Comments on: Holiday Jitters

By: The Writer Mama

The Writer Mama — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:36:13 +0000

I’m buying books! I’m giving books! I’m supporting bookstores, libraries, even Amazon. This holiday season, I’m all about books!

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By: Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:02:41 +0000

OK, nancydrew, report back to us with a “field report” :-)

Barbara, I also work for a “large corporation” which assured us there would be no layoffs. But they didn’t say a thing about reducing hours or moving fulltimers to part time. So fingers crossed for all of us.

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By: nancydrew212

nancydrew212 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:05:59 +0000

kathleen,
a test then — on dec 18th, i am going back to Borders at Time Warner Ctr; @6pm or so. i will easily be able to tell if the line then has the same fortitude as it did last year… :)

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By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:53:41 +0000

My mother works at Barnes and Noble, and when I called to ask her about that quote, she indignantly told me that the rest of the letter said that B&N was doing fine, and employees could rest in the assurance that there would be no layoffs.

Books tend to do well in bad economic times. I believe they will in these times, too.

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By: Becky

Becky — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:53:24 +0000

Companies like Borders (where I work) send out coupons to get people to come into the store and purchase something; consider it a mild incentive to get people to actually go inside at all.

Books aren’t popular just because the vast majority of people don’t read, period. Those that do aren’t always the best consumers, either; we have hordes of chumps that sit on their asses and just read books. If you like it, bloody well buy the damn thing.

The most common place I see this is for the graphic novels/manga, which is why companies like Tokyopop are screwed. Their customers don’t usually buy their stuff; they just read what they want and leave the book behind (while ironically demanding that Tokyopop translate even more).

Stuff like Kindle and Amazon’s sneaky little tactics are just the straws that (will eventually) break the camel’s back.

So yeah, readers (and I emphasize that word) will continue to buy books, insofar as they do already, but most will probably start getting into the used book scene, or just buy online.

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By: Lisa Alber

Lisa Alber — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:49:50 +0000

I’m still buying books for myself, but not as often. I am going to the library more often. In fact, last night I browsed Barnes & Noble for the latest reads and today I put hold on these books at the library. I’ve just started doing this.

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By: Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:20:52 +0000

Nancydrew, I was at the Barnes & Nobel on 5th Ave. in Aug. and the line was incredible.

I give a lot of gift cards because I might not know the particular taste of the recipent, but I know they like books. Hopefully gift cards will lift sales after the holiday slump.

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By: Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:46:16 +0000

I already have several books stowed away for gift giving, and I’m sure I’ll buy more. Books are an affordable option when other gifts seem out of range, and they have a long, er, shelf life. ;-)

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By: Kristan

Kristan — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:35:35 +0000

I already cut back book buying, but only for myself. When times get tough, I tend to pare down my personal spending as opposed to having to make cuts to my gift budget.

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By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:36:05 +0000

Book buying will always be top priority for me! I learn to sacrifice other things (going out to dinner, etc.) to leave room for books. However, I have discovered the wonderful world of Amazon.com et al and their used books!! I can purchase a “nearly new” copy of something that practically just came out for a fraction of the price, so it works out really well. And the people I give them to as gifts definitely don’t mind the added “character” of a used book!

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