Borders Books filing for bankruptcy

[michchick98]

The troubled Ann Arbor, Mich., bookseller could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection as soon as Monday or Tuesday, paving the way for hundreds of store closings and thousands of job losses, said people familiar with the matter.

Borders has abandoned efforts to refinance its debts, and is preparing bankruptcy papers and seeking financing agreements that would keep it operating during the Chapter 11 restructuring process, the people said. Its shares tumbled 33% to 25 cents apiece in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange trading after The Wall Street Journal reported its plans.

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Is this just one more indicator that the paperback is becoming a thing of the past?

 

[sadangel]

I think it is more a case of Border's partnered with the Kobo Reader, yet they don't promote it. It's like the Kobo doesn't exist for Border's. This has put them completly behind the 8 ball with people who buy e-books. I think also the fact that most Borders tend to have a "small bookstore" feel to them. That could have been a plus, but they've continued to act like a small bookstore.

My understanding is they are basically restructering the debt. Hope they can pull out of this okay.

*aside: I am 79 days smoke free as of today so GOOD LUCK and GREAT GOING. It isn't easy.*

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Full story here
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Is this just one more indicator that the paperback is becoming a thing of the past?

Its one more sign we're in RECOVERY Winter! Go Obama!

 

[george51]

I hope they get through it. I like Borders stores.

(Admittedly, I like Barnes and Noble better...)

 

[Firebrain]

I don't think the paperback market is about to die. Ebooks still account for a smaller amount of sales, to my understanding. Those sales are growing in terms of percentages, but it may well be that people who were not purchasing print books are buying ebooks, so the market itself may be expanding.

I know that Waterstones, the UK's bigger book brand, are holding their own (struggling to a point, but that's more to do with being undercut by online retailers). I don't think they'll be disappearing off the highstreet any time soon, though smaller stores will close to account for the undercutting. People are just buying their books in different places these days; WH Smiths Travel, for example, which sells in airports and train stations, is doing well.

I do wonder about the hardback market, though. I've thought for a while that the hardback release is an unrequired expense, as nice to have as it might be. It's almost a bit elitist, when you think about it. I think ebooks will definitely be swallowing some hardback sales and they are low as it is (I think this is currently countered by pricing ebooks highly and waiting to release them with paperbacks).

I think that part of the reason the ebook market is expanding is to do with price. You'll see authors giving them away for free for a short period of time (especially self-pubbed ones) and then only charging £1-£2. This is one of the reasons I don't think the self-pub route is going to "overtake" conventional publishers, though -- nomatter what the medium or how good your book is, few are bestsellers. Few people can afford to make a living from £1-£2 books and few of us have a huge back catalogue or want to pump out shite to subsidise ourselves. It'll just be very hard to do (even though your royalties are far higher as a self-pub ebook author).

One of the bestselling self-pubbed authors said recently, "why am I charging a dollar for my books? Because I can." Pricing like that is one way to sell a book, sure, but it's no good for the industry as a whole. What we'll end up with, if the market goes that way, is a market full of speedily-written rubbish. I do hope this doesn't happen to ebooks.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I think that part of the reason the ebook market is expanding is to do with price. You'll see authors giving them away for free for a short period of time (especially self-pubbed ones) and then only charging £1-£2. This is one of the reasons I don't think the self-pub route is going to "overtake" conventional publishers, though -- nomatter what the medium or how good your book is, few are bestsellers. Few people can afford to make a living from £1-£2 books and few of us have a huge back catalogue or want to pump out shite to subsidise ourselves. It'll just be very hard to do (even though your royalties are far higher as a self-pub ebook author).

One of the bestselling self-pubbed authors said recently, "why am I charging a dollar for my books? Because I can." Pricing like that is one way to sell a book, sure, but it's no good for the industry as a whole. What we'll end up with, if the market goes that way, is a market full of speedily-written rubbish. I do hope this doesn't happen to ebooks.

I'm not sure about that, Firebrain. Typically, an author will receive royalties that correspond to around 8 to 10% of the cover price of their paperbacks through traditional publishers. That means £1-£2 per book sold for £10-£20. Since self-published e-books can have a production cost that is next to zilch, I can see those prices becoming more common without bringing about the end of the world.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The basic book hasnt changed since Gutenberg; on the otherhand electronic technology is certain of trashing your Kindle every year.

Besides, how on Earth will college students manage to fuck booksellers with returns after courses are over for the term?

