everybump Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Quote Australian online book retailer Booktopia has entered voluntary administration, following a first-half revenue downturn and struggles to secure additional funding. https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/retail/booktopia-book-retailing-voluntary-administration/ 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 It seems like there are a lot of companies going under at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Well, looks like the book I had on back order isn’t coming anytime soon then. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crombek Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Kindle Unlimited/Amazon has basically sunk the entire book market. 1 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seayork2002 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 40 minutes ago, Darryl said: It seems like there are a lot of companies going under at the moment in the last 10 years or so near us in NW Sydney there has been a lot of empty shops, in the last year even more so 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelagic Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 It's also audio books and the fact that lots of kids don't read anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bicycle Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 16 minutes ago, Crombek said: Kindle Unlimited/Amazon has basically sunk the entire book market. I used to work in the book industry. The writing was on the wall over 20 years ago. First it was the huge bookstores like Borders killing off the smaller shops ( only really good independents left), then it was online booksellers who had no shop overheads, only basic warehousing, then digital publishing. Now we are seeing the huge online ohysical booksellers go. Cost of living, the huge overheads of holding stock ( and even if you do an "Amazon" of just in time ordering from publishers, you risk losing sales to people who don't want to wait, or publishers selling out their stock). It's an evolution. I doubt print books will die anytime soon, but the whole industry has been changing hugely in the last 20- 25 years. There's actually nothing wrong with digital publishing, there's books now available that would of never made the cut to publish physically, plus authors have more control and make more money, especially if they self publish, or use an indie digital publisher. Amazon isn't the only cause, just part of it. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrankyM Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Crombek said: Kindle Unlimited/Amazon has basically sunk the entire book market. It was going this way before this came in. I was working in a bookstore in the early 2000s and we were already seeing a drop in the market and it was hard to stay open. Even just shops like Kmart/Target etc. carrying books and selling them cheaper then most bookstores could buy them + the digital publishing was making a significant impact. I will say however I am actually quite surprised by this. Booktopia has picked up a fair bit more of the market with closure of a lot of university bookstores aka the uni co-op stores (we used to do a lot of ordering from them because the other options in Australia took far too long to supply print items). But I am also would not be surprised that retail sales of print books are going down. They are considered a luxury in today's economy. I read. A lot. And even my book spending has gone down a fair bit. Also traditional publishing models are not doing as well. There is a huge number of indie publishers/self publishers now that barely do print books, or do POD. It's just the way it is. Edited July 3 by CrankyM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelagic Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I discovered online libraries and that was it for me. I spend less on books than I ever have in my life now. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeAwesome Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I rarely buy a physical book for myself, I do all my reading on my Kindle. However I do buy books fairly regularly for my 12 year old DD, and Booktopia used to be my go-to, but Amazon is typically much cheaper and with free next day delivery, so all of my recent purchases have been from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blimpette Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I'm devastated. I've been waiting for an order and have contacted them numerous times with no response so I knew something was up. But I also have a voucher with them worth quite a bit! 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfie34 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I love book shops. We have thousands of books and renovated a room to be a library. My spending on books has certainly decreased over time- not because we do audio books or digital books (I tried a kobo years ago and hated it) but because we have run out of room to store books. I did occasionally order from booktopia though. I used to hide for hours in the Borders on lygon st when I was supposed to be at uni 15 years ago. That’s when I bought many books. I still go to the local book shop when I need to (usually before travel!). My kids still buy a lot of books but I have been trying to get them to libraries more often. I am currently reading the book binder of Jericho and it’s fascinating thinking about how much work printing a book used to be and That only the privileged bought books. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Whatever the reason - and I agree with a post above that it's probably due to a combination of things - I was sorry to hear this. I have bought quite a few books from Booktopia over the years and never had any problems with delivery etc. It's a shame to see such a worthwhile retailer close down. I feel sorry for those who are waiting on books they have paid for and will never receive. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenflea Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I use the library and I order from Abbey's in Sydney. They've got an amazing range and will get pretty much anything in that you can find. I hope to all the gods that Abbey's stays open! