# Are book stores becoming irrelevant?



## Chris Redding Author (Aug 14, 2010)

Will we in ten years only be buying books at Walmart? Or will there still be brick and mortar stores dedicated to books? 
I think for that to happen they will have to morph into more than just a bookstore.
cmr


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## zizekpress (Mar 9, 2011)

Half bookstore, half brothel?

The big chain stores might be killed if they don't drop prices...though they've started doing a lot more '3 for 2' specials on new releases in Waterstones now...and newer releases too. Looks like the big boys ain't selling much these days. Not in Waterstones anyway.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I think we'll go back to small stores selling books and only books.  Not megastores selling books and music and coffee.  Neighborhood places that cater to their clientele.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

my husband just came home with 3 books.  I don't think bookstores are dead. I do think they will be more picky about what they carry. also add more toys or coffee


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

scarlet said:


> I think we'll go back to small stores selling books and only books. Not megastores selling books and music and coffee. Neighborhood places that cater to their clientele.


I agree with you. Mega bookstores closing will mean local stores owned and operated by the person in your community who loves books enough to open his or her own store. It will be filled with the old and new books that he or she loves. I'd like to hang out in a place like that. Maybe even purchase an excellent but otherwise overpriced sandwich from the sandwich bar he or she decided to put in, and have lunch there. We'll talk about books.


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## zizekpress (Mar 9, 2011)

ak rain said:


> my husband just came home with 3 books. I don't think bookstores are dead. I do think they will be more picky about what they carry. also add more toys or coffee


Then your husband will come home carrying toys and 3 cups of coffee...


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

scarlet said:


> I think we'll go back to small stores selling books and only books. Not megastores selling books and music and coffee. Neighborhood places that cater to their clientele.


And a neighborhood clientele doesn't want to drink a latte while they browse their purchases. You sure haven't been in my neighborhood.

That sounds like a sure way to lose business to me. I still browse Powell's (huge local Portland bookstore) because it IS huge, has an immense inventory. It carries local writers, best sellers, used books, audio books, rare books... You name it you can find it there. And it has a great coffee shop.

It isn't some anonymous B&N though. It's very Portland. That is the kind of store that may survive, but even one like that is likely to struggle with even paperback sales plummeting.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Chris Redding Author said:


> Will we in ten years only be buying books at Walmart? Or will there still be brick and mortar stores dedicated to books?
> I think for that to happen they will have to morph into more than just a bookstore.
> cmr


I hope brick and morter bookstores will gain ground again. There are few places I love to visit as much. They have such a great smell. Weirdly, the smell of books is one of my earliest memories. It always comes back to me when I walk into a library.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

To be honest I haven't bought a book at a bookshop for over half a decade.  I only go in to look at the covers and read blurbs--and that rarely.  I'd like to support local businesses, and I do so when I can, but often bookstore prices are twice those of my favoured online retailer--if they even have the book I want, which they often don't.  I just can't justify the difference in expense for the same product.


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## peter darbyshire (Jan 22, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> I still browse Powell's (huge local Portland bookstore) because it IS huge, has an immense inventory. It carries local writers, best sellers, used books, audio books, rare books... You name it you can find it there. And it has a great coffee shop.
> 
> It isn't some anonymous B&N though. It's very Portland. That is the kind of store that may survive, but even one like that is likely to struggle with even paperback sales plummeting.


I love Powell's (who doesn't?), but I recently read a story about how even they are having to lay off staff. Doesn't look good for physical stores.


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## sarahdalton (Mar 15, 2011)

I think book stores need to adapt and not just sell books but provide an excellent service that you can't get online. For instance you can't chat to the friendly staff or have a cup of coffee in the in-store cafe or browse the greetings cards and stationary. I have to say I do like Waterstones for that.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Where goes Starbucks, there goes the plan for bookstores. Write It Forward article

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

The last time I went into a book shop it was to have a cup of coffee - and I sat and read my Kindle . Oddly enough I've noticed my local pub has started to put up shelves of books to which customers can help themselves and sit and have a read with their pint: rather a nice idea.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

I'd hate to see bookstores go away completely. I just love the smell of the paper and the shelf upon shelf of new material to read. When I do go into a bookstore, I always walk out with a few book. With that being said, my trips to my local store have been less and less frequent since getting my kindle. I have a feeling the majority of big box stores will see a drastic reduction in coming years. More chain stores will close, but I don't think bookstores can completely go away. Smaller, local places might have better sticking power as they often take back and resell used books. They also are closer with their community. That mean a lot to most people. 

