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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 2, 2016 22:54:55 GMT -5
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Post by Suzy on Feb 3, 2016 1:59:43 GMT -5
Don't believe it.
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Post by Rinelle Grey on Feb 3, 2016 5:05:13 GMT -5
Wouldn't surprise me.
The problem people had with physical book stores wasn't the physical bookstore, it was that they could buy it cheaper from Amazon. If Amazon can sell books for the same price as they can online, then I bet they can make money.
Won't ever happen here in Australia though, because of our draconian publishing laws.
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Post by mlhearing on Feb 3, 2016 8:19:36 GMT -5
This article says 300 stores. I saw one yesterday that said 400, and one the day before that said 200. Whatup wit dat?
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Post by Daniel on Feb 3, 2016 9:06:05 GMT -5
It could happen. Amazon has the money to launch a pilot project for proof of concept. I don't think the one store in Seattle really qualified as a pilot project.
Amazon.com demonstrated that books were over-priced and readers were willing to trade convenience for savings. The bookstores complained about "show-rooming" (and I don't blame them for that), but it showed that readers were offended enough by the high book prices that they were willing to order online and wait rather than pick up the book that was sitting right in front of them and just buy the fool thing.
<SideRant>And now Big Publishing are waving a victory flag because print sales are up and e-sales are down. Publishers inflated the price of ebooks to protect their print sales, and for the moment, it's working. But only for them. The ebook market continues to grow, but the Big 5 are no longer participating in that growth. All they've done is artificially shore-up their print sales and delay the inevitable. They priced their ebooks so high that readers are buying the print edition because they perceive it as a better value. I don't think print will ever be dead, but I predict that we'll see a "market correction" at some point that will cause a financial backlash for the Big 5.</SideRant>
I don't think an Amazon move into physical bookstores will affect things much for the publishers, unless they can change industry-standard discounting practices. As it stands, retailers can sell a book for whatever they want, but the publisher's margin is protected by the current distribution system (45% for the publisher, 40% for the retailer, 15% for the distributor).
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 4, 2016 0:27:05 GMT -5
Interesting thoughts. Hmm.
I have to say, I don't quite see *why* Amazon would want to do this. Perhaps for visibility? Maybe each store would basically be a break-even billboard for the Amazon name/logo.
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 4, 2016 0:37:06 GMT -5
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Post by ameliasmith on Feb 4, 2016 17:14:33 GMT -5
I read an article which said that these "stores" might not be what you think they are. They could be office space, shipping drop points, drone-loading depots (I made that one up), or showcases for popular products or products Amazon is pushing, like that ol' Fire Phone.
I can't see it affecting me much one way or another. I do wish that Borders was still around, though.
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Post by Daniel on Feb 5, 2016 8:17:22 GMT -5
I can't see it affecting me much one way or another. Word. It's been about twenty years since I lived near a big chain bookstore. |
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 5, 2016 12:09:34 GMT -5
I can't see it affecting me much one way or another. Word. It's been about twenty years since I lived near a big chain bookstore. I used to love sitting down in the fantasy aisle at Borders and pulling out every book for a look-see. So far, online book shopping has not been able to recreate/replace that experience in a satisfying way, for me. |
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Post by ameliasmith on Feb 5, 2016 13:13:24 GMT -5
I used to love sitting down in the fantasy aisle at Borders and pulling out every book for a look-see. So far, online book shopping has not been able to recreate/replace that experience in a satisfying way, for me. The library runs a close second to that experience -- better in some ways because it's free! |
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 5, 2016 14:53:23 GMT -5
I used to love sitting down in the fantasy aisle at Borders and pulling out every book for a look-see. So far, online book shopping has not been able to recreate/replace that experience in a satisfying way, for me. The library runs a close second to that experience -- better in some ways because it's free! I'm so lazy about using the library.  |
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Post by Daniel on Feb 5, 2016 19:05:12 GMT -5
Word. It's been about twenty years since I lived near a big chain bookstore. I used to love sitting down in the fantasy aisle at Borders and pulling out every book for a look-see. So far, online book shopping has not been able to recreate/replace that experience in a satisfying way, for me. I get that. Book stores and hardware stores have always been time sinks for me. ETA: And, my wife reminds me, office supply stores. |
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 6, 2016 1:29:07 GMT -5
I love a good hardware store, even though I'm really not a DIY type. Office supply stores, too. There's just so much kewl stuff.  |
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Post by carlos on Feb 6, 2016 14:36:17 GMT -5
And art supply stores,although I am not an artist.
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 6, 2016 15:45:23 GMT -5
And art supply stores,although I am not an artist. Yeah, those too! There was a great one in the last town I lived in ... |
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Post by Rinelle Grey on Feb 7, 2016 1:45:59 GMT -5
For me, it's the hardware/gardening store, or the craft/fabric store.
Never spent much time in bookstores, because the selection and prices here are so awful. I've been buying online for over 10 years now, long before book stores disappeared. We did have a borders, briefly, and it was a lot better than anything else we'd ever had, but even so, the prices were still crazy.
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 7, 2016 2:50:03 GMT -5
Cooking stores. OMG.  |
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Post by Daniel on Feb 7, 2016 8:11:15 GMT -5
And art supply stores,although I am not an artist. Indeed. Hobby/craft stores are great time wasters. |
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Post by Alan Petersen on Feb 7, 2016 16:21:36 GMT -5
The one in Seattle makes sense, it's their turf, but I would be surprised they open 300+ bookstores across the country.
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