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Post by msdemos on Feb 22, 2022 19:02:21 GMT
While some book store chains are still around, and hopefully will be for a long time yet, I have a feeling I've just seen the beginning of the end here in Wisconsin! I'm just outside of Milwaukee, and we've always had a few of the major book store chains available to us here.....but then Borders went down (and with it all the Waldenbooks stores), and now we've lost the last "local" Barnes & Noble store that has been in this area for close to 30 years (Greendale, WI).....which now means I have to drive a good 45 minutes to the closest Barnes & Noble store, if I'm willing to go (we don't have any Books-A-Million stores here in Wisconsin, which I think is one of the only other major chains still in business). Yes, there are a few small book stores in the area, which is always a GREAT thing, but sometimes you want to go to a bigger store to be able to peruse a lot of different books (and music, and movies, and magazines) in one place (and though we do still have Half Price Book stores here (which I LOVE!), that, obviously, is different). Okay, not a disaster, since I can still get to a Barnes & Noble if I'm willing to make the drive......but something tells me it's now just a matter of time before that option also becomes an extinct one. Hope I'm DEAD wrong on this one..... SAVE FERRIS
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gw
Junior Member
@gw
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Post by gw on Feb 22, 2022 19:35:05 GMT
There's a Barnes and Noble where I live in a mall. The Barnes and Noble gets enough business but I'm not sure about the rest of the mall.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Feb 23, 2022 3:30:38 GMT
Yeah with electronic media taking over, there will likely be a time when book store chains will be a thing of the past. But hopefully that day will be way, way down the road and when I'm six feet in the ground. I really do enjoy walking around them and perusing all the shelves, with coffee in hand.
I even thought that used book stores would be around longer, but sadly they've been disappearing lately.
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Post by mstreepsucks on Feb 23, 2022 7:19:19 GMT
You just might be correct. The world is a joke.
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Post by politicidal on Feb 23, 2022 14:36:05 GMT
You just might be correct. The world is a joke. โฆYouโre notโฆwrong.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Feb 23, 2022 15:26:56 GMT
Yeah with electronic media taking over, there will likely be a time when book store chains will be a thing of the past. But hopefully that day will be way, way down the road and when I'm six feet in the ground. I really do enjoy walking around them and perusing all the shelves, with coffee in hand. I even thought that used book stores would be around longer, but sadly they've been disappearing lately.
I'd put the blame for the demise of book stores on online shopping (Amazon, more specifically) than on electronic media.
Anyway, yes, I think it's unfortunately just a question of time before book stores are all but gone.
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Post by theravenking on Feb 23, 2022 16:17:27 GMT
The pandemic has just accelerated this development with even older people who might've been prefering brick and mortar stores switching to online shops.
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Post by mstreepsucks on Feb 23, 2022 23:00:25 GMT
You just might be correct. The world is a joke. โฆYouโre notโฆwrong. I think if the worlds wasn't a joke, like it is. Then it wouldn't be a situation like, there's not much of a future for small businesses.
Because you can't have an economy without small businesses. At least that's what I heard somewhere.
What a joke.
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Post by ck100 on Feb 24, 2022 0:15:38 GMT
Sad to see if true.
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Feb 24, 2022 6:33:49 GMT
I loved going to Barnes & Nobles. Used to go once a week and be like a kid in a candy shop. Loved the smell, the carpet, the bookshelves, even looking at books I'd never want to read, the "Who the hell would read this dreck" part of the trip. I used to save my sales slip and tape it to the book to see when I bought it. But it's been a long time since I've been to one. Sad, but that's the way it is. I used to love going to record stores also. A trip to NRM or Cavages was like B&N. They're all gone.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Feb 26, 2022 18:53:37 GMT
I worked at one for a handful of years, shipping/receiving... & yet I could see some writing on the wall - expensive books with very little margin, the company props itself up with trash like $18 'gourmet' popcorn, $10 chocolate bars, & endless overpriced swag as far as the eye can see.
What I can tell you is that books, real live books, have survived & thrived in the e-reader era. E-readers were going to be the death knell of all things books... until they weren't.
I buy about 6-8 books a year, via amazon because safest pre-order system & reliable for newest condition.
