B&N buys out Microsoft's Nook stake

[fjtorres]

Try this: you see a lot of griping that between ebooks and new and used pbook sales, Amazon controls half the consumer book retailing market.
Well, doesn't that mean they don't control the *other* half? If B&N can't make a living off that other 50%, maybe they don't deserve to survive.

"You don't have to be faster than the lion, just faster than the guy running next to you."

They are so used to throwing their weight around they can't adapt to a world where they aren't top dog.

[charmian]

Whoever buys Nook (if anyone does) will need to really be willing to compete with Amazon, and to re-market it.

Thinking about it, this seems difficult. Sales will simply be price-matched by Amazon, whether on books or on hardware. There are other ways to do discount schemes, like coupons or loyalty programs, but they'd be complex to set up and possibly require publisher buy-in.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by charmian

Whoever buys Nook (if anyone does) will need to really be willing to compete with Amazon, and to re-market it.

Thinking about it, this seems difficult. Sales will simply be price-matched by Amazon, whether on books or on hardware. There are other ways to do discount schemes, like coupons or loyalty programs, but they'd be complex to set up and possibly require publisher buy-in.

Or perhaps they should stop competing where Amazon is strong and start competing in areas where Amazon does not and has never had a chance. B&N has all those useless bookstores -- how about they stop filling them with toys and start filling them with books? Of all the stupid "adaptations"...
"Our stores are losing money, how can we hasten the process?" "I know, stop selling books!"

B&N should cater to the people who like books, and they can start as fjtorres said, by remaking themselves, going small.
Indie bookstores are flourishing. Individually, none of them are as big as Amazon but as a whole they are making a pretty good comeback. A lot of people want to support the hegemony's competition. (That's the problem. B&N is every bit the hegemony that Amazon is.) A lot of readers want the human touch. A lot of readers want a clerk who also knows what a book is, maybe to schmooze, maybe to ask for suggestions.

Time was, you went to a bookstore and the employees helped you find interesting new reads -- then B&N finished becoming a hegemony after swallowing the other bookstores, and now they are the book supermarket, and about as interesting as groceries. And if all I wanted was to pop in, grab a book I know about already and buy it, I can do that far more conveniently online.
Or go to my local indie bookstore -- on the occasion that I actually want a pbook it happens sometimes. Can't read ebooks on Shabbos and the library doesn't have everything, also sometimes for gifts, and favorites that I want to read anytime even on Shabbos. Yep, sometimes there really is nothing quite like a good pbook.
Have an actual discussion with the employees, and come out with books by an author I never heard of.
B&N will simply push me to the latest thriller, and so will airport kiosks.

[ProfCrash]

I remember when Barnes and Noble and Borders were smaller stores and when you went there you got great service and discussed books with the employees. I stopped shopping at those stores ages ago because they lost that knowledge and competency.

That said, I don't get the allure of going to a book store to read on my e-reader. Going to a book store to get some advice on a good new read and buying the e-book I can see but that does not help the physical store unless there was a way for the sale to count as a sale at that store.

I would love a system where I could walk into a book store, work with someone who knew books, pick a few books, buy them from a kiosk at the store so the store gets credit, and have the book sent to my device. That would be flipping amazing. I don't read paper books anymore so I don't go to the book store because I don't think it is fair to pick the brains of the store clerk and then not buy anything.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I would love a system where I could walk into a book store, work with someone who knew books, pick a few books, buy them from a kiosk at the store so the store gets credit, and have the book sent to my device. That would be flipping amazing. I don't read paper books anymore so I don't go to the book store because I don't think it is fair to pick the brains of the store clerk and then not buy anything.

...or the pbook gets delivered the next day. Go small, automate, invest in POD...
A new balance can be found.

The fundamental flaw of the superstore model is that 80% of revenue comes from bestsellers that occupy maybe 5% of the floorspace (and are available everywhere) and the other 90%-plus floorspace is occupied by slow-moving midlist and backlist titles. In the old days, the slow movers drew in traffic by offering a bigger selection than the bestseller-focused channels but today anybody interested in midlist/backlist content is better served by online. The bulk of the books they stock is little better than ambiance, revenue generation-wise.

Everybody keeps harping on amazon prices but Amazon's success is really driven by their catalog size. Until B&M figures out they have to be competitive on selection, not just on price, they'll always be at risk. Interestingly, in the digital world it is easier to compete with Amazon on tradpub selection, which is why KDP and Select are so important to Amazon.

