The closing of all of the Borders Bookstore locations after a long battle to avoid bankruptcy came as a big surprise to many. Though, as a former employee of the failed company, I saw the tell-tale signs coming for years. The slow decline in company quality made me almost ashamed to admit I was once a Borders bookseller. I was not sad to see the company go as corporate greed took over. What upset me was to see a group of great stores, each one a unique reflection of the community in which it resided, lose its way in an attempt to please shareholders instead of the consumers that kept the company alive, allowed it thrive. As a long-time retail employee, I thought the real victims were those who lost jobs in an already unstable economy. They most certainly are the ones who lost the most, but they aren't the only victims. Companies that did business with Borders also feel the loss. Major distributors, publishers, and authors who depended on a supposedly dependable company to pay their bills will have to scramble to pick up the slack of lost income. One such company that directly affects the Pagan community is BBI Media, the publisher of Sage Woman Magazine. They recently sent a request to subscribers on the 25th Anniversary of the magazine asking for donations. Borders accounted for 40% of their wholesale sales and, as of the announce of bankruptcy, they owe the publisher over $12,000 for sales from 2010 and 2011; a debt that will never be paid. Another company vital to our community that was hit even harder is Llewellyn Worldwide, who is forced to absorb the loss of over half a million dollars. That loss affects not just the publisher itself, but all of the authors they print. What this means to Pagan publishers is more thoroughly covered by Jason Pitzl-Waters on his blog, The Wild Hunt. The best thing we can do at this point is try to support these companies as best we can whether it be financially, spiritually, or both. Without them, the
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