Walmart and Rakuten Announce New Strategic Alliance

[barryem]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Agreed. Something to compete with the Kindle Basic. It's possible that Walmart is already planning promotions to sell Kobo devices. I guess we'll have to (impatiently) wait and see.

Since Kobo has been pretty innovative in recent years maybe this will help get Amazon interested in using a little more imagination than they've been doing in the last few years. This might result in newer Kindles as well.

It's all just guessing at this point but this could turn out to be a serious milestone in ebooks.

Barry

[John F]

Originally Posted by shalym

When I log in to the kobo website, it acknowledges me as a customer of Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, MA. I'm 90% sure that Broadside gets a percentage of the price of every book I buy, whether it's from the Kobo website or directly from my Kobo.

Here's a link to the page on Broadside's website about the program: http://www.broadsidebooks.com/kobo/help/about

Shari

I bought my Glo from an "indie bookstore", and I'm pretty sure they don't get anything when I buy from Kobo. I believe it is how you create your account that matters.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by John F

I bought my Glo from an "indie bookstore", and I'm pretty sure they don't get anything when I buy from Kobo. I believe it is how you create your account that matters.

I'm not sure. I bought a Kobo Glo used that had originally been bought at Family Christian stores and there was still a file that identified its origin (also a couple free books came over with it). So maybe they do something like that with the independent stores also. I don't know, it's just a guess.

[Richwood]

The announcement was even on the Japanese NHK news on PBS this evening. Walmart and Rakuten also combining for a food delivery scheme apparently.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Apple only collects on digital sales, not physical sales so Amazon does not pay the "Apple tax".

I never noticed that digital media was not allowed to be purchased in the Amazon app. I do all my Amazon shopping on my iPad in Safari. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

It seems to me, Apple is more interested in throttling eBook sales, not promoting them. I understand they're like 'the mob', if you want to do business in MY neighborhood, you got to make sure I get a 'taste'!

Unlike the mob, Apple built the infrastructure. Every store owner wants a piece of what sells under their roof. If you want to argue that a 30% piece is too much, you won't find me disagreeing with you, however.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Well I am happy that I can finally buy a KOBO device and see one in store before buying. I only wish they will sell at independent book stores as well so to help them compete with B&N and Amazon

Kobo tried that. It didn't work out well. My local indy shop didn't know what to do with them and stuck them off to the side away from traffic. They assumed that every Kobo they sold gave them a magical kickback every time a reader bought an eBook. I tried to explain to them that they needed to help customers go through a special portal to link their accounts to the indy store, but it was useless. I'm sure not all indy shops were like that, but there was another problem. There was no way to link a customer like me who had his own account previous to buying a Kobo there (I used the iOS app), so the indy shop received no percentage from any books I purchased.

Walmart's plan sounds like a better one for all involved. It will also be the first eBook seller to give Apple a piece, if I understand the news release correctly, because people can use the app to buy books. But it also sounds like I'll have to install a separate app from my Kobo eReader app to purchase books. That seems cumbersome.

[vrf]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

"In addition, Walmart and Rakuten Kobo Inc. have formed an exclusive retail alliance that will enable Walmart to begin selling eBooks and audiobooks, as well as offer Rakuten Kobo eReaders, in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com in the United States starting later this year."

So will we soon see an Aura One with audiobook support?

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by Cootey

Unlike the mob, Apple built the infrastructure. Every store owner wants a piece of what sells under their roof. If you want to argue that a 30% piece is too much, you won't find me disagreeing with you, however.

30% is pretty much the standard for digital goods. Steam, Amazon, Google all take about the same cut.

Is it too much? Maybe. Digital distribution through an existing platform is cost-efficient, especially if those platforms also provide customer support, handle the payment process (including fees), supply the resources (servers, bandwidth) and promote the products to their customer base. I can see why Amazon doesn't want to give Apple a cut for selling ebooks through the iOS app, but likewise, I understand why Apple doesn't make exceptions.

Traditional stores take "reverse cuts", i.e. they mark up the prices. Depending on the product, the markup ranges from single digit percentages to 100% and more. Essentially it's the same thing.

[Tarana]

I have to wonder though about whether the units will be identical to what is sold through Kobo. Many well known brands are offered for less through Wal-Mart because they are specially produced for Wal-Mart often with fewer features or cheaper parts.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Mivo

30% is pretty much the standard for digital goods. Steam, Amazon, Google all take about the same cut.

Is it too much? Maybe. Digital distribution through an existing platform is cost-efficient, especially if those platforms also provide customer support, handle the payment process (including fees), supply the resources (servers, bandwidth) and promote the products to their customer base. I can see why Amazon doesn't want to give Apple a cut for selling ebooks through the iOS app, but likewise, I understand why Apple doesn't make exceptions.

Traditional stores take "reverse cuts", i.e. they mark up the prices. Depending on the product, the markup ranges from single digit percentages to 100% and more. Essentially it's the same thing.

One of the jobs I had in high school was working in a service station. The mark up they had on car parts was rather eye opening.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Well I am happy that I can finally buy a KOBO device and see one in store before buying. I only wish they will sell at independent book stores as well so to help them compete with B&N and Amazon

Thanks. Many good posts this thread and topic.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

One of the jobs I had in high school was working in a service station. The mark up they had on car parts was rather eye opening.

The mark up from automotive suppliers is very interesting as well. OEM simply means the same manufacturer, not the same quality standards. Where I work we have sent out whole runs that are grossly out of spec and simply renamed them "after market." Even "quality" after market does not have the same high standards as new car production parts.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Can I say now is the time for Kobo to roll out a firmware update offering the Aura One's integrated Overdrive for all their models? Then make a big deal about it when they start selling at Walmart.

I am not so sure that it is in the best interest of Walmart to make a big deal of a feature that will cost them, again, consequent book sales.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I have to wonder though about whether the units will be identical to what is sold through Kobo. Many well known brands are offered for less through Wal-Mart because they are specially produced for Wal-Mart often with fewer features or cheaper parts.

Best Buy does that as well. I nearly bought a laptop from them till I compared features of the same model with those listed on the manufacturer's website. I did this after reading a warning about this a couple of years earlier about another laptop and that it was a common practice at Best Buy to have a special version of popular devices built for them with fewer features.

At least in the case of the laptop I compared there was a small difference in price but not nearly enough to account for the missing features. I bought the laptop on Amazon at the regular price, which was nearly the same as Best Buy's sale price.

I have bought things from Best Buy but I do so very carefully.

Barry