 

[michchick98]

I don't think the paperback market is about to die. Ebooks still account for a smaller amount of sales, to my understanding. Those sales are growing in terms of percentages, but it may well be that people who were not purchasing print books are buying ebooks, so the market itself may be expanding.

I know that Waterstones, the UK's bigger book brand, are holding their own (struggling to a point, but that's more to do with being undercut by online retailers). I don't think they'll be disappearing off the highstreet any time soon, though smaller stores will close to account for the undercutting. People are just buying their books in different places these days; WH Smiths Travel, for example, which sells in airports and train stations, is doing well.

I do wonder about the hardback market, though. I've thought for a while that the hardback release is an unrequired expense, as nice to have as it might be. It's almost a bit elitist, when you think about it. I think ebooks will definitely be swallowing some hardback sales and they are low as it is (I think this is currently countered by pricing ebooks highly and waiting to release them with paperbacks).

I think that part of the reason the ebook market is expanding is to do with price. You'll see authors giving them away for free for a short period of time (especially self-pubbed ones) and then only charging £1-£2. This is one of the reasons I don't think the self-pub route is going to "overtake" conventional publishers, though -- nomatter what the medium or how good your book is, few are bestsellers. Few people can afford to make a living from £1-£2 books and few of us have a huge back catalogue or want to pump out shite to subsidise ourselves. It'll just be very hard to do (even though your royalties are far higher as a self-pub ebook author).

One of the bestselling self-pubbed authors said recently, "why am I charging a dollar for my books? Because I can." Pricing like that is one way to sell a book, sure, but it's no good for the industry as a whole. What we'll end up with, if the market goes that way, is a market full of speedily-written rubbish. I do hope this doesn't happen to ebooks.

I know this topic comes up pretty frequently, but it's interesting to discuss anyway. I like my paperbacks. There's still nothing like holding a book in your hands, turning the pages, the smell of a new book, etc. But at the same time I like my Sony Reader also. I can't carry around 100 + paperbacks in my purse like I can with the Sony. I can't prop a book against something and read it hands free (so to speak) with a paperback -- I'd have to hold it to keep it from closing.

I've always liked Borders, but honestly in the last few years, I've bought a majority of my books either online or at a used bookstore. I hope that like GM, Borders can come through the bankruptcy a better company. I'm just sorry to see that so many jobs will be lost.

 

[michchick98]

Its one more sign we're in RECOVERY Winter! Go Obama!

As much as you'd like to make this political, JBJ, I don't think it makes one iota of difference who's running the country for Borders. If it were your beloved Republicans in office, I suspect Borders would still be filing for bankruptcy.

Have a nice day anyway and try not to hurt yourself.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

As much as you'd like to make this political, JBJ, I don't think it makes one iota of difference who's running the country for Borders. If it were your beloved Republicans in office, I suspect Borders would still be filing for bankruptcy.

Have a nice day anyway and try not to hurt yourself.

What you never get is my contempt for the GOP. George Higgins said it best, THE GOP AND DEMOCRATS ARE LIKE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ENEMAS, AND YOU GET BOTH UP THE ASS.

I'm a fascist.

 

[Firebrain]

I'm not sure about that, Firebrain. Typically, an author will receive royalties that correspond to around 8 to 10% of the cover price of their paperbacks through traditional publishers. That means £1-£2 per book sold for £10-£20. Since self-published e-books can have a production cost that is next to zilch, I can see those prices becoming more common without bringing about the end of the world.

Your average commercially published author has a better chance of selling than a self-pubbed one, though -- so a better chance of earning enough to sustain their level/time for writing. Ebooks are making it a bit easier, but if self-pubbed authors continue to keep such low prices then it'll be harder for the self-pub author to make a living. If they all keep driving each other's prices down then they aren't doing anybody any favours, in the same way that people who make shoes wouldn't be. Yes, ebooks cost little to produce -- but there's still a cost to writing. If that goes, what happens to the quality of the writing? Certainly won't do self-pubbed authors many favours.

 

[trysail]

It's a shame. Borders has always been a better bookstore than Barnes & Noble by virtue of its broader selection and the much better quality. If I want to browse the latest offerings of Oxford reference books, Borders is the only place to go. Many of B&N's books ( especially their proprietary editions ) use very poor materials ( e.g., acidic paper ). I bought a B&N proprietary edition of Bullfinch's Mythology in the late '80s; today, its pages are brittle and yellowing. B&N always goes the cheap and expedient route ( that is, in part, a reflection of B&N's chairman, Leonard Riggio, who is a bit of a slimeball ).


