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Excerpted from the Monday edition of "At the Back Fence" (url: http://www.likesbooks.com/139.html) Remember when it was revealed a couple of years ago that Amazon received payments from publishers to "recommend" certain books? That's going to seem like nothing when you hear what Borders has planned, which is the implementation of more grocery style-selling beginning later this year. If you ask me, it's more than letting the fox into the hen house, it's letting the fox run the hen house. As recently reported in Publishers Weekly and The Wall Street Journal, Borders chairman and CEO Greg Josefowicz plans to implement a "category management program" this year. Josefowicz, who came to Borders from the grocery/pharmacy retail industry, developed the category management program when he was president of Jewel/Osco, and what was good for the bottom line where soap and beans and Epsom salts is concerned, will apparently be good for books and Borders' bottom line. Borders will divide its book inventory into categories and invite publishers to "captain" said categories. HarperCollins, for instance, will pay some $110,000 annually plus $5,000 per employee to helm the romance category. As you may know, HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's The News Company, publishes romances/women's fiction under its Avon, Harper Torch, and William Morrow lines. The money Borders receives from these publishers will fund market research that will eventually determine where - or if - books are placed in its stores. Publishers who pay to captain a category will, as has been reported, co-manage the category, and will influence Borders' buying decisions - including which titles, and how many - will be bought. The questions raised in the Publishers Weekly article are obvious; how will books by other publishers fare in such a system? Will a sort of quid pro quo develop - ie, Publisher A will "influence" the purchase of books by Publisher B if Publisher B will "influence" the purchase of books by Publisher A? What will happen to small publishers who do not have the money to buy a category's captaincy? I've long feared the concept that a book can be treated like a grocery store item. Indeed, in a column I wrote in August 1996, I talked about the then-burgeoning mid-list crisis and the fact that some would "market the genre as though it were detergent." I felt a bit like Cassandra at the time, but what Borders proposes to do scares me - it scares me a lot. Not to get all political on you, but the idea of publishers stocking the bookshelves reminds me of lobbyists who write the laws governing the industries they represent. To me, this plan of Borders' makes Amazon's sale of used books on the same page as new books seem like much ado about nothing. I wonder how authors not published by HarperCollins feel about their ability to sell books via this, the second largest book retailer in the U.S. and Fortune 500 company, with $3.4 billion in revenues, according to their financials. According to an article on the Dow Jones Newswires on May 21st, the argument does boil down to: "Is selling books like selling frozen food?" The market research that will be paid for by certain publishers will eventually determine which books you find on sale at your local Borders. __________________________________________________________________________ Twila again: I'm going on a boycott of Borders, and will be writing the company about my disapproval of this "payola". Nicola's will be getting my business. What about you?
52 responses total.
Seems rather stupid (Border's scheme, that is)--if they have a weak selection (heavy on a particular publisher), people will go elsewhere. It's not as if different brand of books are interchangeable, like ketchup or beans.
But apparently the CEO seems to think they are.
Holy SHIT.
This is bad. You see, we just got a Borders in the Yakima area (not Yakima proper-- Union Gap) and people are excited somewhat, as the company's arrival is part of a large influx of businesses into Union Gap's Valley Mall. It opened very recently, second after its neighbor Old Navy. On one hand, this is a rural city, and it is very probable most people here won't care very much. However, this may hurt those of us who like books that aren't consumed by the public at large. To be specific, I think gaming books are going to be hurt-- a friend informed me their section is quite small. Maybe it's not a big change from the Waldenbooks we had earlier, but we cannot count on Ron's; which is the local gaming/collectible dealership in town. It is especially difficult for those of us who play White Wolf games. B. Dalton is our only other choice, and it is rather necessary to order most of the books. I was impressed with Borders when I visited A2. This is truly sad.
Border's has moved so far from the original Border's I loved, on State St., Ann Arbor, that the all that remains is the name. The original Border's wouldn't even sell romance novels.
The various Borderses hereabouts (Farmington Hills, Novi, two in Birmingham, etc.) have been dreck warehouses for as long as I can remember -- the one at 13 Mile and Southfield goes back at least 15 years. Bestsellers, calendars, cutesy bookmarks, fash mags, tee shirts, tote bags. But I will keep shopping there as long as they continue to carry such things as the Loeb Classical Library. Until then, you can think of the store as a kind of book mall: mostly crap, but some very nice little specialty shops.
I think of it as better than the other large bookstores, because it still is. Not as good as a specialty store. With this development, they'll drop to the bottom of the pile, I suspect.
Boy, Michael, I sure do enjoy your Somerset though. Yesterday I spent the day there with a friend I hadn't seen in 20 years. We had lunch at Alexanders, I got to fondle the sphere fountain, and got away with only two inexpensive purchases. Even the air smells expensive. Fun stuff. I bought a paperback at Waldenbooks. Waldenbooks knows how to be a mall bookstore.
