Nook Glowlight 4 Plus Out of Stock

[Lunar Ronin]

What is going on with the Nook Glowlight 4 Plus? It's been out of stock from both barnesandnoble.com and just about all physical Barnes & Noble stores since late December, and barnesandnoble.com shows that it won't be back in stock until May 31st.

[cgsmom]

I think as usual, Barnes & Noble does not plan very well for continued success. I am not sure how they have remained in the ebook market after all the stupid decisions they have made. I purchased my Nook Glowlight 4+ the first week in December. It is probably the best Nook I have owned. However, then they discontinued the Nook for Windows app. I used that app a lot, so I am currently mad at them AGAIN. Hopefully for people wanting the new Glowlight+, they are wrong about the ship date and they get them sooner.

[iciclevan]

I ordered one from here, not sure how they wound up with so many while B&N is out of stock.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256370209421

[iciclevan]

Granted, it is listed as Open Box condition but there is also a 30-day return window.
If anybody is interested, I can report back when it arrives on Tuesday...

[gforgiraffe39935]

Is it wishful thinking to hope that they're out of stock, shipping in May 2024, because they're making an adjustment to the N touch button? I don't understand WHY they made the button so slow to respond compared to the 2015 Nook GlowLight Plus. That one was perfect for me. I recall seeing people say that it was too sensitive, but I never had that issue--I treated like a touch screen on a tablet and was/am fine. I feel that they over-compensated and instead of doing that, they should've allowed users to set the N touch button timer themselves. Maybe that's too hard to program? If we can change the reader side buttons, they should allow us to change the default behavior of the N touch button.

[RWTS]

I was running errands on the other side of town last weekend. There was a Barnes & Noble in the plaza where I stopped for lunch, so I decided to check it out for old time's sake (I stopped buying paper books years ago). This is a newer store that opened in the past year or two. It was a Saturday afternoon and only a handful of people were browsing.

First, if I hadn't known it was a B&N, I'd never have known it from the inside. It was very different from every other one I've been in, from size to layout to signage. No media section, no big toy section. Just a few Lego sets, board games and jigsaw puzzles in one area.

The reference/nonfiction selection was very limited. The bulk of the books were fiction paperbacks and softcovers. Hardcovers for new releases. No bargain section that I saw (which was always the first area I'd hit up).

What really surprised me was this location doesn't stock Nooks, despite the website showing the GL4 and GL4e being available. A very nice employee apologized for the glitch and told me this location has never stocked Nooks. She advised me of another location that would have them in stock and offered to phone yet another store that should have them to confirm availability.

Considering B&N did a complete refresh of their Nook line recently, with the GL4, 4e and GL4 Plus, in addition to what seemed to be the popular limited edition pink version, I can't believe they don't have even one model on site for curiosity's sake and on the fence buyers.

With the GL4 Plus backordered until May 31, I half-expect that date to get pushed back and for it to just fade away.

I've been reading doom and gloom stories about B&N for years, but for the first time I'm wondering how much longer they'll survive. I readily admit I'd never buy a paper book from them at full retail price (makes me part of the problem, right? ). I'd like to get a GL4 Plus, but I'd need a good sale (I purchased all my Nooks on sale)... if they ever do return.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by RWTS

I've been reading doom and gloom stories about B&N for years, but for the first time I'm wondering how much longer they'll survive.

Barnes & Noble has experienced a huge turnaround in the past couple of years. Here's an article from the NY Times (gift link) from only last October:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/s...smid=url-share

An earlier article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/11612...-time-in-years

Apparently the limited selection of nonfiction is in response to local demand. Individual stores have much more agency now in terms of what they stock.

[RWTS]

Originally Posted by issybird

Barnes & Noble has experienced a huge turnaround in the past couple of years.

That's good news! It doesn't make much sense on my part, since I don't shop in their stores and usually only purchase ebooks when given a gift card, but I'm rooting for them. And I like their Nooks.

[John F]

Originally Posted by issybird

Barnes & Noble has experienced a huge turnaround in the past couple of years. Here's an article from the NY Times (gift link) from only last October:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/s...smid=url-share

An earlier article from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/11612...-time-in-years

Apparently the limited selection of nonfiction is in response to local demand. Individual stores have much more agency now in terms of what they stock.

B&N may have experienced a "huge turnaround", but how about some financial details. The only positive number I saw was a 4% increase. They said 2021 was a record year for book sales, but they don't say if that was for B&N, Amazon, or ...

Nice articles on how the stores are changing thier appearence. I wonder how their ebook business is doing.

[RWTS]

I'm straying off topic, but I must say the new look of the B&N store I was at was very nice. Clean, bright and modern. It was just a jolt after being accustomed to all stores being alike. I'm glad they're keeping up with the times instead of clinging to an old format. It hopefully bodes well for their future. But, man, the prices! Ouch!

And I wish they'd do more to promote their Nooks.