Comments on: This Should Not Be News: Books Would Sell More If They Cost Less

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:34:06 +0000

Excellent point. I still miss the Tower Records bookstores, which had such wonderful groupings in their cult/weird sections. I’d do exactly what you said, just wandering from book to book in that grouping. That kind of curation requires good buyers and employees to build that kind of section.

By: takingitoutside

takingitoutside — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:31:24 +0000

There is another aspect to brick-and-mortar stores that Amazon doesn’t quite replicate: the visual browse. Amazon can suggest books all it wants, but nothing stimulates my impulse buys like seeing a new title sitting near one I already follow, or walking over to the science-fiction section and happening to see a cool-looking cover.

The going-out-of-business sales at Borders were so widely advertised and known that they brought lots of people into the stores who hadn’t been there in ages. Sure, they might have been able to get a better deal elsewhere, but would they have known about whatever they were buying if they hadn’t gone in Borders that day? I didn’t get much, but I did buy one of those “50 classic Westerns” collections for my dad’s birthday. I would never have seen that online. I just happened to walk by it in the store.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:52:47 +0000

Oh, I didn’t know about the Marvel ones — I was thinking of DC’s themed sales, like when they put all the Wonder Woman books on one-day special. Good to know about that, thanks.

By: Darryl Ayo Brathwaite

Darryl Ayo Brathwaite — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:49:28 +0000

I just want to say that it’s usually Marvel having one-day sales on ComiXology. They have a 99-cent sale every Monday and I believe most (if not every) Friday.

But yes, total agreement with this principle!

By: Thad

Thad — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:50:54 +0000

Good point — I went to three different Borders stores during the liquidation sale, and wound up buying exactly one book. Because even with the “deep” discounts, they were still more expensive than just getting the things at Amazon.

And a good point, as well, on the frequency with which ebooks cost the same as their print counterparts.

The Borders bankruptcy has rattled me a bit and made me focus on supporting my local independent bookshop more, regardless of the extra cost.

(Funny story: my dad started taking me to that bookstore when I was about 4 years old. It used to be downtown, but was chased out when rents skyrocketed in the 1990′s. The new bookstore downtown? Well, you can probably guess. Over a decade later, Changing Hands is doing just fine at its “new” location, while Borders, well…)

Of course, I’m an outlier, and simply appealing to guys like me who want to support their local independent bookseller is no way to keep a business running. Fortunately bookstores — at least the good ones — still have advantages over Amazon: signings and other events, friendly and helpful staff, and the draw of being able to just walk in, browse, and walk out with a book.

(Of course, ebooks are chipping away at that last one.)