Borders go bust !

shifty_uk said:
I'm sure Waterstones apply this method aswell. Surprised they're still in business but Borders going bust pretty much leaves the UK market wide open for a mainstream bookstore.

Borders rented huge spaces and made their miniscule earnings off coffee concessions and magazines I would imagine. Leaving workspaces and seating areas in book stores is just a no no. That's what a council library is for.
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The Borders in Leeds was HUGE! Used to see people go in there to go to Starbucks and use the toilets basically - never going near the books.

It's now a HomeSense - T K Maxx's homewear store I think (the tags all look the same anyway).

PS I love my kindle too, probably wouldn't buy from Borders even if it was still around.
 
How long until Waterstones goes too?

I walked into a Waterstones on Monday to buy a software development book. It was £37 so while still standing there I looked on Amazon using my phone and bought it for £21 delivered instead. It arrived this morning. I could have got the kindle version even cheaper (around £16) but I still prefer an actual book.
 
Hades said:
How long until Waterstones goes too?

I walked into a Waterstones on Monday to buy a software development book. It was £37 so while still standing there I looked on Amazon using my phone and bought it for £21 delivered instead. It arrived this morning. I could have got the kindle version even cheaper (around £16) but I still prefer an actual book.
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Announced £6.7m profits for the last finiancial year two weeks ago and this was not long after HMV had sold the firm to a Russian Billionaire.
 
Monkeynut said:
The one near me turned into a NEXT not long ago. No-one bought books, they just took them over to the in store Starbucks and read them there, then put them back and left. :p
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I used to do this with Creative Review, Graphik and Eye Magazine whilst I was a poor student. :p

*Edit* Waterstones are part of HMV group and they are struggling at the moment. Aren't they closing a load of stores at the moment?
 
I thought they’d gone bust a while ago. Their Oxford street branch was quite something in terms of size and book selection, shame it had to go.
 
I've gone all old-fashioned and started using the library - just go on their site select what you want and they let you know when to pick it up. If they don't have it they order it and you get to have it first. Can't fault it tbh.
 
I have a Kindle that completely moots any point for me to even walk into a bookshop. Although, I do still read actual books but only ones I pick up from charity shops. I was actually in one earlier. Bought 4 books including a hardback, paid £4.75.
 
Book stores are so overpriced, places like WHSmith and Waterstones often charge double what Amazon does! Kindle is useless for textbooks and you don't get the illustrations in fiction books either.
 
I thought they had been out of business for over a year :\

Ah well, I only ever saw the one in Oxford. I'll live.
 
Curio said:
Whats the point when you can go on-line? Although I guess that's the case with any bricks & mortar store.
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The thing about a bookshop is that their primary product is incredibly generic - you know if you buy a book online it will be identical to that which you could buy in the shop. Same for CDs, DVDs etc. Amazon built their empire because even in the early days when online shopping was a fraction of what it is now, people knew there was absolutely no difference in the product, it was just cheaper.

Some other bricks & mortar stores have more going for them, e.g:
-Food - I like to choose my fruit and veg in person
-Clothing - being able to try clothes on, feel the fabric etc
-Large items that may develop faults - easier to return to a local store than online retailer
-Furniture - try before you buy
etc
 
Borders was okay, always thought it had a good selection and the added bonus of a decent cup of coffee.

Just, like most stores of this ilk, they have to compete with the giant that is Amazon.
 
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