There's an old aphorism in the investment field: Nobody ever made any money selling books. It speaks to the absolutely razor-thin margin, cut-throat competitiveness of the field and the perpetually changing distribution channels. The neighborhood bookstores were succeeded by the mall chains ( e.g., Walden Books ) which were succeeded by the category-killer superstores ( e.g., Borders, B&N ) which were succeeded by the on-line sites ( Amazon ). Over the last sixty-odd years, book retailing has been a very hard way to make a living.


Regretfully, rumor-mongering ( which— since Borders has not [ as of this time ] declared bankruptcy ) by the media and people tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy in retailing. It is to be hoped that Borders will survive in one form or another, though it may eventually require reorganization.


Capitalism is democracy. You vote with your dollars. Schumpeterian "creative destruction" is but one facet of Darwinian evolution.

 

[PennLady]

A Borders near me underwent a sort of renovation in the last year or so, and we haven't liked it as much since. I admit I rarely buy books any more -- I love them, I really do, but I read them too fast and the price makes it tough to justify. I know that's not the case for everyone, but depending on genre and such, I can read your average paperback in a day. Hardly worth the $7.99.

I do have a Kindle, and I love it, but even so most of the books on it are free -- I just don't have the $$ to spend on books.

We started going to Borders more for music or DVDs than books, and the renovation severely cut back on their stocks of both of those, but more music, I think.

I don't think this is necessarily a statement on how many books are sold, and in what format -- it could just be that Borders, like so many other companies, is feeling the effects of the recession. People have less disposable income, and so probably buy fewer books.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I'll tell you why bookstores are in trouble.

Staff are gum-snapping clueless imbeciles. I order everything online cuz the folks at BAM and WALDEN and the others have no idea of what they have or dont have or when I can get it if I order it. So I stopped dealing with all of them.

 

[lovecraft68]

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Is this just one more indicator that the paperback is becoming a thing of the past?[/QUO


I think this is a generational thing. The people like myself who want to "Hold the book in their hand" are the dying breed the kids are used to doing everything on the computer so they have no qualms with reading full books on it. The kindle has become huge with people who travel because it's easier than bringing books along. If you look through lit's writing resources it's right there. There are a few essays from a few years ago about the "self publishing revolution" now the essays are all about e-publishing.
Also in the case of our particular genre of erotica e-books are more Anonymous. A visitor at your house will never be able to see whats on your computer as opposed to someone accidentally stumbling across your Daddy/daughter incest anthology you left out on the table.
I read an article not to long ago about what children born in 2011 will never see or remember not sure if paperbacks were on the list but they should have been.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LOVECRAFT

Our local sheriff orders smut online then sends deputies to your house to arrest you, and he gets away with it cuz Amazon sent your book to a community thats intolerant of smut. Our sheriff pledged himself to rid America of porn. So if you e-publish your book expect a deputy sheriff to fly to your town and shackle you.

 

[lovecraft68]

LOVECRAFT

Our local sheriff orders smut online then sends deputies to your house to arrest you, and he gets away with it cuz Amazon sent your book to a community thats intolerant of smut. Our sheriff pledged himself to rid America of porn. So if you e-publish your book expect a deputy sheriff to fly to your town and shackle you.

Oh I know all about it. They also pose as slutty 16 year olds on face book and send you pics of them in their little bra and panties then come to your house and say you have child pornography on your computer. Besides I am simply putting my material out there no one has to buy it.

Kind of like guns. Smut doesn't make people sick people make people sick. For the record let them come to my house. The sheriff has not yet ordered us to turn in our guns and I have plenty of those(registered legally of course well er... most of them) to go along with my smut.

 

[sr71plt]

Ebooks still account for a smaller amount of sales, to my understanding.

I don't think paperbacks are going away anytime soon (might not see many hardbacks around for forever, though), but Amazon reported ebooks sales outstripping paperback sales there as of last month (and Amazon is the big bookstore in the sky now).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2011/jan/28/amazon-kindle-ebook-paperback-sales

And ebooks starting outstripping hardback sales at Amazon last July.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/20/amazon-ebook-digital-sales-hardbacks-us

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LOVEBOAT

We got a guy in jail here who sold a deputy smut via Amazon. Two deputies flew to where he lived and brought him back with them. Amazon pegs the sale to where the wares go, so the man sold smut where its illegal.

I spect our state supreme court to toss him outta jail, but the sheriff says he's doing Gods work...so I dont know if God is as powerful as...say...STELLA.

