Borders is closing all three Austin-area stores.
This is a darn shame, but their prices never struck me as competitive with online stores, even for those few items I didn’t buy direct from publishers.
Borders may well be doomed by online sales and electronic books, but some chains can take a long time to die. Until recently there was even a Hastings Records in Round Rock, even though I though they had died out a long time ago…
Altho I buy most of my books online Borders do offer better prices than Barnes and Noble. They usually have weekly coupons from 25% to 40% off whereas B&N never have more than 10% except on bestsellers. I do like the superstores to browse-before the superstores you had a bunch of smaller stores which never had much depth-very little Sf or mystery and virtualyy no small press books. As far as i know Michigan only has one store specializing in crime/mystery(and its far away from me) and has never had one for SF.
Luckily the Borders I go to is one of their more proftable and is safe for now.
You can still buy (online) from “Tower Records” if you’re so inclined. (Also, in Japan.)
B&N’s major advantage has been the membership gets one a discount on magazines…only now these jokers, as they contract, are cutting their magazine arrays. My most convenient B&N has now lost a monthly C-note or two from me by dumping nearly all its fiction magazines (littles, sf/fantasy, crime fiction). I’m sure they are Saving Big, given that almost all magazines are returnable for credit.
The Borders I was office manager of is one of the closers. 29 in Vienna, VA.
[…] no, because Lawrence is on top of the story. I am concerned about how this will effect my sister, but there’s a support group for her. […]
There’s another Hastings in San Marcos, I believe. I used to live near the one in Round Rock -surprised they still survive in this age of dying book stores. Austin has lost several great book stores. Perhaps this will open some windows to smaller, specialty stores, but I think not. The future is all about e-books, alas.