Seattle's Best opens in Borders

[Greg]

I try and make a point of telling businesses what I like. Next time I'm in there I may mention that I like locally produced coffee. If he hears this from a few people he may............................

[Chuysmom]

I don't avoid Starbucks. I just can't afford it anymore! LOL (Ahem.) I really love good tasting coffee, and it's a treat to have a cuppa in a bohemian setting. A good dark, French roast - yummm. The origin of the bean doesn't sway me one way or the other. I DO like to wander around the books and coffee just seems to enhance that.

Carrie Rojo

http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com


"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama

[missydog1]

I hear a lot of talk here about who not to support, but specifically who do you "green footprint" folks suggest I support if I want to stop in town and take a look at some books and have a pick me up snack? Not Borders, so who?

Speaking of entertainment, can I not go to the movies because they weren't made in Hawai'i?

Borders is my treat to myself after I go in and tackle a string of appointments and errands and have time for a little browsing before I go home. You say this is sinful. So again, I would ask, don't tell me what not to do, offer me a choice that's acceptable.

Not that I think people should tell others where to shop or not to shop unless the business is doing something horrible that makes it deserving of a boycott.

[rusty h]

im a buy local guy. when in hilo i had to look hard but i found hilo coffee company and still buy from them at christmas due to the free shipping they offer, i found a drive thru in downtown that was really good. i got sharkys at the market. found a little place in Pahoa but it was just OK.

like Kathy and Chuysmom i make my mochas at home with a $30.00 epresso maker due i cant afford the 3.00 to 4.00 per cup of coffee (plus tip to the young girls. buying coffee at the price of drive thru and starbucks makes buying gas at 3 to 4 per gallons sound like a good deal. (for the gas). at least the guy selling seattle coffee is a local man. but remember he is selling it in a place that is big in america and is going to towns and running off the little guy.they did the same in Fairbanks Ak.

when i do go to borders im impressed with what they sell so its hard not to support them but i find it easy not to buy coffee there. is it wrong to support these places? NO, just to each his own. it takes all kinds to make the world turn.
peace

[Devany]

Sharky's also has a coffee shop now in Hilo. He grows his Hilo Shark's Coffee locally and roasts it himself. You can buy it at the farmer’s market on Wed. or Saturday. Personally I find it better than any Kona coffee. I do buy my espresso beans from Illy because I have found local coffee is not very good when extremely dark roasted, not sure why. I too rarely buy a latte or other expensive coffee drink when I can make them cheaper and better at home.

I BUY LOCAL when possible. Every little bit helps our local economy. It is not a sin to go somewhere else, but when you choose not to support local businesses, that is sad to me. There are always going to be times when it is much cheaper or easier to buy from the big box stores and all but the most staunch survivalist eventually has to bow to them for one thing or another.

It still saddens me when the produce, eggs and milk sold in our local grocery stores is almost entirely shipped in from the mainland. We live on the most agriculturally diverse island with amazing growers of so many things and yet even our “local” grocery chains do not support them.

Regarding those who say they are browsing at Borders... I have always wondered about that. Do they really buy books and periodicals from them or just use Borders like a lending library where they "pay the price" of entry by buying a cup of coffee and then essentially sit and read things that they do not pay for? I have known some people on the mainland who did that and to me it really is an odd behavior, almost like stealing if you think about the loss of income that creates for the authors. I have nothing against Borders, they distribute the magazine I write for (it is free). I have bought some things from them online. But for me, I go through the library if I want to read a book without paying for it. The library can get you any book you want if you are willing to wait for it.

And Rusty is right, to each his own.

[Devany]

FYI, Borders is not a franchise. It is a multi billion dollar corporation,like Walmart, Home Depot, Safeway and United Airlines. These are companies who we have come to depend on because we live in isolation in the middle of the pacific.

About Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies with 2004 revenues of $3.9 billion. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the company employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide. Borders Group operates more than 475 Borders superstores and approximately 600 Waldenbooks stores throughout the U.S. In addition, the company operates over 50 Borders superstores outside the U.S., as well as 33 Books etc. stores located throughout Great Britain. Borders Group has also acquired Paperchase Products Limited, a leading stationery retailer based in London, England with more than 80 locations in the U.K. Teamed with Amazon.com, online shopping is available through www.borders.com and www.waldenbooks.com. More detailed information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com. Information regarding Borders store locations, in-store events and title reservation is available through www.bordersstores.com.

The only franchises are:
Malaysia (4 superstores as of June 2008) – operated by Berjaya Group

United Arab Emirates (4 superstores as of June 2008) – operated by Al Maya Group

2007 global revenues
$3.8 billion

Number of employees worldwide
Approximately 30,000

quote:

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Originally posted by John S. Rabi

I am sorry guys but I think you got this wrong! Lets not get to the point of telling people what kind of business they should run. This guy bought a franchise because he thought that was the best way for him to make money. Disclaimer: I don't know who the owner is.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi

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[punafish]

I think John R. is talking about Seattle's Best being a franchise, not Borders Group.

[macuu222]

I like the idea of being able to look through the stacks of books while having a coffee and a scone. Maybe read the first chapter of a book that looks interesting that I may want to buy. I think the big chain bookstores want you to sit down and have a cup of coffee and look at a couple of books that you may be interested in buying. Why else would they put elegant sofa's, cushioned chairs with adjustable lamps throughout their stores? (not so much in the Hilo store as in the mainland stores).

[Loretta]

Right now and for the next several months we can't go to the library here in Hilo. This will probably be great for business at Border's.

[missydog1]

quote:

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Regarding those who say they are browsing at Borders... I have always wondered about that. Do they really buy books and periodicals from them or just use Borders like a lending library where they "pay the price" of entry by buying a cup of coffee and then essentially sit and read things that they do not pay for?

I have known some people on the mainland who did that and to me it really is an odd behavior, almost like stealing if you think about the loss of income that creates for the authors.

---

well, there is no loss of income for the authors when the person would not have bought the book or magazine in the first place. If they want to own it they will buy it, and often getting a chance to preview it will make the difference. In reality what happens is that any time you bring people into a store, the chances go up that they will buy something.

When I was planning a trip I went in and pulled the guidebooks for that country and sat down and compared them while having a drink. While I didn't buy all of them, I did buy a couple, and having the leisure to peruse them made it possible to select well.

As for supporting coffee growers, my Borders drink of choice is a chai latte, so the point is moot. [] I drink coffee in the morning, at home. I go to Borders late in the day.

Libraries are wonderful services. I grew up going once a week. My mother is a librarian. I "worked" in the school library when I was in 5th grade. I spent countless hours in the stacks at Berkeley in grad school. Maybe that's why I don't want to go to a library now.

I don't go to Borders for the same service a library offers. I go there as I would to any coffee shop as a form of recreation. When I'm at home there's always some chore that needs to be done. It's not a relaxing place for me to read. And there aren't people having conversations. I don't meet people at home.

Libraries discourage conversation so I wouldn't go to one as a social hangout.

Like I said, I'm open to supporting local business but I'm putting the challenge out there for someone to tell me the alternative for what I want - a place to relax, maybe socialize, get the equivalent of British "tea time" in the late afternoon, in a well lit clean place with the ability to browse any one of a thousand books and see if I like them.

What I'm hearing is places to buy coffee, or get coffee to consume because I need coffee, or get books to read at home ... none of which are the reasons I go to Borders. Borders is a pleasure fix for me, a little escape from responsibilities, a way to be in a social atmosphere without being obligated to socialize any more than I want to, and people watch. I find it deeply relaxing and always feel refreshed after taking a break there.

The other thing about Borders is that when I'm busy running errands, it's the perfect place to take a break because of its location. I usually have a stop at Island Naturals.