Author Topic: Anyone stilling buying books in a bookstore? (Read 4849 times)

sailor723 · « **on:** January 11, 2011, 06:41:30 am »

One of the writers I regularly read was coming out with a new book today. My options were.....

1 Wait for it to show up in my local Coles or Indigo at $34.95. Sometimes it's there on the release date ....sometimes several days later

2 Order it from Indigo or Amazon.ca online for around $21 (but I'd have to pay shipping or come up with something else to add to the order to get to the $39 minimum for free shipping on Amazon) I'd also have to wait several days after the release date for it to arrive.

3 Pre-order from Amazon.com for my Kindle at $14 and have it download automaticly at midnight on the release date

I find I'm choosing #3 more and more often. I wonder what that says about the longterm viability of those Coles stores in my local malls or even our big shiny new Indigo?

I still like a "real" hardback for something I intend to keep and reread in years to come but for mystery books or "fluff" stuff the digital option must really be hurting Coles.

safristi · « **Reply #1 on:** January 11, 2011, 06:52:13 am »

..you forgot
#4 The LIBRARY.

yup available a few weeks(months later if it is on Reserve by others) but the CHEAPEST by 1Trillion%.........

tpl · « **Reply #2 on:** January 11, 2011, 07:02:08 am »

I used to buy my books from Bakka the SF bookstore when I lived in TO but now it is just too much trouble and expense to get there and park as well as the books are more expensive than Amazon.
I buy all my books through Amazon now. I keep a wish list and whenever I get past the free shipping limit I order. A good trick is to be ahead of publication date. I have ordered, in one order, 4 books which are not yet available. This gets free shipping BUT Amazon delivers the books separately as they appear. I have even had rebates when prices have chnaged in my favour.

I do buy Ebooks from Webscriptions but only a certain series that will never be in print and have no DRM. I also download classic SF from there usually for free. Download into Calibre and then to my Kobo.

I attempt never to enter Coles or Indigo.

And yes Saf, I frequent my library at least once a week for "mystery books or "fluff" stuff " and non fiction/reference.

safristi · « **Reply #3 on:** January 11, 2011, 07:11:53 am »

...whatever Kindles yer fire O Great Kobo........

.or can we call ya "FLUFFY"....

toolatecrew · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2011, 08:05:16 am »

I hardley buy books at all anymore period. I used to buy several a month when I traveled more. Get pout of the hotel, browse a bookstore. Pick up a book and read it over dinner to keep me busy alone in the restaurant. However I've been told I read very fast. I got 2 400 page books for Xmas and I'm done both already. Even paperbacks start to get expensive when you go through them fast. So now I try to get everything from the library. You can often reserve books before release so you get it as soon as the library does (even though you only get it for a week).

The number of e book readers out there is still really small so I think it will take a Long time for it to have a large effect. I still like to have the physical book when I do buy it so that I can lend it when I'm done. Ebooks need to be substantially cheaper to make me take notice. Yes $14 for a new release is cheaper than 36 but $14 is still >= the cost when it gets released on paperback.

As for traffic in bookstores it may eventually hurt the small Coles etc in Malls but ther big Chapters with a Starbucks/Indigo kids etc in them are as much social meeting spots as bookstores now.

wing · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2011, 08:11:40 am »

What's a book?

quadzilla · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2011, 08:58:05 am »

Quote from: sailor723 on January 11, 2011, 06:41:30 am

Order it from Indigo or Amazon.ca online for around $21 (but I'd have to pay shipping or come up with something else to add to the order to get to the $39 minimum for free shipping on Amazon) I'd also have to wait several days after the release date for it to arrive.

Free shipping is now only $25.

tortoise · « **Reply #7 on:** January 11, 2011, 09:29:57 am »

I bought my wife a Kindle for Christmas and she loves it. Since her parents are in Vermont I was able to register her kindle in the states to have access to the Amazon.com bookstore with its lower prices and greater selection. So far she hasn't paid more than $10 for a book. I don't think she'll ever buy a proper book again.

tenpenny · « **Reply #8 on:** January 11, 2011, 09:53:01 am »

I love a bookstore. There's nothing better than spending a couple of hours randomly looking through books, you never know what subject will catch your interest.

I have little use for electronic books - I like to read in the bath, so I don't want to risk destroying a ebook reader if I fall asleep (as I have done in the past).To me, reading is a tactile thing; without the physical book in your hand, it's more like watching tv. And I find I can hardly stand to watch tv without reading, so that becomes a circle.

