Borders closes to Amazon
Bookselling chain decides competing with Amazon.com on book sales will be a better prospect than the now-ended partnership with the online retailing giant.
Once upon a time, all Amazon did was sell books. They did so at a discount, a vast change from the full-retail pricing of the brick-and-mortar shops like Borders. Amazon was a godsend for people who like to read.
Their dominance led to partnerships with other retailers, in and out of bookselling. Target is still a partner, while Toys ‘R’ Us ended its Amazon relationship on a bitter note.
Count Borders as an ex-partner too, though if they’re unhappy with Amazon for some reason, they haven’t disclosed it. Borders chose to focus on the positive as they stepped back into retailing on the Web.
As Yahoo News noted, Borders executives belief they can offer a compelling experience in the face of Amazon’s dominance. We like competition; consumers end up with better choices when rivals clash.
Unfortunately for Borders, the clash looks one-sided. A quick search for the next James Patterson thriller, Sail, coming out on June 9th, showed the big difference between Borders and Amazon. While Borders has the book listed at a full $27.99 price tag, Amazon has it for $18.47 with a promise to provide the best possible pre-order price.
Borders, a Magic Shelf isn’t going to overcome a difference of over $11 these days, not with oil traders rolling out prices of $4 per gallon at the pump.
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