Bye, Bye Borders

Things look terminal for Borders.

First, let me get this out of the way:

I refuse to weep for one of the main contributors to the mass extinction of independent new bookstores in this country. It'll suck for the (soon to be ex) employees, but probably not much worse than continuing to work for such an ass company.

If Borders liquidates, it will be a "sad day in book publishing's history and will do severe and lasting damage to the industry's ecosystem," said Simba Information senior trade analyst Michael Norris.
"There are so many people who buy a small number of books in a given year that the absence of a nearby store that they like can really curb how much they buy," he said. "They won't go to another store or online like flicking a switch."

Oh pipe down, you sap.
They can, they will and they largely already have.
Or would you have us believe Borders is on the auction block because they have too many loyal, devoted customers with no other book buying recourse?
Please.

The disappearance of Borders would likely hurt e-book sales as well, since some e-book readers visit bookstores to see what books they might like to read before buying the electronic version for their e-book reader, Norris added.

Shoppers who want bookstore ambiance but don't like paying for it are an unfortunate reality. But I don't see how the demise of a physical chain selling actual books is supposed to be bad news for ebooks. The fewer venues available for physical books, the more users are funneled into the electronic chute.

It's a dismal spiral that will accelerate as digital publishing kills off more and more stores, driving more and more readers online.


Wheeeeee!