Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hopefully this isn't a major financial blow to the actual comic book creators
 According to the LA Times, Barnes and Noble announced last week that it will no longer offer copies of 100 backlist graphic novels from DC Comics in its bookstores, including well-known titles like Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. B&N is upset that DC signed a digital distribution deal with Amazon for the books, making them exclusively available on either Amazon Kindles or other devices (like iPads) with an Amazon Kindle app. Labels: Booksellers, Comics
Monday, September 12, 2011
A lack of options
 There's an article in PW about the effect the death of Borders has had on Barnes and Noble. According to their CFO, B&N estimates it has picked up $18 million in business in the last quarter from former Borders customers, and they're anticipating a great holiday sales season. Labels: Barnes and Noble, Booksellers, Borders
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Get 'em while they're hot
 If you're one of the many conflicted fans of both independent booksellers and e-readers, this is your weekend. Unbridled Books has partnered with the American Booksellers Association to promote the IndieCommerce program, and they're planning to offer e-versions of 25 of their titles for a mere 25 cents apiece on June 9, 10, and 11. This is a great opportunity to support your local independent bookshop and stock up your Kindle/iPad/whatever, so don't miss out. Labels: Booksellers, ebooks
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Grim signs
 The NY Times has posted another article about the struggles of independent booksellers. The American Booksellers Association just hosted its 6th annual Winter Institute, and the store owners who attended were clearly willing to try just about anything to stay relevant. (Bookstores with wine bars! Cafes! Online presences! Whatever!) The article also mentions the most recent rumors about the Borders chain, which delayed payments to publishers last month and appears to be within a gnat's whisker of closing its doors. Labels: Booksellers, Economy of Doom
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Down for the count
 PublishersWeekly recently posted an interesting article about chain bookstores' ongoing attempts to stay profitable during the economic downturn. Of the three major U.S. book chains (Books-A-Million, Borders, and Barnes and Noble), only B&N posted a sales gain in the most recent quarter—and that was due to strong online sales, which overcame a 2.6% loss in its retail trade stores. According to PW, the three stores are tweaking their floor layouts in various ways, including expanding bargain sections and non-book offerings, in an effort to respond to current demands. Frankly, I'm not sure how much (if any) of this will help... but at least no one is going gently into the good night, you know? Labels: Booksellers, Economy of Doom, Publishing
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Textbooks on the cheap...er
 Good news for poor college students (particularly college students who have to pay zillions of dollars for those textbooks that will be out of date about .6 seconds after they pay $95 for 'em): Barnes & Noble announced Monday that it is expanding its textbook rental program. The program began as a pilot earlier this year, and is offered through campus bookstores managed by the bookseller. Users have the option of renting via campus bookstores or online, and the books are offered for at least 50 percent off the purchase price of a new copy. Labels: Booksellers, schools, Wordcandy on the cheap
Thursday, August 05, 2010
The fall of the book-selling empire?
 Further hints of the crumbling world of major chain bookstores: Barnes and Noble is considering putting itself up for sale. (Specifically, they're exploring "strategic alternatives", one of which is selling.) My hometown contains both a Borders and a Barnes and Noble, and you can see that market factors are hitting 'em hard (limited hours, diminishing stock, fewer employees), while the five or so local, independent booksellers in the area seem to be doing okay. Wave of the future, or just a fluke of my hippie town? Only time will tell.... Labels: Booksellers, Economy of Doom, Money
Friday, July 09, 2010
Used books on the cheap
 Dude, this sounds so cool: the online used-book retailer Once Sold Tales has opened a brick-and-mortar store (well, less bricks and mortar and more a corner of one of their warehouses, but whatever) where they sell books for a flat $1 a pound. You'll have to make your way to the wilds of Kent, WA to visit, but if you're in the area... Labels: Booksellers, Used books, Wordcandy on the cheap
Monday, November 23, 2009
If money is no object...
 ...or you're just a really, really, really big Robert Crais fan*, you can buy a special limited edition copy of his upcoming novel The First Rule from The Mysterious Bookshop in New York. You can choose from the 100 signed and numbered copies (at $150 apiece) or the 26 signed and lettered copies ($275). They'll all have leather spines, marbled boards, and glassine jackets, and they'll be available by mid-December. Normal Crais fans, like my dad, should probably wait until January 12th, where they'll only have to shell out $26.95. *Or looking for a Christmas gift for one. Labels: Booksellers, Robert Crais, Suspense
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hard times
 Seattle's Elliot Bay Book Co., an iconic bookseller located in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square District, has been sufficiently hard-hit by the recession to be considering a move. While I'm glad to hear they're not considering closing, this news is still a huge blow for the other businesses in Pioneer Square—a gorgeous bit of Seattle, for those of you who haven't seen it, but one that has long contained more than its fair share of the city's homeless and mentally ill population, and is now really struggling with the recent dip in tourist income. Labels: Booksellers, Economy of Doom
Monday, March 30, 2009
Borders no more?
 There's been a fair amount of depressing-sounding Borders news floating around lately (not to mention the obvious shutting down/downsizing of its CD and DVD divisions), and it sounds like we might get some kind of confirmation soon: The Consumerist is reporting that things aren't looking good. I'm not totally clear on the roads to bankruptcy and/or going out of business (they seem to go hand-in-hand much more in this economy), but I'm assuming we'll hear more this week. Anyway, good luck, Borders! You charge too much for CDs*, but I really like your manga section, so I hope you stick around. *Seriously: the Neko Case CD I bought at the beginning of the month cost under $10 at Target, $12.95 at Starbucks, and an impressive $17.99 at Borders. Labels: Booksellers, Economy of Doom
Friday, October 24, 2008
Barnes and Noble takes on furniture, with meh-inducing results.
Has anybody else checked out B&N's new " Home" section? Frankly, I would think that a bookseller would offer a more practical book storage solution than this:  On the other hand, I did kind of like some of their lamps:  B&N is currently running a 20% off of one item sale, so if you're tempted by either one of these pieces, you might want to buy it now, seeing as they're a little expensive otherwise. ($152 for the lamp, $119 for the bookshelf, before online discounts and sale price.) Labels: Booksellers, Bookshelves
Monday, October 15, 2007
Bookseller news
Barnes and Noble is currently featuring a video interview with Terry Pratchett. (I'm finding that their new site is about 20% slower and fifty times more irritating than their old one. Is any one else having this reaction?) Amazon has the first volume of the Wallflower anime available for pre-order. They're giving a 25% discount, too... which still doesn't make it worthwhile, in my opinion. This was a really low-quality anime. On the East Coast, the Strand Bookstore will be hosting an event on November 19th with the exquisitely beautiful Padma Lakshmi, host of Bravo's Top Chef and author of Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day. If anybody goes to this, can you find out how it is that she works around food every day and still remains a size -2? And then get back to me? Thanks! On the West Coast, Powell's is offering a hefty 30% discount off of Brock Clarke's The Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, which we had earlier singled out for having truly excellent cover art. Labels: Booksellers
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According to the LA Times, Barnes and Noble announced last week that it will no longer offer copies of 100 backlist graphic novels from DC Comics in its bookstores, including well-known titles like Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. B&N is upset that DC signed a digital distribution deal with Amazon for the books, making them exclusively available on either Amazon Kindles or other devices (like iPads) with an Amazon Kindle app.
