Let’s Buy Borders–for the Children
Jeff VanderMeer • March 20th, 2008 @ 3:15 pm • Uncategorized
So, Publishers Weekly, which is itself in danger of being sold, reports that Borders is in financial trouble and looking for a buyer. One possible buyer is B&N–a scenario that sends chills down most publishers’ spines, because the idea of there not being an alternative chain if one chain doesn’t like or want a particular book is kind of horrifying.
But I’ve got a better suggestion. Let’s take up a collection and buy Borders. I’ve got 20 bucks. If you each send me 20 bucks to POB 4248, Tallahassee, FL 32315, I’ll be we could raise the money in no time. And then we’d own our own chain! Woo-hoo!
March 20, 2008 at 3:36 pm
This is lousy news. In my area (S.E. Wisconsin), the Borders are far superior in book/magazine/DVD/music selection than the B&Ns.
March 20, 2008 at 3:38 pm
It is actually. And Borders has always been kind to me.
Even though it’s not much competition, having two chains rather than one, it is useful leverage for many publishers, especially indies.
I wonder if this kerfuffle benefits Booksense any?
Jeff
March 20, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Bear Stearns just sold for $236 million, which is less than one fifth of the fair market value of its own headquarters building
these are strange times, who knows, you might be able to buy Borders
my advice is to try starting a rumor that Borders is heavily invested in subprime securities
March 20, 2008 at 4:27 pm
(note to professional ethical committees: that is not actually my advice)
March 20, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hi, I haven’t posted before, but I just have to add:
At the B&N in my neighborhood, we were asked if there were “two d’s or three” in the word “sudden.” Please let Borders survive…
March 20, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Is the book business in bad shape? I hope not!
March 20, 2008 at 5:58 pm
It has been my experience that my local Borders carries a far more diverse selection of F/SF/H literature. Locally, at least, it seems that they are far more willing to take chances. This is where I discovered Jeff’s work as well as several other good authors that I had never discovered on the shelf in my neighborhood B&N.
March 20, 2008 at 7:26 pm
We’ve recently had a Borders open up here in Perth. It’s a great store, with a big SF/F section. Plus, they send out those cool email discount vouchers! Wouldn’t want to see them go…
March 20, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I like only two Borders stores in the entire world. Only two. The rest of them are awful, and I wouldn’t mind if they were converted to some kind of big box retail shoe extravaganza or hat emporium.
I have had bad experiences at every single other Borders I have ever gone to. Every single one.
Except for those two very specific stores.
Can we just buy the individual stores we like and liquidate the rest?
March 21, 2008 at 3:16 am
There hasn’t been a Borders where I live in a while, although if I really want to go to one, I can drive thirty minutes. Had a fairly crappy experience there the last time I went, so I’ve confined my book-buying to B&N, if I want to go to one of the chains.
I’m far more likely to order books online, however. Subterreanean Press gets an absolutely sinful amount of my money, frex.
That said, if for whatever reason you’ve entirely lost your reason and are serious about making a bid for Borders, I’ll happily buy into that insanity. :D I’ve got twenty bucks that’ll only go to buy me overpriced coffee otherwise.
March 21, 2008 at 4:47 am
He isn’t serious. Is he?!
(I don’t mind Borders but I can get/order just about anything I like from Pulp Fiction or a 2nd hand place.)
March 21, 2008 at 8:32 am
It’s weird- I would never have seen this. The local BN&N is always empty. Always! And the local Border is packed. I guess Erie is not representative of the rest of the world. I hope Borders doesn’t get bought though- they’re selection is so much better….
March 21, 2008 at 9:44 am
It’s strange that my town has maybe 6 B&Ns, but only 2 Borders and there are always so many more people at the Borders. I’ve been complaining that we need another and now this news.
I just learned to get coupons via my cellphone for them – as a text message, which is really a cool idea. I just show the cashier a code and they give me the discount.
March 23, 2008 at 8:31 am
Yeah, that would be bad, you could end up like the UK where one large chain has swallowed the others and is the main bookstore on many high streets. Obviously I am a little biased against that particular chain after how they treated me, but leaving that aside when they bought their last major UK-wide rival smaller chain readers, authors and publishers were all dismayed and tried to get it stopped, to no avail.When you end up with a single mega-chain it puts even more pressure on the few remaining indy sellers and squeezes the life out of small publishers, which is bad for reader’s choices, bad for new writers trying to get in, bad for the diversity of publications, great if all you want are the same endless 3 for 2 offers on the same bloody middle of the road books all the time… Sighs nostalgically for the time when even in the larger chains most staff from shop floor to head office buyers were all committed book people trying to promote good reading and not thinking about ‘products’…