Barnes & Noble Redesigned Their Website

Patchicat · 08-17-2017, 11:16 PM

And made it harder to find what one is looking for. I prefer the epub format and own several Nooks. But their new website design is an abomination. Who is the genius behind making it almost impossible for a customer to find anything? I dislike Amazon on principle and prefer not to purchase ebooks in the Kindle format, even though I finally broke down and purchased an older Kindle just to be on the safe side. I have specific authors I like to read. Some of them publish on Smashwords, and I'll purchase my ebooks there if I can find what I want. Can anyone tell me what my other options are now that B&N has become so user unfriendly that I no longer want to shop there?

Thanks.

Cinisajoy · 08-17-2017, 11:18 PM

Kobo.

Sirtel · 08-17-2017, 11:30 PM

Google Play. They sell epubs.

Also, eBooks.com and eBookMall, for instance.

AnemicOak · 08-17-2017, 11:35 PM

Books A Million also sells ePub as do many of the publishers that have their own webstores.

ZodWallop · 08-18-2017, 01:09 AM

Amazon, Calibre and Apprentice Alf. Then you have the ease of the Amazon store without being tied to their Kindle. I've never had a problem converting a book purchased from Amazon to epub.

If you follow my advice, just make sure you use an older edition of Kindle for PC.

Dr. Drib · 08-18-2017, 09:33 AM

Mobileread's Library for PD ebooks.

Apache · 08-18-2017, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Amazon, Calibre and Apprentice Alf. Then you have the ease of the Amazon store without being tied to their Kindle. I've never had a problem converting a book purchased from Amazon to epub.

If you follow my advice, just make sure you use an older edition of Kindle for PC.

This.
Apache

salamanderjuice · 08-18-2017, 03:51 PM

If they dislike buying on Amazon on principle buying on Amazon isn't a great recommendation. I also find something usually breaks in conversion even if it's subtle. Kindleunpacking an azw3 into an epub can get pretty good results sometimes though.

I think Kobo is a bit better of an epub store than Google Play. I've had issues downloading stuff to ADE with Google Play and never with Kobo.

ZodWallop · 08-18-2017, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

If they dislike buying on Amazon on principle buying on Amazon isn't a great recommendation.

I get what you are saying. I just wasn't sure what the principle was, since they followed it with "...even though I finally broke down and purchased an older Kindle..."

When I first got into e-books, I thought the hardware tied you to the ecosystem. Once I discovered Calibre and Alf, that went away.

Of course, if there are other Amazon issues, then yeah, I'd recommend:

Quote:

...Kobo is a bit better of an epub store than Google Play.

pwalker8 · 08-18-2017, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I get what you are saying. I just wasn't sure what the principle was, since they followed it with "...even though I finally broke down and purchased an older Kindle..."

When I first got into e-books, I thought the hardware tied you to the ecosystem. Once I discovered Calibre and Alf, that went away.

Of course, if there are other Amazon issues, then yeah, I'd recommend:

There is a lot that I dislike about the Amazon kindle store, but it has by far the best ebook selection of any of the stores. As long as I can strip the DRM and format shift the book, it really doesn't matter which store I buy a book from. I buy most of my books from Amazon, even though I mostly read using Marvin on my iPad. I've also bought some books from Apple and B&N as well as a lot from Sony and Baen books. I don't know that any of the stores are what I would consider ideal.

FizzyWater · 08-18-2017, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

I also find something usually breaks in conversion even if it's subtle.

Is it in cosmetic issues, or are you finding data is missing? I've never noticed a problem with an AZW3/Mobi to epub conversion that wasn't cosmetic.

salamanderjuice · 08-18-2017, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Is it in cosmetic issues, or are you finding data is missing? I've never noticed a problem with an AZW3/Mobi to epub conversion that wasn't cosmetic.

Yes. The words might be all there but formatting might be off somewhere, a picture might be too small etc. It may be cosmetic but it's still annoying.

4691mls · 08-18-2017, 08:57 PM

For me, Google Play is not a good site for browsing for new books because they don't have categories - you can search for a genre such as "mysteries" but they don't give you any sorting options. I find it's easier to browse on Kobo or Books a Million and then if I want to buy the book from Google, search for the specific book.

I've found that prices vary between the stores so it's worth comparison shopping.

Books a Million sends me tons of email coupon codes but they're never good on ebooks, which is the only thing I ever buy from them.

