one FRICKING shelf

[RobertScorpio]

So I am at the book store, Barnes/Noble, and I had to SEARCH for the Trek section..found it on little shelf...yikes...

Mr. Cox, if you read this, some dude was there, late 20s or so, looking through the paltry TREK section and I suggested he get the paper back versions of both your KHAN books..and he did!!! I told him they are both really books..

Mr. Mack, if you get this? I didn't suggest he get your two books, Destiny I think? I DID!!!..So they better be good...(just kidding. I have no doubt they will be).

Rob

 

[Therin of Andor]

So I am at the book store, Barnes/Noble, and I had to SEARCH for the Trek section..found it on little shelf...yikes...

I'm sure there'll be an upsurge of shelf space in May.

Mr. Mack, if you get this? I didn't suggest he get your two books, Destiny I think? I DID!!!..So they better be good...

It's a trilogy.

 

[Marie1]

We have a huge Chapters here, and I don't think there's much more than one shelf or so of ST. Hard to say because sometimes the SW and ST stuff gets mixed up. (Edit, I hope that what Therin said does happen).

With the 1 book/month, it's a bit understandable. Maybe people buy them up.

They have all the latest stuff, some ENT, the Terok Nor series and onwards- Mere Anarchy etc. All the Twist of Faith copies sold I think, so I was happy. I've been using that to get people hooked on DS9PF.

(Therin beat me to first post!!)

What else was I going to say... hmm... oh! Maybe people are buying them online. Buy enough together, you've saved a bit sometimes, and you get free shipping.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Maybe people are buying them online. Buy enough together, you've saved a bit sometimes, and you get free shipping.

Exactly. I know several bookshop managers and they all say that ST book readers (and movie soundtrack CD collectors) were amongst the earliest adopters of online shopping. Combine that with no new first-run Star Trek being produced for TV - and eleven of those last years on the relatively-obscure United Paramount Network - and you get diminished shelf space.

 

[William Leisner]

So I am at the book store, Barnes/Noble, and I had to SEARCH for the Trek section..found it on little shelf...yikes...

I'm sure there'll be an upsurge of shelf space in May.

You know, we really need to start a thread and pin it at the top, where we can document the size of everyone's local bookstore Trek section now, for comparison come May.

 

[Ktrek]

My criteria for where I shop is dependent on "savings"...period! For mass market paperbacks I always used to shop Walmart because their paperbacks are always $2.00 cheaper than the "list" price, which is what you pay at most other bookstores. Unfortunately my local Walmart stopped carrying Star Trek books and I have had to resort to my local B&N because online services are more expensive when you add in shipping on mass market paperback only. Trade paperbacks and hardcovers I always buy from Amazon because even with shipping I usually save $3 to $4 over B&N full retail prices. Savings is savings is far as I'm concerned and over a year those savings can add up to enough to pay for another book or two or three.

Kevin

 

[ancient]

I noticed the same thing in my B&N. There were like 6 Trek books hidden among about a billion Star Wars books. Not long ago there were at least several shelves of Trek books.

 

[BillJ]

I noticed the same thing in my B&N. There were like 6 Trek books hidden among about a billion Star Wars books. Not long ago there were at least several shelves of Trek books.

Same thing here in Cincinnati. The comics and trade paperbacks are even worse, you can only get those at specialty shops.

 

[JoeZhang]

There is one star Trek book at my local (large) bookshop - it's book 3 of a series!

 

[JAG]

Well maybe its that guy that Robert Scorpio suggested get the 2 Destiny books.

I can't find Full Circle in any of the bookstores by me. There are 3 within a few miles. The geniuses at Borders told me it was not released yet.

TBH, I am finding less and less things at the bookstore these days. There are huge displays of Twilight but not much else. There new release section used to be a wall. Now it is a small table.

 

[Steve Roby]

IIRC, in some bookstore chains, publishers have to pay to for placement in the new releases section. With all the bad news happening in publishing, there may be fewer publishers who can afford that right now.

You want to talk about disappearing bookshelves? In 2001, you could walk into a Chapters here in Ottawa and expect at least two or three shelves of Doctor Who books. There'd be a bunch of the then-ongoing Eight Doctor Adventures and Past Doctor Adventures and maybe a handful of the Bernice Summerfield New Adventures. Sometimes a nonfiction book or two as well. Then General, the North American distributor of BBC books and a lot of other publishers, went bankrupt. Within a year or so, Doctor Who novels were impossible to find in Chapters. Even now, with BBC books being distributed in North America again (by Diamond Comics), you can't expect to find the novels in the stores until months after they come out in the UK. If you find them at all. I've had to get everything by mail order for the last several years.

