Does anyone shop at brick and mortar stores anymore? Is there a point? I do not want to support Amazon, but they basically do all the distribution for books.
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Barnes & Noble
Does anyone shop at brick and mortar stores anymore? Is there a point? I do not want to support Amazon, but they basically do all the distribution for books.
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hey, probably mnm-dr. i don't like supporting Amazon either but i don't see why you would like barnes and noble any better. just go for a local, non-chain book store.
Berkeley chad.
One distant reason is that your keeping the money within your own community i.e. helping keep people employed.
I wish i had mom and pop book stores that had cats in them.
Bookstores are good if you like new releases since they're usually put out on display and you can get the opinion of people working there.
Most of IQfy is just autists re-reading Dostoyevsky and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, if you're the latter you're better off just getting the cheapest copy online.
>and you can get the opinion of people working there
What a plus!
Yes, the fun of reading recent releases is being able to talk about and recommend books to your acquaintances.
But again, if you're like 90% of IQfy you're just going to wank over old classics so you can act superior to anyone unfortunate enough to cross your path.
I shop the yearly book sale in physical stores. I check in on their bargain price bins now and then. That’s about it.
I feel no loyalty to keeping chain bookstores alive and we have no indies here so I buy online where it’s cheaper. More than that I buy used books whenever I can. Since many of those sellers run antique stores or used book stores I’m helping keep independent book sellers alive more than most.
If you want your money to really count buy from niche publishers. The authors get more dough, you get higher quality books. What’s available depends on how niche you get. Not just Folio Society but outfits like SubPress of Centipede Press. If you go real fancy there’s Arion Press. Thornwillow. Both low brow and high brow books get small press editions. There’s also plenty in the used market of course.
if you guys don't want to support amazon, and don't mind used books, you can get pretty good deals on eBay, where there's a swarm of second hand book shops!
there's a nice independent bookshop in my town that order in whatever i want. they have a loyalty stamp card system too
honestly it's probably still less convenient and more expensive than just ordering from amazon but it's nice to support the local business and chat to them about books
This
I pay for the premium Barnes and noble membership, andThen order books from academic presses off of their website. When they offer triple rewards a few times a year, I drop a few hundred dollars but about 28.5% on books that Amazon doesn’t have any cheaper. It’’s the best way that I’ve found to purchase history books published by historians for historians. If I’m buying more accessible books, I’ll use whatever store or website has the best price.
Honestly I usually buy from Amazon but my #2 bookstore and the one from which I buy most of my academic stuff is Indigo. And by indigo I mean their website, so there's really no diff I guess.
>Does anyone shop at brick and mortar stores anymore?
Have you been to one? Take a casual stroll of the kinds of books they sell and you'll see exactly the kind of non-reading books-as-tropheys crowd that they cater to.
Barnes and Noble is nice, but it's just so expensive that I don't feel it's worth it. Everything in there is like $20 and up for a single book. It is nice to have a crisp, fresh, brand new book to read, but on the other hand you could go to a used book store and get the exact same thing with a few creases in the spine for literally a fraction as much.
I don't know if it's a nation wide chain, but I really like Half Priced books. The one in my city typically has a very good selection, and anything they don't have in store you can order online and they'll ship straight to your house. I will say that I think I prefer trying to find a copy in store, that way you can pick the nicest example. I've ordered plenty of stuff straight from their site and honestly it's kind of a crap shoot on what you get. Sometimes they're in great shape, sometimes what you get is pretty beat up. It's also nice to peruse the shelves and see what deals you can find. If they have a bunch of a single book they'll practically be giving them away. Last time I was there I impulse bought Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim because they had a copy marked down to .99 cents. I figured why not?
pickk up hot babes there
Used book stores are cheaper than amazon and faster than ordering online. Cute date idea too. I don't go to non-used book stores.
I buy audiobooks. 🙂
As someone not from the USA, when I visit and want to buy a book in English I usually go to Barnes & Noble.
But it's been getting tougher, with a lot of books not being in stock and having to go a few days before into their website to ask for them to ship it to the physical store and go and pick it up.
Going there also reminds me how terrible the tastes of the average American reader.
you know who the biggest brick and mortal book seller is? Walmart.
I love visiting local used book stores. They have an interesting selection and cheap prices