On 12/22/09 2:42 PM, Jack wrote:
On Dec 22, 1:28 pm, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:12:42 -0500, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:37:26 -0800, wrote:

LAREDO, Texas — The final chapter has been written for the lone
bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could
soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a
reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton
bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San
Antonio.

I assume the "book stores" can't compete with Walmart. I know around
here B&N is having their ass handed to them by Target, Walmart and the
public library. I see lots of people milling around but not many
actually get into a checkout line. If it wasn't for the coffee they
might not be making any money at all.
There is also a lot of pressure from the internet
Amazon will make it tough for anyone who has rent to pay in a mall.
I would never buy a DVD in a store. You can usually get a disk or a
book sent to your house cheaper than the best bargain bin deal in a
store.

"The B. Dalton store was never a community destination with comfy
couches and an espresso bar, but its closing will create a literary
void in a city with a high illiteracy rate."

I suspect it's driven by more than price pressure. You need to have
enough interest in the product to sell it in volume. 230,000 people
can't generate enough interest in a single bookstore? Yikes.

There isn't a Walmart within 20 miles of Seattle that I know of and
most educated people here consider them a cancer and stay away.

Really? There are 18 Walmarts in the greater Seattle area. There's 5
south of you before you hit Tacoma, and two or three more north toward
Everett. They typically don't build in city centers, but more out of
the city where the land is cheaper. Seems that your fellow Seattle
area dwellers have no issue with Wallyworlds.

I do have to agree with you... they are a cancer. I avoid them like
the plague.


There's something incongruous about buying books at wal-mart.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:57:30 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:28:00 -0800, jps wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:12:42 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:37:26 -0800, jps wrote:


LAREDO, Texas — The final chapter has been written for the lone
bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could
soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a
reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton
bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San
Antonio.

I assume the "book stores" can't compete with Walmart. I know around
here B&N is having their ass handed to them by Target, Walmart and the
public library. I see lots of people milling around but not many
actually get into a checkout line. If it wasn't for the coffee they
might not be making any money at all.
There is also a lot of pressure from the internet
Amazon will make it tough for anyone who has rent to pay in a mall.
I would never buy a DVD in a store. You can usually get a disk or a
book sent to your house cheaper than the best bargain bin deal in a
store.

"The B. Dalton store was never a community destination with comfy
couches and an espresso bar, but its closing will create a literary
void in a city with a high illiteracy rate."

I suspect it's driven by more than price pressure. You need to have
enough interest in the product to sell it in volume. 230,000 people
can't generate enough interest in a single bookstore? Yikes.

There isn't a Walmart within 20 miles of Seattle that I know of and
most educated people here consider them a cancer and stay away.

I don't think Target is considered a spot to purchase reading material
unless its the kind that sits in the checkout line.

The short answer, Laredo ain't Seattle.

Yup.

Seattle is the home of the coffee shop and I suspect that is what you
consider a book store to be.

You mean a place to hang out? That's not an unfair representation
but, if you're into reading, it does require browsing unless you're
just there to pick up something specific. I find a lot of folks go
there to see what's there. Usually know what you want in a coffee
shop.

There are more than 50 bookstores in the Seattle metro area. Some of
them serving general interests

If you are just looking for best sellers,
magazines or pulp fiction, WalMart, Target and Kmart will serve your
needs just fine at 40-60 % of the list price. You may not have them in
Seattle but WalMart is real big in the south. It is a one stop shop
for people who don't have a lot of money

And they haven't a clue that they're feeding the same schmucks that
are systematically replacing stateside jobs with overseas employment.

Pretty soon, only Chinese will be able to afford Walmart's products.

According to the US Census Laredo is 94% hispanic and the median
family income is $29,000 a year
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/4841464.html
I bet the coffee table books B.Dalton sells, mostly in English, are
not a huge seller.
If they knew anything about the demographics, they wouldn't have
opened a store there in the first place.

Probably so.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, jps wrote:



You mean a place to hang out? That's not an unfair representation
but, if you're into reading, it does require browsing unless you're
just there to pick up something specific. I find a lot of folks go
there to see what's there. Usually know what you want in a coffee
shop.

Whenever I'd visit a book store that served coffee, my impression of
the people sitting around there reading books for free was - bums.
Figured they weren't worth the overhead of the coffee operation, and
the business model was flawed.
Don't know if that's right, or not.
Maybe I'm just a prick and a bad businessman.

--Vic

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, jps wrote:



You mean a place to hang out? That's not an unfair representation
but, if you're into reading, it does require browsing unless you're
just there to pick up something specific. I find a lot of folks go
there to see what's there. Usually know what you want in a coffee
shop.

Whenever I'd visit a book store that served coffee, my impression of
the people sitting around there reading books for free was - bums.
Figured they weren't worth the overhead of the coffee operation, and
the business model was flawed.
Don't know if that's right, or not.
Maybe I'm just a prick and a bad businessman.

--Vic


Same thing. I do buy at Borders and they always have a 30-40% coupon
available. But they have a small coffee shop and seems as if most books
have been preread while someone is drinking their coffee. Even woses at
Barnes and Noble, plus they want money to get discount emails.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:56:10 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, jps wrote:



You mean a place to hang out? That's not an unfair representation
but, if you're into reading, it does require browsing unless you're
just there to pick up something specific. I find a lot of folks go
there to see what's there. Usually know what you want in a coffee
shop.