People love ebooks, but there are still many more who love print. My best friend, for example, refuses to buy an ereader. She is an avid reader who can devour a novel in a day and frequently shops at the small stores and buys entire series books at a time, used (because otherwise her book addiction would send her to the poorhouse. LoL).


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

Bookstores will never be irrelevant to me. I am a serious bookstore addict. I get to a new town, the first thing I do is hunt for the closest bookstore. I hunt bookstores and I haunt bookstores.

However, I'm afraid that bookstores are going to become harder to find. As e-books proliferate and as people become more comfortable with shopping for books online - the bookstore is going to become a little rarer.

Will they ever achieve extinction? Is the bookstore going the way of the wooly mammoth?

I don't think so - but just in case I reccomend we all take dna samples of our favourite bookstores and preserve them for a possible cloning intervention in the distant bookstore-less future...

Jurassic Books, anyone


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

When I was little, I loved going to the book store.  My daughter is now seven and after going to the library and shopping on Amazon, I thought she was ready to go to an actual book store and select her own books.  She went in there looking for like 10 different books (I told her to make a big list since some may not be in stock), they had none of them!  Sure one of the books they showed they had seven in inventory, but no one could find them.  My daughter announced she likes Amazon better because the books are always there.  As her generation becomes the "target market" book stores will have to step up their game or they will be replaced by Amazon.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I'm not in the U.S. so I'm out of touch. I had to ask my sister what a "play date" was for children. She explained it and I was flabbergasted.  "You mean mothers no longer shoo their kids out the door and scream out the door when it's time to come in for lunch?" Oh, hell, no. 

So, maybe bookstores will become members-only places where thoroughly background checks are done so you can meet other readers who are "safe".


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## sbaum4853 (May 3, 2010)

Less relevant, but not irrelevant. 

I think we're in the first wave of the revolution, with eBooks displacing a huge chunk of sales that once went to print. The next wave will be improvements in POD technology that will crush the old trade paperback. Bookstores will shrink (as will the book sections of the big box stores) with kiosk operations, ala Redbox, allowing customers to enter in the title they want, pay for it, and have it printed and spit out so they can take it home. 

This will free up a bunch of floor space in your Barnes and Noble. I expect they'd reallocate that space to more non-book items.


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

The bookstore is not dead, but it's dying.

My guess is that Barnes & Noble will downsize, with perhaps as many locations but centering on the coffee shop and small book sections. Half the books in the store will be Childrens' and the other half best sellers and low cost books. Perhaps Print on Demand will also be featured.

It's just my guess, but it seems like a decent business plan.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I grew up in Europe in a smaller place and there were small type bookstores there. 

Now I live in a large Texas city and all there is is Barnes and Nobles and Borders and both are a huge pain in the you know what to get there. They are in shopping center areas and driving is bad enough here. Way to much trouble. 

I actually looked for other type book stores here but there is nothing. Only some christian, school and kids oriented and a couple of used stores that carry also CD's and such. 

I buy pretty much all ebooks now and when I can't find something on ebook or if the price is way out of line for my taste, I buy used ones on Amazon. Less stress and actually cheaper that way.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

A new niche will be (is being ?) created for items that are not available or appropriate for e-readers. Technical books will still likely be in demand in paper format.
"Coffee Table" books, maps/charts, sheet music, etc will not be in demand for e-readers. And there will always be those who want classics in leather.

I suspect we will see an "underground" of Mom & Pop" book stores that are going to be wonderful places of adventure....(perhaps combined with antiques shops ?)


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

Print books will always need an outlet, remember there are still stores that sell vinyl records out there - and vinyl is inferior to the replacing technologies, whereas e-books and paper are reasonably comparable.

I think that print on demand will be a bigger feature, limited editions, hardcovers, etc. I don't think we will see huge warehouse stores anymore, I think you will get a small store with stock and the ability to print & bind same day (so order during lunch break, pick it up on the way home). I wouldn't be surprised if samples become common in stores, possibly with dedicated in store readers with a sample reading area.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

Bookstores have been irrelevant to me as a reader for years. I dislike driving and shopping, so I've been buying books online for ages. Now I buy mostly e-books. As a novelist, bookstores have always been irrelevant to me, I just didn't figure that out until mid last year.   I think they'll continue to exist for a while, but eventually only in places with large populations that can support the esoteric buying habits of a small percentage.
L.J.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

I spend at least a day, sometimes two or three, each week in my closest B&N. I usually do some writing there, drink some coffee, maybe have breakfast. About once a month will I actually purchase a book. I do get dirty looks from the Nook counter while I sit near reading from my Kindle.

