Report: Borders bankruptcy filing likely next week

They like Criterions.

That's what happens when you raise your prices and lower your selection.

Damn, where am I going to pay ridiculous prices for books now?

Ya' know, I stopped going to the book store. Amazon has EVERYTHING. Back in 2000, if I wanted a book, I could go to B&N or Borders. If they didn't have it, I'd do a special order. But now it's so much easier to just find it on Amazon.

What're you gonna do?

Yea, I'll miss getting a hearty laugh at their MSRP-priced DVDs and Blu-rays. "Gee, I wonder why we don't sell more movies?"

Around 2000 Borders re-priced all their DVDs at about $5 under MSRP- I bought tons of discs then, since I wanted to support a 'real' store and not Wal-Mart or Target, and of course they had titles those stores would never carry- but by 2002 the prices started creeping back up. After that they drastically cut the DVD selection in a lot of their stores- what took an hour or so to browse through only took a few minutes. The times I still went in looking for particular odd titles, they weren't there.

When they first dropped the prices, I worked within walking distance of one of their stores so I made TONS of impulse buys, some I still haven't even watched yet.

Well, love them or hate them, they are the only book store in my area that's convenient to go to. The Barnes and Nobles around town are all really out of the way for me. So I will actually miss them quite a bit.

Borders was a fine place in the late 90's and into the early 2000's, but at some point after that they really went downhill. I can say that within the last 5 years I have been unable to spend more than 20 minutes in the place....this is down from when I could browse their stuff for a few hours.

When their prices jumped and their selection shrank I turned to Amazon to do what I did at Borders...buy/order obscure CD's and movies.

I was wondering why they hadn't sent me any coupons in awhile.

Use those giftcards up quickly...

Borders was one of the rare b&m stores that sold Alpha brand DVDs, but they were usually priced at $12.99 even though the MSRP was $7.98. !!!

Good riddance.

The 40% coupons made for some good to great prices, but I mostly bought music, and their decision to drastically cut their selection a couple of years ago really put a dent into my purchasing.

"Brick and mortar is dead!" *squawk*

I've walked around several times with a 40% off coupon and still went back to Amazon. Borders was MSRP crazy.

You're so right Giz! I hated Borders from the friggin beginning. Their prices were such a joke. Borders can take their 40% coupons n wipe off their d*ck with it. FYE, BLOCKBUSTER and now BORDERS filing for bankruptcy. Fantastic!

Be careful what you wish for. The day may come when Amazon is the only player left standing. We'll see how low their prices are then.

Smaller specialty stores are doing okay. I think that's how this kind of retail is going to survive. The days of 10,000 square foot bookstores are over.

they even had the audacity to raise the price over the MSRP of Criterion DVD/blurays, so the occasional 30-40% coupon was sort of pointless. The Friendship Heights Borders selection really has taken a turn for the worse - I frequent (and purchase) Barnes and Nobles merchandise alot more than them.

I still buy books from Borders when I have a 30 or 40 percent off coupon, which come every couple of days. I find myself bored on occasion and decide to pick up something rather then wait a couple days for Amazon, and for the most part after coupon the difference is only a buck or two so I don't feel that bad. Just yesterday I went and decided to buy Freakonomics on a whim.

I'd be bummed out if Borders went under, since the coupons make them more appealing to me then Barnes and Noble.

When Borders hit our downtown a few years back, I found them more appealing than Barnes & Noble, but I haven't had a reason to shop there in years. I don't like to see longstanding stores in trouble, though.

That's been my experience as well; in the last few years the store selection has really gone downhill. I think I first noticed it when they started cutting back their CD/DVD selection a couple of years ago and rearranged the floor layout of the store. Seems like they started devoting less space to books as well, and there's a now a lot of empty floor space in the store and tons of junk where books used to be.

Borders was great years ago. If I couldn't find a more obscure cd or dvd at my regular stops, the odds are good that Borders would have it. At the time, I didn't mind paying the extra money because I was just happy to have found what I was looking for. Their usefulness to me died when they removed 95% of their cd and dvd selections. Honestly, I'm just not phased by this news.

In my local BORDER store the ONLY employee who seemed to be doing their job, was the physically challenged young woman, who could WHIP OFF those security cases for dvds and cds, quicker than ANY of the store employees.

LONG LINES. LONG LINES. LONG LINES.

We are talking on the average of 30 deep at the checkout line, with a compliment of 5 checker outers, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES JUST WALKING AROUND AIMLESSLY !

Indeed. The more competition, the better.

I have never understood the glee that some take when a company goes under. If you don't like a store, then don't give them your business. Pretty simple.