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Borders trouble, could lead to BIG TROUBLE!

Turjan

Explorer
Wasn't there a Waldenbooks in the Northridge Shopping Mall? Of course, it has been about 20 years since I was there...
Whether it's there or not, that's also Borders.

In other news, the decision of Borders' future has been postponed to February 1.
 
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Ahzad

Explorer
I don't know how much the RPG industry is invested in Border's survival, but apparently Manga could take a huge hit. According to an article I was reading today, some estimates have Border's responsible for about 40% of U.S. manga sales.

Now, I have mixed feelings. One of my two primary RPG stores is an independent bookstore and was, I understand, the only on in Northern Delaware to survive Border's and Barnes & Noble moving in. On the other hand, I far prefer the feel of Border's to Barnes & Noble.


It looks as if Diamond Comics distributor has cut Borders off b/c of lack of payment, or late payments.

Diamond Book Distributors Cuts Borders off from Comics - ComicsAlliance | Comics culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews
 

Erik Mona

Adventurer
Two quick points.

1) It's Diamond Book Distributors, not Diamond Comics. They're owned by the same company, but one deals with bookstores and the other with specialty shops. I don't think Diamond Comics had much to do with Borders one way or the other.

2) Diamond Book Distribuors is Paizo's distribution partner in the book trade. They also represent Fantasy Flight, Green Ronin, and a bunch of comic companies. What this means is that Borders can no longer get any of these items from Diamond.

3) However, they can still order books (as far as I know) from other book distributors such as Ingram and Baker & Taylor, who frequently fulfill small-order books from companies like ours. I frankly wouldn't be surprised to hear that these guys are halting shipments to Borders, but I haven't heard of it happening yet.

--Erik
 

coyote6

Adventurer
Wasn't there a Waldenbooks in the Northridge Shopping Mall? Of course, it has been about 20 years since I was there...

It closed a few years before B. Dalton's folded.


Are you talking about the Northridge Fashion Mall near Cal State University, Northidge?

Nah, Northridge Mall in Salinas, CA, birthplace of John Steinbeck, where our new motto is: come for the lettuce, stay for the gang war. ;)
 

Ahzad

Explorer
Two quick points.

1) It's Diamond Book Distributors, not Diamond Comics. They're owned by the same company, but one deals with bookstores and the other with specialty shops. I don't think Diamond Comics had much to do with Borders one way or the other.

--Erik

Yea I realize that but I can't seem to type anything but Diamond Comics after dealing with them for the past 10 years. It's just ingrained at this point :)
 

shadzar

Banned
Banned
Yea I realize that but I can't seem to type anything but Diamond Comics after dealing with them for the past 10 years. It's just ingrained at this point :)

Diamond is Diamond...I would guess they send out both DBD and Diamond Comics order forms to everyone as they try to get/"force" comics retailers to take other things they have sometimes with their "required purchase amounts/titles".
 


Azgulor

Adventurer
I think that way too many gamers think that their personal experiences reflect the whole of the industry. Sure the closing of a chain like Borders can impact a publisher. However, given how poorly Borders has been doing for years, a publisher would be pretty foolish to rely on a failing chain as a cornerstone for its sales.

Capitalism, generally speaking, works. A business fails, a new one emerges. Today's king-of-the-hill can be tomorrow's chump if the new kid finds a better business model. Sure, there are dependencies that can positively or negatively impact a business, but by and large it's not an interdependent house of cards where the removal of one company/entity undoes everything.

So I think the RPG industry doom-and-gloom is a bit premature.

Many gamers talk about the big brands hurting the small bookstore or the FLGS. They scorn Internet purchasers for feeding the corporate giant at the expense of the little guy.

BS

I've been playing RPGs for close to 30 years. My experience, based upon where I've lived at various stages in my life, is that the LGS, let alone the "F"LGS is a rare breed.

In my pre-Internet youth, I was dependent upon Waldenbooks and the like. When they failed to stock RPG product, I had no alternative.

Over the course of my gaming life, I've had 3, count 'em - 3, LGS and each was over an hour from my home, so "local" was relative. The first one I ever went to was a store in Boardman, OH that I had seen advertise in Dragon. My parents took me there and my expectations of entering a RPG Nirvana were dashed by a poorly lit building run by a jacka%$ that, despite his empty store, couldn't be bothered by a teenager asking some questions about prices or games.

Now that's just my experience, and I'm sure that there are many great stores out there. My point is that not everyone has the option to use them.

In my life as an adult gamer, I still buy the occasional book at a B&N or other bookstore, but often they're not carrying what I'm seeking. White Wolf games & 4e hold no interest for me. During the 3e era, I could occassionally find WotC content I wanted.

Lacking a gaming store, my alternative was online purchases. So while I'm all for supporting the local economy, from a RPG perspective, the local economy ain't supporting me. Thank God for the Internet.

As for anecdotal industry health, my annual RPG spend now probably exceeds the inflation-adjusted spend of my 1st decade of gaming.

Today, I can browse the internet for RPG products that I may like, I can order them from the comfort of my home, I can often save on shipping or tax, I didn't expend any gasoline and my purchase volume is LARGER than at any other time. As a Pathfinder fan, I can purchase subscriptions that net me a discount (that effectively covers shipping), an electronic version of the product, or both!

When Borders, B&N, or game stores can provide a value-add that outweighs the above, then they can have my business. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my Golden Age of Gaming.
 

Umbran

Mod Squad
Staff member
Supporter
I think that way too many gamers think that their personal experiences reflect the whole of the industry. Sure the closing of a chain like Borders can impact a publisher. However, given how poorly Borders has been doing for years, a publisher would be pretty foolish to rely on a failing chain as a cornerstone for its sales.

If I understand the possible problem correctly (and someone can correct me if I am wrong - this was discussed up thread, I believe), it isn't that the publisher is relying on the retailer directly. There's a distributor in between, and Borders was reportedly in major debt to that distributor.

If Borders does down badly, it impacts the distributor, and that has impact on the publishers, dominos-style.
 


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