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Borderlands Books is closing.
I am sad about this. I bought all my SF books from them. They are nice people and I went to quite a few author events there. I don't know where I will go now - not that I buy tons of books anymore, but there are some. I suppose I could order them from our local general bookstore, but I really liked having the specialized knowledge. As well as knowing that they were likely to have what I wanted in stock.
The final straw was San Francisco's minimum wage hike - voted in overwhelmingly by the city, it will put the hourly rate over $15 in the next year or two. The owner noted that their costs are essentially fixed, as are their prices - they can't really charge more than cover price - and so they'd need at least 20% more sales, permanently, to break even. They don't see that happening.
"Why is this happening?" Look in the mirror, voters. A higher minimum wage sounds attractive, and it may be the right way to go for the city as a whole. But remember nothing comes without costs. In this case, a locally-owned small company going out of business.
I am sad about this. I bought all my SF books from them. They are nice people and I went to quite a few author events there. I don't know where I will go now - not that I buy tons of books anymore, but there are some. I suppose I could order them from our local general bookstore, but I really liked having the specialized knowledge. As well as knowing that they were likely to have what I wanted in stock.
The final straw was San Francisco's minimum wage hike - voted in overwhelmingly by the city, it will put the hourly rate over $15 in the next year or two. The owner noted that their costs are essentially fixed, as are their prices - they can't really charge more than cover price - and so they'd need at least 20% more sales, permanently, to break even. They don't see that happening.
"Why is this happening?" Look in the mirror, voters. A higher minimum wage sounds attractive, and it may be the right way to go for the city as a whole. But remember nothing comes without costs. In this case, a locally-owned small company going out of business.
