Murder Ink Bookstore To Close

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 6:20pm

Closing 12/31

Barnes & Noble claims another victim

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 6:30pm

And thus why more people need to shop more at independents ... or at least booksense.com instead of amazon.com.

It always breaks my heart when an indie closes. There is a reason why I always buy my books, films and music from indies, and fully support vanishing local farms, and will under "no" circustances spend a dime on books/DVD's/records at Borders, B&N, Costco, etc.

Updated On: 12/20/06 at 06:30 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 6:40pm

the worst thing about indie stores in that the prices are A LOT higher than chains. I don't know if it is the case here, but as a whole

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 6:48pm

I hope the Mysterious Book Store holds on

When all else fails, we have Strand

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 6:58pm

Spider ... just because the same exact product is cheaper in this other store does not always make it right; if the cheaper store is part of a huge conglomorate and the competitor is a small chain or an independent, all the conglomorate is doing is betting on the public's gullibility. This is not "progress" folks; it is a humongous step backwards.

And unfortunately, the conglomorate almost always wins.

Independent bookstores are vital to communities and they serve as small reminders of what we once were and can be again. A 51-year-old bookstore such as Kepler's -- my favorite local bookstore -- can survive and serve as an escape from the current world, as a step back in time if you will, where communities depended on the local family business, where life was easy-going and there wasn't a care in the world and, most importantly, where money wasn't the root of everything.

We need independent bookstores. We need not forget who we really are and where we came from. We need not forget what truly matters in life and to not just go the easy route. We need not forget ... ourselves.

And if this according to some people is wrong, Wal-Mart, Borders and all those places have succeeded in brainwashing them into believing that their way is the only way; that cheaper prices are the "only" way to go.

I am sorry, but I personally would rather live a life and in a world of morals and ethics than one that is based around the naive mindset of a disgustingly gullible public.

Updated On: 12/20/06 at 06:58 PM

[i*heart*fame]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 8:39pm

NO! I love Murder Ink. I live basically right there. I hope this is just a scare. The same thing happened about a year or a year and a half ago with Ivy's Books and it is still there(fortunately)

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 8:44pm

Nope it was on the news

They also reported the owners dig was killed the day before after being hit by a car

[suzycat]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 11:18pm

Tmm_fan, thanks for your kind words towards independents. I'm happy to report that my family's Upstate NY independent bookstore is in our 31st year and we opened our second store in 2001.

And in response to spider, yes our prices are higher, but not by choice. Most indie bookstores barely get by (you'd be hard-pressed to find a rich bookseller), so if we lowered our prices we would all go out of business. Keep in mind that it's not that we sell books for high prices. We sell them for sticker price - the price printed on the book. It's big chains that can live with a small margin of profit and mark the books down until people forget what books are supposed to cost.

I am sad to hear Murder Ink is closing, they will be missed. Here's the write up from today's Shelf Awareness e-newsletter:

Manhattan's Murder Ink Knocked Off
Murder Ink, the mystery bookstore on upper Broadway in New York City, and its sister store, Ivy's Books and Curiosities, are closing at the end of the month, the New York Times reported.

According to owner Jay Pearsall, the culprits included:

-Rent of $18,000 a month.
-A Barnes & Noble 10 blocks away that has been "chipping away at business for years"
-Amazon and eBay, which "killed off mail-order business and sales of rare books"
The death of many longtime customers, "lots of them immigrants, lots of them Jewish, educated, liberal."
-Pearsall said that in recent years, the 34-year-old store has "depended on sales from nonbook items that yield larger profit margins, like greeting cards, journals and action figures of Carl Jung and Rosie the Riveter."

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 3:14am

You're welcome.

Kepler's was closed a year ago, but due to public outrage, it re-opened and immediately began to alter/improve their business strategy, first by filling their board with high-powered current and former top executives/strategists of major Silicon Valley businesses. I'm so glad to hear that your 70's-era indie is still going strong; Kepler's been around since the 50's, and is really a Bay Area landmark. Many famous local poets, authors and singers (Joan Biez and Jerry Garcia are two) used to frequent Kepler's, and it really is a family business, as the son now operates the store.

I have noticed an increase lately in public awareness about indies; slowely, but surely. There is an awesome recent film about independent bookstores that I only hope has made a difference.

I am "very much" into fighting for what is right, and was never one of those people with rose-colored glasses who always went with the flow; where the world could go to hell, and they wouldn't notice; where their unoffical motto seems to be, "if young kids like it, then it must be great!"

Updated On: 12/21/06 at 03:14 AM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 7:21am

Congrats on the anniversary, Suzycat.

Now, I was not saying that it is right that Borders and whatnot are taking over the Earth, because it's not. I do like indie stores (there is one near me that sells music that I can't find anywhere else).

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 12:29pm

OK, good; thanx for clearing that up :).

