The Plot Twist: E-Book Sales Slip and Print Is Far From Dead

Thought this was interesting...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/media/the-plot-twist-e-book-sales-slip-and-print-is-far-from-dead.html?_r=0

Thanks for sharing that Don.  I for one am pleased to learn that printed books are not dead.  I want to hold the book and turn the pages.  I want to pick it off the book shelf in the store and make a determination if it is something I want to purchase. 
There was nothing wrong in trying a new approach, but in the end, the consumer has the power.  Perhaps we will be seeing a resurge in small book stores and a reprieve for those on the brink of closing.  Getting your book on the shelves of a bookstore is still the dream of authors.  Perhaps there is an opportunity here where stores will be more open to placing books on the shelves and not be completely dependend on their distributor/suppliers.

There is a bookstore near us that actively promotes getting the book you want if you don’t see it in the store.  You can place an order for the book at the store by giving the Title of the Book, the name of the author and the name of the publisher.  I’ve used this method and it works – no extra charge for the service.  Usually, when placing the order to the supply source, they order more than one.  I found that to be the case in the book(s) I ordered through them.  When I picked up my order I saw the same book on their shelves.  If a store has a call for a specific title and they must go through a process to get the book that is not offered by their distributor, it makes sense for their order department to order more than one.
 
With Don’s post about the revival of the bookstore, I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to order one’s own books via the bookstore.  Sometimes we get calls for our books from friends.  In the past I ordered it via Amazon and had it sent directly to them.  Although it will be more costly, I’m considering the extra cost to mail the book to the recipient as a promotional cost hoping that the end result will have my book available in the store.  Any thoughts on this?

Interesting that publishers have stemmed the sales of ebooks with high prices, while the cheaper self-pubished ebooks sold on Amazon continue to increase in sales.