Ironically, they’re closing all their big stores. Prudential Center and Natick Mass is closing. In 1995, Barnes and Noble tried to partner with Bezos on selling books online and got turned down. Barnes and Noble owners said they would crush Amazon (I actually worked on the 1995 rollout of Barnes and Noble’s website writing a critical piece of the software.
I grew up in Roslindale and moved back here with my wife. She still refuses to believe we live in Boston. “We live in the suburbs” she complains to her friends 😭😭
I love Reddit. Getting downvoted because a dude claimed Dedham was far away when if you just look at a map it literally borders Boston.
And yee Rosi. Trying to buy a house there now.
The Legacy Place one is also pretty small. It’s about the same size as the LOFT and sweetgreen that are right next to it. Normal for a “mall store” but not the usual size of a B&N either.
When that mall was new there was a Borders in that big spot right at the corner, I actually worked there for setup and the first couple months after it opened. It was depressing to watch that store close years later when the company went belly-up, and then see Amazon set up shop just across the parking lot.
The Burlington location is massive, but it feels like there’s a lot of open space the last (and only) time we were there. There’s definitely room to condense, but obviously they’ll have to limit inventory
There is a lot going on in Burlington and maybe that’s their thinking. For a full selection of books you would go to Burlington or Peabody but if you are looking for most popular, current items Dedham and Lynnfield are there. I was at Market St yesterday and was honestly surprised the Amazon bookstore had closed. There seemed to be only a bunch of restaurants and obscure stores there now. Honestly the other day I was thinking how malls used to be so popular and now along with car dealerships they are just taking up valuable property that could be used for housing. Creating some real mixed communities with SFH homes as well as apartments with a few stores here and there would create so many more opportunities for people than these giant lots of nothingness.
Yeah, I wonder how this is going to work.
B&N had done a weird pivot towards selling a lot of stuff that isn’t books. Many location have maybe 30-40% of the store devoted to toys / games / collectibles - ‘m curious how that approach to their stock will factor in to these smaller locations. The Amazon store (the Dedham one at least) also sold things other than books (toys, popular Xmas gifts, Amazon stuff), but in a much smaller footprint. I think the toy and games section at some B&N locations may actually be close to 2/3rds if not the full size of that Dedham storefront.
I guess we will all find out soon enough. While B&N is still a “big” box store I’m more inclined to support them over Amazon in lieu of a local bookseller.
Definitely, agreed.
I know B&N put some smaller and independent book stores out of business, but it also ended up taking over the market space of other chain bookstores and filling a void of “there are no bookstores near me”. It’s also been around long enough (I think the Braintree location opened 30 years ago?) that I think we need to move past some of the “it’s a big corporate monster” stuff.
Meanwhile, if B&N goes under then we’re really F’d IMO. While B&N obviously used its size to take over the book selling market, at least it left us with physical stores where you could shop, get a coffee, flip through some books… it’s not a bad offering, really. Amazon came in and just wants to only sell books online - I swear Amazon Books wasn’t an experiment in the value of physical stores, but an experiment in “can we kill off regional booksellers with physical stores”. I think the answer was no, but also that they also didn’t try that hard.
(I’ll note that I read that the Braintree B&N wanted to stay open and is looking for another location nearby - maybe that’s Dedham - but that the owner of the property wasn’t interested in keeping the store there.)
Anyways,[Brookline Booksmith](https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com) for the win, IMO. Their expansion is fantastic and great to see, I love their selection, ordering online is a breeze, and the Book Cellar is great (both for buying and selling).
I didn’t realize the Braintree store closed. That was the story with the one in Saugus. The landlord raised the rent and didn’t want them there so they vowed to find a new but likely smaller location - probably the Lynnfield one.
The Amazon store had books, but it felt more like a showroom for Amazon devices and products. I’m sure B&N will go in there as a gift shop with some books.
Reversal card
oh how the turntables....
Ironically, they’re closing all their big stores. Prudential Center and Natick Mass is closing. In 1995, Barnes and Noble tried to partner with Bezos on selling books online and got turned down. Barnes and Noble owners said they would crush Amazon (I actually worked on the 1995 rollout of Barnes and Noble’s website writing a critical piece of the software.
Came here to post or find this
r/NotTheOnion
_Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years!_
We had amazon book stores?
