Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Borderlands Books Will Survive, After All

San Francisco's Borderlands Books has some good news to share with his loyal customer base: the store is not going to have to shut its doors, after all.  

You might remember that, on February 3, I posted the news that the longtime bookstore was being forced out of business because of that city's dramatic rise in the minimum wage.  Although the news saddened readers across the country, if not across the world, it looked like a done deal.  

But then owner Alan Beatts had an idea.  Why not try to sell $100 member sponsorships in Borderlands Books?  Beatts figured he needed 300 people to sign on if the idea were to work...well, according to The Examiner, he is up to 449 sponsors, and counting:
The downpour of contributions began within the first two hours after Beatts blogged about a potential means to save Borderlands. In just that time, Beatts said more than 70 people called in or emailed their support, and the next morning the store was taking calls for most of the day from people interested in becoming sponsors.
“Though it has slowed down quite a bit from this weekend,” Beatts said, “people are still getting in touch.”
The sponsorships include special benefits such as donor-only events, clothing and first access to limited-availability items. For a small fee, Beatts’ adjoining cafe will also be made available after hours for sponsors, he said.
 Honestly, I am not surprised.  Readers, as a group, are special people and they will always jump at the opportunity to save a favorite bookstore.  Particularly intriguing, is the fact that Borderlands now has sponsors in the Netherlands, the U.K., Canada, and Australia.  You just have to love it.

2 comments:

I always love hearing from you guys...that's what keeps me book-blogging. Thanks for stopping by.