News flash! Barnes & Noble buys Fictionwise for $15.7 million

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Pfft... one of the reasons I got my ebook reader was so I didn't have to schlep to a book store. I get most of my recommendations for reading reviews and forums like this one.

Brick and mortar ebook stores are not the wave of the future.

BOb

i wouldn't call them the wave of the future, and it may seem counter-intuitive to speak of brick and mortar shops for ebooks, but many people really love to browse the shelves of paper books in bookshops (myself included), and would love to do their shopping there but buy the books digitally.

there are lots of ways that integrating the two distribution models could provide a much richer overall book buying experience for everyone.

[blues36]

Last week sometime, I think it was last week, Barnes and Noble sent me an email (being that I am one of their members) asking me to do a survey in return for a 10% off coupon, so I did it....

Most of the survey pertained to how I used digital ebooks, what formats I preferred, and where I got them from, etc. I was encouraged at the time that I was contributing (albeit, in a very small way) to their consumer research about ebooks and how they might decide to implement that into their business modal.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

So things are moving fast in the ebook world Kindle and iPhone, now this...

We will see how it goes, but I think this is a big opportunity - it's not that big a deal to setup an ebook store and if you cater to independents/multiformat there are no real bariers, so from that point of view I am not that worried; if BN shuts out independents they will go somewhere else.

The downside to me is that BN can decide to pull the plug anytime; they lose some money, but for them it's pocket money and considering how they pulled the plug on their first ebook foray in the dot-com times - seems like a lifetime ago , but it's been not even a decade which is nothing on historical time scales...

No different from Amazon's first foray into this market. Remember they pulled the plug once also. I think, for BN, it is timing and they are committed to the effort.

Dale

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i wouldn't call them the wave of the future, and it may seem counter-intuitive to speak of brick and mortar shops for ebooks, but many people really love to browse the shelves of paper books in bookshops (myself included), and would love to do their shopping there but buy the books digitally.

You can do that now. Go to the bookstore. Browse. Decide what you want, then go how and but and download. Or if you have a kindle/iphone, just buy it while standing in the store.

BOb

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

...I would have put Amazon first in the queue.

The only reason Amazon would have bought them would have been to kill them. They do not represent Amazon's business model.

Dale

[joobies]

Is the world starting to move awfully fast for anyone else? The expansion of possibilities is exceeding the capacity of my mind.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by joobies

Is the world starting to move awfully fast for anyone else? The expansion of possibilities is exceeding the capacity of my mind.

i feel that way too sometimes. for the ebook industry at least these are very exciting times.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by AbFabGab

What would be interesting would be an ebook kiosk that you could directly import the selected ebook(s) into the reading device .. using usb cord perhaps?

The kiosk itself, though, could download the ebook inventory via wi-fi (therefore be updated automatically and run with minimal supervision.)

hmm...

Yea, I gave this idea, some time ago, to Astak with a lot of other details and ideas. It turns out that a part of Astak is actually in the Kiosk business so this would make sense for them. Hopefully they have enough resources to pull it off.

Dale

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by mjh215

Maybe I'm a cynic but I don't think this will bode well. I can just see B&N closing Fictionwise in 6 months after deeming it unprofitable. While retaining all the rights to Fictionwise. And making a deal to leave the site accessible for current customers to get backups of their purchases for 1 year.

I should get a kitten or something...

-MJ

it's an expensive option to pay all that cash and then close them down when they have no alternative (?) etailer subsiduary ... whilst for Amazon ....(see below)....

Originally Posted by DaleDe

The only reason Amazon would have bought them would have been to kill them. They do not represent Amazon's business model.

Dale

Quite .... Amazon, by way of the Kindle, have a 'captive' audience (even if it doesn't include most of the world) ... what better way to maintain that, but to drive out/or buy the competition - they may have considered the price worth it ?

(I used to like Amazon.co.uk - until they (badly) let me down).

[Mr. Goodbar]

Isn't fictionwise supposed to be coming out with their own branded reader supporting the ereader format? Seems if B&N plays this right they could very quickly get a Kindle like product to market with a ready made online store and a brick and morter distribution point for the device. B&N gives fictionwise more clout with the carriers if they choose to go that route.

I know Amazon has a huge presence, but my local B&N is typically not hurting for business. There is almost always a wait in the checkout line even with multiple cashiers. Some people still like the experience of walking around a book store.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

You can do that now. Go to the bookstore. Browse. Decide what you want, then go how and but and download. Or if you have a kindle/iphone, just buy it while standing in the store.

BOb

i think for a lot of people going to a book shop has become about more than just finding new titles ; more and more bookshops seem to be adding cafés to their stores and people really enjoy browsing, getting their books, and then starting to read them right away while having a coffee.

for people without liseuses with some of wireless connection (remember, not everyone has or wants that) a kiosk or terminal would allow them to enjoy this sort of experience with ebooks.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i feel that way too sometimes. for the ebook industry at least these are very exciting times.

the times are very interesting, after lying in the doldrums (for what - 10 years?), life for the ebook, and a multitude of reader choice, is seemingly and suddenly taking off....

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

for people without liseuses with some of wireless connection (remember, not everyone has or wants that) a kiosk or terminal would allow them to enjoy this sort of experience with ebooks.

I understand. But, I don't want to see any overhead added to the creation and distribution of eBooks. Any excuse to raise prices these days seems to work for the publishers/sellers.

BOb

[mjh215]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't see spending $16million on something that is unprofitable.

BOb

I never said it was unprofitable. I said that B&N would say that when they closed it. Companies do this all the time, sometimes to kill competition, sometimes to hijack technologies and other times to just have it in their coffers for the future. Not to mention just appeasing stockholders with a news blurb. That alone can be worth $16 million. It actually fell nearly a point since the announcement, but Reuters already has it in their "Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions".

-MJ

[GeoffC]

I would much rather walk around and enjoy the bookshop - then come home and pick/choose from a larger etailer base - where one can pick and choose the price....whilst also ensuring that a back-up copy was placed on my PC....