tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post7301883100158694598..comments2023-06-15T02:45:21.021-07:00Comments on Borderlands Books: How Could Borderlands Stay Open?Borderlands Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01903373457948819777noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-12188373953084817822015-02-18T13:48:50.743-08:002015-02-18T13:48:50.743-08:00Another thought occurred to me; there was mention ...Another thought occurred to me; there was mention of forming a not-for-profit to support the store. This may not be widely known but Comic-Con International in San Diego was started and in fact remains as a 501(c)(3) organization, formed "for the purpose of promoting creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms" and I would imagine that science fiction is at the top of the list of popular art forms.<br />I wonder if they would have any interest in buying your shop and keeping you to manage it? If so the then the lack of any profit would no longer be a hindrance to the store's continued existence.Texas Accountanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08735834464256237664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-53017743811452216152015-02-17T12:29:48.150-08:002015-02-17T12:29:48.150-08:00I know you said you weren't really interested ...I know you said you weren't really interested in relocating, and several folks have already suggested Austin, TX, but..if Texas isn't really your style, we'd sure love to have you in Frederick, MD. We've got a great historic downtown shopping district full of funky small businesses and restaurants. It's very walkable, and they hold regular community events to bring more people downtown to see what's available. Plus, the Historic Haven, Frederick's secret underground club for gamers, reenactors, and other geeky folk, is located in that area. If you set up within walking distance of the Haven, I predict you will not lack for business. :)<br /><br />Good luck whatever happens though.Lyz Recusanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14655927465856253548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-6297532822745050912015-02-12T21:53:22.495-08:002015-02-12T21:53:22.495-08:00Here here Barbara! I love that idea! I too was thi...Here here Barbara! I love that idea! I too was thinking perhaps Borderlands could sell a few select favorites/new releases/bestsellers at the cafe in honor of the bookstore. Thanks for bringing it up!BJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14438182537005953982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-3769327049544532362015-02-12T16:16:18.903-08:002015-02-12T16:16:18.903-08:00I'm really gutted about this, I'm sure not...I'm really gutted about this, I'm sure not as much as you are. Ignoring the neocons above who think that people earning a living wage is the problem, (Vanderleun is still around?) I can follow your logic as to how there isn't a viable solution, and your math, and I get why the burnout would be too much. You're people too.<br /><br />Still, I feel incredibly sad about this. Borderlands was my happy place for over six years. I must have been in there once or twice a week since I've lived here, bought I don't know how many books, spent countless hours just browsing or even sitting with a book open on my lap, soaking up the sun through the window and the sheer...goodness of the books, and the people who love them. I can get all the books and more through Amazon, but it will never be the same. <br /><br /> I am wondering if there's any way to keep any part of the shop alive through the cafe. I know there are still book clubs that meet there, and I had actually been hoping to start another. I'm wondering if you would somehow at least be able to conduct some kind of online presence as a bookseller? Keep hosting events? Maybe at least sell Lady Churchill Rosebud Wristlet and a few select favorites/new releases/bestsellers at the magazine rack? I don't know how any of it works, admittedly.Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435647176978522219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-79312277889956097502015-02-07T11:16:49.444-08:002015-02-07T11:16:49.444-08:00I live in Austin and agree that this may be a viab...I live in Austin and agree that this may be a viable alternative for you. Texas in general is very business friendly and Austin in particular loves the unique style that is represented by businesses like Borderlands. <br />By the way I teach accounting at a college in San Antonio (yes I commute and no it is not that bad -- some other things Texas has going for it are great highways) and have posted a link to your essay for my cost and managerial classes.Texas Accountanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08735834464256237664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-17077973810665972702015-02-04T16:03:16.141-08:002015-02-04T16:03:16.141-08:00Hm, thought I posted this already, but I'll tr...Hm, thought I posted this already, but I'll try again. I didn't see any indication that you guys sell Kobo eBooks via your web site, the way a lot of successful indies do. If you did, I'd be buying from you and directing people all over the country to funnel their dollars your way.<br /><br />But it's not even mentioned in the ways you mentioned here of possibly raising your income, so I have to assume you're already doing it, and that I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to buy an ebook from you. (If you're not making a brisk sale in ebooks that IQ hurdle may be part of why...)