Something seemed off during a recent trip to the Barnes & Noble store in Natomas.
So THE BUZZ chatted up store employees who told us about 200 shelves were removed and along with them, several hundred titles, because they just weren’t “selling enough books.”
Employee hours have also been cut, but to date none have been laid off.
The reduction in Barnes & Noble inventory is eerily similar to changes made at the former BORDERS bookstore in the months leading up to its closure in January 2009.
PHOTOS SHOW EMPTY SPACE PREVIOUSLY OCCUPIED BY BOOKSHELVES AND VARIOUS TITLES THROUGHOUT THE STORE.
Thanks Buzz for the heads up. Let’s go Natomas. On-line shopping may be easy – but shopping locally keeps jobs and sales tax revenues locally. Shop Natomas!
It’s B&N own fault that paper titles aren’t as popular. If their Nook sales skyrocket, it makes stores like Natomas irrelevant and non-profitable. It’s sad since I love going to bookstores but the cheaper e-format allows me to carry my whole library with me wherever I go. B&N’s own website lists the same paper books for 40% less and it seems that they would prefer you to buy online anyway. I don’t see brick and mortar bookstores surviving much longer especially in this economy. Actual stores might just become small kiosks where you have to special order everything anyway.