by broodje » Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:27 am
I must say I am surprised they survived for so long. I could only get something there for kids 50% of the time and the guy there was not knowledgable at all about latest kids books - an issue if you want your shop to prosper in Nappy Valley.
I don't like Amazon because I want to touch and look at the book, but also because I hate waiting, but almost every visit to Village Book turned out to be a disappointment because they didn't have stuff in stock. Being able to buy what you want right there and then is the only advantage a traditional bookshop would have and their didn't fulfill that need.
Waterstones in Southside is much better, but Foyles in Charing Cross is the best. They have things in stock 90-95% of the time and their kids department person is absolutely superb. I am afraid that's the only way to survive for a traditional bricks and mortar book retailer, even though they are much more expensive than getting stuff on Amazon, sometime outrageously so.
I must say I am surprised they survived for so long. I could only get something there for kids 50% of the time and the guy there was not knowledgable at all about latest kids books - an issue if you want your shop to prosper in Nappy Valley.
I don't like Amazon because I want to touch and look at the book, but also because I hate waiting, but almost every visit to Village Book turned out to be a disappointment because they didn't have stuff in stock. Being able to buy what you want right there and then is the only advantage a traditional bookshop would have and their didn't fulfill that need.
Waterstones in Southside is much better, but Foyles in Charing Cross is the best. They have things in stock 90-95% of the time and their kids department person is absolutely superb. I am afraid that's the only way to survive for a traditional bricks and mortar book retailer, even though they are much more expensive than getting stuff on Amazon, sometime outrageously so.
