Detroit's Marwil Bookstore or purchasing them on the internet from online competitors, such as Amazon and eBay. After Marwil had been in business at WSU for some 59 years, Brian Kramer had seen textbook prices nearly triple over a period of two decades. According to a 2005 survey conducted by the National Association of College Students, about 25 percent of students had begun purchasing textbooks online. Another drastic change was when Wayne State opened a $6 million, 28,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble college bookstore right across the street in 2002. Marwil didn't have the fancy store front, cafe or music and apparel that was
Independent bookstore of the 20th century, almost all bookstores in the United States were independent. In the 1950s, automobiles and suburban shopping malls became more common. Mall-based bookstore chains began in the 1960s, and underwent a major expansion in numbers in the 1970s and 1980s, especially B. Dalton and Waldenbooks. Big box chains also expanded during this period, including Barnes & Noble (which also acquired Texas chain Bookstop), Borders, and Crown Books. Amazon.com was founded during the dot-com boom in 1994 and exclusively sold books until 1998. By the 1990s, these competitive pressures had put independent bookstores under considerable financial pressure and