than sale prices.As a side note, one of the perks of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the ability to end lease agreements as part of the re-organization process (along with preventing any debtors - read publishers - from trying to collect for a period of time). So, I wouldn't plan on any stores staying open longer due to lease terms. Hopefully, they can turn this around and publishers that are still owed money will continue to sell books to them.
It could be worse. They could have filed for Chapter 7...
Sarah wrote: "I was going to go to one of the stores that are closing near my work, but I wasn't sure if some of the better selling titles would simply be shipped to the locations that are staying open. Also, I..."I accidentally came across one of the Borders that was closing in Chicago and they still had A LOT of bestsellers. I bought so many books, people were asking if I worked there because I was holding so many. I think they only ship the books that at the end no one bought. I'd definitely recommend still going and seeing what they've got. At the very least, you'll get some discounts.
I worked for Borders for five years as a supervisor, it was a great place to work and help customers find and discover new books. I hired many employees and we all became like a family, but over time we noticed the fall of of the company and we really struggled with such few sellers and so many customers, a lot of us worked overtime and sometimes had to do much more than we could handle. I was sad to see a fellow store in our city close but thankfully mine is still hanging in there. I dont work for the company anymore but I really did enjoy working there. I wish the best for the company and hope much more well wishes for the employees.
I read a financial analysis on the Borders situation that stated Borders' failure to develop an ereader, like the Kindle or Nook, was a big part of their problem. I just wonder if ereaders will eventually put most bookstores out of business. My husband (a Kindle user) and I had a big debate about this when he said books would eventually become obsolete. I love the feel and smell and everything about a new book, so I was pretty ticked at the idea! What do you all think? They have to print actual books, at the very least children's books, right?!
On a related note, do you think most of the people in the "Who's Your Author?" group prefer physical books or e-books? (Or no preference.)
Rachel said: I read a financial analysis on the Borders situation that stated Borders' failure to develop an ereader, like the Kindle or Nook, was a big part of their problem. While it was never very popular, Borders does have an ereader- it has Kobo. (A cheap version of the Kindle, that doesn't work as well-awful on the eyes and impossible to get good books for if you live in Australia)
The Kobo reader didn't come out until June of last year. Up until then, Borders was selling Sony readers (I think they also had some off-brand readers, too). They didn't have ebooks until June or July of last year either. So, you could buy a Sony reader, but had to still get the books from somewhere else (which makes GREAT sense when you're a BOOK store).
I think Rachel might've meant an ereader tied to a particular online store (via wi-fi or 3G): Kobo readers are linked to the Kobo store, Kindle to Amazon, Nook to B&N but Borders doesn't have an ereader tied into it's online store so they have no direct brand loyalty regarding ebooks.
I think the only place to actually buy the Kobo here in Aus was Borders. And on that note my local Borders announced this morning that it is closing today. So no big sales etc. Aus Borders is owned by a different company to US Borders, but ours hit hard times too and 11 stores are closing in NSW (my state). Not happy, even though I didn't buy a lot there I still did buy some and they had a good, for Aus, range of books.
When the UK Borders (which was separate from the US one) went belly up a couple of Xmases ago, they had huge sales. I only went once which I now regret but I made sure I was loaded down before I left. When I went it was up to 80% off. Best sale ever!
80% off sounds wonderful and scary at the same time. I have no space on my shelves for an 80% off sale, lol.
Amy or "Ames" wrote: "When the UK Borders (which was separate from the US one) went belly up a couple of Xmases ago, they had huge sales. I only went once which I now regret but I made sure I was loaded down before I le..."LUCKY! My store is still 20%-40%.
I had to go into my local Borders to get River Marked and I asked the guy at the counter if any of the Borders in my area are closing and was told no. I felt really bad because I knew that if Amazon shipped titles so that I received them on the release date, I wouldn't have even gone into the store. I was luck that it actually had copies of River Marked in stock because several of the books that I knew had a release date of March 1 weren't even in the store...when I asked about Demonglass, a YA novel, I was told that it hadn't arrived yet and they should have it sometime before the end of the week. I have such a hard time finding what I want in the actual store that it's so much easier to make a list and buy them on amazon. I feel guilty about buying from amazon because I loved going to the book store to browse and then buy but half the time the books my family wants "aren't at this store or I can't find it in our system". This has to be part of the reason for the decline of bookstore chains.Btw, the Border's I was in, Santa Rosa CA, didn't have any Kobos for sale and I only saw two or three Sony e-readers on the shelf.
My husband also told me that you can now get Kobos and Nooks at Wal-Mart. I know Target sells the Kindle online, but I think that's because they are partnered with Amazon.
Well, if Amazon sells cheaper then of course. I mean I don't really feel that bad about buying from Amazon over a bookstore like B&N and Borders b/c Amazon is affordable and I buy lots of books and even if I didn't buy lots of books I'd still buy from Amazon, b/c I really can't afford 17.99 for a hardback which a lot of books come out in hardback, no wait the adult hardbacks are like l26 freckin' bucks, NO WAY!!! I don't know about other people or if they're rich or something but I just can't afford that.The only reason I go to a bookstore to like mostly browse and if I catch the eye of a book that I may want to read. AT it is relaxing feeling being in a bookstore. And plus they're peanut butter cookies XD
I'm not rich by any means...my husband is in the military. The price definitely is a plus with Amazon. And I paid almost $19 for River Marked, but since it was two days until my birthday...I called it an early present and that made me feel better. My problem is that it used to be something that my family did once a month. We went to the bookstore and each got a book as part of our month entertainment. We would get a hot chocolate after we bought our books and sit at the little cafe and look over purchases. So it's sad for me to know that I would rather sit at home then go to the bookstore.
I started using Amazon because when we were stationed in New Jersey the nearest book store was 45 miles away. Now everyone can get two or three books for what we use to pay for one each.
Borders here in CO has always been high priced. Very little in the way of discounts and I don't like having to buy B&Ns club member card to get discounts with them. I buy almost all my books from Amazon or bookdepository for paperbacks. I don't feel guilty about buying online and saving my hard earned money. I work too hard for it and I buy a lot of books!
http://www.bordersreorganization.com/...
Wow that is a lot of stores.
While I am not a fan of borders I prefer B&N, I hate the idea of the physical bookstore decline. Yet honestly I am part of the problem. For example I go to a bookstore browse make a list of what I want (thank you nook) then I go home, check the library if it is not there then I shop around. Usually unknown authors end up as a swap or used book from amazon. Anyway sometimes I worry what will happen if the only place I can troll for books is amazon.com?? I really miss the small bookstore where the crazy sales lady had read every book. Now it is all click and buy.