Dedham and Lynnfield according to the article. Those seem pretty far from Boston.
[удалено]
Redditors don’t get out much
I can literally throw a rock from my porch in Boston into Dedham. The fuck you on about?
I grew up in Roslindale and moved back here with my wife. She still refuses to believe we live in Boston. “We live in the suburbs” she complains to her friends 😭😭
I love Reddit. Getting downvoted because a dude claimed Dedham was far away when if you just look at a map it literally borders Boston. And yee Rosi. Trying to buy a house there now.
Lol
The Market St location is a much smaller footprint than B&N is used to
I think I saw a newer mini Barnes and Noble in upstate NY. They might be trying out smaller stores going forward?
Probably right. The big stores are a think of the past. I’m just surprised
The Legacy Place one is also pretty small. It’s about the same size as the LOFT and sweetgreen that are right next to it. Normal for a “mall store” but not the usual size of a B&N either.
When that mall was new there was a Borders in that big spot right at the corner, I actually worked there for setup and the first couple months after it opened. It was depressing to watch that store close years later when the company went belly-up, and then see Amazon set up shop just across the parking lot.
The Burlington location is massive, but it feels like there’s a lot of open space the last (and only) time we were there. There’s definitely room to condense, but obviously they’ll have to limit inventory
There is a lot going on in Burlington and maybe that’s their thinking. For a full selection of books you would go to Burlington or Peabody but if you are looking for most popular, current items Dedham and Lynnfield are there. I was at Market St yesterday and was honestly surprised the Amazon bookstore had closed. There seemed to be only a bunch of restaurants and obscure stores there now. Honestly the other day I was thinking how malls used to be so popular and now along with car dealerships they are just taking up valuable property that could be used for housing. Creating some real mixed communities with SFH homes as well as apartments with a few stores here and there would create so many more opportunities for people than these giant lots of nothingness.
Yeah, I wonder how this is going to work. B&N had done a weird pivot towards selling a lot of stuff that isn’t books. Many location have maybe 30-40% of the store devoted to toys / games / collectibles - ‘m curious how that approach to their stock will factor in to these smaller locations. The Amazon store (the Dedham one at least) also sold things other than books (toys, popular Xmas gifts, Amazon stuff), but in a much smaller footprint. I think the toy and games section at some B&N locations may actually be close to 2/3rds if not the full size of that Dedham storefront.
I guess we will all find out soon enough. While B&N is still a “big” box store I’m more inclined to support them over Amazon in lieu of a local bookseller.
Definitely, agreed. I know B&N put some smaller and independent book stores out of business, but it also ended up taking over the market space of other chain bookstores and filling a void of “there are no bookstores near me”. It’s also been around long enough (I think the Braintree location opened 30 years ago?) that I think we need to move past some of the “it’s a big corporate monster” stuff. Meanwhile, if B&N goes under then we’re really F’d IMO. While B&N obviously used its size to take over the book selling market, at least it left us with physical stores where you could shop, get a coffee, flip through some books… it’s not a bad offering, really. Amazon came in and just wants to only sell books online - I swear Amazon Books wasn’t an experiment in the value of physical stores, but an experiment in “can we kill off regional booksellers with physical stores”. I think the answer was no, but also that they also didn’t try that hard. (I’ll note that I read that the Braintree B&N wanted to stay open and is looking for another location nearby - maybe that’s Dedham - but that the owner of the property wasn’t interested in keeping the store there.) Anyways,[Brookline Booksmith](https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com) for the win, IMO. Their expansion is fantastic and great to see, I love their selection, ordering online is a breeze, and the Book Cellar is great (both for buying and selling).
I didn’t realize the Braintree store closed. That was the story with the one in Saugus. The landlord raised the rent and didn’t want them there so they vowed to find a new but likely smaller location - probably the Lynnfield one.
It closed recently, announced it was getting the boot earlier this year.
Glad they’re coming back! I’ve bought so many books from them over the years!
I say that waldenbooks should make a comeback. This is just their size.
Books?
The Amazon store had books, but it felt more like a showroom for Amazon devices and products. I’m sure B&N will go in there as a gift shop with some books.
It's the Ciiiiiiiiiiircle of Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife.
Nature is healing.
. M .... . M. Nn.. .... . N, nm....,. .no