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Amazon Gets Blow-Back Over Plan To Sell Kindles At Small Bookshops
Rambo Tribble writes "No sooner had Amazon revealed their plan to offer independent book shops the Kindle for re-sale, along with a kick-back on e-book purchases, than the fur began to fly. It appears the shops view the plan as Amazon-assisted suicide. Given the apparent terms of the deal, it looks like they may have a point. Amazon may well have done themselves more harm than good with this ploy. One storeowner wrote, 'Hmmm, let's see. We sell Kindles for essentially no profit, the new Kindle customer is in our store where they can browse and discover books, the new Kindle customer can then check the price on Amazon and order the e-book. We make a little on their e-book purchases, but then lose them as a customer completely after two years. Doesn't sound like such a great partnership to me.'"
You might as well get what money you can while you can. Owning a book store does not sound like a thing that is going to last for long. Maybe if you ask nicely, you can get Amazon to put some of their delivery lockers in your store.
Big Warehouse Book stores kill the independent book stores. Amazon killed the Big Book stores. But the silver lining is that the death of the Big Warehouse Book stores gave new life to the independents. So now Amazon tries to kill the independents, but they are not morons.
The independents were saved by Amazon, but that doesn't mean they are stupid enough to let Amazon kill them next.
How is this any worse for the small bookstores than their customers buying a Kindle from some other retailer, or direct from amazon.com? They'd still be browsing in the store, checking online prices, buying the e-books, and eventually ceasing to be a customer. The bookstore would simply have deprived itself of an opportunity to be the one selling the Kindles and getting a cut of e-book revenues in the meantime.
Do these bookstores really think that refusing to sell the devices themselves will slow adoption?
"The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
Meg Ryan falls in love with Jeff Bezos at the end.
I'm firmly in camp ebook. Let's disclose that up front.
Book stores should charge cover. The experience of browsing in a book store is much better than browsing Amazon's web site. The tablet kindle store is better but it still doesn't compare to browsing on a shelf, reading a page on a whim. So when it's time to find something new to read, I'll go spend an hour in Barnes & Noble and make a list of a dozen books. I'll probably buy a coffee while there, but otherwise B&N is making nothing off me.
That's not fair to them, but that is how their business is structured. I fear bookstores collapsing. I preferred Borders and was disappointed when it went under. Don't want that to happen to B&N. But what answer is there? There are only a handful of reference-type paper books I would buy. Might get a calendar once a year. Couple presents. But Amazon gets most of my book dollars. That's just sad reality.
So, I say, charge me cover. Heck, charge everybody cover. $2 to come in. If you buy a book, offer a $2 discount. The bookstore is suddenly less disadvantaged then previously. If you are a paper book buyer, you're not disadvantaged. If you really are a paper book buyer and are simply browsing, suddenly, you're the party suffering. But you're incidental to this- if bookstores are in trouble, you're going to lose them eventually. So you have the heavy burden of paying a couple dollars, or you can browse at a library instead.
The small bookstores TFA discusses aren't necessarily the same as B&N - but that's the problem. They have even less to offer. Stocking Kindles may not be the answer, but they're getting squeezed by both Amazon and B&N. They need to find a niche compatible with their clients to survive.
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Amazon is offering an option. Don't like it? Don't play. However Amazon isn't going away, they aren't going to stop selling eBooks (or physical books). So plan accordingly. If you think not partnering with them is best do that, if you think it is best, do that. But don't assume you can cry and they'll go away. You WILL have to deal with their competition.
If bookstores want to stay in business, they need to level the playing field. Requiring sales taxes on internet purchases was a good start, but only a start. For example, Amazon isn't forced by the cities to overbuild its parking lots as brick & mortar bookstores are.
Bookstores also need to adopt Amazon's business model. Amazon has low storage costs (warehouses in rural areas) but has to ship individual packages to each customer, while bookstores have high storage costs but ship everything to the store by freight. Bookstores could downsize their physical presence, keep most of their inventory in inexpensive rural warehouses like Amazon, and offer free overnight or 2-day shipping to the store, no membership required.
