Borders, which employs about 10,700 people, scrapped a bankruptcy-court auction scheduled for Tuesday amid the dearth of bids.The chain said it will ask a judge Thursday to approve a sale to liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group.

Very sad to see Borders close for good, but the company dug its own grave when it stopped doing one thing well – selling books – and started doing several things poorly (selling DVDs, audio CDs, stuffed toys, coffee, pastries, games, etc.). It’ll be interesting to see how Barnes & Noble continues to manage its transition to e-books, which it says are selling quite well (thanks to its own branded Nook devices).