<br /><br />Mishellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16522505373868969450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-38227076217009812242015-02-04T10:28:31.711-08:002015-02-04T10:28:31.711-08:00The odds that you are now facing will eventually p...The odds that you are now facing will eventually put you out of business, if not today then tomorrow for sure! My suggestion, should you accept the assignment, is to buy and sell antiques of all kinds, to prolong your book life! You're Welcome!<br /><br />Wild BillAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16562496386705230878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-76833456903924600762015-02-04T08:36:44.873-08:002015-02-04T08:36:44.873-08:00Alan, thank you for this post, for going into the ...Alan, thank you for this post, for going into the detail of your consideration, and for your contribution to the geek community of San Francisco. You and your store are well-loved, and I'm sorry you're in this predicament.<br /><br />I wonder if you have run the numbers for an SBA 504 loan? Basically, they are 3-way loans: 10% from the borrower, 40% from the SBA, and 50% from a private bank. There's an organization called TMC Financial in San Francisco that works with small businesses and shops around for private banks to match lending, and they're amazing. <br /><br />It might be worth exploring, just to see if the arithmetic works out.<br /><br />In any event, I wish you great success, and thanks again for your labor of love.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03407577857083383387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-22909821733701411612015-02-04T07:33:33.605-08:002015-02-04T07:33:33.605-08:00"The beautiful thing about that idea is that,..."The beautiful thing about that idea is that, regardless of Borderlands' financial health (or mine), a place like that could serve as a permanent support for bookselling, no matter how much the world and San Francisco changes."<br /><br />Don't kid yourself. The political disease that is consuming San Francisco like a cancer will always find a way to destroy businesses like yours. It's not the city itself but the perverted creatures that have, like the pod people, infested its political structure. vanderleunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10296245324443413545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-63189367091780538512015-02-04T05:27:56.953-08:002015-02-04T05:27:56.953-08:00I live in Austin and I've never heard it refer...I live in Austin and I've never heard it referred to as "San Francisco, TX". Not sure who calls it that. And the suggestion that everyone in SFO just pack up and move to the ATX? No. We're full, please go back to California or Colorado.<br /><br />The net-net of the situation with brick-and-mortar everything is that sooner or later the brick-and-mortar businesses have to figure out what value-add they need to provide that brings customers in from the web.<br /><br />There's a line in "Other People's Money" about how the last buggy whip company must have made the best buggy whips imaginable, just before they too went out of business. Perhaps if they'd thought about diversifying into leather driving goods they'd have stayed in business.<br /><br />The value-add of brick-and-mortar businesses is other human beings actually interacting with each other in meat-space. $25K per year is $100 net after expenses and taxes per weekday, or $500 per week. $500 per week is 50 people @ $10 admission for a weekly event -- book reading, book signing, writers workshop. That's exclusive of added book or cafe sales.<br /><br />A Facebook friend put it this way -- you're in the "books" and "venue" business, but only selling "books". Gross margin on "venue" is much higher than what you guys are getting pushing dead trees.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00014889970584196079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-59205940357148964352015-02-03T22:41:01.987-08:002015-02-03T22:41:01.987-08:00Yeah, the liberals at Google, Apple, and Facebook...Yeah, the liberals at Google, Apple, and Facebook, whose employees are pumping so much money into the battle for limited space and resources in SF and thus making the lesser-off want things like "a living wage", know nothing of profits.Meatwad650https://www.blogger.com/profile/13649998404889336457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-50099669103878104442015-02-03T18:33:41.210-08:002015-02-03T18:33:41.210-08:00Liberals think they can keep TAXING and bleeding b...Liberals think they can keep TAXING and bleeding businesses and they will just take it. Liberals never had to make a payroll so will never know what it takes to pay rent, make wages, pay bills etc. Liberal politicians have all collected government money and have no clue about actually making a profit. But then again PROFIT is afour letter word to socialists.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03230653889809787542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-92016056413219499902015-02-03T09:30:39.622-08:002015-02-03T09:30:39.622-08:00First off, I'm sad to see the shop go. It was...First off, I'm sad to see the shop go. It was a bit out of the way for me to get to (being north bay, and now sonoma county with weird work hours) but I made the journey when I could, be it for author events or just to get a book (or to see the cats...still have pictures) I had a post with my "spur of the moment 'brilliant' idea" all written up, but Google ate it when I signed in. I'm going to try putting it up again, wish me luck.