Galaxy Books...say it ain't so

[Botany Bay]

Sydney, Australia's iconic sci-fi bookstore. Huge supporters of Trek for decades and the first stop for Trek novel buying for many posters here.

Is it shutting down or being moved?

Please tell me it's the latter.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Is it shutting down or being moved?

I'll ask them on Thursday. It's moved numerous times since the 1980s. It's hardly the first time a building has been sold from under them.

http://www.galaxybooks.com.au/

The website is as normal and they're advertising visiting authors in 2011.

 

[Botany Bay]

Great. Thanks.

I've got my fingers crossed it's a move rather than a shut down, but I'm worried given the demise of Borders and Angus & Robertson last week. Not a good time to be a retailer here.

As I was saying in another thread, I've been going there since 1987. The staff there are awesome - always go the extra mile wrapping things, letting my little guy play in there while I browse, etc...

I know I'm a dinosaur, but there aren't enough bookstores, and these guys are the good guys. Borders I won't miss, but it would be a kick in the guts to see Galaxy go.

 

[Trilliam]

To be honest, I've been quite disappointed with them the last 2-3 times I've been in.

 

[Therin of Andor]

it would be a kick in the guts to see Galaxy go.

IIRC, Galaxy is one of the Abbey Group's most reliably performing bookshops.

 

[fleetcaptain]

I'm not surprised about Borders myself. I stopped buying from them ever since I got a Books a Million store closer to me. Plus they don't offer good discounts like Barnes & Noble and Books a Million does.

 

[Cicero]

^ They do now, IIRC. I think the program, "Borders Rewards Plus," is very similar to Barnes & Noble membership.

 

[William Leisner]

^ They do now, IIRC. I think the program, "Borders Rewards Plus," is very similar to Barnes & Noble membership.

And if you visit one of the 200 closing stores, you'll find even better discounts!

 

[Therin of Andor]

Is it shutting down or being moved?

Okay, I asked them. The current building is up for (future) lease because Galaxy is bursting at the seams (again) and needs to move to a bigger shop (again). But they haven't secured a new shop yet. I presume if they are unsuccessful at finding something bigger they'll renew where they are.

There has been an explosion of vampire/romance novels and YA fantasy novels in recent years and they do not wish to diminish the shelf space given over to their regular SF and all the licensed media tie-in books, DVDs, etc. Did you notice that they added shelves to the top of every bay in recent months? Still not enough!

 

[Botany Bay]

Good news, thanks for the detective work

I'd noticed that Vampire stuff had taken over half the store. If they're using the teenagers to subsidise us sci-fi nerds, then long may Twilight continue!

I daresay that a move is a done deal though, seeing the store is up for lease. No big loss. As you said they've moved plenty of times before, and to be honest I always found those stairs a real pain with kids. In fact, I had to skip going in there dozens of times while my son was in his pram because there's no other way to get down there.

Hope they score something in the new look Pitt Stret Mall - Unless you're a very loaded middle aged woman, the new Westfield is very underwhelming, and it could seriously use a bookshop.

 

[Rosalind]

thanks for the update, Ian. That's good to hear.

 

[Lunarflower]

^ They do now, IIRC. I think the program, "Borders Rewards Plus," is very similar to Barnes & Noble membership.

And if you visit one of the 200 closing stores, you'll find even better discounts!

And a very long checkout line. I suppose that is what you get if you go the first weekend they are having discounts.

 

[Botany Bay]

Unfortunately there's a bit of a sad postscript to this thread.

Galaxy books is indeed no more. They're keeping it alive in spirit by calling the sci-fi section of Abbeys books "Galaxy", but its days as a standalone store are over.

It's a sign of the times, unfortunately. 1,500 people have been sacked from bookstores so far this year in Australia. Borders and Angus & Robertson I can live without, but I've been shopping at Galaxy since 1987, and this just plain hurts. Best wishes to those who lost their jobs and thanks for all the great service over the years.

