Is The Physical Bookstore A Thing Of The Past?
from the may-finally-be-getting-there dept
It's been talked about for over a decade now, but are we finally reaching the tipping point for physical bookstores? Some are pointing out that Amazon's continued success in online sales represents an element of "creative destruction" for physical retailers, and a NY Times piece notes that plenty of bookstores are shutting down -- including some of the big name brands, such as Borders and Barnes & Noble.What may be most interesting in the NY Times article, though, is that the blame isn't necessarily placed at online retailers directly -- but on the fact that online sites have made it much easier to resell used books. Thus, the argument goes, the market is now flooded with used books that individuals are selling out of their bedrooms, meaning that it rarely makes sense for anyone to pay full price for a new book anymore. It's an interesting argument -- and it's the type of argument we've seen made against used book sales in the past, and more recently that video game makers have been making concerning used video game sales.
However, it's not clear if this is really true. Past studies have shown that an active second hand market helps to boost the sales of new goods, because it makes those goods more valuable to folks who recognize they'll be able to resell them on the second hand market later. That may not be helpful to physical bookstore retailers, but those retailers have to learn to adjust with the times as well. Obviously, just selling books is going to make less and less sense, but we've seen retailers that have worked hard to turn their stores into destinations, where there were good reasons to go and buy stuff, rather than just being a physical version of what you could get online. If bookstores are unwilling to make those changes then is it really a huge loss?
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Filed Under: online sales, retail stores, used books
Companies: amazon
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Powell's
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Re: Powell's
I'm a fan of Powell's and have spent plenty of time there, but the article notes that Powell's is struggling and has asked workers to take more unpaid time off... So, apparently Powell's isn't quite the solution either.
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Re: Re: Powell's
That does not help them stay in business, unless you also spend plenty of money there, too.
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The Bookstore of the Future
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Bookstores
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There was a place in Chicago called Transitions, the finest bookstore I ever had the opportunity to peruse. An amazing cafe, great coffee & snax, free wifi etc. etc. etc.
This place was so cool, they would even have Tibetan monks come and do a Mandela in the front of the store every year (the owner was a Buddhist). They also had talks by authors, book signings and all sorts of events.
They had books on everything from alcoholism and recovery through glassblowing(!?) to Zoroastrianism. If it wasn't on the shelves you could still have it in a few days.
Even with the community of ardent readers, friends and buyers (of which I was one) they had AND the online sales they still ended up closing.
I personally feel that the city of Chicago is lessened by it's loss.
I talked to the owners when they were closing, it was the lack of profit margin that drove them to the ground. They got squeezed by the publishers, they got squeezed by Amazons pricing. We wont even talk about paying worthwhile employees (and they were all truly amazing).
Sorry, but I believe that if a place that "just plain cool" can't make it there is no hope for the bookstore as a business.
Howard and Gayle, (the owners) Chicago Misses you!
Sorry to get all emo on the rest of you...
Dave
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'Twill be a sad day if Amazon replaces Hay-on-Wye, the Mecca for all good bibliophiles ...
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Those of us that like to read something else than christian books and "The Babysitters Club" just threw up in our mouths a little.
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Re:
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Shut Them Down
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Is The Physical Bookstore A Thing Of The Past?
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I don't know about you...but
I've got the feeling that I've seen it all someplace. I pick up the magazines and newspapers and books, sure enough, I read that in Wikipedia, or on Google News.
It's just like when I turn on ABC News or CNN with my parents. At the beginning of EACH story I tell my parents what the story is going to be (which of course I read a few hours earlier on Google News.)
A book is released, and before it hits the book store, I've read the reviews. By the time it's AT the bookstore, I've read the excerpts and synopsis and drafts and teasers and so much of the copy I know whether or not I want to buy it (and usually don't).
Now, I get any worthwhile books at the used bookstore or online. Same with worthwhile music (except a few "gotta haves" from Hayley Westenra or Celtic Thunder.)
Pretty soon there will be a shakeout in radio and television -- FCC licenses will be devalued, and newspapers and magazines will fold. Internet sources will multiply and compilation services will be more essential.
Then folks like me will soon need to get brain implants to hook our brains directly to the internet (ala Matrix) to get the rush by eliminating the need to use a keyboard and screen and mouse -- all those peripherals just slow me down.
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Online reselling isn't the issue.
Here in Indianapolis, the big reseller is "Half Price Books", which has several chains around the area. While the "big name" stores are closing, these are thriving.