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Post by msdemos on Feb 26, 2022 21:18:43 GMT
I loved going to Barnes & Nobles. Used to go once a week and be like a kid in a candy shop. Loved the smell, the carpet, the bookshelves, even looking at books I'd never want to read, the "Who the hell would read this dreck" part of the trip. I used to save my sales slip and tape it to the book to see when I bought it. But it's been a long time since I've been to one. Sad, but that's the way it is. I used to love going to record stores also. A trip to NRM or Cavages was like B&N. They're all gone. Yep, one of my favorite parts of going to a Barnes & Noble store (and Borders, too!).......the SMELL !! That INTOXICATING mix of coffee, NEW books, and magazines, and everything else they have/had in the store........such a WONDERFUL smell you just don't find anywhere else !! Yeah.....it's now been close to 2 years since I've been inside one of their stores, and though I NO DOUBT will make the effort again one day, when I just NEED to feel, see, and smell it all again, it's sadly becoming such a (relatively) big deal to do so, that I just KNOW I probably won't end up doing it too many more times before it all goes away for good..... I SO appreciate and LOVE the convenience of having the internet at my fingertips every day.......and yet, somehow, CURSE IT'S VERY EXISTENCE, at the very same time..... SAVE FERRIS
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Post by nutsberryfarm ๐ on Feb 27, 2022 20:38:33 GMT
While some book store chains are still around, and hopefully will be for a long time yet, I have a feeling I've just seen the beginning of the end here in Wisconsin! I'm just outside of Milwaukee, and we've always had a few of the major book store chains available to us here.....but then Borders went down (and with it all the Waldenbooks stores), and now we've lost the last "local" Barnes & Noble store that has been in this area for close to 30 yearsย (Greendale, WI).....which now means I have to drive a good 45 minutes to the closest Barnes & Noble store, if I'm willing to go (we don't have any Books-A-Million stores here in Wisconsin, which I think is one of the only other major chains still in business). Yes, there are a few small book stores in the area, which is always a GREAT thing, but sometimes you want to be able to go to one of the bigger stores to be able to peruse a lot of different books (and music, and movies, and magazines!) in a lot of different areas (and yes, we do still have Half Price Book stores here (which I LOVE!), but obviously, that's different).ย Okay, not a disaster, since I can still get to a major chain store if I'm willing to make the drive......but something tells me it's now just a matter of time before that option also becomes an extinct one.ย ย Hope I'm DEAD wrong on this one.....ย ย SAVEย FERRIS A local Indy store that is about it.
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Post by msdemos on Feb 27, 2022 20:54:39 GMT
While some book store chains are still around, and hopefully will be for a long time yet, I have a feeling I've just seen the beginning of the end here in Wisconsin! I'm just outside of Milwaukee, and we've always had a few of the major book store chains available to us here.....but then Borders went down (and with it all the Waldenbooks stores), and now we've lost the last "local" Barnes & Noble store that has been in this area for close to 30 years (Greendale, WI).....which now means I have to drive a good 45 minutes to the closest Barnes & Noble store, if I'm willing to go (we don't have any Books-A-Million stores here in Wisconsin, which I think is one of the only other major chains still in business). Yes, there are a few small book stores in the area, which is always a GREAT thing, but sometimes you want to be able to go to one of the bigger stores to be able to peruse a lot of different books (and music, and movies, and magazines!) in a lot of different areas (and yes, we do still have Half Price Book stores here (which I LOVE!), but obviously, that's different). Okay, not a disaster, since I can still get to a major chain store if I'm willing to make the drive......but something tells me it's now just a matter of time before that option also becomes an extinct one. Hope I'm DEAD wrong on this one..... SAVE FERRIS A local Indy store that is about it. Even if B&N is able to hang on for a good while yet, I think it's pretty clear this probably isn't going to end well..... SAVE FERRIS
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Post by thekindercarebear on Mar 1, 2022 18:51:28 GMT
It's good in a way, gives more business to the remaining mom and pop book stores.
Not everyone wants to shop via Amazon.
You don't get that awesome book store smell.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Mar 3, 2022 16:11:52 GMT
It's good in a way, gives more business to the remaining mom and pop book stores. Not everyone wants to shop via Amazon. You don't get that awesome book store smell. Big box bookstores are probably already on their way out... as I posted earlier, they're scrounging for mark-ups via their trash swag. Books will endure/thrive, at least for the next few decades I'd say. I don't buy new books because they're some analog relic (only hardcover please!), I buy them because I thoroughly enjoy the act of reading - the natural sleep aid above all others. Small biz book shops should be okay once they're the ones remaining on the retail landscape. The Canadian store, Indigo, is probably holding on merely by its CEO Heather Reisman's career. Once she calls it quits, I do believe Indigo will shrink dramatically in Canada. She's the one who introduced the $18 popcorn to keep the lights on. It's a f'n meme up here lols.
