[Taylor514ce]

I can't tell you how disappointed I am in this reply. I like Borders. I like buying books at Borders. I like going into the store, talking to the clerks, asking about books. I enjoy the entire book buying experience. I bought the Sony Reader at Borders, because I travel a LOT and the concept seemed nice. Because of my investment in the device, I now shop for e-books. Since Borders doesn't sell e-book editions, though, I'm missing out on the entire book buying experience. There is no reason to go to a Borders store, since you don't sell e-books. No reason to visit your website, since you don't sell e-books. The Borders Rewards program? Useless, since you don't sell e-books.

There are so many ways to integrate WiFi and kiosks into your Borders stores to make an ideal e-book shopping/buying experience! Imagine, I could go into a store, look around, talk to the clerks, get some ideas for some books, and then plug my SD card into a Kiosk and BUY THEM. Or sit in the cafe, buy a drink, and use my laptop to access a localized web page (a page specific to the store) and download my purchases right there, while on a page that showed local store events, maps, store specials!

Instead you simply shuttle e-book buyers off to Sony. What a wasted opportunity. If you truly do share this with your executives, I hope someone will take note of the tremendous potential in the e-book market. Borders could differentiate from the competition by fully embracing the e-book movement, and providing a great e-book buying experience in your stores. Don't throw your customers away.

T.

P.S. I would be happy to have a conversation about the e-book market and ideas for integrating e-book buying into a brick-and-mortar store. I've had my Sony Reader for about 4 months now, and have used it extensively during travel. I've had good and bad purchasing experiences. I think Borders should research e-books, and should interview people who've embraced the e-book format. You might be surprised at the hurdles we have to go over to buy books! There is a real need for a major retailer to provide some alternative to Amazon. You have my contact information; I'd love to hear from you.