One thing I've recently noticed is that the space alloted for books is already dwindling, with the exception of children's books and the mark-down aisles. I think my B&N only has something like four aisles of actual new books, nearly all paperbacks. It seems there used to be double that only a year or two ago.

I think B&N will survive, though they'll probably end up closing a handful of stores here and there. Once in-store POD kicks in, I think B&N will do a fair amount of business what with their focus on non-book materials. Also, the time spent waiting for your new POD book to print out is excellent time to get some coffee or to browse. I really don't think B&N stores will get smaller, just more diverse in what they sell.

I do, however, think we'll begin to see the return of smaller mom-and-pop book stores. And we might see a slight rise in used and antique book stores.


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## Beatriz (Feb 22, 2011)

Chris Redding Author said:


> Will we in ten years only be buying books at Walmart? Or will there still be brick and mortar stores dedicated to books?
> I think for that to happen they will have to morph into more than just a bookstore.
> cmr


I think book stores are on their way out. the e revolution is going to kill them all. I may be wrong but that's what I see coming.


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## PatriciaRosemoor (Mar 19, 2011)

It breaks my heart to think bookstores will become irrelevant in the future. As much as I love new technology, I still want physical books, as well. And the bookstore experience is so different from sitting alone with my computer and looking at a website. I do that way too much anyway. Being a writer, I practically live on my computer. I want the option to go to a bookstore. It's an outing I can do alone or with friends. I fear that whoever is closing Borders stores isn't really thinking about it. I have 4 Borders and one BN within a couple of miles from me (the other BN closed years ago), and another Borders in a nearby suburb across from the movie theaters I sometimes go to...and then cross the street for a bookstore fix. Every bookstore I frequent will be gone soon. Why close all 4 in my area? Perhaps there were simply too many. Close two and leave the other two, see how they do. It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm already in mourning.


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## markbeyer (Jan 9, 2011)

Please, it's not about prices, people. It should never be about costs. While you may read a book in a week or two, the author has spent two years to write that book. The arts need to be supported, not delineated down to the theft of music via file sharing. 

Support the arts. Open your wallet. 

And by-the-by: book stores will always be around, at the least as second-hand dealers.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

It's not only big bookstores that are dying--it's little "indie" bookstores and libraries, too.  The libraries in smaller towns have been closing like crazy, and I feel sad every time I hear about one.

I love the Kindle and I'm glad I can get books so conveniently and inexpensively, but I guess I wish the two could still co-exist--a nice bookstore when I feel like indulging on a pretty, glossy cover and turnable pages, and the online sort so that I don't necessarily have to leave my home to find new reading.

But the latter will win because we all crave convenience so much.  I can say all I want about preserving libraries and indie bookstores, but in reality I haven't been to the library in months.  So I guess I am a hypocrite, and maybe it's people like me saying one thing and doing another that are making the future seem unclear.  :0

Julia


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## SimonWood (Nov 13, 2009)

I hope the bookstore doesn't die, because I like them.

I'm not sure how long the ebook revolution will last either.  The faster techology evolves the faster things will become obsolete.  Who knows what will be the next development will be and when?


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

If I owned a bookstore I start moving my focus from new books to used books. I'd also try and scoop up all the pbooks that are going to be unloaded onto the market dirt cheap when hoards of people switch to ereaders. Those pbook will eventually go up in value after huge print runs become rare.


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## LiteraryGrrrl (Jan 24, 2011)

Julia444 said:


> It's not only big bookstores that are dying--it's little "indie" bookstores and libraries, too. The libraries in smaller towns have been closing like crazy, and I feel sad every time I hear about one.
> I can say all I want about preserving libraries and indie bookstores, but in reality I haven't been to the library in months. So I guess I am a hypocrite, and maybe it's people like me saying one thing and doing another that are making the future seem unclear. :0
> 
> Julia


Julia, I'm with you.
I think we all are, because from what I can tell Kindle owners are big-time devoted readers--the same people who once upon a time were the biggest library-goers and bookstore-shoppers.

