Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Ken Sweeney ·
Feb 21, 2011 at 7:18pm
Most business analysts have concluded that Borders bankruptcy was a result of slow adoption of the customer shift towards digital. But a NY Daily News article by Alexander Nazaryan has a different perspective:
- “What happened to real estate is now happening to books: An industry colluded to push an overpriced product on a public whose purse strings were tightening and whose tastes were changing. Demand dropped steadily, but supply kept soaring - only now is it coming down to earth.”
- “Borders' meltdown suggests a deeper unwillingness of the American reader to partake in the cycle of poorly written books rushed to the market, wildly hyped and then promptly turned into so much blank paper again.”
Ricochet members are highly read and have a sense of the dynamic and evolving market place in a myriad of industries. I was wondering about your take on the Borders bankruptcy and Barnes & Noble offering itself for sale. What are the implications for the publishing industry, and writers?
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Comments :
Dec '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Implications? Maybe the return of the small neighborhood bookstore? Our local borders is a 2 story monstrosity, located in a very upscale new shopping "village" in the Portland burbs. One of those places where you'll find men's wear shops where the cheapest shirt in the place goes for $225. Furniture shops where you can get a $10,000 coffee table. The rent on the Borders has to be ridiculous. I actually don't read a whole lot of current "hot" books - I'm an insufferable history buff - so am drawn to that part of the store, but to get there I have to wade through many tables and racks of "fluff".
I'm thinking that the small bookstore, located in a reasonable rent location, might actually stand a chance.
Having said all of that, I love my Kindle.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Another factor in the declining sales of books is the Internet. Every hour I spend on the web is an hour I'm not reading a book. And I spend a lot of time on the web.
I think the same can be said for Netflix. It's made watching DVD's or streaming films so much easier than before; again, every hour spent in front of the television is an hour not reading a book.
May '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Not to mention resistance to paying 20 to 30 dollars for a PAPERBACK. Jeez, if I want to try reading David Copperfield (again, maybe one day I'll finish it) I'll take it out of the library.
Jun '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
The number of garbage books at those store is astounding. I'm amazed that the publishers kept churning them out, and always wondered who the audience was. I guess it was.......the authors' relatives?
NIck -- Kindle offers loads of classic books for free. I bet David Copperfield is one of them.
Nov '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
I love browsing at Borders--the only seller of new books left in town (!)--and finding treasures on clearance. But I will not pay their cover price for books; Amazon is superior. And I don't even look at their overpriced DVD's. Who is buying those things?
Nov '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
All this to say that I will miss them if they close in my town. Sorely.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
I have a few bright friends who worked in the industry at mid to upper-management levels.
I don't buy the notion that Borders tanked over digital. It's a fast-growing portion of the market, but still pint-sized.
I think Amazon is the killer of the mass-market big box bookstore. It now accounts for about 1/5 of industry sales. Amazon routinely sells new books at virtually no margin, and usually manages to avoid states' sales tax. How? Amazon makes much of its income via commission. (ie. one party sells a book to another on the Amazon Marketplace and is charged 15 points) Amazon acts as the guardian of legitimate on-line transactions, and selling directly for little-to-no profit is just a means to make sure that customer satisfaction remains high.
Stores cut margins to compete. Of course, being central planning types, they did it in typical across the board style. And then, foolishly, started selling their inventories on Amazon, essentially building their opponent's war chest. Stores grew sales, but Amazon was seen as the source of the purchase, able to further lower its pricing for direct sale, while expanding inventory for free.
Feb '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
After owning a Kindle for 3 months now, I can honestly say I may never buy a real book ever again. Goodbye Conservative Book Club as well.
Jan '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
What will you do at a book signing?
They really had no choice, but to do that. Amazon's model was proven superior and they didn't have the infrastructure to compete, so they had to hop on. And Kindle was the nail in the coffin.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Pity to hear you say that. Conservative Book Club is a major distribution channel. Without it, fewer publishers will take a risk on conservative books.
Feb '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
fullfrontal
What will you do at a book signing?
good question.
Feb '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Kenneth
Pity to hear you say that. Conservative Book Club is a major distribution channel. Without it, fewer publishers will take a risk on conservative books. · Feb 21 at 6:41pm
I would love to stay as a member but they will definitely need to change their business model and somehow offer a digital option.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
fullfrontal:
They really had no choice, but to do that. Amazon's model was proven superior and they didn't have the infrastructure to compete, so they had to hop on. And Kindle was the nail in the coffin. · Feb 21 at 6:26pm
It was a tough call, to be sure. But no choice? Feh.
They gave Amazon the revenues that allowed it to continue to reduce margins. And, they passed potential repeat business to Amazon, while eating a disproportionate share of the labor costs at the same time.
Amateur-hour, says I.
Kindle, schmindle. It's a tiny part of the market.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
You know, there is another way the Internet has decreased my consumption of books.
By the time a book is published, I've already seen reviews, critiques and excerpts on the web, so I have a pretty good idea of the book's central premise. Why read it?
A good example of that was Dinesh D'Souza's Roots of Obama's Rage. I understood his premise and had enough knowledge about Obama that I was not inclined to shell out cash to read the book.
I think publishers are going to need to re-evaluate how they publicize books. In an earlier time, handing out advance copies, hoping for good reviews, made sense. Now they're simply lifting their skirts to the point where readers feel they've already seen what they need to see.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Palaeologus
fullfrontal:
Kindle, schmindle. It's a tiny part of the market. · Feb 21 at 6:46pm
About 3%. I can remember a time when Honda or Toyota had less market share than that.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
Kenneth: By the time a book is published, I've already seen reviews, critiques and excerpts on the web, so I have a pretty good idea of the book's central premise. Why read it?
I think publishers are going to need to re-evaluate how they publicize books. In an earlier time, handing out advance copies, hoping for good reviews, made sense. Now they're simply lifting their skirts to the point where readers feel they've already seen what they need to see. · Feb 21 at 6:52pm
That's a great point.
Kenneth
Palaeologus
Kindle, schmindle. It's a tiny part of the market. · Feb 21 at 6:46pm
About 3%. I can remember a time when Honda or Toyota had less market share than that. · Feb 21 at 6:56pm
It's growing, and it might be a big deal soon. Let me ask you this, back when Honda & Toyota had that kind of combined market share, was GM in bankruptcy?
Stuff cycles faster now, but a stable corp shouldn't be so vulnerable, should it?
Jan '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
I want to point out that in the first hour that I had my Kindle, I downloaded hundreds of dollars worth of books for free.
Jul '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
I was a loyal and frequent Borders shopper but just found it more economical to buy books on Amazon slightly used and for a much cheaper price. I don't see how bookstores can possibly compete with Amazon.
Jan '11
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
One thing that might change the picture slightly, is this. This is an interesting model. Instead of spending all the time and energy to produce a tome covering a broad topic closely, produce a narrowly scoped piece, which will require a fraction of the resources, and sell it at a quarter of the price, and be more digestible than a full book.
Here's to hoping I get a discount next year...
May '10
Re: Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy Reflects Excess Supply of Low Quality Books
I'm too cheap to buy a Kindle, which means I'm too cheap to buy a book retail (even Amazon). I get all my books from the library or Salvation Army Thrift Store.