Dexer · « **Reply #9 on:** January 11, 2011, 09:57:04 am »

I actually bought a couple of books at Chapters last week. Yeah...not crazy about the high prices. And, as mentioned, amazon free shipping is only $25.00 so it's usually easy to fill an order to that amount (most of my amazon purchases are Blu-ray Discs).

Fact of the matter is that I really dislike e-readers.

I've had a Sony e-reader for a year and a half. Honestly, the thing I find it most handy for is saving PDFs of operating manuals. I can keep instructions books for my various cameras and such handy without hauling paper around. And I use it to check out classic, public domain literature.

But I really dislike it for reading books in general. I dislike the feel, the look...pretty much everything. For me, it's a utilitarian device; a tool. I use if I must.

My computer is in my personal library. It has books I've owned since I was kid. I've even got some books my late father owned in the 1950's. I get great pleasure from thumbing through them at random and discovering new things EVERY single time I do that.

In 18 months of owning an e-reader, I've never had the pleasure of thumbing through it and suddenly discovering something I hadn't see before.

The Mighty Duck · « **Reply #10 on:** January 11, 2011, 10:11:33 am »

As toolate says, the number of ebook readers out there is still fairly small (albeit growing). I don't think books or bookstores will ever fully disappear, but I can see how the smaller ones in the malls might suffer.

But frankly, I don't find them very useful anyway. Poor selection most of the time, unless you want a bestseller. So I won't miss them.

I order my books from Amazon. Great service. Last time I ordered from Amazon.com, and months later I got an email telling me the exchange rate had changed in my favour, and they credited me the difference. Big

for Amazon.

That said, bookstores are great for just browsing... I still enjoy that, and Amazon just doesn't offer the same experience in that respect.

tenpenny · « **Reply #11 on:** January 11, 2011, 10:56:21 am »

Think about what it would be like if cars were only sold on line. You figure out what you want, order it, take it home, and that's that. No test drives, no checking them out at the dealer. That's why I like bookstores. You can browse and look and discover things.

tortoise · « **Reply #12 on:** January 11, 2011, 10:58:10 am »

Quote

As toolate says, the number of ebook readers out there is still fairly small (albeit growing). I don't think books or bookstores will ever fully disappear...

I order my books from Amazon. Great service.

It seems to me that online stores like Amazon are a far greater threat to the bookstore than e-readers.

tortoise · « **Reply #13 on:** January 11, 2011, 11:00:36 am »

Quote from: tenpenny on January 11, 2011, 10:56:21 am

Think about what it would be like if cars were only sold on line. You figure out what you want, order it, take it home, and that's that. No test drives, no checking them out at the dealer. That's why I like bookstores. You can browse and look and discover things.

Unless you're buying a book based on the cover you can read samples of the book online similar to what you'd do in a bookstore.

blur911 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 11, 2011, 11:40:03 am »

Wow, I'm really Ludditelike when it comes to books. I buy them at the used bookstore down the street or at garage sales. Mostly sci-fi paperbacks.

I also like old books, have a few interesting ones like my Electrical Engineers Handbook from the '40s. It must have 1000 pages and is almost a cube.

Bubba · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2011, 11:57:04 am »

Quote from: blur911 on January 11, 2011, 11:40:03 am

Wow, I'm really Ludditelike when it comes to books. I buy them at the used bookstore down the street or at garage sales. Mostly sci-fi paperbacks.

I generally buy my books new, however, like you I have purchased used books such as an original edition Hardy Boys (from the 1920s) to "On a Clear Day, You Can See General Motors" at garage sales.

safristi · « **Reply #16 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:08:32 pm »

..On a clear day you can see General Motors @ garage sales.........funny in so many ways......

Bubba · « **Reply #17 on:** January 11, 2011, 02:12:06 pm »

Quote from: safristi on January 11, 2011, 02:08:32 pm

..On a clear day you can see General Motors @ garage sales.........funny in so many ways......

And it was 50 cents!

rrocket · « **Reply #18 on:** January 11, 2011, 05:28:53 pm »

Magazine for me, mostly. I do audiobooks in the car. I buy certain books...maybe only a few a year.

mwqa · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2011, 05:35:41 pm »

I still buy hardcovers, which is annoying because I hate to store them after I've read them. I much prefer paperbacks. Unfortunately, I'm old enough to realize that a book won't be available forever (except on-line?), so I'm reluctant to give them away. We don't give or throw away books in my house!

I don't buy books online - I just like the experience of going into a bookstore. That said, even Chapters website will discount a book by 30-40%. It's because of the different competition, according to someone at the Chapters, when I pointed out the difference in price.

I avoid amazon. Big corporate machine and not necessarily the cheapest place to buy (in general). Support you local stores!!!!!