EVERETT — At the going-out-of-business sale for Borders in the Everett Mall on Friday, shoppers were snapping up books like they were going out of style.
“Right now I have six, I’ll probably get 10 to 15,” said Suzanne Clark, who was piling books in a basket in the children’s section. “I have a 1-year-old, so I want to get some books to grow with him.”
The store is offering up discounts of up to 40 percent off all items. The Seattle’s Best Coffee shop inside the store has been closed and partitioned off.
Clark and other shoppers agreed that Amazon’s Kindle and other eReaders were probably the cause of Borders’ downfall.
“I think it’s sad,” said Clark, who lives in Everett. “I think the Kindles and everything are putting them out of business and that’s unfortunate.”
One shopper, Kristen Ching, said she had been frequenting the store since she moved to Lynnwood two weeks ago.
“I just came to give them as much money as I can before they go out of business,” Ching said. “It is really sad.”
Cameron Miller perused the shelves with his girlfriend, looking for books to read before school starts. He said he had bought all his books for school at that store, a few dozen of them over the years.
“I’m going to have to find another place to go,” he said. “I don’t know why it’s closing, it’s always busy in here.”
Borders Group is holding the same fire sale at all of its 399 locations. Books-A-Million, an Alabama-based bookseller, offered to buy 30 stores, but the Everett store was not among them.
Borders already has closed its store at the Alderwood mall in Lynnwood.
A spokesperson for Gordon Brothers Group, the company responsible for overseeing the liquidation sales, said that merchandise is expected to sell quickly.
In a statement, Mike Edwards, president of Borders Group, thanked the company’s customers for their patronage over Borders’ 40-year history.
“I encourage our customers to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to find exceptional discounts on their favorite books and other great merchandise,” Edwards said.
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