[suzycat]

Posted: 12/23/06 at 11:14pm

I second that :)

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/24/06 at 1:28am

:)

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 3:58pm

...

[WalkOn]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 4:56pm

I'm genuinely surprised that Mr.Roxy isn't pleased that a successful corporation has used unregulated Capitalism to steamroll over the competition.

Mr.Roxy.. stand up and Cheer... that is until it steamrolls over you.

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 5:00pm

Ummm ... ok

lol

[suzycat]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 11:24pm

Another bookstore closing... Coliseum Books will be closing in early January.

From their website:
Dear Friends,

Since opening our store on 57th Street in July of 1974, it has been our pleasure to bring you the best selection of new and backlist books. After closing that store in January 2002, when the lease expired, we searched long and hard for a suitable new location and thought we had found one here on 42nd Street. Business started more slowly than we had hoped but continued to build until this year, when increased competition from discount stores and book chain stores and the internet started to take its toll. We are now trying to hold on as best we can, and any support you can give will be much appreciated.

Just in time for the holidays we are starting to sell off our entire inventory. You can get great bargains as you choose your holiday gifts and help us at the same time. Shop early before the good titles are gone.

Thank you all for your loyal support..

George S. Leibson
Founding Partner
Coliseum Books

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 11:55pm

And y'all wonder why I post so much regarding indies? Because of stuff like this.

I am literally shaking my head here; please: don't be so gullible. Conglomerates today are "not" progress; all they're doing is betting on the public's naive gullibility.

College students, please purchase as many textbooks as you can from independent bookstores (as opposed to your school store). It is better for the community, as it puts less money in the greedy publishers pockets and more in the pockets of people who benefit from it. And it is better for you; you'll feel great about yourself afterwards.

This world is an angry place full of overly-gullible people; please turn the other cheek and start doing the right thing.

Updated On: 12/28/06 at 11:55 PM

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 12:42am

Sure. Blame Amazon and eBay.
Convience rules, folks.

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 1:00am

You know, read all my posts on the Tower Records thread. Read this entire thread. If you still don't understand, if you still don't get it, then I don't know what else to say. If you don't grasp the concept of morals and principles, it's a sad, sad thing.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 1:07am

I've read your "morals and principles" rant more than once.

You're into indie books, I'm into indie food places. The only chain places I eat at (besides fast food) are Chilis and The Cheesecake Factory. Sometimes Claim Jumper.

I'd rather support the smaller restaurants. I can't tell you the last time I had Pizza Hut, Dominoes, etc. It's all about Fox's Pizza Den. It's all about Putters.

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 1:17am

Indie restaurants; indie stores; they are all related. Indie bookstores are just as important as indie restaurants. I support small, hole-in-the wall restaurants whenenver I get the chance ... the same ways I fully support local farms, which are disappearing fast. I will never buy Christmas trees or pumpkins at grocery stores; it is best to buy them at actual farms.

Right now, these days, indie bookstores are the "most" endangered, and I am extremely focused on them.

Updated On: 12/28/06 at 01:17 AM

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 1/15/07 at 4:59pm

I subscribe to the newsletter for "Indies Under Fire," an awesome documentary on independent booksellers; the following text is from today's issue. Please read it y'all:

AN OPENING THOUGHT
Strolling down Valencia Street in San Francisco over the holidays, I was reminded again about why independent bookstores—and independent businesses in general—are so vital. I dropped into Modern Times and was confronted with books and magazines that I never would have found at a chain. The
place has a distinct feel—it could only be in San Francisco. I was watching my budget, and somehow escaped without buying anything, but wandered over to Aquarius Records, where my discipline broke down. As I read the lengthy reviews scrawled in tiny (but incredibly neat) handwriting on the display CDs, I got excited about the music, knowing that the person on the other side of the counter really cared about what they were doing.
The passion in these places is infectious. I felt good just being there.

In some ways, this is the worst of times. Just read this
Reuters "Competition Is Killing Independent US Bookstores " article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061226/media_nm/usa_bookstores_dc

and it's hard to feel optimistic. But this is not the whole story. New independent bookstores are opening up all the time, 97 alone across the States in 2006, as profiled in this BookWeb article:

http://news.bookweb.org/4955.html

One thing is clear: if we want these special places to survive, we have to support them by buying locally.

[suzycat]

Posted: 1/15/07 at 7:19pm

I was just thinking this thread needed a bump :) Thanks tmm.

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 3:04am

np ... by God, as long as I am here, this thread -- and the Towerr Records one -- will never die :).

Indie bookstore sales during the holidays were better than last year:

http://news.bookweb.org/news/4954.html

And nearly 100 new independent booksellers opened up in 2006! This is such awesome news. The fight is far from over, and it is ongoing, but the outlook is not as bleak as it seemingly once was.