Comments on: Bookstores slow descent http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/ It's that simple -- and that hard. And that inescapable. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:44:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: eoinpurcell http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32548 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:01:51 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32548 I do love big bookshops, the biggest of the kind is Borders out in Blanchardstown, a great place to shop.

L.
They do talk about the web taking print revenue, newspapers are being squeezed very badly right now by a combination of free online content, craigslist (and other free listings services) and newer more nimble rivals in the online sphere.

Magazines are not having a good time of it either same reasons. i don’t think either will die any time soon, nor do I think books will but we do face the same challenges and bookshops do too.

we need to find ways to adapt and generate revenue despite those challenges, that’s why the threat to bookshops is a big one for publishers.

Eoin

]]> By: locusbooks http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32478 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:20:46 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32478 I just don’t think ‘books will die’ – not for a long while, anyway. No one talks (much) about e-zines replacing magazines, do they? Why not? Why is it all focused on books?

I think business books and non-fiction books reference books will eventually find that online sales and distro is more successful because, as noted, their ability to link. But cookbooks, fiction books, glossy coffee table books, Bibles, gift books…? The market may get smaller and change dramatically but printed books will live on.

L.

]]> By: thomas conneely http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32319 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:53:06 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32319 Ian – i concur about the bigger bookshop comment – i have on occasion been the only customer in a small bookshop and have purchased something – anything!- for that very reason. And to paraphrase someone in another context, it’s not size, it’s what you do with it. The way forward for non generic bookshops is to become specialists at some element of their business – by carrying modern first editions, being the best in the country for cookery books, or books on deer taxidermy ( well not really that, but you know what I mean.) I buy about 3 books per week on average, from a wide range – e – bay, publisher websites , abebooks, the bookshop I work in, our competition, …. everywhere. I think most dedicated book buyers are the same. And most of thelm never pass a GOOD bookshop, but what they will pass buy is a poor one.
I note with interest the new trend by publishers to sell more books directly online – many in signed or limited edition format – see the new random house Uk site as an example.

]]> By: ian http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32270 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:54:42 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32270 I love big bookshops. They’re great for browsing in. Small bookshops in contrast are bit depressing as the guy behind the counter is probably the owner and he will feel all sadface when you leave without buying anything. And small bookshops have no stock.

]]> By: the girl who’s afraid of foxes » Blog Archive » When the music stops http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32166 Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:20:32 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-32166 [...] Eoin has a very interesting post about the possible demise of bookshops in the future. It makes me wonder if there will be any shops *at all* in fifty years time The issue of music stores closing down appears to be a very real one at the moment, probably through a combination of increased downloading (legal or otherwise) and a shift towards online purchasing. It’s ridiculously hassle-free searching for something at play.com instead of having to wade through stands of the latest pop filler, only to finally reach the N section, to find no Marissa Nadler albums or CDs by The National anywhere.  Some specialist shops however offer a great service (and one which will hopefully last), and should be treasured accordingly (Road Records being one example). [...]

]]> By: the girl who's afraid of foxes http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31773 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:18:04 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31773 Another great post Eoin :) I have to say even as a book obsessive (the type who has even bought multiple copies of the same book in different editions!) I buy online maybe 50% of the time – the main reason being choice/selection and also the fact that I might be browsing online, see a book recommendation, and think ‘ooh I’ll order that now’, so often it’s a spur of the moment thing. If I see a review in a paper/offline I’ll probably buy it offline too.

I used to work in bookstores for 4 or 5 years, so I guess by buying online I might have been making myself unemployed lol. But seriously, I’ll always buy a certain amount in bookstores (especially my local independent stores) because you usually find something by accident while walking around the shelves and it’s nice to be able to pick up a book and read a paragraph or so before buying it. Well that and the fact that buying books gives me a warm glow :)

]]> By: ClapSo http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31623 Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:14:30 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31623 Yes, that is what books have over electronic media. There is a physical aesthetic to books that a computer will never match…

The scientifically impossible I do right away
The spiritually miraculous takes a bit longer

]]> By: eoinpurcell http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31506 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:15:42 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31506 Clapso,

thanks for the comment!
I hope you are right because I do so love books! They have a power over me! Especially when there are lots of them! Like in bookstores.
Eoin

]]> By: ClapSo http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31505 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:15:10 +0000 http://eoinpurcellsblog.com/2007/08/27/bookstores-slow-descent/#comment-31505 I still love to shop independent book stores. The big megastores like barnes and nobels are killing the bookstores. The net is just the latest nail in the coffin. The smaller independent book stores that will survive are the ones that specialize. Say in only science fiction or only cookbooks. The used bookstores are still doing ok. I don’t think the bookstore is dead yet, at least I hope not…

The scientifically impossible I do right away
The spiritually miraculous takes a bit longer

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