It's kind of sad to see them go since the closing of any bookseller is a sad thing, but I never really shopped much at Borders being more of a Barnes and Noble person so I can't say that I'm personally heartbroken that my neighborhood Borders is going to be gone.
From this article it might be a boon for independent booksellers since the closing of a Borders nearby seems to increase their sales. I'm probably likely to visit my independent booksellers more often as a result since there will be more of them by ratio in an area. I do like the feeling of a huge bookstore though and being able to lounge around inside for hours at a time and/or sit in the corners of the store without feeling cramped; sadly, few independent booksellers offer that experience.
I'm also secretly (not so secret now that I'm saying it here :P) worried that I'm going to spend altogether too much money at a liquidation sale. I also feel guilty that it's coming at the expense of so many people's jobs.
How do you feel about Borders closing? and will you be shopping more at independent booksellers as a result?
"sadly, few independent booksellers offer that experience"
ReplyDeletesadly few can afford to have that. The reactions in this post are the exact thoughts from loads of people that are making indies have a harder time keeping their doors open.
@Pam So, either indies have to find some way to change people's minds, change their own stores, or they will continue to lose customers. Businesses closing is very sad especially bookstores, but if a business model is unsustainable it either needs to change or it goes under.
ReplyDeleteI used to work at an independent bookstore and the big boxes made no secret of wanting to shut us down. It was a huge gamble, but we decided to triple the size of the store, since that's what customers wanted.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised by the Borders closing. They've been in trouble for a very long time.