By starting decades before it became so easy to buy books online and by being willing to keep going through hard times. Essentially by being founded in a completely different time. There probably won't be any 90 year old bookshops in 90 years time.
When it was generally a pain to order books that weren't in stock. That were generally not discounted--and when they were, not by much. No ebooks. More people used to read more books.
Buying a load of used books was pretty much a monthly thing for me at one point. Now I might go to my library's annual book sale when it's $10 a bag.
I used to do a semi-regular Saturday trip into Harvard Square to shop for books, music, and other things. Really just no need or interest to do that anymore. I don't need more stuff generally, don't buy physical music media for the most part, and while I may grab the occasional used book, I have a pretty large backlog and can have something on my Kindle in a minute. Mostly don't have a need or interest to browse in stores.
That was a big part of it; I recall heading home from school and stopping in at the used bookstore, grab a interesting looking novel for 25 cents, read it on the way home, toss or donate it.
I read a lot of books, at least one a week, but physical bookstores don't work for me. I decide what book I want to read next, and then get that book, either a physical copy ordered online or a digital copy, instead of going to a bookstore and picking a book from what they have available.
I'm old, bookstores are what I used to do, I like the idea of them. I like the idea of browsing a bookstore. But, in reality, I rarely go to them.
I can get exactly what I want instead of whatever someone wants to sell me.
With the exception of books that are really about the appearance perhaps, it's not like browsing a book in a bookstore for a few minutes tells you all that much. You're basically dealing with the marketing (like the cover and the blurb) at that point. Probably better to deal with online reviews however imperfect.
I still appreciate the experience every now and then but, really, I don't have a lot of reason to buy from bookstores much of the time.
I’ve got a book-related side project I hope to launch in a few months. In my quiet moments I like to dream it would support a bookstore as a part of it. They’re great places and what makes them great is hard to find online.
lemme get on your mailing list, love to know what's going on with new stuff in the book world. i have a book-ish side project too: https://www.bookhead.net/marketing/
