the Way of the Turtle

A Disturbing Observation at Barnes & Noble
Thursday, September 5, 2013

Over the past two days I've been to three Barnes & Noble stores looking for several specific books and I've noticed a very disturbing trend.

It's fairly well known that B&N is in financial trouble. Retail sales are down, and they've been losing ground in the e-book market. Borders was in the same boat a few years back - and we know how that turned out.

In my opinion (admittedly uninformed when it comes to financial markets) one of Borders' biggest mistakes was that they lost sight of what their purpose was - selling books and, to a lesser extent, music and movies. I loved B&N when they first opened their stores in Albany and New Haven, because they had a better selection of books than anywhere else I could go. I loved Borders even more, because initially their selection was even better than B&N. Plus Borders had a customer-loyalty card that was free for many years. As things started to fall apart for Borders, the selection of books decreased - and the space started being taken up by toys, puzzles, and all sorts of other non-book products that I rarely gave a second glance. At one time, if you couldn't find a book in the store, you'd likely ask the store to order it for you... but that's no longer necessary. Now you can just order it online, and possibly for less than you'd pay in store. Maybe instead of trying to diversify, Borders should have focused on being the best damn bookstore around.

Over the last year or so, I've noticed that B&N seems to be stocking a much larger selection of toys. Admittedly, many of these are specialty products - I have to admit I've been tempted by a few of the Doctor Who toys they have on the shelves, but talked myself out of spending money on something that would likely sit on a shelf collecting dust (as cool as it might be to have a model TARDIS with sound and flashing lights...) Nevertheless, I've been reminded of the increase in non-book products at Borders and wondered if B&N was trying a similar strategy.

My most recent visits really disturbed me, however, when all three stores I visited didn't have several fairly recent books in stock, and two of the three didn't have a book that was released two days ago anywhere on the shelves (despite their website describing them as having copies in stock.) It also seemed like the sections I shopped in have been reduced in size (which makes sense, if they aren't stocking as many books) and there was more open space on shelves (ditto.) What happens when a bookstore doesn't have books to sell... well, it's not good news for those of us who cherish the process of browsing actual print copies and discovering books and authors we haven't tried yet.

The general opinion seems to be that it's only a matter of time before B&N bites the dust, and what I saw in the stores doesn't reassure me. As much as I would have liked to give them a bit more business, I'll be ordering the books I couldn't find online... which is where I fear I'll be forced to do most of my book shopping in the not-to-distance future. Unless B&N can manage to get their act together and get back to being the best damn bookstore around instead of just about the only bookstore around.

JMH