I know I feel like I'm cheating on my library everytime I download a new book. 

Shana


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## phatpuppyart (Feb 26, 2011)

I guess I'm one of the stranger birds that looks forward to grabbing a book and having a latte... 
I'm a mom to four kids - so my times out are not that often - and when I do, I love to relax with a book or magazine and my best friend, a hazlenut breve. ;-)

I think with the 99 cents books on kindle - yeah - might hurt the big guys...
However as great as the kindle is - I don't want to see these gadgets replacing the actual reading of real books - - the sounds of pages turning, the smell of the binding and paper.... nothing can replace that.  At least not for me.

I'm also a fan of used bookstores... it's a treasure trove for me and my children....

Anyway - hope I didn't ramble too much...just trying to get my feet a little wet on the boards.  I'm still learning around here. 



Claudia


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## Jenni (Feb 20, 2011)

Physical bookstores will end up being a thing of the past, at least in the sense we know it. I'm not saying this is something I want to happen, I'm just being realistic. My sister-in-law is a musician and she had to rethink her entire career years ago as digital music took over. It's what is happening to book stores. 

I remember when tapes became a big thing, but I still bought my albums, played them only once to tape them....then CD's...now mp3's that I get on-line via iTunes. Even some of the music I needed when I was teaching dance is now available on iTunes over having to buy the entire CD. 

This is going to be a major adjustment, and we're going to feel it, but it's happening whether we like it or not.


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

Julia444 said:


> It's not only big bookstores that are dying--it's little "indie" bookstores and libraries, too. The libraries in smaller towns have been closing like crazy, and I feel sad every time I hear about one.
> 
> I love the Kindle and I'm glad I can get books so conveniently and inexpensively, but I guess I wish the two could still co-exist--a nice bookstore when I feel like indulging on a pretty, glossy cover and turnable pages, and the online sort so that I don't necessarily have to leave my home to find new reading.
> 
> ...


I live in small town and I'll tell you why libraries and bookstores close: *no-one reads*.

The only books that are for sale in town are a few romance novels (the Mills & Boone style "penny dreadfuls") in the newsagent and the highest selling bestsellers in an outlet store - a massive range of 8 books. The library has a patronage that can't be more than 5-10% of the town and most of them are parents bringing their school age kids to encourage them to read. I work with a lot of very well educated people at work and most of them don't read regularly. The few that do are in a book club. If I want a book I either have to order it from the library or buy it off of the internet, so I say thank God for Kindle!

People who read are in the minority, that is why bookstores are disappearing.


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

sbaum4853 said:


> Less relevant, but not irrelevant.
> 
> I think we're in the first wave of the revolution, with eBooks displacing a huge chunk of sales that once went to print. The next wave will be improvements in POD technology that will crush the old trade paperback. Bookstores will shrink (as will the book sections of the big box stores) with kiosk operations, ala Redbox, allowing customers to enter in the title they want, pay for it, and have it printed and spit out so they can take it home.
> 
> This will free up a bunch of floor space in your Barnes and Noble. I expect they'd reallocate that space to more non-book items.


If bookstores will carry fewer books and rely on POD for sales, they won't really be bookstores anymore. Might as well just order the book from Amazon and have it delivered three days later. Or switch to ebooks. If I can't browse thousands of books, the experience isn't there for me anymore. I won't go.

I think most bookstores will close. With ebooks eating away at their revenue and Amazon and the big box stores also chipping away, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which they thrive and still remain bookstores. I don't want to go into a bookstore and see half the shelves filled with toys, games, and knick-knacks.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

they will go the way of record/cd stores and video stores..


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I'm afraid that bookstores are now caught in a downward spiral, due in part to their dysfunctional relationship with publishers. 

As readers buy fewer print books, the stores will stock fewer books and will return non-sellers to the publisher even faster for refunds, and the publishers will have even less revenue to give millions of dollars to celebrities for poorly written memoirs. 

The reality is that people just don't buy enough books at bookstores. Big box stores are poaching their business with huge discounts, and when the bookstores finally collapse, the publishers will implode from a lack of retail outlets. They won't completely vanish, but there will be massive layoffs and selloffs as they race to streamline into small-press / e-press business models.

I think.


