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| (Photo Source: Getty Images) |
What a sad day! Soon, this picture will be a familiar sight. Borders will be closing all of their stores! If you've got gift cards, my advice is to spend them NOW. Don't delay. Spend them before Friday when they start liquidating stores and they may all be closed as early as September.
My husband was at our local store today and noticed that they've pulled the gift cards off the sale floor. So we checked the website tonight, too. You can't purchase a gift card at Borders.com now either.
I've got existing orders at Borders.com for pre-orders due out mid-September and late October. I called the customer service number this afternoon, got frustrated with the clearly outsourced employee who talked of the "reorganization" but didn't seem to know the latest news. Then, when I spoke with a manager, I asked, "Are you local? Are you in the States?" She replied, "Our headquarters is in Ann Arbor, Michigan." I said, "But where are you?" She continued, "Your call was directed to Borders Customer Service in the Philippines." She told me that existing orders at Borders.com will be fulfilled. I sure hope so. I didn't use a credit card, I used a gift card, and therefore, I could lose money. She assured me that Borders.com would continue to do business. She made it sound like Borders would remain as an online-only book retailer. After seeing that you can't purchase a gift card online, however, I have my doubts about that!
Excuse me while I now run off to try to spend over $100.00 in gift cards I just purchased last month. Sure, I could look at this as "Christmas in July" and look forward to seeing piles of boxes delivered by Tom the mail carrier, but this is no happy day. While I shop at both Borders and Barnes & Noble, I've always found Borders easier to browse. And they generally have a better, bigger selection.
Hope this isn't the beginning of the end for brick-and-mortar bookstores!
What do you think? Will you miss Borders?
You know, I can't believe no one has commented on this post yet! I was online last night, and my husband had the TV going, which he always has on, even if he's on the computer. The news came on, and I heard the distressing news... Tears began silently coursing down my cheeks. I couldn't help it.
ReplyDeleteThis is so, so sad... I do buy a lot of my books on Amazon and eBay, but I have also bought at Borders and Barnes & Noble from time to time. There's nothing that delights me more than walking into a bookstore and seeing shelves and shelves full of books!! And by the way, I do NOT like ebooks or ereaders. To me, an ebook is NOT a real book. Oh, I know it contains the same information a print version contains, but to me, a REAL book is one I can hold in my hands. I much prefer turning pages to scrolling down a screen.
Anyway... I'd better stop, or this will turn into a book right here! Lol!
I'd like to ask you something, too. Would you mind if I used the picture in this post on my blog? I want to write my own post about this sad event. Please let me know. Thanks!
@Maria Behar Yes, it's very sad! My husband and I are losing one of our favorite hangouts! We love going in there armed with our newest coupon, browsing, and deciding which one (or two or three) to take home.
ReplyDeleteStopped by last night to find out what liquidation looked like! Unreal. I'll be posting some pictures and my thoughts soon.
I have an ereader, and I've read two or three complete books on there, but I think I'll use it most for travel and for getting free public domain books from manybooks.net. I have to say, I thought I would feel like you do about ebooks. I like the idea of saving shelf space, and I'd probably read more ebooks if the prices could compete with print. But, alas, because I can buy print cheaper, I struggle with book sickness and run out of shelf space. And I hate the idea of weeding.
Feel free to use the picture. It's from Getty Images, I believe, and I've seen it in many news stories.