So there's still room for innovation, if bookstores are willing to learn from the competition.
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
The independent books that I know have a small edges going for them.
There is new market for “shopping / entertainment“. You go to the store to be entertained and you pay via a purchase. Kind of like renting office space at the coffee shop for the price of a cup of coffee. Most of these shops tend to be narrowly focused, have a deep catalog of hard to fine / out of print stuff (which is sold via Amazon), have lots of events (singings, clubs, etc.) and sell a lot of stuff other than books.
Oddly the one that I am thinking about was the Amazon Bookstore specializing in woman and lesbian literature. There was a bit of a tussle between them and Amazon.com over the name and the more or less won that fight.
Customers are increasingly looking for ebook editions. If the customer can't get what they're looking for, do you think they're just going to shrug and buy whatever the bookstore wants to stock instead? Nope. They'll shrug, go home and buy the Kindle off of Amazon's Web site and go ahead and buy the ebook editions like they were planning to. Either way, the bookstore's lost their business because the bookstore isn't selling what the customer wants to buy.
Bookstores are going to have to figure out a way around this, or go out of business. No third option. If I owned a bookstore I'd be seriously looking at how I could work with Amazon and the Kindle store. The big attraction of bookstores has always been that customers can look at the books before buying, but Amazon can do that through their Web site with previews. The other big attraction has been bookstores with knowledgeable staff who can help customers select books. That, though, means the bookstore can't hire college kids for minimum wage to run the register. It might take a complete shift, from "bookstore as a place to buy books" to "bookstore as a place to browse and discuss books". Kind of like a coffee shop with a better reading library. It may be that there isn't a way for bookstores to remain in business without ceasing to be bookstores. But bookstores are going to have to accept the fact that electronic delivery of books has irrevocably changed their business.
I'd note this may go for publishers too. It's hard to get into print unless you're already a successful published author. The only route is self-publishing through Kindle or the like. But if an author's successful enough through that route to attract a conventional publisher, what's going to happen when that author very reasonably asks what they need a publisher for at this point?
The big coffee-table picture books will still be around (looking at some of the beautiful photography in those books is lost on an 8.9" kindle screen). I also think technical books will remain viable in print (I've got a handful of dev-related books on my kindle, and I've invariably bought the printed versions where available). I also still insist on buy DVD/BluRays, mainly because I don't like the Netflix availability (although I do use it), but also seem to be in the mood to watch movies when my internet connection goes down.
The market is dwindling, I grant you, but there are niches where I think physical books will remain relevant. Maybe we'll see bookstores dwindle in size to become like a magazine stand or similar.
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
At peak, Blockbuster alone had 9,000 video rental stores.
The last day to rent a video from Blockbuster is tomorrow. All the stores are closing. When will the last DVD/Blu-Ray disk be made?
Digital download/streaming videos still doesn't match the video/audio quality of a blu-ray, and wont for a long, long time (in the United States at least) because Internet service wont be fast enough/offer high enough caps to make that kind of product practical for long, long time.
A book is a static image. If you don't have a fetish over paper and binding the experience can be reproduced much more easily.
And I think that will happen when 4k TV takes off. I don’t hear anybody talking about shipping physical media for that format.
No way will this work. Bandwidth caps as they are today will prevent people from downloading 4k video. Here's a reference to a 4k documentary that is 160GB. Does that sound like something that's going to fly with the ISPs we currently have?
We make a little on their e-book purchases, but then lose them as a customer completely after two years.
The way things are going now, they're going to be out of business in two years anyway. Maybe they can hang out with the guy that had the hardware store before Home Depot came to town. Or the people with the health food store before Whole Foods. Or the stationary store before Office Max. Or the printer before Kinko's. Or the computer store before Dell.
I get the model where you go into BestBuy, look at the TV, listen to the stereo and then purchase online.
