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Old 02-16-2011, 11:26 AM
 
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All three stores in Austin are closing due to bankruptcy. Borders is closing 200 stores nationwide. Closings are supposed to start on Saturday. If you have gift cards, use them now!
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:50 AM
 
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Keep Austin Weird.
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:59 AM
 
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Border's was the bookstore that was going to move into a new bigbox shopping center across from Book People at 6th and lamar, right? Then folks protested and they dropped the idea?

Anyway, good news for Book People (local) and Half Price (Texas). Half Price is one of my favorite stores of any type...
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Old 02-16-2011, 12:01 PM
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Location: Ohio
17,107 posts, read 38,111,983 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weeb View Post
Keep Austin Weird.
Buying physical books in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore is becoming weird. That's why Borders is closing so many stores.
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Old 02-16-2011, 12:09 PM
 
Location: 78747
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I think B&N will go soon as well - Borders was #2 and couldn't hold on. The lack of an e-book reader and handing over their market share to competitors like Amazon was the writing on the wall for them. I could see B&N turning into more of a rival of Amazon, but consolidating stores in the process.
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Old 02-16-2011, 12:38 PM
 
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Originally Posted by jobert View Post
I think B&N will go soon as well - Borders was #2 and couldn't hold on. The lack of an e-book reader and handing over their market share to competitors like Amazon was the writing on the wall for them. I could see B&N turning into more of a rival of Amazon, but consolidating stores in the process.
Supposedly B&N is succeeding because they revamped their online store. They offer free shipping on orders over $25 and have competitive prices to Amazon. I'm an Amazon shopper, but B&N did the right thing.
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Old 02-16-2011, 01:09 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Bo View Post
Buying physical books in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore is becoming weird. That's why Borders is closing so many stores.

Geeze, buying books in a "bricks-and-mortar bookstore" is still a good thing for us. I hope we can still experience it in our lifetime. We love half-price books!
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Old 02-16-2011, 01:12 PM
 
Location: 78747
3,202 posts, read 6,020,012 times
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Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots View Post
Geeze, buying books in a "bricks-and-mortar bookstore" is still a good thing for us. I hope we can still experience it in our lifetime. We love half-price books!
If you like Half-Price, you should make a trip to the Dallas flagship store sometime. It rivals BookPeople and even exceeds them in some areas - it's pretty freakin' amazing.
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Old 02-16-2011, 01:26 PM
 
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I used to work for Book People. What Book People does is not the same thing as what Half Price does. They're different models. HPB doesn't have a standing, searchable inventory, it's rare that they have newer titles, and a lot of their merch/sideline items (i.e. bookmarks, journals) are remainder items. Some of them are bookmarks or toys from movies made five years ago. I enjoy HPB, but BP is a different kind of store with a very different kind of mission. It's more about the programming, quirky stock selection (George Bush toilet paper or Avenging Unicorn doll, anyone?), and the localized taste.

All of that being said, Green Apple Books in San Francisco remains one of my favorites. And Powell's. Powell's is amazing.

I think e-readers are great if they keep people literate. But these people who deride those of us who love the physical heft of a book and think we are behind the times fail to realize that it's not that simple. I enjoy bookstores as a place to escape, a place to enjoy a good cup of coffee, socialize with friends, meet new people, and browse. Browsing online in my pajamas is great, but it's not the same as visiting a great bookstore.
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Old 02-16-2011, 02:02 PM
 
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We were never big into Borders (their location in the Domain made it far more convenient and we ended up going way more than we used to, though almost never as the primary destination) but we love B&N, esp the one in the Arboretum. I hope folks will continue to frequent the b&m bookstores, I think it would be quite sad if they all/most went away. I'm not necessarily a big book guy, but there is something about a bookstore, esp with a good cafe, that really just seems like a great place to chill.

Support your b&m bookstores folks if you, like me, enjoy their presence.
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