Capital Books to close down

[kiwithrottlejockey]

from The Dominion Post....

Online sales final page for independent bookshop

No competing with online sales

By TALIA SHADWELL | 5:00AM - Monday, 28 July 2014


CAN’T COMPETE: Tim and Glenda Skinner say people
take photos of their books with iPhones then buy
the same product from a website.

THE OWNERS of another independent Wellington bookshop closing its doors say the might of online juggernaut Amazon and its peers spelt the final chapter.

Capital Books will close at the end of next month after 18 years of trading.

Owners Tim and Glenda Skinner said the impact of offshore book buying and the growth of the ebook industry were the most significant reasons for their decision.

Tim Skinner said despite the couple's health battles they were not ready to retire.

But customers were increasingly driven to lower-priced options like Kindle and Amazon.

"People come in to take photos of our books with their iPhones that we have so kindly displayed for them and then they walk out and they buy the same product from a website because it's cheaper coming from Hong Kong."

"It's hard to compete with that."

Skinner had to explain to customers demanding price matches.

"I tell them we have to pay rent, we have to pay rates, we have to pay the staff and we don't get our books from a big warehouse that doesn't have to pay GST. If we matched their prices we wouldn't stay in business."

Skinner thanked the "loyal regulars" who had called by to shake the owners' hands since they announced the closure last Friday.

Unity Books owner Tilly Lloyd labelled Capital Books' closure a loss for Wellington.

The inner-city bookshops had rejected rivalry in favour of "camaraderie."

"Unity Books is proud of the many years of happy cross-referring when one of our shops had run out of a book — what Murray Pillar at Millwood Gallery coined as ‘co-opetition’ — and there were also occasions where we also shared staff.

"Losing Capital Books means that we at Unity will feel significantly ‘lesser’ in both a cultural and community sense."

www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/10317663/Online-sales-final-page-for-independent-bookshop

[aeromedia]

This is really sad. I've spent some very pleasurable time at their stalls at airshows over the years and supported them with my wallet. The reality of the modern world I guess. Really missed their presence at Wanaka this year.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Tim was recovering from serious illness earlier this year and was strongly advised by his doctor to NOT attend Warbirds Over Wanaka, and he was also under pressure from his family.

I also missed his presence at the airshow, but understood the reasons why he was absent.

I will be really sad to see that bookshop close....I've always loved going into there and chatting with Tim and his staff, and have purchased a lot of books from there over the years.

[aeromedia]

Thanks for that clarification re absence from Wanaka. I had assumed (incorrectly) that it may have been economically not viable now. i:e stand cost coupled with other expenses etc. cheers

[Andy Wright]

I used to buy off Amazon when I first started out collecting books in the late '90s. Nowadays I find their postage too much. I still buy a lot of books online but in the past two months have bought more books visiting local shops (Canberra - Alexander Fax and the AWM, Merimbula - Time Machine, Perth - Boffins, Melbourne - Hyland's) than I have from overseas. There's just some stuff that you'll never find, affordably, beyond your country's shores.

I found two books I hadn't even heard of at the Australian War Memorial's store and a book at Hyland's in Melbourne (Special Ops Liberators) that I have been after for a while but refused to pay the postage from overseas (heavy-ish hardback). Of course, me visiting these shops once in a blue moon is not going to keep them afloat but I just think some people, like those who take photos of covers and then buy online, don't realise what they have in front of them. I'm always going to look for the cheapest option, I'm not made of money, but many a time that option, and the convenience and immediacy, is staring you in the face. Not to mention the risks of a book getting damaged in transit. Sometimes they are packaged cheaply (you get what you pay for) so it is bound to happen. I have a review copy of Anthony Cooper's latest, Kokoda Air Strikes (good read by the way). It is a chunky paperback of the sort that is (and was) easily damaged in the post so, when I write the review, I'll be recommending readers buy it from a bookstore!

[ams888]

That is really sad. One of the highlights of my trips to Wellington is a trip to Capitol books, with a good hour of looking. I always purchased from them, and it will be a huge loss to people who love the kind of books that they do. In my opinion there is nothing like spending an afternoon in a bookshop...

[30sqnatc]

Yes very sad although I must admit I'm one of those causing it by buying regularly from the Book Depository in the UK (no postage worldwide). Conversely if I went into CB and they had something on the shelf I wanted I generally made a point of purchasing it then and there.

[Dave Homewood]

Bookshops are fast becoming a thing of the past, like model shops.

[steveh]

I'm another one sorry to see this happen. Not being a local to them, I generally only saw them at Omaka & invariably came away with something. ebooks & pdfs still don't cut it for me over the real thing. I can happily say that I've never window shopped/browsed a bricks & mortar store & then bought on line & hope I never will. When the last high street store shuts down, we'll have those that do to thank for it.
Steve.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Aug 3, 2014 21:52:51 GMT 12 steveh said:

I can happily say that I've never window shopped/browsed a bricks & mortar store & then bought on line & hope I never will. When the last high street store shuts down, we'll have those that do to thank for it.
Steve.

