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Borders Not Happy With Amazon?

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Borders bookstores across the country are in the midst of shuttering their doors for good, but not before bright clearance signs are slapped on their windows and books and fixtures are sold off. Apparently, at least some Borders employees blame Amazon for the trouble.

A sign at a Borders bookstore in Chicago states that there are no restrooms available and tells people where to go.  This is simply a sing of the times as even the most dedicated book fans are buying Kindles and other eReaders in droves.

Photo by Avecvoix, via TwitPic

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Kiapple

    04/02/2011 at 9:27 pm

    Those signs say 2010.

  2. Anonymous

    04/02/2011 at 11:15 pm

    If I order from Amazon, I would not need a restroom, because I am at the comfort of my home.

    • Anonymous

      07/15/2011 at 4:23 am

      Their point exactly. They are blaming Amazon for their demise!

  3. quillaja

    04/02/2011 at 11:34 pm

    Tough?

  4. alex mitchell

    04/03/2011 at 2:12 am

    Heh. It’s not just the ereaders. It’s the rude salespeople. Comeuppance is so sweet to see although I do feel sorry for any polite, nice salespeople (if they even exist anymore–I used to spend around $200/month on books in brick and mortar bookstores–haven’t in years and it’s b/c I refuse to deal with the salespeople anymore). I use Amazon b/c I find their customer doesn’t suck and I don’t have to deal with rude, pushy, salespeople who make fun of me for my purchases, comment negatively on my purchases, or in general make my shopping experience one I wish I didn’t have. I still remember when salespeople said, “Oh, you like Asimov? Have you tried………..?” instead of, “Oh, you’re buying that, aren’t you too old for that?” (for manga that I was buying for a kid’s b-day anyway), or “That author is so horrible! I can’t believe your buying that!” (about one of my fave authors–shut up, I didn’t ask you, IDIC and ymmv, people) and so on and so forth. Geez, you blithering idiots, it’s your job to shut up and take my money. If you can’t say something nice or make a recommendation for future purchase, then I can’t feel sorry for your being out of a job. And it’s not just bookstores I get this attitude in, it’s in almost every store so I only buy groceries and clothes in person anymore–anything else I buy online b/c I don’t have to deal with the salespeople then.

    • Katter

      04/09/2011 at 5:37 am

      If cashiers are treating you badly, it usually means you’ve A. been an aSShole to them at some point B. caused a lot of issues for them in the past, or C. are the type that thinks the cashiers are there to “shut up and take my money.” Because people with that attitude display it without realizing it. And after 8 hours of being treated like a sub-human punching bag by stressed out people, it’s hard to not slip in snide remarks to A B & C customers.

      Not saying its right or that its your fault. Just saying you might want to reconsider what you’re doing to get that kind of treatment from every store you go into. In all my years of retail I’ve never seen a cashier consistently treat a normal, nice customer in the way you describe.

    • Briagwen5

      08/30/2011 at 3:35 pm

      I can honestly say that I haven’t come across a cashier like that…in ever. Sometimes they seem slightly bored/rarely smile but I’ve never had someone just be an outright a hole for no reason at all. Sounds like the problem is you. There are some salespeople who make cheesy remarks (on the way to vegas my friend was buying pads at a pit stop…the cashier asked if they were for her husband, when they comment on how much food you’re buying with a “oh boy you’re hungry aren’t you!!?” etc) but I usually only encounter the cheesy crap when I’m with friends. It’s like they want an audience. Haha but i don’t consider that to be rude.

  5. Christopher Hickie

    04/03/2011 at 12:17 pm

    Amazon said it’s ok if I bring merchandise I bought from them into my bathroom

  6. Cool New Gadgets

    04/03/2011 at 3:02 pm

    What the heck.. just don’t forget to fall in line though..

  7. Bob - Mobile Marketing

    04/03/2011 at 5:07 pm

    Another option, if you’re not in a hurry, you could try ordering a toilet from Amazon when you purchase your books online. A quick check, Amazon sells a number of leading brand plumbing products (the Kohler Rialto is nice).

  8. JOE Houde

    04/03/2011 at 6:52 pm

    It’s silly to attribute Border’s closing to ereaders. People buy BOOKS from Amazon. And Border’s was pricing its clearance items higher than Amazon prices. This is for real books, not digital files. Borders failed years ago when they thought that books sell the same way as movies and CD’s. They were never a very good book store.

  9. Anonymous

    04/03/2011 at 10:48 pm

    It was only a scant decade or two ago when these behemoth book super-stores came marching across the landscape and put most private book stores out of business around the country.
    So it seems a little bitchy on their part to whine about the same thing happening to them.

    • kattr

      04/09/2011 at 5:44 am

      The employees that are loosing their jobs atm aren’t the ones that marched across the land taking the indie stores, ijs.
      Thats like saying its bitchy for ENRON employees to complain about loosing their jobs because their CEO’s guzzled tons of other people’s money. Not their fault they had retarded CEO’s.

  10. mbacupunk

    04/25/2011 at 1:26 pm

    Has anyone done a serious comparison of carbon footprint of ordering online versus getting through a store? I wonder if my order of one or two books from Amazon causes the use of more gas, paper, etc. than ordering through a store and picking it up….

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