We’ve always wondered why any (and every) bookstore–chain or indie–doesn’t offer to ship you for free any book that is not in stock. After all, in an internet-everywhere age, customers know they can go to any browser and accomplish the same thing. But Borders appears to be the first to figure this out, announcing today a “promise to customers that if they do not find an item in stock in a Borders store, and that item is among the more than one million titles available on Borders.com, Borders will find it and pay the shipping costs to the customer’s home.” […]
Bookstores
Seattle's Bailey-Coy Books to Close Shortly
Owner of Baily-Coy Michael Wells told staff on Saturday that the store will close at the end of November after selling off stock. In a press release he notes: “This has not been an easy decision for us. We have struggled, along with independent bookstores across the country, for the last decade to keep our bookstore profitable and healthy. The economic downturn of the past year, combined with the rapidly changing world of bookselling, has led us to believe that this is the most responsible decision.” They add that “the recent news that Elliott Bay Book Company is considering moving […]
One Analyst Warms to Barnes & Noble
After dour reports last week from stock analysts at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, Barnes & Noble’s stock gets a better assessment today from Alan Rifkin at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. They have upgraded their assessment of shares to neutral from underperform, with a price target of $19 a share. They write, “while we remain cautious of book industry fundamentals overall, we favorably view recent developments BKS has made to enhance its competitive position.” In their report, they see nook as helping to compete with Kindle; believe that the BN College acquisition can provide sales growth (since so many schools […]
Retailers Limits On Price War Books
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Walmart.com, Amazon and Target.com are limiting the how many copies each customer can buy of their loss-leader deep-discount books, but the WSJ sums up the respective ceilings: 2, 3, and 5 copies, by vendor. But that still means as long as an independent store has a few employees, they can order dozens of copies for the store with no problem (and free shipping.) Walmart.com ceo Raul Vazquez says “the company’s book promotion had resulted in brisk sales of the coming titles, and had also boosted sales of other products.”WSJ
NY Stores Plan Celebration
The IBNYC–a New York alliance of over 60 independent booksellers–has declared November 15 through 21 Independent Bookstore Week. The celebration begins early, on November 11, with a party at the PowerHouse Area featuring authors including Jennifer Egan and Kurt Andersen, as “individual stores will sponsor special events and promotions of their own throughout the week.” It concludes on what they call America Unchained Day. They will have a calendar of events at the group’s web site (though it currently lists only three events that week).
ABA Asks Justice to Look at Bookseling Price Wars
The board of the ABA has written to the Department of Justice, asking for a meeting to the discuss the deep-discounting of high profile books and suggesting that it “constitutes illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers…. We believe that Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are using these predatory pricing practices to attempt to win control of the market for hardcover bestsellers.” They blame Amazon for starting it all with ebooks, and note “we believe the loss-leader pricing of digital content also bears scrutiny.” Beyond that, the letter does not set any legal basis […]