Borders Files for Bankruptcy

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Ack. Australian book chain - Angus N Robertson is also closing. Boo!
Yes, http://www.bookdepository.co.uk or the American equivalent are my favourite point of calls now when it comes to buying books.

[airichan623]

I really liked Borders. They had a very nice selection of manga (tended to be bigger than B&N), and I liked the atmosphere better. Plus, there's only one bookstore within 30 miles of my parent's house. And that was Borders.

I would have to agree.

While B&N has a more stuffy atmosphere, Borders is more relaxed, which I like. And they actually have sales. Though they havent done a buy four manga get 1 free recently. I love those.

Random Factoid: Part of the reason i support Borders is that I discovered, while doing a project on the American manga industry, that Borders was the first bookstore to take the gamble on manga in the 90's, when Tokyopop was the first to really go head-first into "100% authentic manga." The two companies teamed up, and due to the popularity, all the other companies followed suit.

[ShiroiHikari]

Yeah, I like Borders for the atmosphere too. My local one is easy to browse and the cafe is pretty neat; sometimes musicians play there on Friday nights and stuff. Most B&N stores seem to be laid out in a way that suggests "give us your money and then get the heck outta here". Maybe that's why Borders is in trouble-- the atmosphere says "please read our books in the aisles without buying them!" which, admittedly, I do all the time. >_>

[mechana2015]

Funny since the B&N's in our area seem to be laid out the way you described Borders, and Borders (especially the ones that are closing in my area) seemed LESS lingering friendly.

[ScalpelFactory]

I am huge fan of Borders, luckily the one by me is not closing [it is right next to a mall and the sales are probably preferable to B&N in the mall]. However, since I am one of their rewards members, I get free shipping for all online purchases. I'm counting on them to help me complete some of my manga collections [Hana-Kimi, MARS, etc.]~

I'm not exactly a shop-a-holic, but Borders is where I do most of my spending. If you don't count cosplay. XD

[Cognitive Gear]

[quote="ShiroiHikari (post: 1460306)"]Yeah, I like Borders for the atmosphere too. My local one is easy to browse and the cafe is pretty neat]

Strange, all of the B&N's here feel very much like libraries. On the other hand, Border's tends to be very, very store-like.

Both of which have their places, really.

[TopazRaven]

[quote="ShiroiHikari (post: 1460306)"]Yeah, I like Borders for the atmosphere too. My local one is easy to browse and the cafe is pretty neat]

That's what my B&N and Borders are like to. Though I never actually stick around and read books without buying anymore. I remember when I was a kid when my mom used to take me with her to Target she would go shop and I'd always go to the book section and look at the books. Once some guy that worked there came up to me and pretty much told me, "buy this book or get out of here, we are not a library." I've been traumitized ever since. Lol.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

The knock-on effect for the U.S. manga industry: source

Stu Levy, CEO of the North American manga publisher Tokyopop, told the ICv2 retail news source that the bankruptcy of the bookstore chain Borders led to last week's layoffs of its editors.

Levy said, "Borders—our biggest customer—went bankrupt, owed us a lot money, which they didn't pay us, and as a result we are in a very challenging situation, and have had to react quickly to the situation. We did need to let a few people go—and it's horrible for everyone involved to ever have to let people go. We will continue to do everything we can to evolve the manga business and we very much appreciate the support of our fans, our partners, our creators, and out retail customers."

[Atria35]

Hooo dang. That's not good.

Now I feel extra guilty for taking advantage of the sales that are going on as the Borders near us goes under.

[ShiroiHikari]

Tokyopop doesn't publish anything worth reading anyway. >_>

[Atria35]

Tokyopop doesn't publish anything worth reading anyway. >_>

*le gasp* (okay, I admit it- I don't care for the majority of their titles. But I do follow one or two things that they publish).

[shooraijin]

Tokyopop doesn't publish anything worth reading anyway. >_>

ZING!

[Mithrandir]

The last time I was in a Borders around here the manga I wanted to take a closer look at was on the bottom shelf. I sat down on the ground so I could see it, and got (literally) yelled at by an employee and thrown out of the store. It was humiliating and infuriating. Ever since, I've told everyone I know to avoid that store and have made a point to find other places to get books. That store is going out of business. It's probably unkind of me, but I feel somewhat vindicated. They have reaped what they've sown.

I was actually surprised at how FEW stores were closing really... and it seems like nearly a quarter of them are in California.

I rather suspect this is because Californians would rather buy on-line and not have to pay the 10% in sales tax. That adds $10 to a $100 order. I could be wrong, though.

PS: Probably don't need to say this, but let's not get into a discussion about the merits (or lack thereof) of various taxes. XD

[Azier the Swordsman]

The last time I was in a Borders around here the manga I wanted to take a closer look at was on the bottom shelf. I sat down on the ground so I could see it, and got (literally) yelled at by an employee and thrown out of the store. It was humiliating and infuriating. Ever since, I've told everyone I know to avoid that store and have made a point to find other places to get books. That store is going out of business. It's probably unkind of me, but I feel somewhat vindicated. They have reaped what they've sown.

I used to work at Borders, and the one I worked at was definitely not like that. We would have people come in several times a week and literally spend most of the day reading. We actually had chairs set up in front of the manga section just for this purpose. Once when we were expecting an nasty storm, we joked that the store manager finally decided to close the store early was because "even his manga people left".

[mechana2015]

I rather suspect this is because Californians would rather buy on-line and not have to pay the 10% in sales tax. That adds $10 to a $100 order. I could be wrong, though.

I really think it's because there are way too many Borders stores in California. We had at least 3 within a fifteen minute drive of my place... that's a ridiculous level of over-saturation, especially considering the fact that there were other bookstores both of the Barnes and Nobel, and smaller company variety.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Regardless of how poor Tokyopop is at choosing manga to license, I'm sure they aren't the only manga company that is taking some hurt from this. I know that Yen Press has a pretty close relationship with Borders, so they at least will take some hurt from this.