Yay Failing Book Stores?

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Bah, unnecessary post

 

[Wik]

Bah, unnecessary post

Agreed.

 

[Ourph]

Nah. Those things are pretty close to price-locked, like i-pods and most name-brand TVs and such.

Hmmm.... B&M stores have to pay for a store, property insurance, utilities, upkeep and an employee to stand behind the register to sell me an e-book. Amazon has to pay for... a website. Oh sure, Amazon has to pay for a lot of the same things as a B&M store on its shipping facilities, but the volume/facility is much greater, spreading out the cost. The idea that B&M stores can afford to sell e-books and e-readers at the same prices as online retailers is silly.

BTW - I can easily buy a name brand TV from Amazon at 10-15% off what I would pay at my local mall. I've checked.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

I wouldn't be too sorry to see the big book stores in my area go. I hate the buy a membership to get a discount model they use. They're a major retailer, I shouldn't have to pay extra to pay less.

Dude. The Borders Rewards program is absolutely free and they send you a "Get 30% off any book in the store" coupon in you email box every 3 or 4 weeks. You can save a few percent more getting something from Amazon, but if you want it today, its just an extra buck to go pick one up.

DS

 

[rgard]

Personally I don't know if I would be celebrating a failed book store, even if it was a chain store. Yes, you get a short-term bonus of really cheap books, but over time that will mean less competition and therefore higher prices.

Also, the less bookstores out there, the less places that RPG books are being sold. The less places RPG books are sold, the less chance there is of someone coming across those books, taking a look at them and then giving the hobby a go.

So overall I don't think this is a good thing long-term. YMMV and all that.

Olaf the Stout

Agreed. I speculate that we will eventually be left with only being able to buy the books on-line. When it gets to a handful of internet stores being our only source, you can expect to be charged full retail plus shipping.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

I think it is a shame that B&M bookstores are doing so bad right now. I like my local Barnes & Noble. The selection is usually good, same goes for Borders. I will probably get an ebook reader when the price goes down, I like my books, but I am running out of room to store them.

 

[jfauch2]

The big stores killed all the small used book shops, and now we won't have any book stores...

 

[Tinker Gnome]

The big stores killed all the small used book shops, and now we won't have any book stores...

I actually still see some independently owned Used book stores. The only Used book store chain I know of if Half-Price Books. I have only ever shopped at independently owned used book stores.

I am honestly not sure about the future of B&M book stores that sell new books. I hear people say they are all going under, but then I hear people say that no matter what there will always be B&M bookstores in some form.

 

[drothgery]

True, but they also sell e-book formats, so I am not really sure how it all fits together.

And DRM-free at about paperback prices from the get-go, generally with advance reader copies available in e-book format, which is very, very nice. I just don't know how sustainable it is. I really hope Eric's right and widespread piracy doesn't kill ebook sales given widespread inexpensive e-readers.

Question to every one: Why is it bad to transition from paper to e-books?

It's not. And changing formats isn't really a huge deal, either (well, not for fiction and anything else that's designed just to be read; for gaming books and other art, table, and graphics-heavy refernce works, there can be problems). You can convert just about anything right now to ePub or mobiPocket, and if anything else emerges, I'm sure you'll be able to find converters.

 

[delericho]

Question to every one: Why is it bad to transition from paper to e-books?

Basically, an eBook reader is a very expensive way to get an experience that is almost as good as reading a real book.

Firstly, there's the limitations of the format. If I find myself away on a trip and without easy access to power, my paper books work fine. After a short while, my eBook reader is a brick. If I want to lend my copy of the "Eberron Campaign Setting" to a friend, I can do so - with an eBook I can't do this without also lending him my eBook reader, with my entire library installed. I can't read an eBook on a flight during takeoff and landing, because it has to be switched off.

Then there are problems caused by the simple expense of the item. If a book I'm reading gets wet, it will probably be fine. Even if it isn't, it's a few pounds to replace. If my eBook reader gets wet (especially if I'm reading at the beach, where it's salt water), it's much less likely to be okay. If not, it's a lot more to replace, plus the likely expense of having to replace some or all of my library as well. If I lose a book, or have it stolen, then its cheap to replace; my eBook reader is more likely to be stolen (being more expensive), and if lost or stolen is much more expensive to replace.

Finally, the tactile experience is just not the same - and in my opinion not as enjoyable. I like the look, feel and even smell of paper books, none of which are replicated. I like being able to flick through the pages, or jump to roughly the section I want by eye, and then navigating to my position by using the page landmarks. And, yes, I'm yet to encounter a screen that I can read for hours without fatigue (although my experience of such things is essentially nil, so that may be an empty complaint).

Basically, I see eBook readers as an inevitable piece of the future, but they're also a format change I intend to stave off as long as I reasonably can.