 

[lovecraft68]

LOVEBOAT

We got a guy in jail here who sold a deputy smut via Amazon. Two deputies flew to where he lived and brought him back with them. Amazon pegs the sale to where the wares go, so the man sold smut where its illegal.

I spect our state supreme court to toss him outta jail, but the sheriff says he's doing Gods work...so I dont know if God is as powerful as...say...STELLA.

Damn straight they should throw it out. Bottom line is if it is illegal to sell it to certain areas then any distributor should be made aware of that. It's as simple as a do not ship list. The following states etc.... hell e-bay has a list of all types of materials you can't sell Amazon can do it.

Now on another note when exactly did pornography, as long it is not sold to a minor, become illegal in the first place? There's assholes pushing to get marijuana legalized but you can't read about or watch a blow job?

Bottom line I'm not putting anything on hold for big brother or his lackeys if they want me come get me. Sooner or later they're going to be coming for everyone anyways I may as well get it over with.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Borders bought a lot of prime property and is paying out more in mortgages than you can believe. Meanwhile, the price of books has gone up to the point that many of us actually-- can't afford to buy them the way we used to.

Book sales are shifting to ebooks and used bookstores. I was in one yesterday. The owner told me that they have more customers than ever, and are expecting to get big shipments of remaindered books from Borders-- which they will sell at used prices.

Borders shutting down will be a boon for the independents.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Borders bought a lot of prime property and is paying out more in mortgages than you can believe. Meanwhile, the price of books has gone up to the point that many of us actually-- can't afford to buy them the way we used to.

Book sales are shifting to ebooks and used bookstores. I was in one yesterday. The owner told me that they have more customers than ever, and are expecting to get big shipments of remaindered books from Borders-- which they will sell at used prices.

Borders shutting down will be a boon for the independents.

See? 'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody good. Personally, however much Borders was like a small bookstore, real small bookstores are ever better---especially when they sell used books!

 

[Stella_Omega]

See? 'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody good. Personally, however much Borders was like a small bookstore, real small bookstores are ever better---especially when they sell used books!

Boirders tried to sell the "Book Buying experience" with the Starbucks and the wifi and the easy reading chairs. But people either buy books or they don't. They are either readers or not. You don't need to emulate an industrial sized livingroom to bring in the buyers, you need to have the books, and you need to have them at an affordable price.

 

[lovecraft68]

Borders bought a lot of prime property and is paying out more in mortgages than you can believe. Meanwhile, the price of books has gone up to the point that many of us actually-- can't afford to buy them the way we used to.

Book sales are shifting to ebooks and used bookstores. I was in one yesterday. The owner told me that they have more customers than ever, and are expecting to get big shipments of remaindered books from Borders-- which they will sell at used prices.

Borders shutting down will be a boon for the independents.

In the end just sad. another brick and mortar chain down the tubes. I admittedly know jack shit about economics but to me you have to be a fool not to realize that the internet and all the free shit on it has destroyed practically every industry there is. Books, music, movies. I used to own a comic book store it was an actual store front with overhead. because of that overhead I could only give a 20% discount on new comics to my subscribers. Myself and many other stores were put out of business by online shops that could give 35% or even more as they were doing it out of there basement and didn't care if they were making minimal profit per book they were making up for it in bulk with no expenses.
Diamond is the only distributor for comic books. At one point they would only sell to you if you had a store front and you had to prove it with a business license and even photos of your shop. They abandoned that for the increased sales and left us hung out to dry.
Another thing that killed that industry and any other collectible market is E-bay whatever it was that you collected the price was based on scarcity. When I was younger if you saw that rare book and it was pricey you bought it because where/when would you see it again. Now go on e-bay and there is hundreds of the same book in every price range and some dufus started it at .99 because he does not know it's supposed to be expensive and is happy with anything he gets for it. In the collectible market it is now not what it's worth but what people will pay.
Getting back to your point about price Stella I see paperbacks going for 8-9.99 and is ridiculous but Borders has bills for e-books there is no bills so the savings are passed on to you. daily we contribute to the economy's demise. I said to my wife last week that I wanted to grab a copy of Springsteen's the River. I planned on going to Newbury comics to grab one later in the week. I mentioned I was going and she said not to because she had already got it on amazon for less money and free shipping. yes we are saving but by not supporting retail stores we are driving them out of business then we go "Oh no how terrible" when they close. But in our defense we are all broke and need to save money where we can it's a vicious circle.

 

[trysail]

It is— once again— obvious that people do not comprehend that protection under the Bankruptcy Code does not equate to "shutting down."