Google Play and Books a Million both allow you to create a wish list on their sites. Last time I checked, Kobo didn't (I think maybe they have it on readers, but I didn't find a way to create one on my PC, which is where I like to do my browsing.)

Sirtel · 08-18-2017, 09:04 PM

I do all my browsing on Amazon, but often buy the book elsewhere. Google Play usually has the cheapest prices (of course I'm not in the US), but it's true their epubs are sometimes problematic. They've always given me a refund when I cannot download their epub with ADE. If not for the price differences, I would have stopped buying from them a long time ago. I have no idea if Google Play has cheaper prices in the US too or not.

4691mls · 08-18-2017, 09:21 PM

For books I've bought, prices have not been uniformly cheaper at one store over another so I usually compare before buying.

So far I have not had any problems with epubs from Google Play. I don't buy tons of books though so maybe I've just gotten lucky so far.

08-17-2017, 11:16 PM	#1
Patchicat Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 430000 Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Texas Device: Nook Tablet; Nook HD+; Nook Samsung Tab 3	Barnes & Noble Redesigned Their Website And made it harder to find what one is looking for. I prefer the epub format and own several Nooks. But their new website design is an abomination. Who is the genius behind making it almost impossible for a customer to find anything? I dislike Amazon on principle and prefer not to purchase ebooks in the Kindle format, even though I finally broke down and purchased an older Kindle just to be on the safe side. I have specific authors I like to read. Some of them publish on Smashwords, and I'll purchase my ebooks there if I can find what I want. Can anyone tell me what my other options are now that B&N has become so user unfriendly that I no longer want to shop there? Thanks.

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08-17-2017, 11:18 PM	#2
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	Kobo.

08-17-2017, 11:30 PM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,994 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Google Play. They sell epubs. Also, eBooks.com and eBookMall, for instance.

08-17-2017, 11:35 PM	#4
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Books A Million also sells ePub as do many of the publishers that have their own webstores.

08-18-2017, 01:09 AM	#5
ZodWallop Gentleman and scholar Posts: 11,500 Karma: 111164374 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Space City, Texas Device: Clara BW; Nook ST w/Glowlight, Paperwhite 3	Amazon, Calibre and Apprentice Alf. Then you have the ease of the Amazon store without being tied to their Kindle. I've never had a problem converting a book purchased from Amazon to epub. If you follow my advice, just make sure you use an older edition of Kindle for PC.

08-18-2017, 09:33 AM	#6
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,613 Karma: 60184181 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Mobileread's Library for PD ebooks.

08-18-2017, 03:51 PM	#8
salamanderjuice Guru Posts: 968 Karma: 13558066 Join Date: Jul 2017 Device: Boox Nova 2	If they dislike buying on Amazon on principle buying on Amazon isn't a great recommendation. I also find something usually breaks in conversion even if it's subtle. Kindleunpacking an azw3 into an epub can get pretty good results sometimes though. I think Kobo is a bit better of an epub store than Google Play. I've had issues downloading stuff to ADE with Google Play and never with Kobo.

08-18-2017, 08:57 PM	#13
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	For me, Google Play is not a good site for browsing for new books because they don't have categories - you can search for a genre such as "mysteries" but they don't give you any sorting options. I find it's easier to browse on Kobo or Books a Million and then if I want to buy the book from Google, search for the specific book. I've found that prices vary between the stores so it's worth comparison shopping. Books a Million sends me tons of email coupon codes but they're never good on ebooks, which is the only thing I ever buy from them. Google Play and Books a Million both allow you to create a wish list on their sites. Last time I checked, Kobo didn't (I think maybe they have it on readers, but I didn't find a way to create one on my PC, which is where I like to do my browsing.)

08-18-2017, 09:04 PM	#14
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,994 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I do all my browsing on Amazon, but often buy the book elsewhere. Google Play usually has the cheapest prices (of course I'm not in the US), but it's true their epubs are sometimes problematic. They've always given me a refund when I cannot download their epub with ADE. If not for the price differences, I would have stopped buying from them a long time ago. I have no idea if Google Play has cheaper prices in the US too or not.

08-18-2017, 09:21 PM	#15
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	For books I've bought, prices have not been uniformly cheaper at one store over another so I usually compare before buying. So far I have not had any problems with epubs from Google Play. I don't buy tons of books though so maybe I've just gotten lucky so far.