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

I do think bookstores are going to go away which makes me sad. However I don't think libraries are going anywhere. I'm a member of several libraries to read ebooks and if the amount of holds on books is any indication, there are many, many people borrowing digital media. I don't think that will change despite attempts by publishers to decrease access to their ebooks via libraries. I definitely check out fewer print books at my own wonderful local library but I use it more than ever.

I watched a slide show about how libraries are more important now than ever to help us process the vast amount of information available today. http://www.slideshare.net/thewikiman/the-time-for-libraries-is-now From the slideshow:

1. There are more people alive today than have lived and died in the entirety of human history put together. 
2. We will generate more unique information this year than in the previous 5000 years put together.
3. The top ten jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
4. Things move so quickly now that information students learn in the first year of university is outdated by the time they graduate. 
5. A week's worth of the NY Times contains more information than a person was to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

Mind-boggling, eh?


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

chipotle said:


> I do think bookstores are going to go away which makes me sad. However I don't think libraries are going anywhere. I'm a member of several libraries to read ebooks and if the amount of holds on books is any indication, there are many, many people borrowing digital media. I don't think that will change despite attempts by publishers to decrease access to their ebooks via libraries. I definitely check out fewer print books at my own wonderful local library but I use it more than ever.
> 
> I watched a slide show about how libraries are more important now than ever to help us process the vast amount of information available today. http://www.slideshare.net/thewikiman/the-time-for-libraries-is-now From the slideshow:
> 
> ...


#1: False. http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/dead.asp
#2: I highly doubt that. Such a rate is beyond exponential. It's n^n. For what year is that true because the rate couldn't be sustained.
#3: It's a year old, but: http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/10-best-jobs-2010 -- Actuary is #1. They've been around for much longer than this decade.
#4: I know this isn't true! Most of my basic courses from 1st year of college (over 10 years ago) are still valid today. Elementary physics hasn't changed. Math hasn't changed. English hasn't changed... there may be a few degrees where this is true, but they would be extremely uncommon.
#5: While this is true, let's look at the 18th century... most people were illiterate. Most were laborers. Most didn't travel outside their county (and it was uncommon to travel outside one's town). It's hardly surprising.

86% of statistics are made up.


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

Thanks for clearing that up Malweth! I will go to the reading blog where I first saw that slide show and let them know. The alive and dead thing was the freakiest of all the stats.


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## jasonvanhee (Feb 16, 2011)

Bookstores are going to essentially vanish.  There may be a handful here and there, in large cities or where an eccentric clientele keeps them alive, but they will in the main disappear.  Borders will go first, and once they're gone, Barnes and Noble will follow pretty quickly, and then most independents will go, as well.  

The reason is, when a store disappears, so do many of the customers.  Borders people don't just all go to the Barnes and Noble or the local indie store.  Some do, but others just start shopping online, or buy an ereader, or buy less books.  And every one of those people who decides not to go to another physical bookstore cuts down on the total number of people going to physical stores (not reading; we're reading more, in fact, than we used to, though perhaps slightly fewer people are doing the reading).  And so on, with the pool of bookstores patrons just slowly declining as each store closes, as children grow up who never shopped in bookstores at all, as people chose the internet's price/convenience/selection over an bookstore's tradition/smell/physicality.  

I'd say five years for Borders at most, 10 for Barnes and Noble at most, and 20 for the idea of bookstores as a common business.  That's at most.  If I were being totally honest, I'd say half that much time.  And I say this as someone who works in a big independent bookstore and used to work at Barnes and Noble for a while.

Used books are a nice notion, but they can only exist where new books exist.  You can't have one without the other, long term.  But used stores may linger on a while longer, perhaps.


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

You might read this great article from a recent USA TODAY; it's about small bookstores: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-10-1Abookstores10_CV_N.htm

What's interesting about the article is that eBooks are 10% of all books sold right now--and it may rise to 20% by the end of the year. Second, small bookstores are rebounding. One of the problems Borders may have had is NOT getting enough people passionate about books working in their stores. People are going to stores to get a personal experience, including talking to people who know the latest or best books. That's what small bookstores have been best with.

No, bookstores won't become irrelevant any more than movie theatres will. We have to get out of the house to do _something_. We're not watermelons growing on the vine.


