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Large book chains vs. small indep.stores-which do you prefer?

SFG75

SFG75

Well-Known Member
I have visited Borders and Barnes & Noble many times, but a lot of friends of mine(who usually are Green party members here in the states) refuse to do so, preferring small shops owned by independent business owners. A great example of this would be the two opposite bookstores featured in You've got mail.

Just some questions here:

So where should you shop? Big chain stores or small-independent ones?

If you say the latter, why does it matter?

Why should big chains be punished for being successful?
 
I might consider shopping at an independent bookstore, but the only ones I can think of near me suck. The best bookstore I have found near me (Birmingham, AL) is Books & Company, which I seem to remember is owned by Books-a-Million. I don't see why I should suffer not being able to find the books I want just so a sub-par shop can stay in business. However, give me a bookstore run by people who share my tastes, and I would be all over it. It's fun to imagine a nice little local bookstore with a friendly owner and perfect setting, but those kind of stores are nearly impossible to find.
 
I like smaller book shops because they are usually locally owned. Nothing gives back to the local economy than supporting your neighbors. I also like the fact that the people at smaller book shops often know how to read. This may seem harsh, but I find that the employees at Barnes & Noble are often illiterate morons working there for the discount on CD's or because they couldn't get a job at GAP.
 
the employees at Barnes & Noble are often illiterate morons working there for the discount on CD's or because they couldn't get a job at GAP.
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LOL-Reminds me of the time that I heard a clerk of their tell a customer in front of me that Plato's The Republic was out of print. I still get tears in my eyes just thinking about that one. :D :D
 
I find that the employees at Barnes & Noble are often illiterate morons working there for the discount on CD's or because they couldn't get a job at GAP.
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:eek: I work at Barnes and Noble (have been for the past 5 years)... :(

:p no, I understand what you mean. I've worked with some total idiots.
 
Support the small independent business. But I'm an anti-capitalistic socialist. Problem is it's harder when you're poor. Yeah I'd like to support the local book store but Half-Blood Prince was almost $15 cheaper at the big chain. Plus the big chain has the %X discount membership cards. And when you're counting your pennies as it is. That said I support the independent bookstore when I can.

It's the Wal*Mart cycle.
 
SFG75 said:
LOL-Reminds me of the time that I heard a clerk of their tell a customer in front of me that Plato's The Republic was out of print. I still get tears in my eyes just thinking about that one. :D :D
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Exactly.

Libra6Poe said:
I work at Barnes and Noble (have been for the past 5 years)...

no, I understand what you mean. I've worked with some total idiots.
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I feel your pain. I worked at a Waldenbooks (part of Borders) for a while. I was shocked at how little the other employees knew about books. Most of them didn't even like to read. Each employee was given a section that they were supposed to know the most about. I ended up with Fiction, Children/YA and New Age. There were three people who worked Romance though. There are certainly people who work at those stores that really know their stuff. Sadly though, there aren't enough of them.
 
I'll buy books anywhere, online, big stores, small independants.

All of the bookshops in my town, and for a small community we are really well provided, are small family owned shops, very small but with deliciously browser-enticing ceiling high stacks of books. Considering how small the premises are, the range of literature on offer is amazing, actually far more interesting and diverse than the big British outlets that I used to use.

Having said that I have spent many happy hours in Waterstones and found some good bargains too, and I do miss those strange bargain book shops that have sprung up in the UK; the ones where you can buy 'The Classics' for a quid a time. The thing I dont like about places like Waterstones is how they tend to promote the book-flavour of the month ( and how much money they have had from me over the years ).

I think if I were still living in the UK, I would still be seeking out the smaller shops, I'm a great believer in supporting independant retailers of any sort, even if it costs a bit more. I hate this one-stop shop culture, and that's partly whats so enjoyable about living in Sardinia- if you want a lightbulb go to a lightbulb shop, if you want a lipstick go to a cosmetics shop, if you want wholemeal spaghetti ( and why would you??) go to the pharmacist!
 
Those bargain bookshops are great. There are 4 now in Greenwich to go visit. Although they have gone up in price and charge £2 :D Still, when you can get the complete works of Shakespeare or a brand new novel for just £2 I'm certainly not complaining!

I don't really care where I get my books from. Each has it's own good/bad points. I don't think you can really say which is better.

I do think there are a few myths regarding Small independent bookshops.

I don't think it's true that they are run by people that love books. It's business they run a bookshop to make money. While I concede there is a greater chance that they MIGHT actually like books themselves or know about books it's certainly not a given.

