Kbob
02-17-2007, 08:49 PM
Not long ago when a thread was posted announcing a date for the release of the final Harry Potter book, a lot of us indicated our intention to buy or reserve a copy over the internet via Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com
As someone who worked for small, independent bookstores for over 15 years, I want to take this opportunity to ask that everyone please take your neighborhood store into consideration.
I realize two things... 1) Not everyone has a little bookstore nearby to buy from and 2) the prices on the internet superstores are far cheaper and worth considering during these fiscally troubling times.
I want to respond to both those points...
1) The reason you may not have an independent bookstore in your neighborhood or town is BECAUSE of those internet superstores.
During the years that I worked at an independent children's bookstore, I often pointed out that our greatest competition was NOT the Barnes and Nobles Superstores that sandwiched us on either side from only a few blocks away. No, our biggest competition was the internet stores.
Independent stores all over the country have closed left and right since Amazon took the internet by storm. I really don't fault Amazon. They are what they are. But because their overhead is incredibly low compared to the shop around the corner, and because the can afford to order in a bulk large enough to earn massive discounts from publishers, they can afford to discount their books in kind.
This, by the way, is true for all retail industries competing with the internet stores.
2) I thoroughly understand buying an item at the lowest price you can find. I, for one, am incredibly thrifty. But mathematically, often the amount you are saving amounts to only a couple of bucks. The couple of bucks you might be saving could otherwise be an important sale to your local independent bookstore.
And what's more... imagine what your community will be like if that independent bookstore were not there. Hundreds of neighborhoods find that out for themselves each year.
So... IF you can afford it, and if there is a store you like to support... please buy your copy of Harry Potter from an independent store.
It would mean a lot.
And if enough of you respond to this kindly, I could be persuaded to tell you about my personal knowledge that Harry Potter's success might not even exist if not for the independent bookstore I worked for.
As someone who worked for small, independent bookstores for over 15 years, I want to take this opportunity to ask that everyone please take your neighborhood store into consideration.
I realize two things... 1) Not everyone has a little bookstore nearby to buy from and 2) the prices on the internet superstores are far cheaper and worth considering during these fiscally troubling times.
I want to respond to both those points...
1) The reason you may not have an independent bookstore in your neighborhood or town is BECAUSE of those internet superstores.
During the years that I worked at an independent children's bookstore, I often pointed out that our greatest competition was NOT the Barnes and Nobles Superstores that sandwiched us on either side from only a few blocks away. No, our biggest competition was the internet stores.
Independent stores all over the country have closed left and right since Amazon took the internet by storm. I really don't fault Amazon. They are what they are. But because their overhead is incredibly low compared to the shop around the corner, and because the can afford to order in a bulk large enough to earn massive discounts from publishers, they can afford to discount their books in kind.
This, by the way, is true for all retail industries competing with the internet stores.
2) I thoroughly understand buying an item at the lowest price you can find. I, for one, am incredibly thrifty. But mathematically, often the amount you are saving amounts to only a couple of bucks. The couple of bucks you might be saving could otherwise be an important sale to your local independent bookstore.
And what's more... imagine what your community will be like if that independent bookstore were not there. Hundreds of neighborhoods find that out for themselves each year.
So... IF you can afford it, and if there is a store you like to support... please buy your copy of Harry Potter from an independent store.
It would mean a lot.
And if enough of you respond to this kindly, I could be persuaded to tell you about my personal knowledge that Harry Potter's success might not even exist if not for the independent bookstore I worked for.