The traditional marketplace

What follows is a reaction to a line in this morning’s Sisters in Crime email digest.  There’s a new SinC policy that references the “traditional marketplace” for books; in objecting to the new policy, an author wrote:

On Mar 6, 2008, at 6:57 AM, sistersincrime@yahoogroups.com wrote:

> there is no such thing as a "traditional market place" anymore.

I can't tell you how discouraging this is. I believe that it's important to the life of my community that we have an independent brick and mortar bookshop here. My store, The Mystery Company here in Carmel, Indiana, (www.themysterycompany.com) strives to uphold the best traditions in bookselling.

We are close to our customers -- not just our local customers, but the folks across the country who deal with us by phone, email or website. We try to get to know them well enough to make personal recommendations. We are passionate about the books that we sell. We are involved in this community, contributing to PTO silent auctions, holding nutty fundraisers to benefit a local adult literacy organization, etc. We've set up and we are paying for a new website, www.indylit.com, to promote book and author events anywhere in central Indiana -- not just in my store -- because we believe that there needs to be more visibility for the literary life in central Indiana. I'm involved in this genre's national and international community, helping out where I can, volunteering to host a Bouchercon.

Still, despite all that I do and all that my fellow independent booksellers do, there are folks who believe that the "traditional marketplace" no long exists, a conclusion that may be easy to reach given the way independents are closing across this country. There are even folks who might welcome the demise. I had a customer in my store this past Friday, a semi-regular. She held up the new Peter Robinson novel -- which we'd sell to her at $23.45 including her frequent buyer's program discount -- and said to me that she could buy it at Amazon for "$17 something." (Actually $16.47 -- I checked.)

This woman had been in my store for 20 minutes already, asking me about all kinds of questions about all kinds of titles, complaining to me about the difficulty in finding small press titles in the chain stores -- books that I had on my shelves for her to find easily if she only came here first. On one hand, I'm glad that we had a good enough relationship that she felt she could be honest about why she wasn't buying this book she wanted from me. On the other hand, I was appalled that it's come to this, that all that I do to try to keep this store open, to be knowledgeable enough about her and the books we stock so that I can make the right recommendations, etc. is worth so little. She did make a purchase -- two paperbacks that Amazon does not discount so heavily -- and left.

"There's no such thing as the traditional marketplace." Sometimes, one can start to believe that this has become something of a rallying cry for elements in the industry who are supportive of chain stores and warehouse clubs, or for those who espouse the primacy of the internet and its apparent efficiencies. To be sure, there are inefficiencies in the traditional marketplace, but in many ways the brave new world isn't all that wonderful for readers, writers and our communities -- our hometown communities or the larger genre community. I don't see a lot of new economy firms stepping up to volunteer to program a regional convention like a Magna Cum Murder or to host a Bouchercon, for example.

"There's no such thing as the traditional marketplace." Yes, this is happening in other industries as well. Our communities have changed, neighborhoods and streetscapes are no longer designed to include small, startup businesses, etc. But for reasons that I've written about elsewhere, I believe that the book business is different. If the local independent store that sells toilet paper closes, nothing will change about the toilet paper choices you as a consumer are offered. But if independent stores close, then the choices you're offered as a book buyer will change -- and change dramatically, and that the change will adversely affect many of the writers whom we want to continue to read.

"There's no such thing as the traditional marketplace." I like to believe that the walls and the shelves that we've built here at The Mystery Company and that surround me as a type this are real, that the services that we provide are valued, and the books that we stock are meaningful, that our customers want the choices that we offer to them, and that the relationships we've forged between us and our customers, between our customers and the many writers who've been good enough to come to visit us, and among customers themselves are important and enduring. This stuff happens because we are part of and believe in the best traditions of bookselling. But I may be fooling myself in believing that all this is still sustainable in today's environment -- you may not be wrong if that's what you believe of me.

"There's no such thing as the traditional marketplace." Whether that's wishful thinking or a lament -- and these days it's hard to say which -- what I know is that either way, a belief that we don't exist is a self-fulfilling prophecy. We're here and we're eager to sell books, but folks who no longer believe in the traditional marketplace are pretty unlikely to spend their dollars here. That's their choice.