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

Christopher Meeks said:


> You might read this great article from a recent USA TODAY; it's about small bookstores: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-10-1Abookstores10_CV_N.htm
> 
> What's interesting about the article is that eBooks are 10% of all books sold right now--and it may rise to 20% by the end of the year. Second, small bookstores are rebounding. One of the problems Borders may have had is NOT getting enough people passionate about books working in their stores. People are going to stores to get a personal experience, including talking to people who know the latest or best books. That's what small bookstores have been best with.
> 
> No, bookstores won't become irrelevant any more than movie theatres will. We have to get out of the house to do _something_. We're not watermelons growing on the vine.


And yet when many people get an e-reader their buying habits change radically. I'd say, to be generous to the idea of bookstores surviving, their chances are tied to the percentage of e-reader penetration. And it's not really just e-readers. It's devices that can read books, like tablets and even smartphones. (I expect Amazon to deliver a $99 Kindle or even subsidize it through some kind of subscription model.)

There's already a small publisher or two that has gone 100% ebook and eschewed print because it's cheaper. There may be a tipping point where the bigger publishers eliminate most of their print catalog.

And I bet for fiction, by the end of the year, the ebook sales are greater than 20%.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

The problem is more economic than social. The majority of the book market is still print, and most actual readers prefer print (for the moment). But that pool of book-buying readers was never very large, barely large enough to support the massive bookstore corporations and publishing corporations. Now that ebooks are taking bites out of that readership, there isn't enough money to support the old distribution model. There's only a 2% difference between making a tiny profit and failing. 

Bookstores and print books will be around for quite a while, but unless these companies engage in better business practices to improve profits, they will fall, and they might fall rather suddenly when their parent companies decide to abruptly liquidate their assets.


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## Shelia A. Huggins (Jan 20, 2011)

I hope bookstores aren't becoming irrelevant. I love bookstores. I just no longer have the time to hangout all day in them like I used to. I could keep a bookstore in business with the buying of books, magazines, hot cocoa, and cookies. I probably would have spent less money going to the movies.


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

Vinyl has made a tiny comeback with records, so I can see print surviving for a long time. I can see the publishers putting out special print editions that are leather-bound and include a copy of the ebook when you buy. And I can see a few bookstores selling these things and staying in business with a mix of expensive print books, used books, and other things they can sell to augment the experience of visiting a bookstore. 

I think there are ways for some bookstores to survive. Maybe there's a model for a bookstore/tavern with nightly open mike readings, bookclub meetings, writing workshops, etc. Toss in POD and I could see a small operation making it. It will take large urban populations to support these, and there won't be many. 

I think the only thing we can safely predict is that things are going to change quite a bit.


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## EliRey (Sep 8, 2010)

Sadly I do think the bookstores will go away eventually. Like everyone else I do believe the indie stores will survive a little longer than the big stores but not much longer. Book stores will be going the way of the music stores. My father-in-law has owned an indie music store for over 30 years on a major shopping street in Los Angeles. Over the years he saw all the big music chain stores around him go down. He's survived mainly because of the loyal clientele he's build over the years. And like most indie book stores that "feel" is still there when you walk in and listen to the music and browse through the "records" and "tapes and CD's" But he also relies heavily on selling other things. Most of his sales now come from T-shirts, sports memorabilia, pipes (for tobacco use only) *coughs!* posters etc. But he has said he is not making anywhere close to the profits he once made. I keep wondering how he stays afloat. I haven't owned a CD player in years.  

Personally as reader I have not bought a book in store in ages. I stopped when I realized I could buy a bundle of my favorite author on eBay for the price of one at the books store. It became one of my most favorite things for a while there. I was almost addicted to that feeling of going through the box that arrived at my door full of books. I used to travel with bags full of books. Now with my e-reader I can leave the bag at home and even read while we're traveling at night. It's sad but with technology many most things will become a thing of the past. There will always be something better, more efficient and cheaper to produce around the corner.


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## kindlec (Mar 12, 2011)

Christopher Meeks said:


> You might read this great article from a recent USA TODAY; it's about small bookstores: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-10-1Abookstores10_CV_N.htm
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Totally agree on the personal experience by talking to people with similar passion on books...

Also agree to a certain extend that bookstores will not become irrelevant, however, in the near future, only the small ones with regulars may survive. The big ones are better off starting to conceptualize their stores into "book museum" concepts. Having classics in hardcovers and selling other related stuffs like "made to look vintage" bookstands, pipes to accompany a good read in the evenings etc.. Also have a physical book trading zone, where like-minded people can meet up, trade or share good books.

just my 2 cents...


