When I went off to college, I drove my friends crazy with my mad desire for a bookstore other than the campus one that only carries textbooks – but the closest one is three towns away! I’ve learned to deal with it, but I’ll always take a bookstore over Amazon, any day of the week!

I drive my husband (total clicker) crazy every week when I drag him in to the book store to get some new release. He always says ” Can’t we just get this on Amazon?? ” to which I always reply ” NO! It’s not the SAME!!” followed by lots of whining sounds and dirty glares directed to my husband.

I have no problems buying things in general online, but when it comes to items like books, or comics… it’s just not the same. i want to be able to hold it, thumb through it, read the book flap, so on….

Anyway, as I mentioned on Twitter, I prefer to shop in bookstores. It allows me to get a more definitive look at a book before I purchase it. I can formulate my own opinions, instead of having to base them on other people’s reviews. Also, I like being able to read the book immediately. I don’t like waiting for it to arrive, which is inevitable when shopping online. Also, shopping in a bookstore gives a more personal experience. I really feel as if the book is mine, whereas online shopping feels more like someone loaned it to me. That probably sounds really weird, but that’s just the experience I have.

Of course that said, there are some books you just won’t find in a book store.

I still frequent bookstores for used stuff, but I’ll probably never buy another new book in a store again.

The last book I bought was Jeremy C. Shipp’s Vacation. For $16 w/ shipping, I got a personalized copy directly from him. Why on earth would I even bother going to the store (40 minute round trip), then end up probably having to order it?

If I can’t get it here, because a book isn’t being distributed all the way out to our little country at the bottom of the South Pacific, then online is the only way, and the shipping costs are then highly prohibitive. I have to REALLY want a book to go that path: PE:DA and Phil Rossi’s Crescent are cases in point.

Otherwise, like Herne, I aim for our local second-hand book store, who also specialise is a huge range of new fantasy and sci-fi, and buy new and second-hand books from there exclusively.

When the market is dominated by a handful of big-box retail monsters, it can be hard to find the good stuff, and that’s where the online services become invaluable.

Maybe you could get people to send you the name/location of the store they got their copy from, and we can see how long we can get that list. Maybe some kind of little prize for everyone on the list if it gets to X length.

Ack, gotta go pay attention to my Social Research class, which is being held online… seems somehow fitting.

The strategy has some risk — buyers must make two trips to the bookstore (one to order, one to pick up) — but if properly positioned and incentivized, I think it can be a resonant strategy. I’ll be noodling on this in the days ahead!

How about having some sort of a promo where people scan/pic their brick and mortar receipt for a chance at some awesome prize?

I know authors don’t benefit directly from used sales, but I will defend my habits with three points. One, I am poor so if I don’t buy used, I often have to go without. Two, if I’m less familiar with an author and I buy used, I will usually go back and buy any further books from them new if I like them. Sometimes used & online is the only way to get books (try getting Jeff Noon books in a Borders — even if they order it, it’ll be from the same source you do).

I prefer to research my purchases in-store and then weigh the “how badly I need it” factor against the “how much cheaper can I get it online” factor. I also go out of my way to investigate smaller mom-and-pop stores (either online or offline) and buy direct from the authors whenever I can–It’s more money for the author and usually better service overall. I can also be found trolling used bookstores to pick up things that may have been bestsellers 20-30 years ago. Real books beat ephemeral data every time!

And thank heavens you’re an outlier! Know that you’re not alone: over the past year especially, more women and younger adults are discovering my work, for which I’m grateful. Thanks for the support, and feedback.

Aside from your fans and followers being all the things you mentioned, I’d reckon they are also people who love books. I think book lovers might be more inclined to go against their normal online nature to be in the bookstore atmosphere. That’s the case for me, anyway, but I’m an outlier: female and younger than your youngest age bracket by a year or two.

Another possible reason is that we’re people who (obviously) like to show our support to those we think deserve it, even if it’s more expensive or inconvenient. I’d be willing to bet that a significant proportion of the brickers would say that they try to shop at independent bookstores instead of chains.

I’d be a bricker totally, but it’s cheaper to buy online typically especially if you can wait for super saver. Instant gratification is powerful, but an empty wallet is powerfuller.

I was *hoping* someone would make a reality TV reference! I feel the same way, too!

And yes, I’m equally surprised by the results! I’m glad I asked the community for its input, lest I move forward on incorrect assumptions!

I know multiple purchases of the same book wasn’t in scope for your impromptu poll, however it would be interesting to understand the behavior there as well. When it comes to a highly anticipated book, I may brick buy for myself but then purchase an online copy for a friend or relative — since they aren’t expecting it, it doesn’t need to arrive quickly.

Interesting topic and definitely not the results I expected!

oh, and this expression of Objectivity that you mention:
“From my experiences as a newspaperman, I concluded long ago that nearly any thing that is observed alters its behavior because it knows it’s being observed, thus altering the foundation for accurate reporting”
That’s how I feel about “Reality TV”!

My eyes are burning! Oh the pain! My eyes!

Seriously, though I find the results surprising as well. I expected clicker to be dominant with your readers even though I am a bricker.