“Today convenience is the success factor of just about every type of product and service that is showing steady growth.” –Charles G. Mortimer
For the movie buffs, there’s NetFlix. You select a movie, it’s delivered to your door, and you return it when you’re finished. Now someone has taken that same concept and applied it for book lovers. It’s called BookSwim. The books are shipped to your home in recycled packaging and you keep them as long as you wish.
BookSwim cannot be good news for bookstores or online booksellers. I’m torn as to whether this service will help or hurt authors. On the one hand, there’s the added exposure. On the other, like a library, the book is borrowed—not purchased, although there is that option.
Because I couldn’t find The Ride listed, I assume the selection is not as great as on Amazon.com. However, they did have many titles from which to choose, including textbooks.
I haven’t signed up because I’m a bookstore fan. I love browsing. I also enjoy owning the books I read. But, I do think it is a very clever idea and offers a valuable service to readers, especially for anyone who doesn’t live near a library or bookstore.
Would you use a service like BookSwim?
Thanks for stopping by.
Tags: NetFlix, BookSwim, The Ride, Charles Mortimer, Amazon
Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Change in Trends
“Nothing is permanent but change.” - Heraclitus
There has been talk on blogs, including my own, about the inability of independent bookstores to compete against chain stores. Therefore, I was taken by surprise when I read on Boston.com that an independent store, Brookline Booksmith, welcomed patrons of a nearby Barnes and Noble store that had recently gone out of business.
According to the article, Unchained Success, “Booksmith is not the only independent bookstore proving surprisingly sturdy in a stormy economy. Other small booksellers are withstanding the downturn with the same combination of community involvement, personalized service, events, e-commerce, and such extras as cafés or gifts or used books, that enabled them to survive the onset of megachains and Amazon.com.
"There's a standard line that the independents are collapsing and they're all going to disappear soon. I think that's a little dated," said John Mutter, editor of the online newsletter Shelf Awareness, which tracks the book industry. "Most of the independents that are left are much stronger than the group as a whole before."
There was also good news in the article about the general book business during this serious recession. “Nationwide, sales in bookstores of all types fare better than in many businesses. The Census Bureau reports that bookstore sales in January 2009 were virtually unchanged from January 2008, compared with an 8 percent decline in total retail and food service sales. The big chains did not share that good news. Barnes & Noble's store sales dropped 5 percent last quarter compared with 2007, capping a year that CEO Steve Riggio called "the most challenging year that the company and the industry have ever experienced." Fourth-quarter sales in Borders superstores plunged 15 percent, and the chain closed 112 of its Waldenbooks locations in 2008.”
I hate to hear of any bookstore closing, but I am pleased to know that folks are still shopping for books and that maybe the independent bookstore won’t become obsolete after all.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tags: Heraclitus, Barnes and Noble, Booksmith, Amazon, Boston.com,
There has been talk on blogs, including my own, about the inability of independent bookstores to compete against chain stores. Therefore, I was taken by surprise when I read on Boston.com that an independent store, Brookline Booksmith, welcomed patrons of a nearby Barnes and Noble store that had recently gone out of business.
According to the article, Unchained Success, “Booksmith is not the only independent bookstore proving surprisingly sturdy in a stormy economy. Other small booksellers are withstanding the downturn with the same combination of community involvement, personalized service, events, e-commerce, and such extras as cafés or gifts or used books, that enabled them to survive the onset of megachains and Amazon.com.
"There's a standard line that the independents are collapsing and they're all going to disappear soon. I think that's a little dated," said John Mutter, editor of the online newsletter Shelf Awareness, which tracks the book industry. "Most of the independents that are left are much stronger than the group as a whole before."
There was also good news in the article about the general book business during this serious recession. “Nationwide, sales in bookstores of all types fare better than in many businesses. The Census Bureau reports that bookstore sales in January 2009 were virtually unchanged from January 2008, compared with an 8 percent decline in total retail and food service sales. The big chains did not share that good news. Barnes & Noble's store sales dropped 5 percent last quarter compared with 2007, capping a year that CEO Steve Riggio called "the most challenging year that the company and the industry have ever experienced." Fourth-quarter sales in Borders superstores plunged 15 percent, and the chain closed 112 of its Waldenbooks locations in 2008.”
I hate to hear of any bookstore closing, but I am pleased to know that folks are still shopping for books and that maybe the independent bookstore won’t become obsolete after all.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tags: Heraclitus, Barnes and Noble, Booksmith, Amazon, Boston.com,
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