Wonder if Kindle 3 Will Be Available In Retail Stores

jezebel · 08-16-2010, 08:43 PM

Any news or thoughts on this?

AnemicOak · 08-16-2010, 08:47 PM

Last I heard Target will get them sometime in September.

carld · 08-16-2010, 08:47 PM

Reports from MR members are that Target has signs up saying they will have the new Kindles in early September.

clintbradford · 08-16-2010, 11:06 PM

Thoughts on Target carrying the Kindle3? Considering few customers can actually touch a Kobo, having Target stores carry the K3 might initiate the death knell for the Kobo.

notatoad · 08-17-2010, 12:42 AM

if they don't have a serious price drop pretty soon the kobo is already dead, regardless of whether the kindle hits target.

Rebo · 08-17-2010, 01:09 AM

Target, in my opinion, is not a competitive retail store. I went to a Target store hoping to try out and buy the Kindle 2. First,there was hardly any customer there. Then the workers there didn't know what a kindle or ereader is. I finally found a couple of kindles stashed away in a locked shelf but there was no display units. Anyway, I still wanted to buy it so I asked them to get one out for me and also inquired about their return policy. The guy told me 3 months return if the item is unused or unopened. I left the store seeing no reason for me to pay additional sales tax for less service. If I ordered the Kindle through Amazon, at least I get a 30 days no question asked return policy. If Amazon wants more retail presence, they might want to hook up with Best Buy or get Target to change their return policy to be compatible with Amazon's.

clintbradford · 08-17-2010, 02:05 AM

>> ... I left the store seeing no reason for me to pay additional sales tax for less service ...

Excellent points, Rebo. I was mainly thinking of being able to physically touch and play with a demo unit as an incentive to "impulse buy" such a device ... Thanks for opening my mind up, fellow consumer!

TomF · 08-17-2010, 02:38 AM

Over at Kindle Boards the whole Target/Kindle situation has been discussed in several long threads. It appears that this situation is pretty much the same across the country.

Target does not display a working model, just a demo model. In my store the screen said that the battery needed to be charged. A clerk that I mentioned this to said that "they didn't send us a power strip so we couldn't plug in the charger. It showed the demo until the battery ran out and it's been like that ever since."

In some stores they're displayed on an end cap in the Electronics section while the Sony readers are displayed in the Book section. Some people have reported having to ask where it is and being asked in return "What's a Kindle?" and clerks not knowing where it was. In some stores they're less than prominently displayed.

IMHO, Target is doing a huge disservice to Amazon and Amazon should pull the account. Why someone would buy a Kindle at a Target store from clerks who don't know anything about it is a mystery. And pay tax on top of that. There is absolutely nothing about the way Target markets the Kindle that anyone would find it compelling.

Sydney's Mom · 08-17-2010, 12:36 PM

Target had a very nice Sony Reader display, and if I didn't already know about the kindle, I would have bitten. I think Target just carries the kindle to mute the Sony impulse buying.

simplyparticular · 08-17-2010, 12:41 PM

Hmmm, the Target displays at two local stores are on the end cap of the same aisle the Sony Readers are on, in Electronics. While it is is demo model, it is plugged in (via extension cord to the Sony display!) and runs through its "ad." And there is a nice selection of Speck and InCase covers and cases directly below it.

Claiming that "they" (corporate or Amazon) didn't send a power strip with the display to plug the cable into sounds like a bunch of lazy Target employees.

carld · 08-17-2010, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Target had a very nice Sony Reader display, and if I didn't already know about the kindle, I would have bitten. I think Target just carries the kindle to mute the Sony impulse buying.

Given how shoddy the Kindle displays apparently are in Target, I doubt it even does that very well. Shame on Target, and shame on Amazon for allowing it.

jswinden · 08-17-2010, 01:02 PM

The Best Buy stores in my area do a lousy job displaying the Sony readers and the Nook. None of their employees ever seem to know much about them. Sometimes they have them turned on, and other times you cannot turn them on. So it is not just Target that has terrible displays. I wish Amazon would sell Kindles through Best Buy so that more people would see them. Target is like the old Kmart stores, a low grade department store with a little bit of everything but a limited selection in each category. At least Best Buy is electronics centered. But regardless, I think it is best to buy directly from Amazon and save the sales tax. I suspect it will be easier to deal with Amazon CS if an issue arises if you bought directly from them rather than having to deal with Best Buy or Target.

bwaldron · 08-17-2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

Given how shoddy the Kindle displays apparently are in Target, I doubt it even does that very well. Shame on Target, and shame on Amazon for allowing it.

Kindle endcap display was perfectly fine looking in the two local (Super) Targets I happened to see them at.

I didn't talk to the staff -- but I wouldn't expect much, frankly.

jezebel · 08-17-2010, 05:59 PM

I just looked at the Kindle in my local Target, I went there specifically to do so. The display was on an end cap, the unit was powered but in demo mode. They had 4 or 5 different covers on display underneath. A sign saying Kindle 3's would be there some time in September.

I really wanted to try it out (wanted to try the keypad and notetaking, etc.) and was disappointed that it was not a working unit. What's up with that?