It's like saying a greengrocer opens a shop because he loves vegetables or a the owner of the shoe shop just loves shoes.

Also, I don't think it's a given that they necessarily know anything about books. Again, they might. But then again, they might not. Again, it's the assumption that they actually love books.

Isn't there JUST as much chance that the guy that works in the Barnes and Nobel loves books? That he likes books so decided to get a job in a bookshop?

And even if they doesn't know anything, who cares? I don't really care if anybody in Barnes and Nobel doesn't know anything about books. If I want information about books then I will look it up online, read about it, or find out for myself. The only question they could possibly answer for me is "do you stock *insert book name*?" I don't think I have ever asked anybody anything in a book shop apart from the above question, and that's only on very rare occasion when I have searched for ages and came up a blank after some hours.

Of course, you certainly can't beat the little stores for charm :) I do have a soft spot for them, and especially for the small second hand bookshops!
 
I try my best to support our local small bookshop as I would hate my part of town end up being a place without culture. I live in the outskirts of the Capital and I would hate it if I had to go into the city to buy books or buy them online.

Our small bookshop is online, so I can place an order with her by mail and go and collect the books a few days later if she does not have them in stock. My son has also made a huge drawing of some japanese Manga and she put the drawing up for display to make teenagers more aware that she does sell those manga stories they love so much.

About capitalism verses socialism then I get the feeling that if there were only a few huge bookshops then it would remind me of the old socialist countries where one small man could not have a small business and make a few dollars. I know that they would not be government owned but it still gives me the same feeling, and that is, that a few people rule how things should be done. Hope you understand what I mean? So I am all for the small local shops also in regard to making the local community a nice place to be.

Flower
 
I understand what you mean and you make a very good point :) I agree with you.

All those big bookshops are totally souless.
 
We rely on used bookstores, and we're happy that they are locally owned businesses, pretty much by definition. When we want to buy a new book, usually to give as a gift, we order it from a locally owned store. The store is small, and never has the book in stock. They order it for us; they're happy to have the business, and we're willing to wait.

One of the many things that concerns me about chain bookstores is the payola system that gets some books highlighted independent of merit.
 
The problem with that for me is that I'm a browser. I like to roam through the shelves, and sometimes I'll see something and suddenly remember I had been meaning to buy it. If I had more of a plan regarding exactly what I was going to read next. I suppose the local stores would be good enough.

As far as books being promoted independent of merit, eliminating the system from the bookstores would do nothing. The major problem I see is with many of the larger papers getting paid to highlight certain books.
 
And may I add the whole talk-show thing? Oprah's Book Club, for example, was tainted with rumors of payola.
 
I'm not sure how much of a role that plays now, when she is doing books by Faulkner and the like. Obviously money is changing hands there with the branded books, which I'm not too fond of now that they do books I'm actually interested in.
 
I prefer local independent bookshops. One reason is that they tend not to fill the front half of their shop with the season's "best sellers" or Top 100. We know that books largely sell in direct proportion to the publishers' promo budget (given the authors' fame and ability to write) and the books in the top lists are less to do with what you might really want to read as to what "they" want you to read. Combatting that is what makes this book forum so useful!

Another reason is that local independent bookshops are much more local author friendly; hence I have my books on sale in mine!

Geoff
 
The chains are shamefully oblivious to local authors, small presses, and books about local communities. A good independent bookstore will be creative in seeking these out.
 
TheRedNewt said:
The problem with that for me is that I'm a browser. I like to roam through the shelves, and sometimes I'll see something and suddenly remember I had been meaning to buy it. If I had more of a plan regarding exactly what I was going to read next. I suppose the local stores would be good enough.

As far as books being promoted independent of merit, eliminating the system from the bookstores would do nothing. The major problem I see is with many of the larger papers getting paid to highlight certain books.
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I also like to browse in a bookshop, but our local one is very small. So I find my self using the internet for browsing books. And thats okay too, sitting at home with a cup of coffee late at night reading about all the books I wish I could afford. :D

Flower
 
Mari said:
The chains are shamefully oblivious to local authors, small presses, and books about local communities. A good independent bookstore will be creative in seeking these out.
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I have actually found Ottakars to be very good in this respect - they have a central display dedicated to authors of local books :)
 
Mari said:
The chains are shamefully oblivious to local authors, small presses, and books about local communities. A good independent bookstore will be creative in seeking these out.
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I haven't found that to be true at all. There is a longer process to getting your book into one, but it's far from difficult or impossible.
 
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