Well, whaddya think?

[Stir Young]

Borders Books is closing up....having a big clearance sale and closing their stores for good.  A few of the stores may be transfered to a competitor, but Borders is gone, finito, kaput.  It doesn't seem that long ago that they opened a store in the big town near me, and it was really something....we'd not seen anything like it before in these parts.

I gotta say, and speaking as an old retail guy, I never could quite understand why they had those coffee bars, and encouraged people to hang around there, seemingly not spending enough to justify the room they were occupying.

I learned as a young guy that retail stores should get 'em in the door, sell 'em something...and get 'em back out the door.  Books stores were the exception to that rule....they had to allow some browsing time, but I always thought readers seemed to just camp out at Borders.....they were encouraged to do so.

Yeah, I know that e-books, dotcom sales options, tweeting, FaceBook, TBD, and a host of other things now vie for our attention.  Maybe reading as we came to know it is dying....do we even need hand held, bound books anymore?

So, how will having no Borders stores around affect you?  I have to say that I've patronized Borders less and less over the recent years.  If I got a good coupon from them I'd go and use it, but I rarely bought anything at full price.  I have a large inventory of books I bought that I have yet to read, and I don't foresee myself stopping at Borders during the final clearance sale.

BTW, Borders is another Michigan based company hanging it up.  We've come to expect that kind of thing around here.

[P.A.]

The nearest Borders to me was in Nashville. Both of the stores there closed last year. One was close to Vanderbilt University and became the university book store. There closing won't bother me very much. There are still several Barnes and Nobles there. On the other hand a very nice local book store, Volume One, is close at the end of August. That will be a real loss. When Caleb heard about it I thought he was going to cry.

[Stir Young]

We have a large independent bookstore here.....a relatively well known TBDer works there, the last I knew, and its about six blocks from where I work.  Years ago, pre Borders, I used to frequent the place.  It looks like I'll need to go back there again.

Almost every little town on "The Leelanau" has a "boutique" book store.  I expect that most of these are "hobby" businesses.  They're kind of nice to wander through, and pick up reading material of a local nature.  

[Ruby Red Crystal]

Is that well known TBDer about 6' 4" tall? Last I knew he still worked there...give him a hug and say hello during your wanderings.

 

[Stir Young]

Yep, Borders floundered around in the marketplace for the last few years.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see B & N and/or H-P open up shop locally.

[TeeBubbaDee]

I had a Border's  gift certificate that I got for Christmas. I saw that the store closest to me was closing several months ago, and running a clearance sale. I was pretty disappointed with the selection. It took quite a while to find enough books that I wanted to cover the cost of the certificate. I don't have that problem at Barnes and Noble, but usually end up spending more on music than books when I go.

And yes Stir, I still NEED hand held books.

[CWO3ROBBIE]

Well, I'M GOING TO MISS THEM. I loved borders. I could hang out there all day. I really never saw any difference between Borders and B&N. I expect B&N will also soon go down the tubes. The world is changing. Reading real books is to slow and boring for the generations following us. No one demands customer service anymore. No one wants real human interaction. the world sucks. Now where is my bench in front of the courthouse?

[Stir Young]

Yep, Robbie, I think reading as we know it is pretty much going the way of the buggy whip.  I guess communication methods have always been evolving.  Younger people seem to be OK with the shorthand and electronic way of communication...we older folks aren't so relevent in the grander picture any longer. We have the old ways pretty much to ourselves now.  That's not all bad.

[Bob Stepp]

I suppose times, technologies, and habits will always change, but I do hate to see real books go. I do avail myself to email and TBD and a little FB for some communication, but I still fire off a real card or a real letter from time to time. I like getting them too....like to open the envelope and unfold the paper. Maybe that's why I still pay bills the old fashioned way........I like to open envelopes. I'm just an old romantic at heart.

[Stir Young]

I also NEED hand held books, Tee.

I had a harder and harder time buying relevant books at Borders, even with a gift card or coupon incentive.  I used to buy a lot of CDs there, too, before music from the sky became so popular.

[TeeBubbaDee]

Stir, The Borders here didn't offer music,(smaller store) and I still haven't tried that downloading music thingy. I guess the main thing is if it is on my computer, it is going to play through those teeny, tiny, tinny, no bass, speakers. Yeah, I know I could pay to download tunes, store them, and burn them to a CD, but it just seems easier to log onto Pandora, and tell them what I to listen to through my Bose.

[Stir Young]

Tee, I accumulated a large collection of CDs over the years, and I'm content with listening to those.  I have most of the music I want from my younger years.  As a backup, I have over 150 Stones vinyl albums.  I guess I might be considered a little bit old school when it comes to music listening technology.  LOL!

[TeeBubbaDee]

Dude! I'm right with you. I have approx. 500 CD's, but my heart belongs to vinyl. I don't know exact count, but have approx. 600 (maybe more) vinyl albums in very good/excellent condition. 

About 90% of the collection has an inner plastic sleeve, that is inside the original paper sleeve, snuggled inside the original album cover, and protected by another outer plastic sleeve. 

Yes, I'm a little anal about my vinyl.