But what does browsing for the book on the shelves get you over searching Amazon.com? You still get the same 'about the author' and plot taglines on the back...
Maybe there's some nostalgia that people enjoy walking through the stacks and prefer to read via eReader. For those people, the bookstore will die anyhow because no purchase will ever be made via the bookstore.
These bookstores need differentiate themselves from eReader providers just like movie theaters differentiate themselves from watching at home and Netflix. Movie theaters provide a service you don't have at home (a 100ft screen and a huge wattage sound system, and stadium seating).
Bookstores need something as well, book clubs (how do you keep people from joining the club that purchased the book via amazon), social gatherings, something...
All of these businesses died because the physical location couldn't differentiate itself from the delivered direct to home version:
*Arcades
*Video Rental shops
*Computer stores (CompUSA etc..)
*Bookstores
And I think that will happen when 4k TV takes off. I don’t hear anybody talking about shipping physical media for that format.
No way will this work. Bandwidth caps as they are today will prevent people from downloading 4k video. Here's a reference to a 4k documentary that is 160GB. Does that sound like something that's going to fly with the ISPs we currently have?
4K has only 4X more pixels than 1080p. Netflix says that currently, you need a 5mbit connection for Hidef streaming, or 7mbit for super hidef. So that would put 4K streaming at around 20 - 28mbit... maybe less if better graphics hardware means they can use better compression algorithms. Many people are already able to get that speed from a Cable modem or U-verse style DSL.
Bandwidth caps are a business limitation, not a physical restriction. I'm sure there are bottlenecks that providers will have to overcome, but that's the nature of the business.
Our libray system just built an entire commercial/residential complex above/around the new library on one side of town. They did the same 15-odd years ago for the other side of town. And there's talk of expanding or opening another branch.
They've also expanded beyond just books, offering CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and even e-book loans. There are multiple computer labs available for rent (free for individuals if room not in use), multiple computer terminals around the library for patrons to use, study carrels, meeting/study rooms for groups, etc. They teach various courses (free for patrons) as well. The new branch even includes a gas fireplace and lounge chairs. All that's missing is a coffeeshop inside the library itself.
Libraries aren't going anywhere. They're evolving with the times.
Isn't this the plan where the store that sells the Kindle gets a cut of all purchases made thru said Kindle? So that kickback expires after two years. Sell them a new kindle and reset the kickback clock. There's always a new reader coming out with new features, more storage, better display, etc.
This reminds me of that thread a year or three back where it was pointed out that book publishers need to realize that they're in the business of selling content, not paper. Paper is a content delivery/storage/display method. Kindle is the new paper in this scenario.
Paper books had a pretty good run. Over 500 years by my math. Now the business model is changing. Bookstores can find a way to change with it or they can bleed money until they go bankrupt. Their stubbornness isn't going to change reality. If they want to keep selling paper, they need to shift their physical inventory to publications that can't easily make the transition to electronic distribution. Large format books with lots of pictures. Art, atlases, photos, etc. Take the leftover space and stock it with readers (only from companies that will give you a kickback) and accessories. Put in a coffee/tea counter, comfy chairs, fireplace, etc. Fast WiFi, charging stations for devices. Have "meet the author" nights and "get the most out of your reader" nights.
4K has only 4X more pixels than 1080p. Netflix says that currently, you need a 5mbit connection for Hidef streaming, or 7mbit for super hidef.
Netflix is lying to you. Their hidef isn't blu-ray quality. Its 1080p with compression artifacts. The audio isn't as good either.
I don't think they ever said that it *is* Blu-ray quality, but the point is, it's "good enough". I own dozens of Blurays and while I can see a different because blu-ray and streaming content, it just isn't that important to me.
Its better than then the regular hd which is even more compressed, and even that is better than some of the so called hd channels on cable some of which are badly compressed.
Compared to bluray though its a complete joke.
It's good enough, and there are only a handful of titles I would even care enough to pay extra for bluray, never mind "4k" but at the same time what's the point drooling over a netflix compressed 4k stream if their superHD is still well beneath even mere bluray 1080p.
Because it has 4x more pixels, which I thought was the whole point of 4K? If I'm happy with my 60" TV when I sit 8 feet away, if I had a 4K TV, then either I can sit at half the distance (4 ft), or get a TV that's twice as large (120") and get a more immersive movie experience with the same perceived quality.
http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html
The comparison is apples and oranges. Blockbuster was dead the minute Netflix became a viable option. In some cases, Disc is a far superior product between bonus features and if you have a crappy internet connection you don't have any significant load times. However, the convenience of internet steaming with the all-you-can-eat nature of streaming was the final straw for brick-and-mortar stores.
Books and bookstores are not obsolete. They still have many advantages over ebooks and online distribution. First, paper is a great medium; It is dirt cheap; doesn't need batteries; I can annotate and highlight; If I ruin it, there is no huge loss; I can sell it when I'm done; and it comes in many sizes from trade paperbacks to huge coffee table art books. Bookstores are great because you can sample the merchandise. At blockbuster, all I can see is the blurb on the back of the box with a few pictures, the same stuff that can be found anywhere. In a bookstore I can pick it up, leaf through it, even read some of it. Best part is, if I buy it I have it then and there and not 3-to-5 business days from now.
Books and bookstores are going to be around for a long while. As long as paper printing a still dirt cheap, and as long as eReaders are still a big investment for most people (When I see an e-Ink reader for under $30 sold at brick-and-mortar Walmarts or Target, then we'll talk). Sure, bookstores won't be a prevalent as they once were but they are far from being dead any time soon.
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But what does browsing for the book on the shelves get you over searching Amazon.com?
Well, um... you, uh, get the see the book???
Seriously. I buy almost all non-fiction books, and 2-3 minutes leafing through the book, looking up a few things in the index, and reading a couple specific passages on topics I'm looking for will immediately tell me: (1) does the book contain the information I need and care about? (2) does the author have a freakin' clue what he/she is talking about? (3) are these things valuable enough to justify the cost?
I can spend time skimming dozens of reviews on Amazon and still have no clue about the answers to those questions. Sure, for some books on Amazon I can get a limited preview or limited search capability, but that's generally not enough to really let me check what I need to.
I own a couple thousand physical books. I can only think of ONE physical book that I purchased in an actual store that I regret buying, and I was in a hurry and just picked up some Barnes & Noble special for $1.99 or something. On the other hand, I must have at least 20 or more books I purchased online that turned out to be much less useful than I imagined. I just can't tell adequately from online descriptions. And returning them is often too much of a pain to bother.
On a related note, there's also the seredipitous encounter with interesting books on a physical shelf. While Amazon may be good at telling me what other people tend to buy who buy the books I'm already searching for, it's very unlikely to tell me about the really cool books out there that people like me may not always know about. Library shelves, on the other hand, are great for containing those hidden treasures, sitting there right next to a book I know on a similar topic. Actual physical bookstores can be good about that as well, though only if they have the kind of specialized non-fiction I like to browse for (and very few do anymore).
I'm very likely to walk out of a physical bookstore with some book I found and thought to be really interesting, and I almost never regret those purchases. Online, I only tend to buy books I already have heard about and which already are supposed to be "good," because I often can't adequately evaluate them otherwise.
Used bookstores are even more critical, because they carry all sorts of out-of-print stuff that's even more difficult to sort through on Amazon (if it's there at all).
You still get the same 'about the author' and plot taglines on the back...
I don't give a crap about the author bio or what some random other people say about how this is the "coolest book ever." I suppose if that's the way you evaluate the books you want to buy, I guess there's no benefit to a physical bookstore. I, personally, prefer to actually examine the merchandise... like the people you mention who might actually like to look at the TV or listen to the stereo before purchasing.