Barnes And Noble Failure: Make Way For Indie Bookstores?

Wall Street Journal:

My hunch is that B&N never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores. As B&N focused on managing decline, a much more nimble Amazon could concentrate exclusively on the new world it was forming.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[Jim Winkel]

11:22 PM on 09/01/2010

http://dulltooldimbulb.blogspot.com/2010/09/barnes-and-noble-learns-lesson-from.html

WHY B&N Failed...a lesson learned from libraries too late. Usage studies, Circulation, Shelf Space and Profit. A post on Dull Tool Dim Bulb by Jim Linderman

[ThomasMc]

03:58 PM on 08/24/2010

This article was bought and paid for by Amazon.com

[LaurieAnn]

12:56 PM on 08/20/2010

As much as I use and love Amazon.com, Bookfinder.com, Powells.com, independent booksellers and used book stores, Barnes & Noble big box has a place in my heart and pocketbook for one reason. They are the only new book store and only decent place to shop in my small rural poor city.

Barnes & Noble has made an investment in my community by having a shop here where I can find magazines, look at new books, run into friends etc. that no other place has done. If my local B&N closes I will be devastated.

[JJovana]

05:18 PM on 08/19/2010

Screw kindle, nook and ipad, nothing can beat the feel, touch and smell of an old paperback. that itself tells a story.

[2question]

02:46 PM on 08/19/2010

Never gloat about a bookstore closing... even if it IS chain. Less bookstores = less people reading books, and I mean READING as opposed to scanning drivel for short attention spans from the internet. That's just plain wrong.

The chain bookstores don't even take business away from the Indies. It's a different customer base entirely. If any online book retailer is stealing customers from the indie book stores it's Amazon... and I've never gotten an order from Amazon within the promised time frame, so I stopped using them.

[dtmfman]

07:47 AM on 08/19/2010

Gee...lets see....the power is out...no lights...no TV...no radio....my computer doesn't work without power....my telephone doesn't work because it's on my computer...

yippee....I just found some candles and a box of matches...I sure would love to read a book until the lights come back on...oh wait...the only books I have are digital....darn...WTF have I done????

a scenario to think about for all those in favor of going totally digital....

[Woods Shade]

08:50 AM on 08/19/2010

I refuse to get Kindle. I like shelves and nooks and crannies full of books. Hot cocoa and digital are not a cozy factor.

[Paul Fleming]

04:40 PM on 08/19/2010

Most e-readers have several weeks of battery life. You don't need power beyond enough light to read by.

[dtmfman]

05:14 PM on 08/19/2010

here...lets try this another way....

Oops....I dropped my "e-reader"...oh darn...it's broken...now I can't read....

OR...

Oops....I dropped my book...now worries...I'll just pick it up and continue reading....get it???

[Aoibheann]

01:55 AM on 08/19/2010

I'm suprised at some of the hate directed at smaller independant stores here. I know I'm probably spoiled by living in Seattle--we have a great book culture here, but I find smaller stores staffed by people who know what they're doing vastly preferable to giant book werehouses staffed by glorified cashiers.

[thereisonlyoneparty]

09:32 PM on 08/18/2010

I really do not see how the independent bookstore thing follows.

I like bookstores (though I really do not read as it is a sign of intellectually inferiority) and have made loads of purchases from independent bookstores. Some of those purchases were forced (some departments where I was educated felt that the luxury of independent bookstores should be a part of all student's lives) and others were a result of just needing something to read.

The thing about it though was that most of the time I ended up purchasing books elsewhere. Not because of the price or anything like that, but because I just did not find what I wanted in those independent bookstores. They did not have the selection or the inventory of things that I would like.

I know that shopping at independent bookstores made me hip, but I was not getting anything out of it besides being hip.

This is why I do not understand how independents will takeover for the loss of major book retailers. They lack the shelf space and variety of majors. How can something that is worse takeover for something that is better?

[Arbutus]

10:53 PM on 08/18/2010

Just curious as to why you think reading is a sign of intellectual inferiority.

I see bookstores more as browsing/social experiences, and I can see where smaller bookstores can be part of this. Online vendors are great when I need good search engines, the subject is obscure, or I know pretty specifically what I'm looking for. I love my e-reader for immediate downloads and not having to travel. And there's always the free public library for browsing a generally interesting collection and the ability to borrow from many other libraries.

[moose and squirrel]

03:30 AM on 08/19/2010

Big isnt always better. thats just an American perception

[thereisonlyoneparty]

07:51 PM on 08/19/2010

Nor is small necessarily good either.

The larger bookstores do have a larger selection though. That is often times a very good thing.

Trust me. I know what I am talking about when it comes to knowing how much small sucks.

