Fewer books in book stores?

[ewomack]

Has anyone noticed "other stuff" encroaching on the book shelfspace at their nearby big book chain? I visited one last week and thought I accidentally wandered into a toy store. I was surrounded by puzzles, stuffed animals and other doo-dads that seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with reading. Not only that, vast areas that once held books now seemed surrendered to fun and games. After finishing playing some of the games, I found it incredibly depressing. The overall book volume seemed to have declined by some 30%.

Has anyone else seen this trend?

 

[abecedarian]

Sadly, my nearest big-chain bookstore is now a 35 minute drive across the county. Before Borders closed, I noticed the lack of books in the children's department. They still had lots of picture books, but the selection for the 9-12 year range was lacking in both fiction and non-fiction. Instead, a good chunk of floor space was given over to toys and gizmos that had book tie-ins..sort of. Lots of games and school-ish workbooks.

 

[beer good]

Yup. It's all part of bookshops trying desperately to survive while Amazon and chain stores take over the market they used to live on. I'm not sure it's the right strategy, but... If you want bookshops with lots of books in, one of the few things you can do about it is to shop at bookshops with lots of books in, while they're still around.

 

[abecedarian]

Yup. It's all part of bookshops trying desperately to survive while Amazon and chain stores take over the market they used to live on. I'm not sure it's the right strategy, but... If you want bookshops with lots of books in, one of the few things you can do about it is to shop at bookshops with lots of books in, while they're still around.

Oh, I just realized I was wrong about the distance from my house to the nearest bookstore..Barnes and Noble is closing that one. I'll have to tack another 15 minutes onto my travel time. If I squint, I can picture the location of the last remaining big chain bookstore in Wichita Ks.
I feel like my family is part of the problem. We used to think nothing of spending $50-100 at Bookstar at least once a month. As our family grew, and and our budget changed(ten years ago dh took a major paycut to get a better work schedule) we started shopping differently, using the library more. We still buy books, but nowhere near on the level we used to, and we have to bargain shop.

 

[Peder]

I think it is possible to oversimplify many conflicting strands.

Right now it is the Christmas Season in the US (a selling season with capital "S" the likes of which may be unfamiliar to some people elsewhere. Dunno) But just at the moment stores get stuffed full with almost anything the proprietor thinks will sell. Calendars, planners all sorts, are a must at the turn of the year, as are boxed Christmas (or seasonal?) cards for obvioous reasons.

As for puzzles, I seem to remember that it was thought they would appeal to the intellectual interests of people who were (probably) already intellectual, namely bookreaders, so the tie-in is not as vague as it might seem. Whether the merchandising gamble succeeds or not is another matter.

I always apprecciated the selection of pens and pencils at Borders, and now B&N, because I always arrived with a book to read but having forgotten to bring along a pen or pencil for marking. So I accumulated quite a selection, one by one.

A week ago we found ourselves in Bay Saint Louis on the Gulf coast, accidentally more or less, and on the way to going elsewhere, when we found a wonderful small indie bookstore. It was run by a nice young gentleman and it had a fabulous selection -- onesies and twosies of almost all the authors we usually think of buying. That fellow had a keen eye for picking books and authors! So we walked out with a big shopping bag for (only) $165. But the relevance for this thread is that even he also had "extraneous" stuff in addition to books.

Even amazon. the original citadel of books, sells all sorts of other merchandise -- paper towels to cameras, oriental noodles to computers.

I expect that what sells in a bookstore will stay, what doesn't won't. Even the bookstore, if it doesn't manage.

I think the extraneous stuff is a symptom, not a cause. And, among causes, I wouldn't ignore the fact that the US has just come through a withering recession (if it has) and everyone is scrambling to make ends meet -- bookstores, house sellers and realtors being just some examples that come readily to mind. At least from where I see it.

How many here would open a "pure" bookstore right now?

 

[Blindsided]

I don't get it, why doesn't everyone enjoy going and buying books? It's one of my top 5 things I like to do. haha oh well.

 

[SFG75]

I don't get it, why doesn't everyone enjoy going and buying books? It's one of my top 5 things I like to do. haha oh well.

That is exactly what I was thinking upon reading this thread! It is a tough economy out there and perhaps they want to expand the profit margin by offering somewhat related items. Puzzles, journals, pen/pencil sets, and other items are a way to pad the bottom line. I have noticed that stuff at B&N, but books are still the prime item there, besides the generous space allotted to the coffee bar.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

I noticed that kind of space allotment before Borders closed down. Really the only toys I paid much attention to were the season stuffed animals that the store offered discounted with the purchase of a certain amount. I have an incredible weakness for stuffed bears, what can I say?