Bookstores

Sears Sells Books?

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Retailers can’t run fast enough down the pricing ladder. Last week’s announcement from WalMart was the opening shot, stating that certain best-seller hardback books can be pre-sold for $10 (so Stephen King’s upcoming $35 book could be ordered for $10). Not to be outdone, Amazon made the same offer, but for the low low price of $9. To which WalMart answered with $8.99.

The next salvo came from Target, when they matched that price for seven upcoming books at $8.99. WalMart then bested the prices for those seven books by a penny, bringing the price down to $8.98.

As the dust was settling from that volley, Sears announced that they can’t/won’t compete on book prices, but they want to be in the game. So….

if you buy one of these upcoming best-seller pre-order type books from Walmart.com, Target.com or Amazon.com, you can email in your receipt and get “up to $9” in Sears store credit. That’s almost a little too complicated isn’t it? I wonder home many book buyers will take advantage of this? I wonder how many book buyers even new Sears sold books?

Let me know if any of you take Sears up on their offer. I’m curious as to how the whole process works out. Though, in the end, I’m thinking we all loose if nothing comes along to balance out this devaluation of books. Don’t get me wrong. I am always the first in line to buy cheap books and I buy from big-box and independents alike. I do have my favorites and price does matter. But the industry as a whole needs to start rolling out new products (not just new titles) faster before we all loose out. In a race to the bottom, everyone looses.

Birmingham, Bookstores, News

Greencup Books is Closing Its Doors

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After a few years of trying to find its place in the Birmingham scene, independent bookstore and publishing house Greencup Books has announced it’s going-out-of-business after the November 2nd, el Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. The shop has been struggling over the past few months, having never really regained its footing after founder and publisher Russell Helms sold it. Greencup had plenty of great titiles and was fun to browse, though they often crammed the store with music acts and theatrical performances, upstairs and between the stacks.

The official announcement came this weekend, via the Greencup Books Facebook Fan Page:

well… its been a good run… the question was never if we were going to last.. but how long…ideally, it would have been longer.. but between the economy, the new construction across the street that took our parking, and their workers that take up all available parking 5 days a week… we are done for…we are broke and I can’t do it anymore, I am tired of begging you and the city for breaks… non-profit or not, this city is not really interested in small business, not enough revenue for them… ..Don’t really feel like getting all mopey I will just say I am closing our doors after day of the dead….

thanks for making this possible
michael

This economy is tough on everyone and regardless of how things hit or missed at Greencup Books, it’s a shame to loose a true business experiment here in Birmingham.

Digital Publishing, E-Books, iPhone, On the Web, Publishing Industry News, Technology

Just try it — Reading on an iPhone

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Seriously folks, let’s all give reading a book on an iPhone a try. I mean it’s free and eBooks and digital publishing aren’t going away. So, just try it. You don’t have to like it. In fact, you may not. Which is fine. But at least you’ll know.

So, if you have an iPhone, just do this:

1. Download the Amazon Kindle app, from the App Store. It’s free.

2. Find a free book to download, I recommend starting with fiction. I read about five non-fiction books for every one fiction. But I have found that it’s easier to read on the small screen if the book is written to pull you along, rather than making you stop, think, take notes, etc. So for my non-fiction books I’m still a traditional pBook kinda guy. (I’m reading The Templar Legacy. Not exactly five-star, but it is fiction and free as of right now).

And I know I do my fair share of not-so-fond of Amazon posting, but these steps are quick and painless. There are a ton of other eReading options as well. Here is a fantastic post about reading books on the iPhone. All of the apps mentioned in that post are worth your time to download and check out!

Let me know what you think, if you give it a go.

Books, Publishing and Birmingham