I preferred Borders but we know what happened to them and it may be the same fate for B and N. The demise of the bookstore is a tragic event especially for those of us who still like to read the old fashioned way with a book in our hands.
I think it might be able to survive if they figure out a better way to monetize people's stay in the store. Many people just read through book there and never buy them (they never buy the book period and treat it like a library or they just buy it from Amazon Cheaper). The other problem with bookstores is that they don't have the selection that online stores can have or at the low price the online stores offers due to overhead. I've heard that Amazon isn't a great place to work by people who work in one of the nearby fulfillment facilities.
I personally don't know many people who actually buy paper books anymore. Everyone's all about ebooks. However I enjoy the old-fashioned way of reading.
Only fiction books are alright for ebooks in my opinion. However, I mainly purchase books to learn something which ebooks are terrible. Especially with programming when the code is all over the place and has errors when it's rewritten to the electronic form. I actually had to return one is seconds it was so bad.
I was on the Barnes and Noble's website yesterday and I noticed that they are turning the attention to selling textbooks. New ones at regular prices and used ones at competitive prices. Should they pull this off [selling and reselling used Textbooks] then they could stay in the market a little while longer. But to be able to compete against Amazon, half.com and a few other online bookstores they need to be a little bit more creative [with their marketing and more flexible [with their pricing].
I will be heartbroken if or when Barnes and Noble closes down. There are no more bookstores in my immediate area. Walden gone, Borders gone and so many little independent bookstore are gone. Barnes and Noble is the only one still hanging on. I much prefer to buy a book in a bookstore. Many books don't live up to their descriptions and I just enjoy holding and reading a physical book.
It is so sad that ereaders have become so popular because I still love to read a good book. I mean a real paper book. I have a Kindle, but I still prefer books. My guess is that actual bookstores will cease to exist someday.
It is depressing to me that the demise of the bookstore continues to pick up so much steam. Strange really because I don't know all that many people who have a reader; I know many who read extensively though. Nothing better than a bookstore to go into and browse around.
Being part of the book industry (in one of the companies that makes both physical books and e-books, on demand) I have a different perspective on what Barnes & Noble is and its value in the marketplace. They are a dinosaur, who adds really very little value to the publisher beyond a place to get your book viewed, and destroyed...the really valuable bookstores (though not for this board) are the independents, whose business has grown exceptionally over the past 3 years. If Barnes & Noble were to decline, there would still be Hastings, and BAM left out there as well. The book market is changing incredibly, and a lot of the ideas are finally now starting to take hold.
I don't know if they will survive or not. I mean I am not sure how the Barnes & Nobles store in the area of Modesto is doing. I would not be surprised if they go out of business since people could pay and download e-books.
