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The story behind Borders Books demise

To the average joe, Borders closing down was just another retailer biting the dust. But its story is textbook biz tragedy. Borders revolutionized book shopping with their massive selection and comfy reading spots. They were pioneers in inventory management but stuck to physical media too long, underestimated eBooks, and waved goodbye to their profits. Plus, they outsourced their online sales to Amazon—basically dug their own grave, handing over customers to the eventual grim reaper of brick-and-mortar. Borders’ demise was a series of unfortunate decisions, not just a market evolution.

Submitted 10 months, 3 weeks ago by onehitwonder


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Let's not overlook the debt they racked up expanding too aggressively. They banked on physical stores being forever relevant and took on massive long-term leases right when the market was shifting. They were bleeding cash with no tourniquet in sight. It might look obvious in hindsight, but damn, that was painful execution.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by TheArmchairCEO

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Classic case of failure to innovate. They had the brand and consumer trust to make a solid transition to digital but they got complacent. Outsourcing to Amazon made sense short term but was a strategic blunder long term. They essentially trained their customers to look elsewhere for convenience and then got outcompeted. A real shame.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by BizWhiz101

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Borders? Who? Oh right, they're like those extinct creature things. Next you'll tell me people used to write letters and send them with stamps. Everything dies, Borders just tripped over its own shoelaces getting there lol.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by KeyboardWarrior2023

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i heard they invested heavily in CDs and DVDs when people were already starting to stream stuff online - bad bet. it's a shame coz i have good memories of browsing Borders as a kid. they just didn't see the writing on the wall.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by RandomRedditor64

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They did have a great selection but it's about adapt or die in business. Borders had all the tools to stay relevant but made some REALLY bad calls. It's like in those horror movies where the guy hears a noise and instead of running out the house he goes to investigate. We all knew how it would end. Sad to see it happen tho, end of an era.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by OldSchoolCool

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It was pretty shortsighted not to jump on the e-book train early. Kindle was a game-changer and Borders just watched it happen. Physical books are great, don't get me wrong, but e-books are about convenience and accessibility. Borders could've easily capitalized on the digital market if they had the vision for it. They were too stuck in the past.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by TechSavvyReader

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Borders might've had cozy reading spots but let's not forget how they (& other big chains) squeezed out small bookstores. Remember the indie bookstore charm? Borders' downfall is kind of karmic justice if you think about it... Though I hate to see any book spot close down, we've gotta support the indies or they're next on the chopping block.

10 months, 3 weeks ago by indiebookworm

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totally miss Borders vibes, the smell of new books & coffee, the urge to buy 3 more books than u actually came for... like libraries u can buy from. their business moves tho 🤦, they played themselves partnering with Amazon. Amazon is like that animal that gets a taste for its own kind, now it’s just out there consuming everything lol

10 months, 3 weeks ago by pageflipper86