A real pity.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Galaxy books is indeed no more. They're keeping it alive in spirit by calling the sci-fi section of Abbeys books "Galaxy".

I dunno, I was there on Sunday and it seemed that most of the old Galaxy crew are still around. Who's missing? I guess some shifts have been lost or absorbed into the Languages staff. Galaxy was always been a part of Abbeys and it's the Galaxy book stock that has moved upstairs to the area once occupied by Abbeys' offices and the children's book section. Abbey's never had a dedicated sci-fi section within the general bookshop so I'm not expecting things to be too different (upstairs) to the Galaxy we knew and loved. Once the signage goes up.

The good news: Galaxy reward dollars can now be earned throughout all of Abbeys, not just the Galaxy SF stock.

And they have a back balcony for outdoor author signings!

 

[pookha]

^ They do now, IIRC. I think the program, "Borders Rewards Plus," is very similar to Barnes & Noble membership.

And if you visit one of the 200 closing stores, you'll find even better discounts!

a friend and i made major dents in our closing borders. esp at 70 to 85 % off. still would rather have it i hope our barnes and noble comes back when the mall it was in reopens next year

 

[Sakrysta]

I would sorely miss my local Borders if it closed. They closed 5 stores over in the Atlanta area, but I got to keep my Athens one. I'm okay with ordering most things on their website, but I still prefer to get my Trek in the store, as I can make sure I get a good straight copy, with the cover aligned properly and no damage.

 

[Reanok]

I would be upset if they closed my local Barnes and noble because it's the only place you can get a good selection of Startrek and other scfi fantasy novels. I was really disappointed that one of our local used book stores is going out of business.They had some of the best bargains on used books.

 

[ronny]

After a mystery bookstore and a combination sci-fi/mystery book store closed up in San Francisco the last couple of of months I started writing down all the book stores I could remember that have closed down the last few years. Counting the 3 Borders, a Waldens and a Barnes and Noble and a ton of independents, I got up to 20. And those are just the ones I've been to or pass by. I'm sure there are others in areas of town I don't go to much that are gone as well. Some of those I was a regular at but a lot of those I didn't visit much.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Galaxy books is indeed no more. They're keeping it alive in spirit by calling the sci-fi section of Abbeys books "Galaxy", but its days as a standalone store are over.

Okay, I checked on this today for you. Only one Galaxy job was lost in the merging of Galaxy into the Language Dept's first floor of Abbey's Bookshop, and that actually occurred a few months ago. Galaxy now has to use Abbey's staff for "receiving", so CM's job vanished. (Sadly, CM was their most enthusiastic follower of the ST fiction.)

The vacant shop is now a new location for Red Eye Records.

I've been shopping at Galaxy since 1987, and this just plain hurts.

The management assured me today, they are still as independent as possible. The move to an upstairs location removed them from street visibility, but their new location also has lots of benefits (and rent savings). And customers' purchases at Languages and Abbey's now count for Galaxy Reward Dollars.

Meanwhile, did you ever visit Galaxy when it looked like this?:

Galaxy Bookshop, 1983 by Therin of Andor, on Flickr.

Therin of Andor and Galaxy Bookshop on "Jam Sandwich" in 1983:
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2011/06/taste-of-jam-sandwich.html

 

[Botany Bay]

Is that up in Castlereagh St, near Hyde Park? That's the one I first went too. It seemed the whole right hand side of the store was Trek stuff...badges, pins, comics, endless shelves of books...needless to say it became my number 1 city shopping destination from that day on!

I knew they'd inflict minimal pain on the employees, and share the hours around etc, they are a great small business, and I knew they'd do all they could for their staff.

It's just so frustrating watching all these bookstores close.

In the case of Galaxy, it is not their fault, they are just another victim of the move to online sales, and the rise of the Ipad/Kindle, and Ihope the Galaxy brand ends up having major success online, along with the upstairs section of Abbey's.