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fjtorres · 07-23-2011, 08:59 AM

No way to win, is there?

Guys, in the US, they have to compete with Kindles at US$114 and Kobos at $129. All of which sell by the million, not thousands.
Either they squeeze margin to try to build up volume and get the same economies of scale as the North American vendors or they abandon the market. Which one is more likely to keep them in the business until ebooks get mainstreamed in europe?

In case you hadn't heard, ebook readers now reside in 12% of US households, double last year's 6%, versus typical european penetration of under 2%.

Anybody think a $10 price drop is going to even double the sales rate of euro-localized, euro-certified Pocketbooks? How about an eight-fold increase? Right now we're looking at entirely different markets. (Temporarily, perhaps, as Kobo and Amazon are bringing their ebookstores and business model over there. Expect blood to flow.)

Of course, since we can't see PBG's financials, we have no way of knowing how much they actually sell in a given region; for all we know, they have entire warehouses full of unsold US certified readers they can't legally sell in other regions (regulatory regimes being so prolific and diverse) and have to move at any cost. The undisclosed prices could be a clearance sale prior to abandoning the market, for all we know.

Me, as much as the PB360 plus intrigues me, I'm not in the market for another reader and won't be at least till next year, but I would like it if PB were still a competitive option by then. There is no guarantee they will be, though; the market here is very competitive and we have yet to see what Sony's next (last?) attempt to join the NorthAm top tier vendors looks like, or how Amazon will use its million-ereader-a-month volume to counter Kobo and Nook.

Economics is a cruel science and its not much fun to be on the wrong side of its cold equations (with apologies to Tom Goodwin) but the rules of the game are pretty clear; each market has its own dynamics and you either keep up with the leaders or pack up and go home.

Hopefully this is just a summer promo and PB will be a player for years to come.
But "you never know"...

07-23-2011, 08:59 AM	#3
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	No way to win, is there? Guys, in the US, they have to compete with Kindles at US$114 and Kobos at $129. All of which sell by the million, not thousands. Either they squeeze margin to try to build up volume and get the same economies of scale as the North American vendors or they abandon the market. Which one is more likely to keep them in the business until ebooks get mainstreamed in europe? In case you hadn't heard, ebook readers now reside in 12% of US households, double last year's 6%, versus typical european penetration of under 2%. Anybody think a $10 price drop is going to even double the sales rate of euro-localized, euro-certified Pocketbooks? How about an eight-fold increase? Right now we're looking at entirely different markets. (Temporarily, perhaps, as Kobo and Amazon are bringing their ebookstores and business model over there. Expect blood to flow.) Of course, since we can't see PBG's financials, we have no way of knowing how much they actually sell in a given region; for all we know, they have entire warehouses full of unsold US certified readers they can't legally sell in other regions (regulatory regimes being so prolific and diverse) and have to move at any cost. The undisclosed prices could be a clearance sale prior to abandoning the market, for all we know. Me, as much as the PB360 plus intrigues me, I'm not in the market for another reader and won't be at least till next year, but I would like it if PB were still a competitive option by then. There is no guarantee they will be, though; the market here is very competitive and we have yet to see what Sony's next (last?) attempt to join the NorthAm top tier vendors looks like, or how Amazon will use its million-ereader-a-month volume to counter Kobo and Nook. Economics is a cruel science and its not much fun to be on the wrong side of its cold equations (with apologies to Tom Goodwin) but the rules of the game are pretty clear; each market has its own dynamics and you either keep up with the leaders or pack up and go home. Hopefully this is just a summer promo and PB will be a player for years to come. But "you never know"...