Whenever I'd visit a book store that served coffee, my impression of
the people sitting around there reading books for free was - bums.
Figured they weren't worth the overhead of the coffee operation, and
the business model was flawed.
Don't know if that's right, or not.
Maybe I'm just a prick and a bad businessman.

--Vic

We have a B&N 3 miles from the house in an upscale shopping center.
It's always teeming with people, sitting, standing browsing. They do
good business.

On 12/23/09 1:09 PM, jps wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:56:10 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, wrote:



You mean a place to hang out? That's not an unfair representation
but, if you're into reading, it does require browsing unless you're
just there to pick up something specific. I find a lot of folks go
there to see what's there. Usually know what you want in a coffee
shop.

Whenever I'd visit a book store that served coffee, my impression of
the people sitting around there reading books for free was - bums.
Figured they weren't worth the overhead of the coffee operation, and
the business model was flawed.
Don't know if that's right, or not.
Maybe I'm just a prick and a bad businessman.

--Vic

We have a B&N 3 miles from the house in an upscale shopping center.
It's always teeming with people, sitting, standing browsing. They do
good business.

We're not as lucky. We have to drive about 25 miles to Annapolis for a
pretty nice, two level Borders book store. The store like yours does a
lot of biz...and has a nice coffee shoppe and wi-fi. It's a good place
to hang out while my wife shops. I hate shopping. If you are on the
store's mailing list, you get coupons that make the prices the same as
amazon's. Our local grocery store strip mall has a "christian" book
store, a strange operation if you go by what it puts in its display
windows...a compendium of christ for the non-thinker.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:34:33 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, jps wrote:

You may not have them in
Seattle but WalMart is real big in the south. It is a one stop shop
for people who don't have a lot of money

And they haven't a clue that they're feeding the same schmucks that
are systematically replacing stateside jobs with overseas employment.

Pretty soon, only Chinese will be able to afford Walmart's products.


Which store do you go to that only has US made goods? They don't seem
to be around here.

I'm not sure anymore. Just went to get my wife some travel mugs for
coffee. 15 shelves of various types, styles and every single one made
in China. I make an effort to look and if there's a US made option,
I'll suck up whatever extra money it might be. I like the idea that
my actions may help save someones job here.

On 12/23/09 1:05 PM, jps wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:34:33 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:13:31 -0800, wrote:

You may not have them in
Seattle but WalMart is real big in the south. It is a one stop shop
for people who don't have a lot of money

And they haven't a clue that they're feeding the same schmucks that
are systematically replacing stateside jobs with overseas employment.

Pretty soon, only Chinese will be able to afford Walmart's products.


Which store do you go to that only has US made goods? They don't seem
to be around here.

I'm not sure anymore. Just went to get my wife some travel mugs for
coffee. 15 shelves of various types, styles and every single one made
in China. I make an effort to look and if there's a US made option,
I'll suck up whatever extra money it might be. I like the idea that
my actions may help save someones job here.

It's getting harder to avoide "made in the people's republic of china"
goods. Perhaps we can force them to stamp all their crap with "made in
the people's republic of communist china."


You can bet that the most vociferous righties here don't hesitate for a
ny second before buying goods made in the PRC.

On Dec 22, 12:12*pm, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:37:26 -0800, jps wrote:

LAREDO, Texas — The final chapter has been written for the lone
bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could
soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a
reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton
bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San
Antonio.

I assume the "book stores" can't compete with Walmart. I know around
here B&N is having their ass handed to them by Target, Walmart and the
public library. I see lots of people milling around but not many
actually get into a checkout line. If it wasn't for the coffee they
might not be making any money at all.
There is also a lot of pressure from the internet
Amazon will make it tough for anyone who has rent to pay in a mall.
I would never buy a DVD in a store. You can usually get a disk or a
book sent to your house cheaper than the best bargain bin deal in a
store.

Unlike some here, I notice that you caught the lie in that "news"
report. There will be plenty of "booksellers", just no dedicated book
stores. The mouthbreathers among us read it, believed it, and
reposted it as the gospel. Too funny.

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:38:32 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:29:54 -0800 (PST), Jack
wrote:

On Dec 22, 12:12*pm, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:37:26 -0800, jps wrote:

LAREDO, Texas — The final chapter has been written for the lone
bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could
soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a
reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton
bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San
Antonio.

I assume the "book stores" can't compete with Walmart. I know around
here B&N is having their ass handed to them by Target, Walmart and the
public library. I see lots of people milling around but not many
actually get into a checkout line. If it wasn't for the coffee they
might not be making any money at all.
There is also a lot of pressure from the internet
Amazon will make it tough for anyone who has rent to pay in a mall.
I would never buy a DVD in a store. You can usually get a disk or a
book sent to your house cheaper than the best bargain bin deal in a
store.

Unlike some here, I notice that you caught the lie in that "news"
report. There will be plenty of "booksellers", just no dedicated book
stores. The mouthbreathers among us read it, believed it, and
reposted it as the gospel. Too funny.

"Booksellers" could be the grocery store, if you consider National
Enquirer fair game.

A metropolitan area that big that won't support even one dedicated
book store has a cultural and literacy problem. The top 10 least
literate cities in the US contain El Paso, Corpus Christi, and San
Antonio.

A metropolitan area that big that wouldn't support even one dedicated
building supply would be seen as a problem. Wal-mart might sell
hammers and nails, but that isn't a building supply.

In the same way, a "bookseller" is not a dedicated bookstore.....

Anything Jackoff would want to read is certainly at Walmart.