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Originally Posted by elizilla
Whenever I set out to buy things in person at a brick-n-mortar store I am disappointed. Clothing, computer stuff, all my hobbies, pretty much anything I care deeply enough about - I have become extraordinarily picky, and the internet has allowed me to do that. Between mega-stores like Borders and B&N, used bookstores, libraries, etc, books have always had a longer tail than most marketplaces, even in the brick and mortar world, but the various eReaders make that tail longer still, with all the indy stuff, the backlists, etc.
At least for Americans, and for an increasing number of other countries, we swim in a sea of advertising and are culturally indoctrinated to define our identities through consumerism. You are what you buy, your life is a work of art defined by *things*. Not saying it's good, but it is what it is, and within that framework we all want that long tail, so we can feel unique, because we buy different stuff. The internet offers us that long tail, in spades.
There will always be a place for Sony's ereaders out on that long tail, if they want it. Moving up from the tail is the hard part.
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Great post. I buy many of my purchases online for the same reason that you do. Your thoughts on identity through consumerism are bang on, I believe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScalyFreak
Something that I think may not have occurred to everyone yet: Sony may not consider the US market to be nearly as important as we do. For all we know may be planning to get the bulk of their profits from Asia and/or Europe, and the US market and consumers get lip service because in the bigger Sony scheme of things we're not as important?
If that is their assumption, that would explain a lot.
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I do think that you are probably correct in your assumption. I imagine that Sony does well in Europe and Asia, and would want to grab a larger market share there while it still can.