The Borders across the street from my office is going out of business; when I noticed the "everything must go" signs up last night on my way home I almost stopped and locked up the bike outside to go in and take a look. I waited until this afternoon to head over, and I understand why they're going out of business.
As a grad fellow I spent my lunch break at that same Borders every day. I read the entire "Preacher" series, along with a few others. When I was finishing my Masters, instead of buying a $75 style guide, I grabbed a store copy and basically edited my thesis on the floor. I now own most of the books I read for free back then (except the style guide, graduate school is damn ridiculous) so don't judge me too harshly. I didn't get them all at that Borders though, and why the hell would I. I went in looking for three things today: "The Monster at the End of this Book" for a friend who just had her first kid, the latest Christopher Moore vampire book, and Venture Bros season 4.1. The Seasame St. book wasn't in stock, Moore was hardcover only for $25, and Venture Bros was under glass. No one was around to open it up for me, so the hardcover got left behind and out I walked.
I'm not above buying a hardcover b/c I can't wait for the paperback. I'm impulsive that way and it doesn't bother me. I could undoubtedly find it online for cheaper though, and could certainly find Venture Bros for less than however much Borders was charging. And I would instantly know how much someone was charging online too (it's on
amazon for $17.99, down from $23.98). It's just too bad to see a monster chain that killed a lot of smaller local shops but had some positives going for it succumb to the weight of the holes in its own business plan. People will always buy books, movies, and music in some form, but more and more often it won't be at places like Borders.
Alright, that's enough of me sermonizing. I'm no economist. Football head-smashing time!
Current beer-scale: 6.9
