The Decline of the Bookstore Pt. 2
I read this article, that basically talks about my worst fear since 2011...Barnes and Noble is in trouble. Here's the article if you'd like to read it. Basically, I learned what I already know, the brick and mortar bookstore is, once again, in trouble. Sales for B&N went down both digital and physical last year. It's not good, but the game isn't over yet.
Once again, we learn that Amazon is one of the major reasons why this is happening. What sucks? Amazon basically says, they DON'T CARE about their book sales. They sell SO much that book sales aren't even worth their notice--that's my opinion. The article did say they didn't care--in some fashion or other!
But seriously?! Amazon had to go there?!! I primarily buy books on Amazon. I have Amazon Prime, because I like to get my books in a timely manner and getting them on release day, getting the lowest price when I pre-order. I enjoy those perks, but to hear they could care less about their book sales? That just aggravates me!
I feel like I've been noticing Amazon NOT caring anymore! Has anyone else looked up upcoming releases and seen that they are being sold at COVER price? I need to save money when I buy books because, let's face it, I buy too many! It's one of my only vices, so I'm allowed it! Books I keep looking at, The Cheerleaders, These Rebel Waves, Campfire. Almost every book that is not out yet is being sold for FULL price. The only time I pay full price is when I am meeting the author and I want to support the bookstore that's hosting it. I refuse to have to pay full price on Amazon. It's ridiculous!
There's also word that Amazon is, once again, raising the price of Prime membership to $119! WTF?! I could rationalize the $99, it's worth it to me for the amount of books I buy. But with that price hike, the price hike in book prices...I don't know what I'll be doing in the future.
I know that the whole thing with Amazon and the brick and mortar bookstore has been a long battle. Borders, my beloved, beloved Borders, lost that battle. So I turned to B&N, now they are in trouble. This has me worrying. And Amazon continues to be a company that basically doesn't give a sh*t about books. How many times have we received damaged books because their packers don't give a sh*t? It's horrible! This aggravates me so, so much. With Amazon no longer discounting all their upcoming releases, I really don't know what I will be doing for my book shopping habits. I mean...I guess I can work on my TBR pile...but there's still so many new releases I NEED TO READ!! And when you buy your books as much as I do, you need that discount that Amazon once provided!
What's your feelings on all this? I know I gabbed a lot, this was partially a rant and partially a discussion post! I needed to vent because my few tweets the other day wasn't therapeutic enough. How do you feel about the decline in Barnes and Noble? The fact that Amazon doesn't care about books--won't even bother to look at their sales numbers--and have decided to leave the books up at full price.
This just makes me so sad. Lately, I've been buying my books only from bookstores. After losing Borders... I don't think I can stand to lose another one. Also, this makes me want to never buy from Amazon again, even though they got me with their cheaper prices... it's like being between a rock and a hard place.
ReplyDeleteThat is very upsetting. Here in Australia we've only got 2 bookstores, both franchises. In hip towns I'll see brick and mortar bookstores...I love those stores as it's very clear they love books, reading and they treasure their customer base. I'm sad to see there's not as many of these stores. Most large cities only have ONE standalone bookstore so it's quite sad.
ReplyDeleteI mainly buy my books from The Book Depository, great prices, free Intl shipping and most are packaged well. I only buy digital books from Amazon, but it's slightly different for me as I have to pay Intl postage from Amazon. I've got a Kindle...but just Amazon's attitude is making me reconsider.
Amazon are taking down other book stores but they don't care enough about their book sales...WTF! That definitely angers me. So basically they're taking money off people that DO care about their book sales.
I think writing a post like this is great, it really spreads the word on Amazon's lack of care. I for one don't want to support a company that doesn't care about my sales.
I fear for the future of bookstores. I have seen a massive decline of bookstores. I definitely will be checking out other options, as having a Kindle locks me into buying my digital from Amazon.
This is really upsetting. When I heard the news about Barnes and Nobles getting in trouble, I have to worry about the future of bookstores. The fact that Amazon doesn't care about their book prices has me really upset. I think I'll make a discussion post about this too, just so we can get the word out on this situation and encourage everyone to support their bookstores!
ReplyDeleteAmazon has been selling books at a loss for years--that's how they're able to sell books cheaper than everyone else. I always assumed that once they've driven all the other booksellers out of business, they'll increase their book prices so they're making money. Because...why wouldn't they at that point? I don't buy books from Amazon because I don't want to see the day they have a virtual monopoly on the bookselling business. (Even though they already do.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, Amazon's low prices mean that they've been in battles with publishers and authors over the years because, obviously if they're selling so cheaply, the authors aren't likely getting as much money off those sales. But Amazon is the major seller of books these days, so pulling one's books off the site would also hurt the creators. Basically, the authors have little choice but to let Amazon sell as low as they want. So even though it's more expensive, I prefer to buy from other sellers because I believe the creators deserve to make a living off their work.
-Krysta @ Pages Unbound
To be fair, Amazon just sounds completely evil at this point :( I only ever buy books through Amazon, cause I am overseas, prices work very differently here (read: I can only afford Amazon ebooks), but I still feel very guilty abou this because of what they're doing to the industry :(
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm biased---my husband works for Amazon, so they basically allow me to eat. And they're actually a really fantastic company to work for in a lot of ways, so I can't complain about them much. I do feel bad for bookstores, but I'm certainly not boycotting Amazon any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI DO think brick and mortar bookstores offer great author events, etc---and those make them stand out from the online retailers. That's where their best chances lie because that's something they can offer that Amazon can't and never will. I try to support my local indie by attending those events and buying at them. (If Anderson's was closer to my house, I might buy from them more often as well---but I don't want to have to pay for shipping on top of the higher prices). It can be a quandary when you really want to support your local bookstores, but you also need to be responsible with your expenses!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction