A small change of heart since my earlier posting.

Actually, I do know what if feels like to have the industry completely change on you. And stay dysfunctional for years. Suicidally competitive. In 1990, our store was 85% sports cards, and then I was slammed by the Walmarts and the Shopko's of the world, as well as smaller shops. It wasn't possible to keep sports cards as a profitable line, no matter what I did.

I suppose I could say that I'm living proof that one can change the nature of a store -- but I'm not sure that -- knowing what I know now, about how long and hard a slog it turned out to be -- I would do it again.

And I was able to let go of sports cards, fairly easily, because it wasn't in my blood. (Turning the business around was hard, letting go of cards wasn't.) I suspect that anyone who owns a bookstore is a book person, and telling them that they can survive by selling -- oh, toys, or jigsaw puzzles, or whatever -- may not hold much attraction. I could wish for them that the publishers will come to their senses, but I doubt from my experiences with cards and comics and toys that that will happen.

I wish there was some assurance that at the end of the process, everyone will be better off. I doubt, very much, that the loss of local bookstores will be remembered as a good thing. But I also know the strategy of appealing to the consumers 'better' nature isn't going to work. Trying to make the customer feel guilty, or begging them, isn't going to help. I know, I tried.

I'm getting 10 copies of the new Harry Potter book, that will be sold at Barnes and Nobles and Costgo at cost, or even less (!) as a loss leader. I'll be curious if I sell any and how long it will take. I'm not certain I shouldn't just skip the whole thing, but I'm going to have to treat it as a test. It may be the first book I actually return.

Bookstores will have to find a way to make people want to buy from them.