[Sydney's Mom]

I used to like to go to the bookstore and see what was new. Got a lot of Cubs books that way. But now, it is toys and gadgets. The atmosphere is totally different. I haven't been in a bookstore in years. And can't think what would make me go back. Amazon reviews have taken the place of a knowledgeable sales person in a lot of areas. B&N is reaping what it sewed. It used a heavy hand in getting independents and Borders out of the way. That ain't gonna work with Amazon.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by soondai

I think they are in an untenable position. They cannot match Amazon's prices in physical stores in the end.

They could have matched Amazon's eBook prices. But I'm not one to cry a river for Barnes & Noble -- I've seen too many small bookstores fall by the wayside when B&N came to town to get all teary-eyed about the same thing happening to them.

[LovesMacs]

I think Barnes & Noble and Nook could have done better, had they been able to arrange something with publishers so that B&N could offer "buy a p-book, get the e-book too for a small fee" deals.

I see that B&N now does that (or at least, promotes that) for a small number of books. At this point, I'm afraid it's too little, too late.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

I think Barnes & Noble and Nook could have done better, had they been able to arrange something with publishers so that B&N could offer "buy a p-book, get the e-book too for a small fee" deals.

I see that B&N now does that (or at least, promotes that) for a small number of books. At this point, I'm afraid it's too little, too late.

And Amazon has offered it as an option (Matchbook) for tens of thousands of books for over a year.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....cle&ID=1851331

[LovesMacs]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Everybody keeps harping on amazon prices but Amazon's success is really driven by their catalog size. Until B&M figures out they have to be competitive on selection, not just on price, they'll always be at risk. Interestingly, in the digital world it is easier to compete with Amazon on tradpub selection, which is why KDP and Select are so important to Amazon.

Here's a thought: what if Barnes & Noble, or any other bookseller, took the superstore model and applied it to a single genre?

Imagine thousands of romance, or mystery, or whatever genre titles stocked under one roof, with knowledgeable staff. In other words, what some independent bookstores already do, but on a much larger scale.

A store such as this still wouldn't be able to compete with online stores in terms of selection, but it would offer people immediate gratification.

This couldn't be done at every location due to sheer economics. It may even not be economically viable, but it is an alternative to the "jack of all trades, master of none" superstores we have now.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

Here's a thought: what if Barnes & Noble, or any other bookseller, took the superstore model and applied it to a single genre?

Imagine thousands of romance, or mystery, or whatever genre titles stocked under one roof, with knowledgeable staff. In other words, what some independent bookstores already do, but on a much larger scale.

A store such as this still wouldn't be able to compete with online stores in terms of selection, but it would offer people immediate gratification.

This couldn't be done at every location due to sheer economics. It may even not be economically viable, but it is an alternative to the "jack of all trades, master of none" superstores we have now.

There are a handful of such stores around.
Much admired.
Once upon a time, Washington DC had a place called Moonstone BookCellars devoted solely to SF&F both domestic and imported. It is sorely missed.

It is a very good idea but to make it work, today, they would have to embrace indie authors. At least in romance and SF&F. Possibly in mystery and thrillers. Those genres are popular enough to make it work in the right location. Like an SF specialty store near an engineering school.
LitFic on the other hand would have a hard time supporting a specialty shop anywhere outside Manhattan or SanFran. Maybe not even there considering the rents.

On the ebook side AllRomance is already working that approach. The problem there is Amazon allows you to filter listings by genre so you end up with a specialty shop in a couple of clicks.

Back on the B&M side it might work if they offered a truncated generic bookstore, bestsellers, local authors, etc, roughly equivalent to the old B. Daltons and turn over the rest of the store, say 70%, to SF or Romance or Mystery&Thrillers and have one of each in a given metro area. That way the generic store can serve casual readers and the specialty store can be a regional draw by carrying entire series and a deep backlist.

Might even work.

Lots of possibilities out there once you focus on carrying what readers want instead of what publishers pay to promote.

[Apache]

There was a Sci Fi/Fantasy store in Houston Texas when I lived there in the late 1980's and early 1990's.
Apache

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

...or the pbook gets delivered the next day.

I don't know how far back in history one has to go, but a few chains had machines that would automatically print out the books you wanted, while you browsed the rest of the store.

There were three major issues with those machines:

• The cost of paper and ink;
• MSRP for the book was skyhigh --- roughly a quarter per page;
• Limited selection of titles;

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I would love a system where I could walk into a book store, work with someone who knew books, pick a few books, buy them from a kiosk at the store so the store gets credit, and have the book sent to my device.

I've seen a couple of independent book stores with machines that enabled the bookstore to accept payment for eBooks from Kobo, and deliver them to one's device. I assume that the bookstore gets some sort of commission from Kobo.

I don't think that the purchaser needed a Kobo device.

Next time I wander the wasteland that those bookstores are located in, I'll ask the various owners about those machines.