Likewise. While I have purchased books online, it has tended to be specialist books that are rare/out-of-print that I couldn't purchase from a local bookshop if I tried, and that I have scoured the internet looking for, in many cases tracking down good-quality second-hand examples because that was all that was still available. The only regular exception has been Air-Britain books, and that is because I am a subscriber/member to Air-Britain (I get their journal) and they offer big discounts to members; however I have impulse-purchased a few of their books from Capital Books because I have seen a title in the shop and liked the look of it.

In fact, I have often used Amazon to search for what is available about a particular topic, then gone and ordered it from Capital Books. I like having bookshops around such as Capital Books where I can go and browse and see what I am buying before coughing up the cash for it. I first purchased from them in the 1990s while still living in Gisborne (it must have been not long after the business was established) when I saw a book advertised in NZ Wings (as it was then) and rang the number in Capital Books' advertisement in the magazine and ordered it. Then, the next Warbirds Over Wanaka after that, I introduced myself to Tim, and within a year I had moved to Wairarapa and became a regular customer at Capital Books.

[chinapilot]

Ummm...I've been into a couple of book shops in Wellington recently including Capital Books.

Don't know what it is - high exchange rate or whatever but the cost in of books in NZ is just gobsmacking.

It's not just aviation books - a paperback here costs more than in the US which has always been more than the UK.
Can't blame customers going elsewhere for a better deal. Order a book from Amazon and you get a crisp clean copy rather than paying a fortune for a well thumbed one...

[nuuumannn]

I went into Capital Books the day before yesterday and bought a couple of books from there. They have a 25% discount at the moment and will remain open for the next three weeks.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I know of one book in there which is an absolute bargain if you're into Grumman amphibian aeroplanes.

At Amazon, the cheapest you can get a brand new copy for is US$488.48 (even second-hand copies are going for US$296.99 or more), but Capital Books has a brand new copy for a tiny fraction of that, and with the 25% discount it's an even bigger bargain.

I'm talking about THIS BOOK. I've got a copy which I purchased from Capital Books not long after it was published in 2010 and it is a fascinating read, especially the full history of c/n.J13 which was ZK-CDV on the NZ civil register during the Manapouri Power Project, and which is now owned by Steven Hamilton of Nevada who undertook a beautiful restoration job on the flying-boat. That particular aeroplane has had an extremely colourful life.

However, I plan on visiting Capital Books sometime early next week and purchasing a few books from my “wish list” I saw in there the last time I visited a couple of weeks ago; hopefully some (or all) of them are still there.

[Mustang51]

That is very sad news indeed. I spent not only a day in the shop last time in Wellington but also a fair wack of cash on two FW.190 tomes. Had to take them as cabin baggage as they would have tripped the scales well and truely on my checked bags. Like aeromedia I missed them at Wanaka and was looking forwadr to buying some more at both Masterton and Omaka. Places like this disappearing is not good. I fear that in future they shall all disappear (like Dave's model shops) and those simple little pleasures of our youth shall be no more. Its just not the same looking at a screen.

[Brett]

The discount is now up to 33%.

Still lots of aviation and military books in store.

[Chris F]

Very sad news...I have purchased lots of books from Tim and even though I live in New Plymouth I have had several trips to Wellington to visit this store.
What people don't understand is online shopping is cold and has no personality to it,shopping from a store has heart and soul and I found this with Tim.
I wish him and his wife the very best.

[chinapilot]

Popped in there yesterday and bought a few books which at 50% off were about the price I'd want to pay for them.

I realise loyalty is a valuable trait but to pay through the nose when you can buy it on line is probably OK if your are extremely philanthropic.

As far as having a chat, all that was audible was the owner moaning on about the internet to everyone and some some extremely boring guy droning on in a loud voice to another customer his version of events leading up to WWII

[kiwithrottlejockey]

This advertisement is currently running in The Dominion Post (and on their website)....



Tim must be getting rid of the last of his stock from a pop-up store location.

[ZacYates]

My big memory of Tim and the stand at shows was telling all who would listen that "the next Wanaka" would have a B-17 in attendance.

It's a shame to see such an institution go, although I never got to go in myself, but the posters above are fairly on the mark mentioning you can import many of the same titles to your door for cheaper than NZ retail. I hope Tim gets to enjoy his retirement....with a little reading, perhaps?!

[isc]

More incentive for me to go to Smiths Book Shop, at the Old Tannery in Chch next time I'm in town, their 3rd shop since the earthquake 4 years ago. They of course are mainly second hand, book you can't get on line.
I remember ZK-CDV, not sure if I have a photo. When Rex Aviation opened at Momona, they visited us for some avgas, and as it was fuelled up, it slowly sank to the keel on our nice new "hard standing area", took NAC's aircraft tug, and some work with a shovel to get it back on tera firma. isc