Archive for November, 2009
I am very disappointed about the demise of Borders.
When the chain first came to the UK it was so new and special and different and huge.
I remember going to Borders in Watford with my daughter to buy the books for her English degree course reading list.
Borders had five out of the six required titles in stock.
I was very impressed.
Many customers do not realise how many good books are published which are not available in the bookstores.
There are always far too many new publications and shelf space is at a premium.
If a bookstore stocks one of several new books which come out each month and that book is purchased, space will then be allocated to the next month’s new titles.
Customers may not have the chance to see a copy of that book on display in a store – unless it is a very large one – ever again.
It is easy to go into a bookstore, make a selection and then go home and buy online. You will save some money – sometimes.
But if local bookstores are not supported by local and casual customers and go out of business, then fewer and fewer new publications will ever be available for the public to view.
That means customers will not have the opportunity to decide what they think is the best book on a subject.
That decision will be taken out of their hands by buyers who will have no choice but to stock the title that they think the public will want.
Not every buyer is knowledgeable about every segment of the market and sometimes good books do fall by the wayside and are not stocked in large enough numbers by booksellers.
Sometimes your local bookstore has the item in stock and when you get home and try to order it, the online bookstores have run out.
Support your local bookstore wherever you can to give yourself and others the opportunity of being able to enjoy the browsing experience as well as the delicious anticipatory moment of purchase at the till.
Support your local bookstore because every book deserves a chance to be assessed by the largest potential readership possible.
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