I hope that there are enough of you who'll choose otherwise. If you believe in what we do here, if you want shopping for books to be something more than mouseclicks or tall stacks of a handful of bestsellers inside a cavernous warehouse club, then buy your books from me. Or, better yet, find the bookseller in your community who's making a contribution to your town or a bookseller who's making a contribution to the genre. I'm not the only one; you'll find others who are working harder than you can imagine and sacrificing more than you'll ever know to make their communities -- local, genre, national -- the kinds of places you'll want to call home.

There's no such thing as the traditional marketplace? I think that, yes, there is still such a thing. My store and hundreds if not thousands of others who are still hoping that there's enough air in the room for our brick and mortar stores. Some days, it's frighteningly hard to believe that there is a future here. Yes, there are other markets out there too -- niche markets, online markets, etc. -- all kinds of options. I count myself as firmly planted in the traditional marketplace. Believe in us or not -- it's your choice.

Comments

[John McFetridge]

Great post, Jim. Yes, there most certainly still is a traditional marketplace and I hope it remains for a long time. I'd like to think the added value that a good bookseller provides is worth five or six bucks on a hardcover. (I understand if you buy ten or fifteen a year it can really add up).

In Toronto it's Sleuth of Baker Street, and I hope they stay in business for a long, long time.

[Mike P (Scotland)]

"This woman had been in my store for 20 minutes already, asking me about all kinds of questions..."

I can relate... unfortunately.

It seems customers these days want the moon on a stick. They want the friendly, helpful staff, in a welcoming store - but they don't want to pay for it.
Even in the PC retail industry we get people coming in, complaining about prices, asking for advice and then buggering off with a comment like "Oh I can get it online...". Thank god for the pleasant customers who come in with a smile, maybe ask some advice, then buy according to recommendations... even if it costs a little bit more than online. :D

[Tony Burton]

"There's no such thing as a traditional marketplace."

In a sense, I can understand where that person is coming from. The marketplace is changing, and each day that passes more change accrues. It's not that traditional STORES don't exist. In fact, they do, and I'm so happy that they do.

But taken as a whole, the marketplace is changing so much, so fast, that I don't think it's possible to describe a "traditional marketplace" with any accuracy. It's about as accurate a term as "traditional wedding."

Sadly enough, I live in a small town where there is NO secular bookstore of any kind any longer. The Books-a-Million in the outlet mall (which only sold closeouts and remainders) closed its doors about nine months ago, and the three used bookstores who tried, died. It costs me at least ten dollars in gasoline to drive to the nearest secular bookstore. And while I have no problem supporting bookstores, if I add the cost of the drive to the fact that the bookstore is a chain where the clerk wouldn't know me from Adam, plus the time to get there and back, yet the books still cost substantially more than online... well, you probably get my point without any further details.

In spite of all that, I salute independent booksellers. It's a difficult position to be in.

[PJ Parrish]

I live in Fort Lauderdale, a large well-to-do city that hasn't had an indy bookstore since the late 70s. My choice is to trek south to Books & Books in Coral Gables (not an easy trip) or north to Murder On the Beach, my preferred source, where I can count on Joanne Sinchuk and John Spera to advise me because they know what stuff I like. I have three B&Ns and a Borders within a half-hour drive where I usually wander the stacks until I get sensory overload then leave.

I have made a conscious decision to not order anything from Amazon that I can just as easily order from an indy store. Just placed an order with Robin at Aunt Agatha's in fact.

I recognize that too many folks don't have access to a good bookstore or even a library. But many of us have choices. And every time we click on Amazon to save a couple lousy bucks, we drive another nail in an indy's coffin.

I've glimpsed the future and it's nothing but Starbucks, B&Ns and Chico's as far as the eye can see.

Preach on, Jim.

[Anonymous]

I love Amazon. The prices are good, the service is fast and the selection can't be beat. Sure, I could drive 30 miles to find an independent bookstore (where they probably wouldn't have what I was looking for anyway), but that would be foolish.

I'm all in favor of people having successful businesses, people making money, etc. But that goes for companies big as well as small.

