Borders Books, RIP

[bookslover]

Borders, the bookshop chain, should be dead by this Friday (July 22), per a bankruptcy judge - another victim of the recession, the internet, and e-reading technologies.

All those empty buildings...

 

[jfschultz]

This might also be a big sale of books for a month or so.

 

[Rufus]

R.I.P. All those memories, all those books I purchased there, and nowhere else to go.

 

[Christopher88]

Very sad day for us book lovers. We still have barnes n noble.

 

[FenderPriest]

Borders, the bookshop chain, should be dead by this Friday (July 22), per a bankruptcy judge - another victim of the recession, the internet, and e-reading technologies.

All those empty buildings...

I wouldn't blame it on all those exclusively. Border and B&N have a poor business model - offering services (atmosphere, free perusal of books, etc.) that they don't monetarily capitalize on. Indeed people abuse the model, but they haven't morphed to competitively make themselves and their product (experiences are a product) a monetary gain for them. I think it's sad to see them go, but I wouldn't exclusively blame it on the recession/internet/ebooks.

 

[Southern Twang]

I like when inefficient and non-creative businesses go out of business. Gotta learn how to compete. Plus the e-reader is the future.

Borders left over assets won't likely go to waste. Prime real estate will be bought by competitors and other businesses looking to get into a great location. The books will probably be sold in a fire sale to competitors and consumers.

 

[Wayne]

Seemed like when we shopped at Borders that their pricing was always higher than other places.

And how is B&N doing? Are they having a tough time of it? If they both went under, then you'd have something there.

Maybe some mom and pop places could come back!

 

[Marrow Man]

We actually shopped at a Borders last Friday and they seemed to be doing well at that store. All the larger super stores around here closed a few months ago (which I really hated, because they were nice stores and our men's group met at the coffee shop there).

Certainly things like e-readers and the economy have hurt Borders, but Jacob is correct in that Borders followed a bad business model and it finally caught up with them. For example, they were late in getting in on the e-reader technology. They were still selling CDs and DVDs in stores long after mp3s and Netflix changed the face of that market. Some of those reason were given back when the news of store closings broke a few months ago.

 

[KMK]

At least we still have Blockbuster!

 

[Tripel]

I like having a Borders for those occasions when I am too impatient to order something via the internet, but that has only happened a couple times.

Borders is just too expensive when compared to Amazon. And as Tim mentioned, the CD and DVD sales must have been horrible. Who in their right mind is going to pay $30 for a DVD from Borders when you can get it for a fraction of that with a simple internet search.

I like the idea of Borders, especially the idea of showing up, getting a cup of coffee and sitting down with some reading material. But then again, I can't recall the last time I did that--maybe 8 years ago??? I just don't have the time for that kind of thing.

 

[Galatians220]

I remember going to the original and then only Borders in Ann Arbor during the early seventies. It was in a small, pre-World War I, downtown storefront that had a creaky wooden floor and about five actual shelving units. The rest of the thousands of books were stacked in their delivery boxes on the floor. The clerks, all part-time, were students at the University of Michigan, and they knew where every single book in stock was. When I was attending the University of Detroit, sometimes some *enterprising* individuals would buy up all of the books for certain required courses and then sell them out of their car trunks at a huge mark-up. That's when a road trip to Borders in Ann Arbor for course books was the order of the day. BTW, that little storefront on the corner of Liberty in "A-squared" had the same smell as the later stores...

Now I have a new Kindle DX with the beginnings of a fine Christian library loaded onto it, for a total of about what one hardcover from Borders would cost because many of the Kindle titles were free (!). Times change. Too bad that all of the Borders, especially around here with our seas of empty storefronts anyway, are only going to add to the forlornness of what used to be a commercial landscape in this area.

 

[LawrenceU]

The model of Borders and Barnes and Noble just couldn't hold out in the long haul. They were trying to appeal to a very small group of die-hard atmosphere driven bibliophiles. Books-A-Million is doing gangbuster business. They sell books efficiently and their prices are competitive. They even have a coffee bar. What is missing? The cozy, wood grained, darkened 'library look'.

 

[KMK]

I never understood the appeal of sitting around in a bookstore. But then, I have 6 children.

 

[Galatians220]

I never understood the appeal of sitting around in a bookstore. But then, I have 6 children.

The Lord has blessed you richly, Pastor.

 

[PreservedKillick]

My wife and I both really enjoyed browsing in bookstores, drinking coffee, etc., until our kids came along, which made it impossible. It's funny, that's what we do on date nights now when we have a babysitter.

I never understood the appeal of sitting around in a bookstore. But then, I have 6 children.

 

[Joseph Scibbe]

Borders was always overpriced and I never felt "cozy" there. I won't be sad. If I need a new bookstore then B&N will do. I still like looking in used stores and Amazon.

 

[jogri17]

I will not miss it given :
1. I have decieded to live in Canada and
2. The prices were always higher.

That being said, it has some special memories for me. I'd like to share
1. After I was saved at 14 years old, it was the place where I bought my first christian books. I had no knowledge and I picked up
authors such as : Paul Tillich, RC Sproul, Normal Geisler, John Piper, John MacArthur, Billy Graham, Tim Lahaye, etc...
2. It was where after I moved from my childhood (where I bought Harry Potter 1-4 at a mom-pop bookshop at midnight) that I went
to to buy Harry Potter books 5-7 at midnight for the parties and atmosphere (and test out my costumes ) It was a fun experience
3. It was where I met this girl in while I was a junior in High School and I had my first date with her.
4. It was where I bought my Tim Lahaye Prophecy study Bible.... how embaressing looking back now that I am Reformed. But no
regrets given God used it to give me a deeper love and passion to study his Word. Also the reason why I don't love study Bibles
anymore!