Ervserver · 08-17-2010, 08:27 PM

I think they will be available in gas stations by Christmas

08-16-2010, 08:43 PM	#1
jezebel Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 131098 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: a ferry ride from Seattle Device: Kindle Fire (5th Gen), Nook Color	Wonder if Kindle 3 Will Be Available In Retail Stores Any news or thoughts on this?

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08-16-2010, 08:47 PM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Last I heard Target will get them sometime in September.

08-16-2010, 08:47 PM	#3
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Reports from MR members are that Target has signs up saying they will have the new Kindles in early September.

08-16-2010, 11:06 PM	#4
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	Thoughts on Target carrying the Kindle3? Considering few customers can actually touch a Kobo, having Target stores carry the K3 might initiate the death knell for the Kobo.

08-17-2010, 12:42 AM	#5
notatoad Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Graphite Kindle 3G	if they don't have a serious price drop pretty soon the kobo is already dead, regardless of whether the kindle hits target.

08-17-2010, 01:09 AM	#6
Rebo Groupie Posts: 173 Karma: 392 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: nook, nook color, kindle 3, Ipad 2nd gen, Nook HD+, Iphone 4S	Target, in my opinion, is not a competitive retail store. I went to a Target store hoping to try out and buy the Kindle 2. First,there was hardly any customer there. Then the workers there didn't know what a kindle or ereader is. I finally found a couple of kindles stashed away in a locked shelf but there was no display units. Anyway, I still wanted to buy it so I asked them to get one out for me and also inquired about their return policy. The guy told me 3 months return if the item is unused or unopened. I left the store seeing no reason for me to pay additional sales tax for less service. If I ordered the Kindle through Amazon, at least I get a 30 days no question asked return policy. If Amazon wants more retail presence, they might want to hook up with Best Buy or get Target to change their return policy to be compatible with Amazon's.

08-17-2010, 02:05 AM	#7
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	>> ... I left the store seeing no reason for me to pay additional sales tax for less service ... Excellent points, Rebo. I was mainly thinking of being able to physically touch and play with a demo unit as an incentive to "impulse buy" such a device ... Thanks for opening my mind up, fellow consumer!

08-17-2010, 02:38 AM	#8
TomF Kindle Enthusiast Posts: 243 Karma: 1818 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Device: Kindle 3G Graphite, Kindle Fire	Over at Kindle Boards the whole Target/Kindle situation has been discussed in several long threads. It appears that this situation is pretty much the same across the country. Target does not display a working model, just a demo model. In my store the screen said that the battery needed to be charged. A clerk that I mentioned this to said that "they didn't send us a power strip so we couldn't plug in the charger. It showed the demo until the battery ran out and it's been like that ever since." In some stores they're displayed on an end cap in the Electronics section while the Sony readers are displayed in the Book section. Some people have reported having to ask where it is and being asked in return "What's a Kindle?" and clerks not knowing where it was. In some stores they're less than prominently displayed. IMHO, Target is doing a huge disservice to Amazon and Amazon should pull the account. Why someone would buy a Kindle at a Target store from clerks who don't know anything about it is a mystery. And pay tax on top of that. There is absolutely nothing about the way Target markets the Kindle that anyone would find it compelling.

08-17-2010, 12:36 PM	#9
Sydney's Mom Wizard Posts: 2,895 Karma: 6995721 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Idaho, on the side of a mountain Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 3d Gen and 5th Gen and Samsung Tab S	Target had a very nice Sony Reader display, and if I didn't already know about the kindle, I would have bitten. I think Target just carries the kindle to mute the Sony impulse buying.

08-17-2010, 12:41 PM	#10
simplyparticular Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 1395952 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New York Device: Oasis 3 & GlowLight 4	Hmmm, the Target displays at two local stores are on the end cap of the same aisle the Sony Readers are on, in Electronics. While it is is demo model, it is plugged in (via extension cord to the Sony display!) and runs through its "ad." And there is a nice selection of Speck and InCase covers and cases directly below it. Claiming that "they" (corporate or Amazon) didn't send a power strip with the display to plug the cable into sounds like a bunch of lazy Target employees.

08-17-2010, 01:02 PM	#12
jswinden Nameless Being	The Best Buy stores in my area do a lousy job displaying the Sony readers and the Nook. None of their employees ever seem to know much about them. Sometimes they have them turned on, and other times you cannot turn them on. So it is not just Target that has terrible displays. I wish Amazon would sell Kindles through Best Buy so that more people would see them. Target is like the old Kmart stores, a low grade department store with a little bit of everything but a limited selection in each category. At least Best Buy is electronics centered. But regardless, I think it is best to buy directly from Amazon and save the sales tax. I suspect it will be easier to deal with Amazon CS if an issue arises if you bought directly from them rather than having to deal with Best Buy or Target.

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08-17-2010, 05:59 PM	#14
jezebel Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 131098 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: a ferry ride from Seattle Device: Kindle Fire (5th Gen), Nook Color	I just looked at the Kindle in my local Target, I went there specifically to do so. The display was on an end cap, the unit was powered but in demo mode. They had 4 or 5 different covers on display underneath. A sign saying Kindle 3's would be there some time in September. I really wanted to try it out (wanted to try the keypad and notetaking, etc.) and was disappointed that it was not a working unit. What's up with that?

08-17-2010, 08:27 PM	#15
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	I think they will be available in gas stations by Christmas