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Post by thekindercarebear on Mar 3, 2022 16:25:37 GMT
It's good in a way, gives more business to the remaining mom and pop book stores. Not everyone wants to shop via Amazon. You don't get that awesome book store smell. Big box bookstores are probably already on their way out... as I posted earlier, they're scrounging for mark-ups via their trash swag. Books will endure/thrive, at least for the next few decades I'd say. I don't buy new books because they're some analog relic (only hardcover please!), I buy them because I thoroughly enjoy the act of reading - the natural sleep aid above all others. Small biz book shops should be okay once they're the ones remaining on the retail landscape. The Canadian store, Indigo, is probably holding on merely by its CEO Heather Reisman's career. Once she calls it quits, I do believe Indigo will shrink dramatically in Canada. She's the one who introduced the $18 popcorn to keep the lights on. It's a f'n meme up here lols.
i am a politics board regular and barely branch out too often. i've been boring them with updates since 2018(!) on how i wanted to start my own book store. i've finally gotten all my ducks in a row and have ordered custom bookcases, loads of new and used books, and am ready to see where it takes me.
my wife pretty much thinks it is a terribad idea (she's a practical gal) but you know i've had this deep ache for years telling me to just do it and so finally she's stopped saying no and just rolls her eyes.
i don't know how it will do but i do know:
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Post by onethreetwo on Mar 3, 2022 16:25:42 GMT
It's good in a way, gives more business to the remaining mom and pop book stores. Not everyone wants to shop via Amazon. You don't get that awesome book store smell. Big box bookstores are probably already on their way out... as I posted earlier, they're scrounging for mark-ups via their trash swag.ย ย Books will endure/thrive, at least for the next few decades I'd say.ย I don't buy new books because they're some analog relic (only hardcover please!), I buy them because I thoroughly enjoy the act of reading - the natural sleep aid above all others.ย ย Small biz book shops should be okay once they're the ones remaining on the retail landscape.ย The Canadian store, Indigo, is probably holding on merely by its CEO Heather Reisman's career.ย Once she calls it quits, I do believe Indigo will shrink dramatically in Canada.ย She's the one who introduced the $18 popcorn to keep the lights on.ย It's a f'n meme up here lols. The writing was on the wall for Toys R Us for probably 15 years, and they did nothing to enter the new world. Barnes and Noble would be smart to put every cent they earn into becoming the best internet book store in the world. No stores. 2 day shipping on all books. Otherwise they are screwed.
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Post by thekindercarebear on Mar 3, 2022 16:29:12 GMT
Big box bookstores are probably already on their way out... as I posted earlier, they're scrounging for mark-ups via their trash swag. Books will endure/thrive, at least for the next few decades I'd say. I don't buy new books because they're some analog relic (only hardcover please!), I buy them because I thoroughly enjoy the act of reading - the natural sleep aid above all others. Small biz book shops should be okay once they're the ones remaining on the retail landscape. The Canadian store, Indigo, is probably holding on merely by its CEO Heather Reisman's career. Once she calls it quits, I do believe Indigo will shrink dramatically in Canada. She's the one who introduced the $18 popcorn to keep the lights on. It's a f'n meme up here lols. The writing was on the wall for Toys R Us for probably 15 years, and they did nothing to enter the new world. Barnes and Noble would be smart to put every cent they earn into becoming the best internet book store in the world. No stores. 2 day shipping on all books. Otherwise they are screwed.
I notice they stopped discounting.
They still have 10% off for members and monthly and weekly specials but unless that hardcover of harry potter goblet of fire is on some special:
that will be $29.99 plus tax please.
they don't want to be a discount book store like books a million and in this day and age, i don't know if that is viable.
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Post by marianne48 on Mar 3, 2022 16:51:04 GMT
Are there still used bookstores? I live about halfway between two major universities, and 30-40 years ago there were at least three good used bookstores in each of those college towns, not to mention the local ones near my town. The local ones are gone, and I don't know if the others are left. Of course the chains are all gone, except for one Barnes and Noble within a 20+ mile radius. Good thing I hoarded all those books during those years.
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