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## SteveMalley (Sep 22, 2010)

For things like art books, coffee table books, etc. I believe print books and print stores will continue to have a place. But for fiction?

Here in Christchurch we lost a real treasure in the earthquake: the indie bookstore Scorpio Books. It's a pretty great place for those hard-to-find items, but then so's The Book Depository, and so is Amazon. 

And when it comes to fiction, we're all seeing ebooks do now what paperbacks did in the 50's: They're making fiction affordable and broad-based, and giving chances to writers who otherwise wouldn't get their shot. 

Ten minutes into owning a Kindle we all know the story's the thing, not the material it's presented on. And when the story comes to us as cheaply and effortlessly as it does on Kindle, print doesn't have a leg to stand on...


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Chris Redding Author said:


> Will we in ten years only be buying books at Walmart? Or will there still be brick and mortar stores dedicated to books?
> I think for that to happen they will have to morph into more than just a bookstore.
> cmr


We'll be buying books online, not leaving at home at all. Bookstores will go the way of record stores.


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## Renee Adams (Mar 14, 2011)

I think online sales will take over. As for a disappearing corporate bookstore world (like B&N)? I don't know. Maybe I'm jaded, but these huge corporate places always seem to adapt when it hits their pockets. They'll probably just invest more highly in their Nook/Kindle side of things. Maybe they'll start selling more college textbooks there. The B&N near me has become more of a community center in some ways. There're constantly kids doing some sort of club thing, or a knitting circle taking over the coffee shop. These people buy books during said activities too, so they definitely know how to bring people in. Who knows?


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

Renee Adams said:


> I think online sales will take over. As for a disappearing corporate bookstore world (like B&N)? I don't know. Maybe I'm jaded, but these huge corporate places always seem to adapt when it hits their pockets. They'll probably just invest more highly in their Nook/Kindle side of things. Maybe they'll start selling more college textbooks there. The B&N near me has become more of a community center in some ways. There're constantly kids doing some sort of club thing, or a knitting circle taking over the coffee shop. These people buy books during said activities too, so they definitely know how to bring people in. Who knows?


I've read a couple of articles that think this is how bookstores can survive, by morphing into community centers as you describe. I guess the idea is even if you have an e-reader you can buy an ebook from their bookstore and they get the sale. Won't work with Kindle books but it will work with Google books.

I still think it's a losing battle. Every person who gets an e-reader and likes it becomes a customer lost to these bookstores. I don't see how the bookstores can overcome this. The way B&N is attacking this problem is by transitioning to an ebook business.


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## jasonvanhee (Feb 16, 2011)

Renee Adams said:


> There're constantly kids doing some sort of club thing, or a knitting circle taking over the coffee shop. These people buy books during said activities too, so they definitely know how to bring people in. Who knows?


Only they don't really buy books. They buy a few, here and there, but they don't buy books like actual shoppers do. They come for free activities, they spend a few dollars on coffee and a cookie, they read magazines (for free) the use the wifi (for free), they read books (not buy, but read), they make a mess of things, and then they leave. It gets people in the store and preserves the illusion that there are customers, but it doesn't really pay the bills. That's why Borders, which was the frontrunner on having cafes and comfortable chairs, is the first chain to have huge trouble.

Community centers only survive because they have government funding. Bookstores don't, so the community center model won't save them. It might drag things out a little while, on the slim profit margins on food purchases and occasional books, but it won't change anything.


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Asher MacDonald said:


> I can see the publishers putting out special print editions that are leather-bound and include a copy of the ebook when you buy. And I can see a few bookstores selling these things and staying in business with a mix of expensive print books, used books, and other things they can sell to augment the experience of visiting a bookstore.


I'd read somewhere (probably online) that printed books are more and more becoming like the beanie at Disneyland--something to take home that represents a good experience. On another thread yesterday, someone asked what was your favorite book of the last decade? That made me pause, and I was torn between "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham and "The English Patient" by Michael Ondaatje--books that affected me deeply. These kind of books people may want to own. While I'm a huge fan, too, of Michael Connelly, I don't find I need to own his books. They aren't the kinds of books I love underlining and putting notes in the margin.

If you've kept up with Amanda Hocking's success, she's been selling more than 100,000 books a month, and she's not in print. There will be more such authors coming up.


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