RFP Staff
♦ Struggling independent bookstore the Literary Bookpost on 110 North Main Street in Salisbury, N.C. closed its doors on Monday with a sign in the door stating hopefully: “Store is closed. Reopening soon!”
Over a year ago the Literary Bookpost, in the survival mode, took in an educational toy store from down the street called: “Just the Thing”. Both struggling stores partnered to cut expenses and stay alive. Apparently the relationship between owners became rocky in recent weeks according to word on the street.
The Literary Bookpost is now the lone surviving bookstore in Salisbury now that Books-A-Million closed at the West End Plaza at the end of September. Independent Bookstores all over the United States are gasping for air and many have gone out of business due to their non-competitive pricing and the simple fact of the huge online presence of Amazon.com, Barns & Nobles, and Books-A-Million, who sell books below list price and ship fast. These online booksellers now completely dominate the book buying market.
Also impacting independent booksellers are e-books which are growing steadily in popularity and can be read on e-readers, tablets, smart phones, laptops, and home computers. To add further to independent bookstores woes are the many online “bargain” booksellers such as Half.com and Alibris. Almost new books can be purchased at a fraction of the price of those sold in brick and mortar bookstores.
The Literary Bookpost struggled mightily since Deal Safrit, a popular old school bookman retired along with his knowledgeable assistant Gary Thornburg back in 2012 after a disagreement with Bill Greene.
Operating a business on Main Street is difficult due to the lack of traffic which no doubt further impacts the viability of a small independent book store facing the onslaught of internet bookselling.
It’s alleged that Just the Thing’s owner Glenda Dyson has been pulling her inventory from the commonly shared building, yet nothing has been aired publically about the dispute.
A previous article on the “Death of Independent Bookstores and Where to Buy Books Cheap”:
