Bye-Bye Borders: What We’ll Miss

Cheap E-Readers (And a Place to Read Them)

While other retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble have been the leaders in the e-book market so far, Borders has made a concerted effort in recent months to put out a series of cheap e-readers like the Kobo and Libre in an attempt to beat its competitors in the price war. These may not be the best designed e-readers, but until now, they’ve served as a low cost way to try out the e-book experience. Moreover, it’s nice to know that you can walk into any Borders near you with one of these e-readers and get access to the store’s free Wi-Fi connection for a full reading experience. We hope that if the chain does begin to shut down, it at least continues to offer these e-readers through its website.

An Alternative to Barnes & Noble

Wherever there’s a Barnes & Noble (Stock Quote: BKS), there’s usually a Borders not too far away, and oftentimes one proves to be the saving grace for the other. If Barnes & Noble doesn’t have a book in stock or seems to be charging too much for it, consumers always have the option to drive a few blocks away to the nearest Borders and see if they can do better there. But as Borders begins to close down many of its stores, this will cease to be an option. Obviously, consumers can always choose to search for a book online, but if you want it that day, it’s better to have more bookstores to rummage through rather than less. At the same time, if Barnes & Noble turns out to be the only major bookstore in a given area, it will give the company that much more leverage to charge whatever prices it deems fit.

Borders, we hope we won’t have to close the book on you yet.

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