WalMart selling Kindles now. Really.

[fjtorres]

Walmart is selling Kindle 3G and KSO.
http://booksprung.com/walmart-to-sel...ting-this-week

Not a joke, this time:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43877

(And in weather, there is a blizzard in the nether realms.)

The end of days is upon us.
Amazon's sworn enemy is selling Kindles?!!
How the heck is *that* happening?

Not that WalMart is particularly good at showcasing readers, but this just about doubles the retail storefronts where people can see Kindles. If nothing else, it is deadly advertising.

And they're carrying the KSO but not K3WiFi. Hmmm...

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The end of days is upon us.

True. But wrong forum...


Walmart does nothing that doesn't benefit Walmart as well. I don't think they'll discount them much, so I don't know what the benefit to Walmart is though...

[CyberSmoke53]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

True. But wrong forum...


Walmart does nothing that doesn't benefit Walmart as well. I don't think they'll discount them much, so I don't know what the benefit to Walmart is though...

LOL ... Last Sunday when I went to Walmart I walked through the electronics section.. Walmart has locked cabinets with iPads and another with Kindles and Nooks and NookColors all sharing the same display cabinet..

Since all devices are the same price as offered online by the manufacturer or BN store I too am not sure what benefit Walmart gets .. of course Walmart I am sure gets to buy wholesale and then sale retail and probably gets to keep some of the difference. LOL

[RockdaMan]

In some communities going to Walmart may be the easiest way to purchase electronics. If thats the case, Walmart would want to have the biggest selection of electronics -- and benefit from having the customer come into the store instead of buying it online.

And all Amazon cares about is getting a Kindle into the customers hands.

[TrineDaely]

I saw Kindle announcing that on their FB. Benefit to Wal-Mart? Get people in the door that are curious about Kindle (since it hasn't been something you could buy/try offline previously), electronics is all the way in the back of the store, so chances are pretty good they'll buy something coming or going even if their only reason for stopping in is to handle a Kindle. A lot of people don't like to buy something they can't see in person first, and Wal-Mart has locations in smaller communities that aren't big enough to support chain electronics or book stores that might carry something like it.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Walmart does nothing that doesn't benefit Walmart as well. I don't think they'll discount them much, so I don't know what the benefit to Walmart is though...

Well, considering the way WalMart sells readers (Lock them in the cabinet until somebody asks for one.) the only thing I can think of is WalMart is using this as a way to get data on how popular the Kindles are vs other brands and to gauge interest in the tech.

Essentially, they just put them out and wait to see what happens.

Since they also sell *print* books, they may be pondering getting into the ebook business so getting data on the appeal of the Kindle to *their* customers might be worth the snowstorm.

One interesting factoid: if they deploy Kindles to all their stores and each store sells only *one* Kindle a month, they would still be outselling most of the third tier reader vendors. (~100K a year)

Add in Best Buy, Staples, etc, and Kindle's B&M sales alone might be outselling everthing not named Nook.
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200589200)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by TrineDaely

...and Wal-Mart has locations in smaller communities that aren't big enough to support chain electronics or book stores that might carry something like it.

This

[khalleron]

My local Walmart mailer showed the Nook on the front page of its 'Mothers Day' sale, but walking through the store I saw no actual Nooks.
.
It's a small town, there are only two places to buy electronics, and they're both big box stores - Walmart and Fred Meyer. Freddie's has the Kindle and an occasional Sony. Haven't seen any ereaders in Walmart in these parts.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

I don't think they'll discount them much, so I don't know what the benefit to Walmart is though...

To get people in the door, impulse buys at check-out (who DOESN'T need Tic-Tacs, Bic razors, and a Lightning McQueen toy cell phone?), and to get more persons featured on "people of walmart.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Well, considering the way WalMart sells readers (Lock them in the cabinet until somebody asks for one.) the only thing I can think of is WalMart is using this as a way to get data on how popular the Kindles are vs other brands and to gauge interest in the tech.

Essentially, they just put them out and wait to see what happens.

Since they also sell *print* books, they may be pondering getting into the ebook business so getting data on the appeal of the Kindle to *their* customers might be worth the snowstorm.

One interesting factoid: if they deploy Kindles to all their stores and each store sells only *one* Kindle a month, they would still be outselling most of the third tier reader vendors. (~100K a year)

Add in Best Buy, Staples, etc, and Kindle's B&M sales alone might be outselling everthing not named Nook.

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200589200)

I think it depends on the Walmart. The Walmarts near me have demo e-ink readers that you can actually play around with. I would imagine they're going to have a demo of the Kindle like the one Target has.

The Apple products including the iPad are locked up.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

In some communities going to Walmart may be the easiest way to purchase electronics. If thats the case, Walmart would want to have the biggest selection of electronics -- and benefit from having the customer come into the store instead of buying it online.

And all Amazon cares about is getting a Kindle into the customers hands.

You'd *think* in a small community that Wal-Mart would want to have the biggest selection, but it isn't always so. I live in a rural town of 17,000. The largest population center from here is slightly over an hour drive away. The closest large cities are a 4 hour drives distance.

Wal-Mart is definitely THE main place for buying electronics here. There is no Target, no BestBuy, etc... However, the Wal-Mart e-reader display has been abysmal.

Shortly before Christmas, and I mean very shortly, they had a small stack of Nook WiFis in boxes, a singular Sony Pocket reader, a few accessories and a couple of some off brand LCD color reader that I'd never heard of. All of which were locked in a dark, glassed in cabinet at just above floor level and trust me, you wouldn't see them if you weren't actually looking for them.

One by one, all the readers disappeared. None have been re-stocked. The only thing reader-like on display is an iPad on an end isle. I'm not holding my breath for a Kindle display to hit our store anytime soon.

[speakingtohe]

Well if I can buy it at a local (even Walmart)store for the same price as Amazon and not have to wait or pay for shipping and return it the next day if I don't like it. Seems like I save time and money and get that instant gratification kick.
For that I can wait for them to unlock the case. Go to Staples and you are lucky if they know how to unlock the case.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

... Go to Staples and you are lucky if they know how to unlock the case.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Go to Staples and you are lucky if they know how to unlock the case.

The local Best Buy has a working demo K3 right at the store entrance.
Tethered.
With the loudest, most sensitive alarm known to man.
If anybody dares touch the Kindle the whole store gets the 60 decibel alert.
And it happens so often nobody bothers to shut the alarm for half an hour.
(But only the Kindle.)

Mysterious are the ways of B&M retail.

[TrineDaely]

Originally Posted by graycyn

You'd *think* in a small community that Wal-Mart would want to have the biggest selection, but it isn't always so. I live in a rural town of 17,000. The largest population center from here is slightly over an hour drive away. The closest large cities are a 4 hour drives distance.

Wal-Mart is definitely THE main place for buying electronics here. There is no Target, no BestBuy, etc... However, the Wal-Mart e-reader display has been abysmal.

Similar here, though our town is even smaller at about 10k, and the nearest city is about 30 minutes away (big cities 2-4 hours away). Our Wal-Mart had some of the Sony e-readers in display, and I think all Wal-Marts in the US you can shop online and have it shipped to the store closest to you for free. The only other electronic place here is a very small Radio Shack franchise. Want to see a movie? Shop at Target? Go to a mall? Shop in an actual book store? Sorry, not in this county.