I live in Australia now, but came over about five months ago. Coming from the US where I am a member of Barnes and Noble I found the selections here rather lacking. I have gone to Dymocks, Borders, and Angus & Robertson (Understanding the last two are ultimately the same company), but found the prices rather ridiculous. I know I will be paying more here than back in the states but even comparing the exchange rate this is a bit much. I am also very spoiled when it comes to selection being used to a two story shop with basically everything I could possibly want as well as extremely helpful and friendly staff at Barnes and Noble. The stores here are rather small even for being large companies and I always get the "We can order that for you" remark when I ask about items they do not have on the shelf. I think this is where the problem is for most of the closures here. If they can order it for me and I have to wait anyway, I may as well get it online. Barnes and Noble would have the option of ordering, but would send the product directly to my residence. I am not surprised that Amazon seems to be dominating in most countries if the only option is to overpay and go out of your way to return to the store when/if an item is unavailable at the time you wish to purchase it. I feel the most sympathy to the mom and pop booksellers who were hurting once the online companies started anyway. As for the authors, I hope that we don't lose any talented individuals because of all the changes taking everything digital or basically internet purchase only. With the stores closing, where would there be any book signings? A simple solution, but one I wish were not necessary in the first place.