Goodbye: We are Closing
Hello-
After seventeen and half years, the time has come. Curtains down and goodbye–in two weeks Vertigo Books will close.
Starting today, EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS 20% OFF. If you’ve been eyeing that special something, come in and grab it now, before someone else does. And our new rules for the next couple weeks: no checks, no returns and no exchanges. Please note: we will be closed Easter Sunday, April 12, our usual hours will resume Monday
Why are we closing? There are many reasons, but basically, not enough people buy books here.
We have many loyal customers, just not enough of them, and our cloning experiments have not yielded satisfactory results. And way too many people (not you, but someone you know) are buying their books at Amazon. We’ll spare you the inside baseball stuff about the near monopolistic force Amazon has become in the industry. You can also skip to the party info at the end if you like.
Connecting the Dots
As we have said before, your shopping dollars help create the community you want to live in. For every $10 you spend at locally-owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco $1.30
Amazon $0.00
The money you spend with locally-owned businesses continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents.
Our local economies are key to a successful recovery from the current financial crisis. Amazon and many online retailers contribute nothing financially to our state and local economies, yet suck up an enormous amount of Maryland’s shopping dollars and compete heavily with small natural foods stores, hardware stores, bookstores and specialty stores of all kinds.
While Amazon may have made their name selling books, they want you to buy a DVD player, organic foods, power tools and pick up the latest John Grisham title when you visit their site. They actively fight any attempt to force them to collect sales tax–even in those states where they have a physical presence. Maryland Senate Bill 1071 will allow us to join other states, such as New York and Kansas, that are now collecting sales tax for online sales and using the revenue for education and public safety.
Building Community as You Shop
Building community is an ongoing process, the result of small choices made everyday. We know you understand this, but are very busy and shopping online is seductive. We sympathize and have many of the same worries. But independents live in and serve your community and make many intangible contributions. What does Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, do for our community? We are:
- working for quality public schools
- advocating for smart growth and sustainable development
- pushing for comprehensive planning and public transit
- serving on local boards and committees
- supporting your causes
- and operating a business that recycles, reuses and donates.
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Every year the staff at Vertigo debates which titles should become our Holiday Specials: memorable, worthwhile books that are great gifts and might make your holiday shopping easier. Creating imaginary family members and friends, we argue about why certain titles qualify or do not. Here’s this year’s list. Vist our 
They say you’re not to judge a book by its cover, but hey–these look so good they draw you right in. I’ve been working in bookstores for over 20 years now, and the number of worthwhile books these folks have brought back into print amazes me. Their catalog of forthcoming titles is always one of the highlights of my buying season. 
They’ve recently published their 200th title, and to celebrate we’re making it a little easier for you to sample their books. Now through November 5th, you can get three NYRB titles for the price of two. Pick three, the lowest priced book is free.
May is the second annual World in Translation Month, designed to help bring attention to the wealth of literature written the world over. We’ve set up a display at the front of the store with a wide selection of translated literature, both fiction and poetry. One interesting development in translation over the past couple of years has been the increase in translations of mysteries, primarily from Italy, France and Sweden. These are some of the best crime novels being written today, and often overlooked in the rush to read the new Grisham novel. So come into the store, browse our selection, and to further encourage you to take a chance on something new, we’re offering a savings of 20% on these titles through the month of May.
