Borders + Guitar Center

[JayAgostino]

I usually shop at Barnes & Noble nowadays, but every single time I go there, I'm reminded of Borders. Before they went out of business in late 2011, I would go there in the morning and eat at one of their cafés. Borders had a bookstore right next to my workplace, so I'd go there in the afternoon and pick up a book to read at night.

By the time they closed down, Barnes & Noble had already bought out most of the leases that Borders was in. Just a couple of months later, my local Borders bookstore had reopened as a Barnes & Noble. There was no café though, so I had to drive a couple miles down the road to actually get my coffee. I've gotten used to it, but I still miss the convenience of Borders.

I also vividly remember Guitar Center. Once Borders permanently closed, the building was divided in half. One half of that building ended up being occupied by Guitar Center. When it first opened, I thought nothing of it. It wasn't until they briefly filed for bankruptcy that I began to take notice. After they emerged from bankruptcy, their store in my area was liquidated and never reopened. As of today, that space is still vacant. With book sales on the decline, I'm not sure how long the Barnes & Noble is going to last...

Guitar Center Files for Bankruptcy (Published 2020)

The filing by the nation’s largest retailer of musical instruments highlights the growing gap between the strongest and weakest companies in the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Cmaier]

I still miss Waldenbooks and b.dalton.

 

[JayAgostino]

I still miss Waldenbooks

I believe they actually ended up merging with Borders.

 

[Cmaier]

I believe they actually ended up merging with Borders.
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When I used to work summers near grand central station, I’d always go to the little chain bookstores during lunch and see what new scifi books I could pick up. Nerd.

 

[Herdfan]

I still miss Waldenbooks and b.dalton.

I believe they actually ended up merging with Borders.

Our Walden's became a Borders.

I will not miss it. Probably won't miss any of them although B&N isn't as bad. But they're always pushing to sign up for their discount club drives me nuts. What does NO! mean to you?

One time I was buying some books for my daughter. And the girl behind the counter kept at it no matter how many times I told her no. When she finished the sale and handed me my bag, she said something snarky like "If you had joined our club, you could have saved $???. I said, no I am going to save $XXXX because I am returning these books right now. She was like "we don't accept returns on books" so I asked for the manager.

He came over and I explained why I was wanting to return them. He seemed half pissed at me for the return and half pissed at her for pushing it too far.

Our Border's then became Books-A-Million and they do the same thing, but take No a little better. But it is still aggravating to be in line when there is one cashier and they are trying to explain/sell the discount program to someone while you stand there and wait.

I usually went in there every month to buy 5-6 magazines. I finally gave up and just subscribed, which brings a whole new set of being bothered but at least this way I can simply throw the offers in the shredder. So their discount program cost them a customer which they really can't afford to do.

 

[Citysnaps]

I usually shop at Barnes & Noble nowadays, but every single time I go there, I'm reminded of Borders. Before they went out of business in late 2011, I would go there in the morning and eat at one of their cafés. Borders had a bookstore right next to my workplace, so I'd go there in the afternoon and pick up a book to read at night.

By the time they closed down, Barnes & Noble had already bought out most of the leases that Borders was in. Just a couple of months later, my local Borders bookstore had reopened as a Barnes & Noble. There was no café though, so I had to drive a couple miles down the road to actually get my coffee. I've gotten used to it, but I still miss the convenience of Borders.

I also vividly remember Guitar Center. Once Borders permanently closed, the building was divided in half. One half of that building ended up being occupied by Guitar Center. When it first opened, I thought nothing of it. It wasn't until they briefly filed for bankruptcy that I began to take notice. After they emerged from bankruptcy, their store in my area was liquidated and never reopened. As of today, that space is still vacant. With book sales on the decline, I'm not sure how long the Barnes & Noble is going to last...

Guitar Center Files for Bankruptcy (Published 2020)

The filing by the nation’s largest retailer of musical instruments highlights the growing gap between the strongest and weakest companies in the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

I miss Borders, especially the one that was in downtown Palo Alto, CA. It was located in an old Spanish Revival style movie theater going back to around 1930. Beautiful architecture with loads of books. A great place to kill time.

 

[Citysnaps]

When I used to work summers near grand central station, I’d always go to the little chain bookstores during lunch and see what new scifi books I could pick up. Nerd.

Do you remember the name of the non-chain bookstore in Midtown that specialized in photo and art books? Only went their twice (almost 20 years ago), but it was pretty neat having interesting books inside and out on the sidewalk.

 

[ronntaylor]

With book sales on the decline, I'm not sure how long the Barnes & Noble is going to last...

Book sales saw double-digit growth for at least 1-1/2 years due to the Pandemic. So the most recent drop still shows higher sales compared to the last full year before the Pandemic.

Barnes & Noble is now a private company. IIRC, bought by a "private fund manager" that has taken it in a different direction. If they reversed the many, many mistakes* made by former CEO Len Riggio et al, then they can survive. In fact, they should thrive.


* Worked for Barnes & Noble, so no specific details as I don't want to get sued

 

[Cmaier]

I miss Borders, especially the one that was in downtown Palo Alto, CA. It was located in an old Spanish Revival style movie theater going back to around 1930. Beautiful architecture with loads of books. A great place to kill time.

That one was very pretty. Coffee bar out front too. Kind of across from the old Apple Store, too. I used to kill a lot of time there.

 

[Cmaier]

Do you remember the name of the non-chain bookstore in Midtown that specialized in photo and art books? Only went there twice (almost 20 years ago), but it was pretty neat having interesting books inside and out on the sidewalk.

I do not recall such a place.