Glad you enjoyed it. That's long been the mall (sorry, "Collection") of choice for my kids, but I seldom go there anymore. I like to Christmas shop there bettter than in downtown Birmingham, and that's saying something.
This is going to make it difficult to decide whether or not to continue buying from Borders. The little shoppers discount card (privacy-invasion tool) used by Barnes & Noble mostly keeps me away from there, but if Borders gets into payola for books I will hold my nose and go elsewhere.
The downtown Ann Arbor Borders still has a great computer section, though. Last time I was at the Arborland one I couldn't even find CDs by "The Red Elvises" which the A2 store *did* have.
I now buy almost all books on-line. It's the biggest "bookstore" in the world, and the prices are the lowest when you look around, even having to pay shipping. It isn't easy to browse, of course - you need to know what you are looking for.
The last time I was in downtown Birmingham during Xmas shopping season, there were loudspeakers on poles blaring Xmas carols in Shain Park. The only time I've been to downtown Birmingham since was a day or two after my mother died, when my father took my us all to dinner at Peabody's before going to the funeral home.
I called it PEE-b'DEES when I first moved here, but the locals soon corrected my accent.
Russ, have you tried Nicola's, in Westgate? Last I looked, Dawn Treader had the Loeb Classical Library, too. So in Ann Arbor, at least, we still have a choice or three. :)
resp:8 Mary, are you aware Border's *owns* Waldenbooks? I forgot to clarify-- when I learned that fact (I was looking for a job, see), I wondered if Border's would close our existing Waldenbooks. They did.
Yep. But I tend to think that Waldenbooks has figured out the mall book buyer somewhat like Target has figured out the budget shopper and given them what they want in a fun environment. But of course the day I was there I bought the cheap paperback and then came home and ordered the hardcover on amazon.com for 30% off. I always feel guilty about doing that.
The library buys 95% of the books that we ask it to. We are in no hurry as there are plenty of other interesting things to read while waiting.
You shouldn't feel guilty, Mary. It is the American Way, which we are now being especially urged to follow.
If Borders *really* wants to run the bookstore as if it were a grocery:
Publishing houses would pay a bribe to get favorable (customer-
friendly shelves).
Book order would be altered so that one would have to shop the
entire aisle to find what one wanted. (This is why Meijer cereal
aisle are so screwed up.)
Publishers would have to pay a shelving fee to get a book into a
store and nothing would ever be promoted without a per case
allowance.
Pressure would be put on the publishing houses to supply replenishment
staff so that Borders can have minimal staff on hand. Soon, every
customer will have to first ask if an apparent employee actually
works for Borders if assistance is needed.
you probably shouldn't even feel guilty if you walk in, take a few books off the shelf, and then return them at the counter for store credit. (large chains only) but then i've never done that so i wouldn't know about the guilt.
I meant Shaman Drum, not Dawn Treader above. :(
resp:21 now that's just underhanded and low-down-- you shouldn't need to stoop to their level. ;)
Mary, why do you buy both the paperback and hardback versions of a book?
I didn't. I bought a paperback thriller and a hardcover cookbook.
Oh, I see. I misunderstood #17.
I did too.
This response has been erased.
I think it is perfectly reasonable for people to buy books at the bookstore where they can get the cheapest prices, the best selection and the atmosphere they most desire. Nicholas doesnt seem a whole lot different than a large corporate book store to me but I do like browsing there sometimes. I never buy anything there though because I get a very good discount at Borders and Waldenbooks. Which is why there is no way #0 is going to get me to stop buying at Borders. My dream, though, is for someone to open a really nice bookstore in downtown Ypsilanti. I think that there is a very real niche market for an independent bookstore and the rents in Ypsi might be low enough to support it. I like funky little bookstores. Like everyone else, I miss having a bookstore in the area like the original Borders (which did sell romance novels, btw). The current Borders is way more like Barnes and Nobel than it is like the original Borders. Heck the only real difference between Borders and Wal-Mart is that a higher percentage of Borders customers are literate. I dont think it is possible to have a bookstore as wonderful as the original Borders in a big corporation. What the big companies do however is lower prices. If having independent bookstores is more important to you than price, then shop at those stores and pay the higher prices. Anyways, the article in #0 doesnt bother me at all. Either people will like it and it will mean more money for the company which will mean that the stock will go up which will mean my options will be worth more. Or...people wont like it and they will abandon it and that will be that.
Hey, everyone's an editor. It made perfect sense in my head. ;-)
In an earlier response I said I buy all my books on the web. That isn't true. I do buy MY books on the web, but I buy most gift books in bookstores. The reason is that, in buying a books as a gift, I am looking for the impression of something I think will please the recipient. That includes a lot more factors than those by which I buy a book for myself, which is usually the result of reading a review, or seeking something in my particular areas of interest.
