Bad news today- another bookstore chain down the tubes. Borders announced Chapter 11 today.
Our local one is a great one-- I've spent a lot of time and money there. Sad to think it's going away. It's amazing- they've spent a lot of time and effort these last few years redesigning, tweaking, shuffling stock.
They keep trying to sell me a premium upgrade to my rewards, which costs $20. I'm one of those people who figures the price out of what I'm paying before I get to the register. When you hit me up for more cash on the spot, I tend to say no. I'm also at the end point of shopping, and thinking of what I need to do next. So I don't like fending off a hard sell, good deal or no.
Now that I think of it, I cannot recall attending any book signings there. Company policy? The Barnes and Noble, a little further up the road, has had many. Just saying.
Tough market for bookstores out there. Maybe they should start carrying quality POD books, which most don't. They're missing out on a major market. My novel is due out soon, and likely won't be available in bookstores. So it's no surprise they're dying off faster than dinosaurs after a comet strike.
Yeah, they won't carry POD, because of their insistence on getting 100% refunds on book returns which most POD presses (and certainly most indie authors) can't provide, which is pretty ridiculous when you consider how much ebooks are going to eat into their profits ...
ReplyDeleteNeed I go on?
How bizarre that they get full refunds on product, and still cannot stay in business!
ReplyDeleteIf they'd stop being stupid and simply take POD/Indie books on consignment (change the model) their sales would explode. But they'd rather just go under than do something different from the way they always have.