The biggest problem with the chains is, well, they're chains. Offering huge amounts of goods, one would have to determine just how many of these goods actually move. If there are 24 different art books, one is more likely to sell than another. Carrying these costs money, which is why you'll often see these types of books go on sale much faster than others.
There's also the high price of books to consider, as many people begin to find alternative sources to reduce costs. Unlike many other items, a book doesn't retain its "value" to the owner once they've read it. This "value" belongs to the next reader, who will be dismayed at buying a "used" book for "new" prices.*
You can also add to the argument paperbacks also take a lion's share away from "new" as many people will often wait for the paperback version to come out.
Adding cafes, theater, or other venues isn't going to help bookstores much, as these also tend to have high costs of operation. The sad truth is that these bookstores aren't dying from competition as much as they are from their own inventory.
To add in a spin, you can expect to see more brick & mortar stores closing in the future, especially when fuel prices return to $4+/gal. I can't imagine the costs involved in shipping items to all these chains, especially when the "turn around" from the profits isn't much to cover the increased cost of fuel without increased cost to the consumer.
Having a central distribution center seems to be more common, and the best way to do this would be selling more items via the internet, rather than spending money on ads and distribution costs to stores.
I've noticed, this year, that online sales are becoming much more competitive than their brick & mortar counterparts. This trend will continue as more companies would rather sell via the internet than operating stores to help reduce operating costs.
A double-edged sword this move is, as there are some items which just require a visit to the store (clothing, for one) which no online venue can replace.
Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other large retailers can easily survive by doing what Amazon did in the first place: centralize distribution and ship via the internet.
Of course, it's going to be extremely difficult to compete against Amazon, but it can be done.
*I could never understand this concept of "new" and "used" over books. If I've read a book, and the binder shows I've read it, doesn't "new" still apply as it's the story that's selling, not the actual binder? Boggles my mind how people freak out that "new" means an "undamaged" binder when "new" should mean the story isn't something they've read.
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Re: Online reselling isn't the issue.
I disagree. While there have always been used bookstores, they were generally smaller, and much more focused. The fact that anyone can now resell books has *tremendously* expanded the market of used books.
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No chance....
The reader itself costs £199 and any books downloaded from the shops website come with DRM to prevent piracy.
My thought is that £200 pounds buys a LOT of books and more to the point books that I can share with friends and family with no restrictions/DRM.
Until the whole DRM thing is scrapped I'm going to be buying my books the old fashioned way.
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The real truth is there are gazillions of books
The problem is as I see it: over production. They want to price it like a scarce good, but on any books that have been in the stream for a few years, the sheer volume of the used books drives the price toward zero
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It's also used against used music sales. It's also completely asinine and anyone who agrees with it it lacks any understanding how markets work.
If used books became popular, demand would rise, and because new books are not being sold, supplies would decrease. Thus, prices for used books would rise. When used book prices rise, new books would became a better value which would increase the sales of new books.
It's simply impossible for a used book market to hurt the market for new books. And the same is true of used DVD, games, and CDs.
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And they have a terrible selection of stuff I want to read. It's all Oprah-backed bestseller _The Shack_ nonsense and shiny coffeetable books.
Amazon is great if I want a specific book. Lousy if I want to browse. The recommendation engine is infuriating at times.
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Audiobooks
Technical books are different, as those I tend to purchase online and as PDFs. And as with another commenter above, RSS feeds and the internet have pretty much killed my magazine habit.
Pretty soon ebooks will take hold, and bookstores will become just another specialty store, with art books and a few others that the electronic world can't do justice.
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Yeah well
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used books
And just totally ignore the fact that used bookstores were a thriving business before Amazon & co. Used books? There are the stores, library sales, goodwill & salvation army, etc.
Somehow, THAT didn't impact the book retailers.
Could it possibly be that people just aren't reading as much?
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The Powell's model
(My own ground-level datum: I've been buying fewer books the last couple years because I've become a volunteer reader for a local literary award, and so spend 3-4 months of the year primarily reading books that I don't have to pay for. The award committee then sells the reading copies to Powell's after everyone's done with them, to help fund the award.)
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Online bookstores
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That being said, if the biggest selling point that brick-and-mortar bookstores have is their browsability, they really need to take more care of their shelves and indexing. I was Christmas shopping in no fewer that 4 bookstores this season, and the shelves were all in disarray. aside from the general sections (fiction, non-fiction, history, etc) there was little rhyme or reason to them.
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VIRTUAL BOOKSTORE
asiwc
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what you can afford
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