It's been sad watching the steady decline of the Ann Arbor Borders. I hadn't actually expected it to keep going, but I guess I should have. Boy, it was a *terrific* bookshop once. Nicola's is small and a bit spotty. They do mystery pretty well. It's obvious that whoever buys/shelves the books knows, reads, and likes the genre. But they plainly don't have a science fiction Person. That sectionn is as random as your average mall bookstore. Once upon a time, in the Ann Arbor Borders, every single section was managed by a well-educated person who loved it. The books that mattered were there and prominently displayed. Re-issues of dumb books with a new cover did not appear in the new book shelf. Heck, there was a shelf for interesting new releases, so regular shoppers could find out what was new at a glance. If you asked a staff member a question, you got an intelligent question. I remember hearing the guy who did the computer section give someone a rundown of the strengths and weaknesses of the various HTML books (he was one of last of the old timers to leave, but he's gone now). It was obvious that he knew what HTML was about, and had looked through all the books in detail. I remember someone asking a person at the cash register about some obscure political science book. The cashier couldn't leave his register to show the customer the book, but he could describe exactly what shelf the book was on and how many copies were there. It's weird that the franchise took over the country while dropping everything that made the store great. Working the shelves at Border's used to be a prestigious and highly sought after job. You pretty much needed to have a PhD or at least an ABD to get a job there. They'd give applicants rigorous examinations to weed out all but the most overeducated. Re fitz: Um, are you under the impression that those things *aren't* happening at Borders and B&N? The books on display on the ends of shelves and other highly visible places are almost all there because a publisher paid to have them there. The publisher's aren't yet shelving the books, but evidentally they are now supposed to be deciding which books to shelve. We don't yet have products shelved by publisher rather than topic, but it sounds like we are heading that way.
The A2 Borders currently has a big carboard "Harry Potter" castle, loaded with many copies of the DVD. Draw your own conclusions.
re: 32 -- I can attest to their very rigorous pre-employment exam. I applied at the Novi store shortly after it opened (1994?) and found the test overwhelming, to say the least. All of this in spite of the fact that I was an AP English student, and was applying for a position in the Music department. (Unfortunately, they didn't have a separate exam for that) It's pretty obvious their standards have changed. Despite what some may think, the Novi Border's was every bit as good as the Ann Arbor store (I spent considerable time at both). In the last year, or so, I've found that when I've had to ask for help, the employees tend to lead me to one of the Title Sleuth kiosks, and perform the same boolean search I performed before asking them. I would imagine that the lack of good help has a lot more to do with what Border's considers to be a decent wage. When I applied there, I was too new to the workforce to realize that $0.75 over minimum wage was hardly impressive. Even now, they're only paying about $7.50 an hour in their Novi store. This may be perfectly reasonable in Ann Arbor, where there are more students than jobs, but I can't fathom why an educated person would take $7.50 in Novi or Farmington Hills when there are retail jobs paying $9 or more within a few hundred feet.
Re #15: Nicola's is okay, but my favorite Little Professor is actually the one in Dearborn (though I seldom get there these days).
(She has, I think, severed her relationship with Little Professor. She has at least given notice that the contract will not be renewed. There was an argument about the name of the store some few years back.)
Honestly, I think wage has a lot to do with the decline of Borders. How are they supposed to attract very educated staff when those people have no problem finding jobs that pay better elsewhere? They could raise the wage but then they would also have to raise the price of the books. I dont know if that would be a good move because there is really strong evidence that suggests that most customers prefer lower price and arent really willing to pay extra for service. You see, from what I understand, working for a small and very well respected independant bookstore can be kind of fun. So much so that one can get away with low wages. But working for a giant corporation usually isnt quite as fun. Large firms of layers and layers of management which increases the changes that really stupid employee policies will be implimented. I am not going to go into great detail but I know for a fact that the employees in a Borders store now are treated very differently than the employees were treated in the original Borders store.
I think it's difficult to find balance in large-scale retail, because most people are driven by price, rather than service. I consider myself to be a reasonably competent person. At least, competent enough to walk over to a kiosk and type in the name of the book, or author I'm looking for. As long as the information in the kiosk is correct in regards to where the item I want is located and whether it is in stock, I don't really need assistance. As a consumer, it doesn't matter to me whether the person behind the counter is able to tell me precisely where I can find a hardcover edition of The Definitive Nietzche, if I don't need to ask. It's worth the money I've saved, even when I'm unable to get the help I want in the 1-in-50 chance I have to ask someone. I could see how it would be useful for a more specialized indie store to hire more educated employees, and offset the more expensive wages by charging more for books. Antique and rare books come to mind...where you'd want someone who knew just what you were talking about, and who would be able to get it for you. I'm sure most people wouldn't have second thoughts about paying a premium for that level of service.
I live quite near the Nicola's in Westgate, so I would love to be able to call it my favorite bookstore. But, as Jan said, the Sci-fi/Fantasy section is second-rate, and, what's worse as far as I'm concerned, the hours are too short. I'd run out of fingers before finishing counting the number of times in the last six months that I've gone there at what I considered a perfectly reasonable time, and found that they were closed. Borders may be going downhill, but I can't off the top of my head think of a bookstore that serves my needs better.
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- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss