What would bring Nook back from the dead?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by haertig

Bingo! They could come out with awesome hardware. They could come out with awesome software. They could massively cut the prices of their books. But I still wouldn't buy from them. B&N corporate policy had them throwing their customers under the bus. Once you've been run over by a bus, you have a long memory of that, and a healthy suspicion of all buses well into the future. IMHO, B&N cannot recover, period. You reap what you sow.

This point is a problem with all the ebook bookstores I think. Sometimes you see the price of the ebook as higher than even the paper book of the same title. And of course they have less overhead since they don't have to have stocks of paper, ink, etc. so why an ebook should be so expensive is a question I've never really heard a good answer to.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by crich70

This point is a problem with all the ebook bookstores I think. Sometimes you see the price of the ebook as higher than even the paper book of the same title. And of course they have less overhead since they don't have to have stocks of paper, ink, etc. so why an ebook should be so expensive is a question I've never really heard a good answer to.

The e-book offers more benefits. It can be read by multiple people on the same account at the same time, built in dictionary, adjustable font size and line spacing, immediate delivery, hundreds of books on one device…

I don’t buy books based on cost, I’d bypass a freebie and pay a few dollars for a digital book, because I can’t read the paper book easily.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by crich70

This point is a problem with all the ebook bookstores I think. Sometimes you see the price of the ebook as higher than even the paper book of the same title. And of course they have less overhead since they don't have to have stocks of paper, ink, etc. so why an ebook should be so expensive is a question I've never really heard a good answer to.

The ebook bookstores have their hands tied on this because of agency pricing as schemed by apple and as implemented by the big publishing houses. The contracts fix the prices and forbid discounts. (It still stinks, but it is not the bookstores' fault.)

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I do not think I have ever heard of the - Books - book store

That's what Apple calls their ebook app and store now.

[haertig]

Due to the price fixing of the agency stuff, and what I think is overly high prices for eBooks, I now read almost everything as a loan from my library(s). That used to be a problem for me, because the book was often due back before I'd finished it. But I have found ways around that now.

One, I read faster now. Two, I put my Kindle in airplane mode after getting a library loan. Three, I joined several library districts (seven, specifically). So I put the book on hold at many libraries, then suspend the hold at the backup libraries. I borrow from the main library, and if that book comes due, I un-suspend the hold at another library and get a second copy to finish the book. When you un-suspend a hold, you jump back to your original place in line so I don't have to wait a long time to get a second copy of the book.

With these methods I'm now loving my library(s). I save quite a bit of money not having to buy all those books too. I still buy some, but nowhere near as many as I used to. Prices go up, sales (to me) go down. There are other alternatives to purchasing.

If my library(s) don't have the specific eBook I want, I will check out a paper copy. There's this neat thing called "Prospector" which gives you access to tons of inter-library loans, even from out of state libraries. I recently had to use this Prospector method to find a copy of West of Eden by Harry Harrison. If finding a book via inter-library loans fails, I'll next look for a used paperback in one of the many online stores.

All of this makes buying eBooks a rare occurrence for me these days. But if prices go down, sales (to me) will go up. It's a pretty simple equation really. Some people are willing to pay agency pricing, I am not. So I use other methods these days.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Lol, I've never bought a single book from Apple.

I think the DRM removal solutions for Apple FairPlay require that you own a Mac? I dunno, I'm on Windows. I've switched from B&N to Kobo. Well, there was some Kindle in the middle but just a handful of books since the quality of their azw3 graphic novel downloads was pretty poor.

Plus, they're the ones who started agency pricing so I'm disinclined to buy books from Apple.

Nope, there are DRM removal solutions for Apple FairPlay for both the mac and windows. Apple didn't start agency pricing, they were simply the first one to agree to it, the publishers have always wanted to set their own prices.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I'm pretty sure they switched the two partitions. Originally, out of 8GBs, 1.5GB was available for sideloading. Now 5.5 is available.

But what I meant in the first place is do what the Glowlight Plus (and all Kindles and Kobos do) and don't partition the storage in the first place.

You're right. I guess I just don't care a lot. 5.5 gig is plenty of room for sideloaded books.

Greyed out dictionary and table of contents. Replacing the 'current read' button in the top left with the mostly useless 'accounts' button. Plus it is slow and unstable.

I do agree about the dictionary and the TOC. The button placement doesn't matter to me. I read one book at a time so when I wake up my Glowlight 3 the first thing I see is my book.

If they'd make the dictionary and TOC normal text and I could access my Kindle account with it, this would be my favorite ereader. As it is I'm very pleased with it. Hopefully there'll be a hack down the road to fix the dictionary text. That's the one I really care about.

Barry

[barryem]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I don't think it's the hardware or the software.
It's their credibility with customers. And the lack of same.

The missteps of their past coming back to haunt them

I think you're exactly right. It's the company, not the device. But maybe I'm the one at fault. When I first retired about 20 or 25 years ago I started spending my days in various B&N (and Borders) stores around Houston sitting in their easy chairs, drinking their coffee and reading their books. This cost me the price of 2 or 3 cups of coffee and I got a lot of reading done. I did buy a few books but I read a lot more than I bought.

They knew what I was doing. I got to know some of the clerks and they didn't seem to mind even though I made no attempt to hide it. Still, maybe their poor customer service in the years since is their way of getting even with me.

By the way, that's a very nice and comfy way to spend a day reading. I didn't do it so much for the free books. i could easily afford books then. I did it because it was just such a nice way to spend a day. But once I bought a book I felt silly hanging out there so I only bought enough to seem like a paying customer.

Also it should be noted that Borders had much better coffee. I never did care for Starbucks.

Barry

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by barryem

I think you're exactly right. It's the company, not the device. But maybe I'm the one at fault. When I first retired about 20 or 25 years ago I started spending my days in various B&N (and Borders) stores around Houston sitting in their easy chairs, drinking their coffee and reading their books. This cost me the price of 2 or 3 cups of coffee and I got a lot of reading done. I did buy a few books but I read a lot more than I bought.

They knew what I was doing. I got to know some of the clerks and they didn't seem to mind even though I made no attempt to hide it. Still, maybe their poor customer service in the years since is their way of getting even with me.

By the way, that's a very nice and comfy way to spend a day reading. I didn't do it so much for the free books. i could easily afford books then. I did it because it was just such a nice way to spend a day. But once I bought a book I felt silly hanging out there so I only bought enough to seem like a paying customer.

Also it should be noted that Borders had much better coffee. I never did care for Starbucks.

Barry

From what I hear, the bigger problem is the students who treat their stores as study halls. They don't even buy coffee.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

From what I hear, the bigger problem is the students who treat their stores as study halls. They don't even buy coffee.

Who'd a thunk it--students who are mooches. Like the 2 that occasionally come home to my house.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

The ebook bookstores have their hands tied on this because of agency pricing as schemed by apple and as implemented by the big publishing houses. The contracts fix the prices and forbid discounts. (It still stinks, but it is not the bookstores' fault.)

But the average customer may not know that. And regardless if they could lower the prices they would probably get more business. Thankfully a lot of books have gone out of copyright so that there is another source of good reading material in the meanwhile.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by maximus83

Who'd a thunk it--students who are mooches. Like the 2 that occasionally come home to my house.

With bags of dirty laundry?
Used to be me once.
I won't throw stones.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by barryem

The button placement doesn't matter to me. I read one book at a time so when I wake up my Glowlight 3 the first thing I see is my book.

I'm the same way. The problem is when you go in to settings, check something in your library or do anything that's not reading your book. Now, you have to hit the home button and return to your book from the home screen (and the Glowlight is slow, so it takes a bit).

This isn't the worst crime or anything. But it is frustrating because that button in the top right corner is still there. it just doesn't do anything useful anymore. It seems like such a self-imposed injury. Like it's obvious the Nook software designers don't actually read on a Nook.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by barryem

...maybe I'm the one at fault. When I first retired about 20 or 25 years ago I started spending my days in various B&N (and Borders) stores around Houston sitting in their easy chairs, drinking their coffee and reading their books. This cost me the price of 2 or 3 cups of coffee and I got a lot of reading done. I did buy a few books but I read a lot more than I bought.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

From what I hear, the bigger problem is the students who treat their stores as study halls. They don't even buy coffee.

When I worked at B&N, the ones that got on my nerves the most were the manga/comics nerds.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

When I worked at B&N, the ones that got on my nerves the most were the manga/comics nerds.

Speed reading through the racks?