 

[Citadel]

Good riddance. Barnes and Noble is far superior

I don't know if I ever had a good experience in Borders. The one where I live is like a block away from a B&N too, so it's strange that the staff, etc, and Borders seemed so much worse.

Half Price Books beats all though!

 

[Marrow Man]

Doesn't Barnes and Noble own Books-a-Million (or vice versa)? Both stores sell the Nook.

 

[rookie]

We use to have a christian book store called "La Bonne Nouvelle", french for "The good news" and due to internet shopping, and more people going toward prosperity preaching, they closed as well. They were quite conservative on what they carried. They sometimes had things that were not theologically correct, but 95% of the books were great.

Funny how the Catholic bookstore down the road is booming

 

[FenderPriest]

Good riddance. Barnes and Noble is far superior

They'll be next if they don't change their business model. Even their online store is ridiculously priced. In my opinion, B&N is in a prime position to beat out physical and online stores with how they've set themselves in the cultural life of many (i.e. To the family: "Let's go hang out at B&N tonight" - except nobody buys anything). What they should do is offer on-line buying through their physical locations; or some variation of that. They're a neat store, but if they don't change their interface and posture towards customers, they're going to die like Borders. So says the prophet.

 

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

I'm sorry to see it go, but Barnes and Noble had been miles ahead of them for several years now and they did very little to catch up to both them and the current trends. So I knew it was only a matter of time before the entire corporation fell apart.

 

[Philip]

I'm sorry to see it go, but Barnes and Noble had been miles ahead of them for several years now and they did very little to catch up to both them and the current trends. So I knew it was only a matter of time before the entire corporation fell apart.

That's the key here. B&N has a better version of the same product, plus they actually have a competitor to the Kindle, and they also do a very nice business in publishing classics (much better than Dover: not quite as good as Modern Library: on a par with the Blackwell editions I saw in England).

 

[Reformed Thomist]

I like when inefficient and non-creative businesses go out of business.

Yeah. It's great when thousands of workers, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves out of a job.

 

[TexanRose]

I like the Houston area Borders much better than the Houston area Barnes and Nobles. The B&N's around here have gotten rid of their comfy chairs and closed down their coffee shops. So what's the point of going any more? If I just wanted to buy a book, I would go online. The Borders, however, kept the comfy chairs and coffee shops, and I will be very sorry to see them go.

 

[Eoghan]

Borders books died here two maybe three years ago! How did they manage to hold on in the US?

I am afraid I use ebay and Amazon. Amazon have the disadvantage of some £3 ($6) postage on second hand books so ebay can be more attractive when the total price is £3 as they often have lower (or free) postage.

 

[PreservedKillick]

I don't know about elsewhere in the US, but they remained quite popular here in Tallahassee to the end, since we're a college town, and the Border's is more convenient to the FSU campus and downtown that B&N.

Borders books died here two maybe three years ago! How did they manage to hold on in the US?

I am afraid I use ebay and Amazon. Amazon have the disadvantage of some £3 ($6) postage on second hand books so ebay can be more attractive when the total price is £3 as they often have lower (or free) postage.

 

[Reformed Thomist]

I like when inefficient and non-creative businesses go out of business.

Yeah. It's great when thousands of workers, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves out of a job.

I'm quite sure he's not rejoicing about job losses, but, rather, how the market's working. In other words, if you're going to compete, be creative. As for the workers who will or have lost their jobs, they'll have to begin to look elsewhere. These are things that happen, and, for the Christian, are an opportunity for sanctification, etc. I just want to encourage you not to impute to the person you quoted a charge that he actually is rejoicing about people losing work, because that would be quite uncharitable.

I don't think he's rejoicing over job losses either. I'm just drawing attention to the fact that every economic act, insofar that human labor is involved, has a moral side.

 

[KMK]

I like when inefficient and non-creative businesses go out of business.

Yeah. It's great when thousands of workers, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves out of a job.

I'm quite sure he's not rejoicing about job losses, but, rather, how the market's working. In other words, if you're going to compete, be creative. As for the workers who will or have lost their jobs, they'll have to begin to look elsewhere. These are things that happen, and, for the Christian, are an opportunity for sanctification, etc. I just want to encourage you not to impute to the person you quoted a charge that he actually is rejoicing about people losing work, because that would be quite uncharitable.

I don't think he's rejoicing over job losses either. I'm just drawing attention to the fact that every economic act, insofar that human labor is involved, has a moral side.

What exactly is the 'moral' side of Borders going bankrupt?

 

[Andres]

I like when inefficient and non-creative businesses go out of business.

Yeah. It's great when thousands of workers, through no fault of their own, suddenly find themselves out of a job.

Yeah because it's not like anyone's ever had to get another job before. It's called life.

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------

Who still shops at bookstores anyway? I would venture to say that any book you can find in a bookstore, you can find online for cheaper. There are a few rare exceptions, but they are just that - rare exceptions. I've probably obtained over 100 books in the last two years and I can only remember purchasing 2 in actual bookstores.