It’s a story we’ve heard before—local, independent stores fighting a losing battle against internet retailers and megacorporations like Walmart—but this is the first piece I’ve seen that looks specifically at the plight of Christian stores today. Some are staying afloat by turning to the web to supplement their brick-and-mortar business, but many more are experiencing something more like this:
The Word, a small storefront specializing in books and music, is no match against massive competitors like Borders and Barnes & Noble. “Their [religion] section is my whole store,” he said.That also means his and similar stores are less attractive to publishers and distributors, many of whom have ceased offering discounts on small orders or have begun selling in bulk directly to churches.
Davis said it’s often cheaper for her to buy certain products herself at Target or Wal-Mart and resell them, rather than pay the manufacturer’s price only to charge the customer less.
A bit depressing, and it highlights questions that other markets have already had to face: is there an ethical dimension to the decision to buy a product online or from a local seller? Do businesses that can’t compete in our market economy deserve to go out of business? Do they have any special moral claim to our patronage?
Also of note, given that my employer created and hosts the Bible Gateway, was this little item from the article:
In many cases, consumers aren’t even shopping online. They’re downloading or copying what they want freely from sites like Bible.com and Biblegateway.com.“People don’t need to buy Bibles anymore to compare [passages] . . . and I can’t disagree with them,” said Nancy Davis, owner of Buckeye Church Supplies in Rocky River, which closed its street-level store last June and fell back on its basement warehouse.
It makes sense, although it nevertheless makes me feel somewhat sad, that the days of the local Bible salesman are being eclipsed by the internet age.
Loading ...
June 5, 2007 at 01:18
Businesses need to be able to keep up with the times in order to stay afloat. It has always been that way and always will be. Everyone knows going into business that there is a certain level of risk. They should also know that they can’t stay the same forever and expect to continue to draw in customers.
I do feel bad for the mom and pop stores that continue to go out of business, but that’s just the nature of a market economy. In this day and age, if you haven’t opened up a store front online to supplement your brick and mortar store, things probably aren’t looking too good. Online prices are just too difficult to compete with.
June 5, 2007 at 02:43
Anything that gets the Word in the hands of more people is good. And, I like the idea of distributing the Word of God without anyone making a financial profit. Yet, I wonder if the growing trend to download the Bible will affect the Bible’s record as being the “most sold book.”
June 5, 2007 at 08:56
I don’t know how many times I have gone into our local book stores (Christian or secular) and have inquired about a book only to be told that they can order it for me. Brick and mortar book stores need to understand that things have changed dramatically. The reason I am in your store is that I have money that I want to spend right now. I have something specific in mind and I need it right now. If you don’t have it, offering to order it has no value to me whatsoever. I can get online and order the book myself for such a cheap price that even with next day shipping, the price is often only slightly higher than the price you would charge me and I don’t have to wait two weeks for it to come in.
Add to this the fact that Christian book stores often don’t carry what I’m looking for, and it seems that it is only a matter of time before they disappear completely. As an example, I went into our local store a while back looking for a copy of Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship.” I have read this before but lost my copy. I needed it immediately because I had to have an accurate quote from the book. The store didn’t have a copy. So I went over to B&N and bought it. Seems to me this is a staple book and if you are not carrying it, you should be. But then, what sells anymore isn’t necessarily what should be selling, I guess.
June 5, 2007 at 11:28
It’s fine with me. I became an anti-fan of Christian stores in high school when I tried to find a bible for a friend and the cheapest one was literally $20. Wal-Mart sold them for $5.
June 5, 2007 at 13:47
Christian bookstores in my area used to keep busy because hey were the only game in town or they sold office suplies to christians and their companies. Now that we have all the office stores, big boxes, etc I don’t know how they can compete.I almost never consider my Christian stores for CDs. They are way too expensive compared to wal-mart or on-line stores. I can get many CDs for between 5.99 and free with no shipping through an on-line club. I have been a member for years. Now they e-mail every month with deals like “Buy one for $5.99 and get three free plus free shipping”. I have asked artists about it and they tell me that THEY are getting nothing from it and don’t know how anyone makes any money from it. Mystery. So how can a tiny shop compete? I used to believe in supporting the local guy but with money so tight I have to watch my purchases, especially if I want to be able to GIVE money to other ministries like my church, missions, the poor, etc. Oops. Checking my priorities right now.
June 6, 2007 at 12:16
I’m enjoying all the comments… My husband and I each own our own business, and so I can understand the whole “how does the little guy compete” viewpoint. However, being successful in business means being able to offer something that your competitors can’t. Obviously, competing on pricepoints is not an option, but winning customers with excellent service, etc. is much more feasible. I do find that many local Christian stores (whether they are chains or not), are just priced out of most people’s budgets. I’ve found in our area that they do well providing churches with curriculum and other supplies. In fact, our church uses lifeway stores material so much that we jokingly refer to it as “Saint Lifeway”. Just my little opinion.
June 6, 2007 at 17:58
I would always make a point of trying to obtain Christian books and media from mainstream stores and internet sites rather than a Christian bookstore. The reason is that I want those stores and websites to see stocking Christian-related products as a sound business proposition so that these are also visible and available to catch the attention and interest of non-Christian customers, most of whom wouldn’t even think about going into a Christian bookstore, let alone know where one was.
I’m speaking from a UK viewpoint where, aside from Bibles, the stock of Christian books and other media in secular bookstores and other outlets is very small indeed. I remember my wife and I being surprised and pleased to see Asda (Wal Mart) stocking a worship CD-but it was the only one they were stocking.