<br /><br />So, no hand outs (unless it was to make a non-profit that would also work for the store) and best solution would be get a building. My thought: crowd-fund the acquisition of a building (not sure how feasible, given the price tag vs number of people who could actually contribute) but instead of it being a 1-shot "got your money okay bye" type thing, have those who contribute have a stake in the building (not the shop) It would be an investment of sorts, everyone pays however much the want, numbers get run, and they effectively "own" some percentage of the building. The biggest thing would be that it wouldn't be an active, everyone has to vote on every decision type thing, but a "gets X% of sale price whenever sold" type thing. It isn't a hand out, property in SF should appreciate (save for an economic collapse) and if there are enough interested parties it could result in the purchase of a building.<br /><br />(That last chunk was larger than intended, but I'm just going from memory before I forget any details)<br /><br />There would be a contract written up for all contributors/investors/whatever we call them, which would have the various terms of their ownership and what it would mean. I don't know how many people would go in for this sort of thing (I'd like to think at least 1/3 of the mailing list people would, but I have no clue how large the list is, so no numbers to go off of)<br /><br />This could (probably is) just be a crazy idea, but if I didn't get it out there, I'd worry that maybe it was the idea that could have kept the store around, or it could have given someone else a spark of inspiration to come up with an infinitely better idea. Either way, it's out there now, I'm sad the store is closing (maybe not, if a good enough idea is found) and regardless of what happens I'll be finding my way down before the end to pickup some books & get a drink.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668200196728111679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-52553505643164477472015-02-03T04:48:52.388-08:002015-02-03T04:48:52.388-08:00You could move to Austin, TX (which people call (b...You could move to Austin, TX (which people call (both disdainfully and not) "San Francisco, TX"). You certainly wouldn't be alone. There's a reason so many Californians are moving to Texas, lack of ridiculous minimum wage laws being only one. homo Ĺ“conomicushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18256803336960169867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-20069878015636112952015-02-03T02:35:29.925-08:002015-02-03T02:35:29.925-08:00Just as I was about to go back to sleep an idea st...Just as I was about to go back to sleep an idea struck me. Might be a dumb one for various reasons and probably wouldn't make enough money, but I feel compelled to mention it anyway.<br /><br />I just glanced at my email where there was a reminder to pick up my fruit CSA box. What if Borderlands ran their own "CSB" (Community Supported Bookstore)? Every month (or week or something) Borderlands could pick a great new book and send it out to all of the CSB subscribers, along with a short update about the business & sci-fi world (which you kind of already do.) Subscribers pay a premium (1.5x the cost of the book?) which covers shipping and brings in profit. What subscribers are paying you for is your expert recommendations, the convenience of having a book show up at their doorstep and to support the idea of the business, just as I am "over"paying for my fruit CSA for similar reasons, but I don't mind because I get fresh random fruit and a note from the farmer.<br /><br />I know there are all sorts of issues with this idea: the CSAs usually use a central dropoff point not straight to doorstep, doorstep shipping might actually be too expensive; people like to pick out their own books; people might have already read the book you pick out for that week/month; etc.<br /><br />So there are potentially big problems, but I was inspired by how much I will miss your immense sci fi/fantasy (and more!) knowledge, the fact that I overpay to support agriculture I believe in and, now that I have toddlers, how much less time I have to go to the city and get to your store. Perhaps there are others in the same boat?<br /><br />Anyways just throwing that crazy idea out there. I am also cognizant that you opened a bookstore as a place that people *go to*, not so you can ship books out...BJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14438182537005953982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35866639.post-55490510808566395602015-02-03T01:45:41.986-08:002015-02-03T01:45:41.986-08:00Alan, seems like you've thought it all through...Alan, seems like you've thought it all through and though I am very sad at the thought of your closing, I know it's nothing compared to the mourning that you, Jude and the other employees must be going through.<br /><br />You seem like a very competent business owner and I can't imagine I would have any insight that you don't. I am reminded, however, of how a group of folks made a non-profit foundation to keep Scarecrow Video alive in Seattle. They have supporter memberships now, I assume so they can stay in business. I wonder how that's working out in reality-- I believe you when you say you can't depend on philanthropy to stay in business. But when I think about it I just don't want to accept the end.<br /><br />Moreover, it feels like you and the Borderlands employees really want to write your own ending, in a way. I was struck by your mention of how the bad memories can overlay the good. <br /><br />Wishing I had millions of dollars to buy you a building and a magic wand so people preferred to read paper books over electronic ones...BJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14438182537005953982noreply@blogger.com