Yesterday, my husband and I went shopping in a big-box bookstore. I used to spend hours shopping in book stores and frequently came away with books for myself, my husband, and the kids. We did come away with one gardening book yesterday, but that was all.
Why? Because the bookstore was almost bare. Most of the shelves of books were set up along the perimeter of the store and in the middle was a coffee shop, surrounded by displays of record albums (yes, someone is trying to bring those back), puzzles, art supplies, games, journals, totes and bags, paper weights, legos, activity kits, coloring books, stuffed animals, etc.
One large section of the store was completely empty–it was carpeted and didn’t look like it was being remodeled, just unused.
In the very back of the store was a section for DVDs and CDs.
When it came to looking for books in various categories/genres, we couldn’t find anything on our own. We had to keep going to the information desk to ask where to find things. I’ve never had that problem before. When we did find the sections we were looking for, most were very small compared to what they used to carry. And we mostly saw only novels by the most famous writers.
What does this mean? Well, from what we gathered (and we could be wrong), sales of paperback and hardcover books are slowing down as more people are buying ebooks. Bookstores probably don’t want to take up space with books that they don’t expect to sell. For readers, that means they have limited choices unless: 1) they order print copies from the bookstore or online; 2) they buy ebooks; 3) they read books from their local library; or, 4) they find books in used bookstores.
For writers, it means that getting a publisher to publish your books so that you can get them into bookstores might not be possible unless you are very, very lucky.
As a side note, the one book that I was tempted to buy was a history book for $14.99. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t know much about it and my husband was ready to leave. He bought his gardening book and we went home. A few hours later I looked up that history book on Amazon and found that the Kindle version was only 99 cents. I bought it.
8 Comments
September 14, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Interesting perspective, Susan. Any bookstore that doesn’t have books is missing the point, and losing customers. You should tell them so.
There will always be a loyal fanbase of readers who like to read and own real books, which, unlike ebooks, can aspire to immortality. I gather that kindle sales are down, because people like books. I do too.
If you buy a kindle book, you have only a license to read it, apparently, you don’t own it, and Amazon can suspend your account any time. For my money, I’d rather pay more and get my own book. Then if I’m reading it in the bath, no-one can barge in and take it away from me (except my husband). 🙂 xxx
September 14, 2016 at 5:43 pm
That’s a good point, Fran. I read print books and ebooks. For research purposes, print books work best for me. Unfortunately, they’re getting harder to find. I have ordered some of them online and had them shipped to me. I take those research books with me sometimes when I do book talks, because I may read snippets from them to give the audience an idea of where I get information for my stories.
I also get books from our library, but it’s harder because I have a shorter time to read those.
September 14, 2016 at 5:53 pm
We don’t seem to have that problem in Canada, at least to that extent. We still have several book store chains plus the independents. Canadians haven’t taken to e-books the way readers in other countries have although it is growing here. The problem is, most buy a Kobo instead of a KIndle because that is what our largest chain sells.
September 15, 2016 at 3:10 am
We have new bookstores today. One of them is Amazon, an internet department store.
September 15, 2016 at 4:10 am
That’s true, George. And I’ve heard Amazon will open some physical stores.
September 15, 2016 at 5:26 pm
I get the lure of eBooks—price, ease, and cost to the publishers. I still love print books, though and knowing this makes me sad. I don’t think they will ever die completely unless it’s decided for us by stores and distribution centers. Fingers crossed at least.
September 17, 2016 at 6:37 pm
I have not noticed this problem in England, Waterstones is still full and WH Smith too. Supermarkets do sell books at knock-down prices which is good for the customer but not sure how it helps the author. Some libraries are closing but others are expanding and I have, in the past organised author events at local libraries and I guess they are not having as many these days. Hard times, like the music business went through. I am sure something will turn up. 🙂
March 7, 2017 at 4:10 am
I enjoyed reading your perspective. I’ve noticed this problem for many years at both my local Barnes and Nobel and Borders ( before they went out of business). It did appear to get worse with the popularity of e-readers. However, I think the reason it was happening prior to e-readers was attract other people to the store who might not be as interested in books. Of course as a book lover, this always killed me a little, but then again, I never looked to these big bookstores to be personal or innovative. I always go to my indy bookstores for interesting discoveries.
In 2016, I attended a writer’s conference and the general tone was one of not being concerned over print or bookstores dying, but business models are changing. There seems to be a larger interest in small presses, many of which are sold at independent bookstores. E-books are not going anywhere, so that has to be factored in as well.
Amazon bookstore is an interesting concept. I visited one a few months ago and they only sell best sellers and classics. The stores are beautifully arranged, with all of the covers facing forward. Visually, the store reminds me of an Apple store- clean, wide aisles, easy to browse, tech-savvy, et…the actual shopping experience was fabulous, but the selection was extremely limited, very carefully cultivated. This won’t be a regular stop for me, but I like what they have created. It was much nicer than Barnes and Nobel, which always feels messy to me. Messy and filled with all of those extras you mentioned.