"115 new bookstores opened in 2007"

According to this article at thebookstandard.com, 115 new independent bookstores opened in the U.S. in 2007. How this compares to the number that closed I don't know; that is probably the most balancing question.

Textbooks: higher-priced than ever, but the Internet offers the lowest prices

Check out this article at InsideVandy.com.

Are eBooks the future of books?

Opinions are mixed. Read eBook readers turning page on paper formats at SpringfieldNewsSun.com. This article believes that e-books are a big part of the future.

Excerpts:

"Amazon sold out of its initial inventory in five and a half hours, said Kindle's spokesman Drew Herdener. ... 'Kindle is for readers, and readers read books,' so Kindle and bookstores have the same customer base, he said. 'The physical book is not going away overnight. These two will coexist for quite a while,' he added, and bookstore owners and employees seem to agree with him."

"'"Borders is embracing the eBook format.' ... Borders partnered with Sony to sell Sony's eBook reader and is selling more than 25,000 eBooks, allowing the store to prepare for the future, she said."

Says the owner of a Christian bookstore that is closing soon: "'This is the future of reading and bookselling,' he said, when the devices are reasonably priced, which might take some time."

Unique opportunities for book buyers online as people unload books they *didn't* want for Christmas

Read about it in these two December 27 articles:

Post holiday re-sales find a niche online - Ottawa Citizen

Christmas booty offloaded online - The Age (Australia)

Free online book exchange/swap: Paperbackswap.com

I just read about a website called paperbackswap.com in an article at dothaneagle.com. (Read the article here.)

Paperbackswap.com averages 35,000 swaps a week, and features 1.7 million books.

"All you need is an e-mail address, a mailing address and at least 10 books you’re willing to list on the Web site and swap with other users. The only cost is postage and a few extra services a user may choose to use. Each new user gets two credits in order to select their first two books."

"Users receive an e-mail when someone wants a book they have listed on the Web site. With every book mailed, a user receives another credit to select books."

"Paperback Swap lists hardcover books and audio books. It also has discussion forums and chat rooms for members. There are separate sites for CD and DVD swapping."

"Laura Martin of Dothan has used the service for 18 months. An admitted book hoarder, Martin said she uses the service to fill out her collections of favorite authors. She’ll list and swap books that she doesn’t like enough to keep and re-read."

Because of the Internet, oldschool bookstores struggle to survive

Read the article "Bookstore owner hangs on in digital world" at STLtoday.com here.

Relevant quotes for online book buyers:

"Between Amazon, eBay and the rise of Borders and Barnes & Noble, the last 10 years have not been kind to the people who run small, independent bookstores. Hundreds, thousands, have shut their doors."

"And with reading habits in a slump and e-books on the horizon, the next 10 years may not be kind, either."

"We got the Internet. We got Wal-Mart. We got video games. And everything hit all at once. … The business of selling books changed from the way it had been done for over 200 years. … We were there and we saw it, it's just that everything happened really fast. All the technology hit at once, and you could suddenly search through everybody's books at the same time. … All of our suppliers who we used to buy from, all the garage sales and estate sales, are now putting them up directly. So now we're competing with these people who have a first-edition Hemingway, and they're going to sell it for a dollar because it's just an old book."

eBay is in a lot of doghouses

According to Ina Steiner at AuctionBytes Blog, eBay customers are angry, fraud is rife on eBay, and a high-ranking eBay executive is trashing the company. Read more at Ina's blog here.

Speaking of eBay, there is a lot of talk surrounding the idea that Amazon should buy eBay, such as at BloggingStocks.com.