[Lisbeth35]

07:05 PM on 08/18/2010

I know exactly when they lost me as a customer too. I had a coupon they emailed me: 10%. Then when I went to use it the cashier asked me if I had another one, I said no. He then told me there was another one out there for 25%, but if I didn't have it...... I left thinking, geez, apparently I am not good enough for the discount. The company got my 2.50 extra for not giving me the 25% off, but lost me as a customer forever. Back to Amazon. .

[Callyson]

06:51 PM on 08/18/2010

Part of me hates to see any bookstore go, even if it is a chain, since (as several here have pointed out) there is nothing like the serendipity of finding a book you did not know you were looking for in an actual store. Yes, you can do that to some extent online too, with reader reviews and suggested "buy-also" tags, but it's not the same.
Still, nothing beats the character of an independent bookstore, and I shop at those whenever possible. That's getting harder to do as so many of them die, but if you're in Los Angeles, there are still several indies worth checking out:
Metropolis Books (DTLA)
Skylight Books (Los Feliz)
Book Soup (WeHo)
Vroman's (Pasadena)
Small World Books (just about the only non-trashy business on the Venice boardwalk)

[nmeemn]

08:54 PM on 08/18/2010

I'm in OC and the only ones I know are used bookstores... I can spend HOURS there.

[moose and squirrel]

08:17 PM on 08/19/2010

there was the midnight special (?) in west la, also one in long beach that i dont remember its name...

[bruinlover09]

06:41 PM on 08/18/2010

Amazon has some good points but I still love BN. Their free shipping rocks. I ordered books on Monday before 11am EST and I got Wednesday. BN encourages its employees to stay up on new releases. Compares to the Border stores that I have visited the BN stores are better organized and maintained.

[VOTER]

09:21 AM on 08/19/2010

Barnes and Noble is, IMO, superior to Amazon.
Free Shipping.
On time Delivery
Great Prices
Expansive Selection

[nmeemn]

03:36 PM on 08/18/2010

Barnes & Noble is my favorite large bookstore. Unlike some of the people here, I have found that the members' card has more than paid for itself in a year; I can use it for coffee, DVDs, magazines, as well as books. While Amazon works well if I know what book I'm looking for, B&N allows me to actually look through the book before I decide to buy it; their stores also carry DVDs I have not been able to find at other brick and mortar places.

Going to a bookstore isn't just about buying books, anyway. Bookstores are good places to hang out and check out new things... smaller bookstores DO NOT have the selection, and if you are looking for anything specialized, you have no choice but to go online and wait for the book.

[relians]

04:11 PM on 08/18/2010

i agree, i like barnes and noble as well. besides, at amazon you certainly cannot meet a lovely intelligent lady...like you can at a real bookstore.

[jukesgrrl]

08:29 PM on 08/18/2010

Borders member card is FREE, not $25, and if you want something they don't have in stock, they will ship it to you free.

[nmeemn]

08:52 PM on 08/18/2010

That is true, but I don't like the ambiance at Borders, I can't find the stuff I'm looking for there and I can usually find it at B&N without having to wait for shipping, and even though I have signed up for their member card twice, they somehow never seem to have my information... I only go there if I'm absolutely desperate.

Everyone has different experiences I guess :)

[SteveDenver]

03:25 PM on 08/18/2010

Tattered Cover Books is the best independent bookseller in the Rocky Mountain region (2 locations in Denver): Check them out online
www.tatteredcover.com

[cynical one]

04:03 PM on 08/18/2010

I miss their store in Cherry Creek. I could go there, browse all afternoon and have a great dinner upstairs. What a place!

I haven't been to the one off of Colfax, but I like the LoDo location.

[Woods Shade]

09:20 AM on 08/19/2010

omg. That concept. If there was a bookstore near me that served dinner, I'd change my address.

[StellaFox]

03:11 PM on 08/18/2010

GOOD! Every time I walk into ANY B&N they never have what I want. While I read some pretty obscure stuff, I get those items online through Amazon. I go to B&N for the basic stuff, which they never carry in their stores.

It's sad. I love book stores, but B&N needs to die or figure out how to be one instead of a Starbucks with paperbacks.

[SteveDenver]

03:23 PM on 08/18/2010

I will miss browsing their magazines for hours and hours and hours...

[hannahm7373]

01:22 PM on 08/18/2010

I love going to bookstores and going through the book aisles looking to see what I can discover. It's just not the same on the internet.

[fanofariana]

03:25 PM on 08/18/2010

Ditto ditto. I also love the smell of the books. Take a look at this link: what a magnificent future ....

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

[cynical one]

04:04 PM on 08/18/2010

Thanks for making me feel older on my birthday. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.

F&F.

[want2run527]

12:53 AM on 08/19/2010

So true!