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I mostly read on a e reader so it's all my fault I still love a good book shop and go out of my way to buy expensive photography books and kids books - and there are a handful of really good independent bookshops that do still seem to be thriving. And our local second hand bookshop is now one of the busiest shops in an otherwise soul-less suburban shopping centre. I think the ones that sell an 'experience' and don't even try to compete on price do best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crombek Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 You can't really argue with e-readers on convenience & environmental friendliness, can you? Maybe we do need to let go of physical books. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogaalaates Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 5 minutes ago, Crombek said: You can't really argue with e-readers on convenience & environmental friendliness, can you? Maybe we do need to let go of physical books. No, never. 1 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seayork2002 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 32 minutes ago, Jenflea said: I use the library and I order from Abbey's in Sydney. They've got an amazing range and will get pretty much anything in that you can find. I hope to all the gods that Abbey's stays open! I do love abbeys but 20ish years ago one staff member was very rude when I applied for a job there so for a along time it put me off, I love their crime section and I used to love collecting their monthly newsletters when I worked in the in between Central and Abbeys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seayork2002 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 8 minutes ago, Crombek said: You can't really argue with e-readers on convenience & environmental friendliness, can you? Maybe we do need to let go of physical books. I love my kindle but sometimes love real books, and dh would never stop reading real art books or travel ones and ds has his book collections he collects I will never ever think real books should go even though 95% of the time I am on a kindle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogaalaates Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 1 hour ago, Elfie34 said: I love book shops. We have thousands of books and renovated a room to be a library. My spending on books has certainly decreased over time- not because we do audio books or digital books (I tried a kobo years ago and hated it) but because we have run out of room to store books. I did occasionally order from booktopia though. I used to hide for hours in the Borders on lygon st when I was supposed to be at uni 15 years ago. That’s when I bought many books. I still go to the local book shop when I need to (usually before travel!). My kids still buy a lot of books but I have been trying to get them to libraries more often. I am currently reading the book binder of Jericho and it’s fascinating thinking about how much work printing a book used to be and That only the privileged bought books. It would be my dream to have a dedicated library in my house. I have books everywhere instead. I love good bookshops. Unfortunately the good ones are not convenient for me to get to, but DH and I go when he has an RDO. I also buy sometimes from big w (Australia’s biggest bookseller), but avoid Amazon, and I don’t really do e-books. I prefer a physical book with beautiful artwork, the feel of the pages, and the smell….satisfied sigh here. For those who struggle to afford books, please use your local library! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seayork2002 Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Plus if they get rid of real books book shops would disappear like books shops on canal boats or with miniature railways or in old railway stations And book signings and maybe even festivals? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplekitty Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 I've been reading a kindle since they became available. The convenience,remembering the page for you and especially when you go on holidays yo don't have to take half a suitcase of books. My husband took a lot longer to convert but he won't be going back. The ability to choose a large font as you get older is very handy. However craft,gardening and childrens books I still buy real books. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bicycle Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 4 minutes ago, Seayork2002 said: And book signings and maybe even festivals? The digital authors I follow do special limited edition print runs to sell online or at book festivals, so people can get something signed. And they do attend festivals, just Amercian and European ones. However bringing out an author on tour to Australia and NZ has died. I used to do have 1 or 2 international authors per month coming to NZ ( piggy backing off Australia) and I would have lots of media, TV, print and radio all wanting to interview plus bookshops wanting evening events. The big internationals, I had lovely times with Alexander McCall Smith, Robert Jordan, Raymond Fiest, Fances Mayes, Robert Kiyosaki, John Burley and so on. But that rarely happens now. The local Australian authors certainly still make appearances but yeah, the wine and cheese nights at the big chain bookshops don't happen anymore. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjh Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 2 hours ago, Blimpette said: I'm devastated. I've been waiting for an order and have contacted them numerous times with no response so I knew something was up. But I also have a voucher with them worth quite a bit! They are in administration not liquidation, so you might yet get your books. Alternatively, try to cancel the order and see if you can get a refund. And if they continue to be non-responsive, try a chargeback if you used a credit card. If your voucher can’t be used anywhere else I’d be minded to try to use it now. There’s a risk, but it will I imagine be basically useless if they go into liquidation, so you might as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exp Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Hmmmm what to do about my back order … *sigh* 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now