There have only been a few Pocket Star Trek books that haven't shown up in a reasonably timely manner at the Chapters stores I go to. I don't believe we're going to see a magic transformation in May, but I dont think things are quite as bad as they could be, either.

 

[Jbarney]

Same in Burlington Vermont guys. There a few used books stores in the area but their selection of Trek books is pretty sad. I hesitate to admit that the number of books in the local Borders and the local Barnes and Noble is just so limited.

In Borders, which is about a 5 minute walk from my house, the number of trek books is limited to the last 11 or 12 new ones released....and that is it. I think there might be multiple copies of a couple of them, but that's it. If that section of the shelf is 3 feet long, the rest of that shelf is taken up by Star Wars books. And lots of them. I'd be willing to guess the number of Star Wars books and the selection of Star Wars books outnumbers the trek books 15-1. Its that bad.

Its a little better at the local Barnes and Noble but, not by much. They have a couple of books going back to earlier in this decade, but the selection is still pretty slim.

I know a lot of trek fans get the books online, but I still miss the days when I could go into the bookstore and just marvel at the availability of trek books. I know that says nothing about sales, but just seeing the selection was a very good feeling.

This thread does bring up the reality....Star Trek is going to be in the theaters in 6 weeks....when does the selection and marketing pick up?

 

[Therin of Andor]

There a few used books stores in the area but their selection of Trek books is pretty sad.

I had two amazing second hand bookshops near me. Both had whole wall units full of Star Trek titles. One shop, with the sensible prices, had to move, and has put their stock into storage until they can find a new location. And the other shop's owner, who was very price/value savvy, died a few months ago - and who knows what happened to all his stock?

In the Sydney CBD, and inner city suburbs, several shops that all had very generous ST sections have also vanished over recent years. Many second hand book sellers, even in Australia, are realising that they can register their stock with Amazon - where it is so much easier to find - and thuis never have to pay rent on a shopfront again, just a warehouse or a few spare rooms in their house.

 

[Greg Cox]

So I am at the book store, Barnes/Noble, and I had to SEARCH for the Trek section..found it on little shelf...yikes...

Mr. Cox, if you read this, some dude was there, late 20s or so, looking through the paltry TREK section and I suggested he get the paper back versions of both your KHAN books..and he did!!! I told him they are both really books..


Rob

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'm sure there'll be an upsurge of shelf space in May.

Assuming Pocket is offering bookstores backlist, maybe. And if bookstores see value in stocking more Star Trek product.

I'm not seeing that happening, because the ballooning of product should be starting now. If you don't notice more Star Trek on the shelves by mid-April, you're not going to see it. You want the product on the shelf before, not after.

 

[Count Zero]

You know how many shelves of Trek books I've seen in any book shop I've ever been in? Zero. You're lucky if they have a half decent selection of sci-fi books at all.

 

[Defcon]

You know how many shelves of Trek books I've seen in any book shop I've ever been in? Zero. You're lucky if they have a half decent selection of sci-fi books at all.

It's that way here for the last few years, but I remember a time when the bookshops I went to had two shelves of Trek books.

If you were only speaking about the original versions, I think the most I ever saw in a book shop at the same time here in Germany were three a few years back.

 

[Count Zero]

It's been a long time since I saw even one Trek book in a regular book store, no matter in what language. Half an eternity ago, I bought "Avenger".
What I find disturbing is the lack of presence of other sci-fi books in regular stores. Usually, it's a very odd selection, often missing important authors or subgenres. Maybe book store chains are the tool of the devil, after all...
I only read the original versions, so I rely on buying books online, anyway, but still.

 

[Section 31]

IIRC, in some bookstore chains, publishers have to pay to for placement in the new releases section. With all the bad news happening in publishing, there may be fewer publishers who can afford that right now.

In some ways, I've actually wondered if the current economic situation might have boosted book sales, particularly mass market paperbacks. Think about it: a movie costs $7.00 for two hours of entertainment, but $7.00 on a book can last at least a couple days.

 

[JD]

I know I've mentioned it before, but my Borders and B&N are both down to only one self, and not the whole shelf down to isle, I mean just the first section. And then next to them are the Star Wars books which take up like 1 and a half whole sections of the bookshelf. And the few Trek books they do have are just from withing the past 6 months - 1 year.