[Karen Laubenstein]

Hi Jim - I'm in the midst of writing a research paper covering how the Internet is changing how crime/mystery authors write, publish, and promote their work, so stumbled in here and your discourse on the Traditional Marketplace. Your voice is loud and clear, and made me feel guilty about having purchased at Amazon, yet there is that underlying feeling that we're hanging on to our bikes after Henry Ford puffed through town in his Model T. So many blogs are announcing the untimely death of the local brick and mortar independent bookstores. Here in Anchorage, losing Cook Inlet Book Company almost two years ago is still a painful reminder of what too many are experiencing. Only 10 years ago, people subscribed to Writer's Digest to get the latest information on writing, markets, publishers, agents, and more. They have a great website serving that purpose now, along with so many other sites. Social networking, blogs, discussion boards, websites, are all fulfilling a need that we used to get at our local bookstore - the author signings and workshops, the printed magazines and all those hardcover editions of the Writer's Market. We'd be at the library going through the reference section researching our stuff, and now it's all done online, of course. With this course I'm taking, I found the textbook at Amazon for about 25% less than the campus bookstore, so guess where I bought it?

I think, though, instead of trying to turn back and change what's happening, we need to find a way to incorporate all of this in our independent bookstores. I fear the regulars will grow smaller and smaller. Setting up your online resource guide is one great way. You can't afford to sell books at less than Amazon, but people would use the same reasoning they are now about it being less expensive at Amazon, if it were possible to have it less expensive at the local bookstore! Here in Alaska, we find shipping and handling often kills the best online buys -- but Amazon's 'ship it free' program is more attractive than paying 25% or more at the local bookstores. I don't know the answer (hey, I'm still researching this paper). I saw you at Bouchercon and all of the respect you have throughout the genre and industry -- and think if anyone can come up with solutions and save the traditional marketplace, it is YOU. I do think it will need saving -- the example on one blog of a bookseller getting books accidentally delivered to them from Amazon, when it was meant for an apartment one floor over their shop, seems to be the way of it. Also the Sisters in Crime and Dorothy L posts -- there are those closings, there are the changes in our own buying patterns and the power of the discount when funds get dearer all the time, and those who have wanted to hang on did not find the magic solution to make it happen.

I regularly visit our local bookstores because I love them, and one of them has expanded, which is good news. However, the areas for booksignings, author presentations, book clubs, etc. to meet is reduced to make it almost unusable now for those purposes. I also got hooked on my eBook and find most of what I want to read is available for that. I buy the hardcovers and paperbacks, but they stay unread on my shelves or get wrapped for gifts. I like adjusting the print size, the backlighting, and ability to take 200 books with me on my reader, but this, too, isn't supporting our local bookstores. You've offered great ideas how to do that, but hope you'll also continue to look at what is now a 31% share (March Publisher's Weekly) and figure out if there's a way to incorporate that with what you do.

[Debbie (Scotland)]

I started selling books, mostly through Amazon and in markets, in the last year or so, when I had a "sea change" and moved from working for someone else to being self employed. While it is true to say, when you sell a used book, you are unlikely to make as much profit on the transaction as someone selling the same book new, at full retail price, there are a lot of compensations. A lot of my customers live a drive away from their supermarket (book selection? Pretty much hovering around zero/awful in quality) and nowhere near a bookshop, let alone a decent independent one. Go online and they are in book heaven. Books that cost £6.99 or £9.99 brand new are in abundance on Amazon for as little as 1p each - yours, in "as new" condition, for £2.76 including postage.

In the end it all comes down to economics. Consumers are moving away from the "can I get the finance to buy this?" model of buying to the "can I afford this out of the money I have" debt free attitudes of our grandparents and great grandparents. Buying a used, rather than new, book helps save a tree, and buying online saves a car journey. Surely both are worth while from a non financial as well as a financial point of view?

And surely authors would ultimately benefit? Their books consequently get read by a far greater audience than would have read them had only new books been available.

I estimate that a significant number of my customers would have gone without the book rather than ordered it at the full retail price and then waited the inordinate amount of time it seems to take to receive the ordered book.

I'm sure our local Borders do a lot of business with the "I want it, and I want it now" brigade, who pay over the odds for everything because they don't want to wait 48 hours to get the book at half the price or less online. But most people I know go to Borders every now and then to browse, then go and order online.