Barnes & Noble Nook discussion

What happened to all of the books I look at today. One that was $12 I wanted to get is now $19.95, the next one I wanted the same thing had happened. Might be time to get a kindle after all!

Or just go back to paper books that are cheaper online than the ebook sometimes.

I found that the Kindle and Nook prices are the same. I had the Kindle and switched to the Nook.....I hope I didn't make a mistake...:(

Andy wrote: "What happened to all of the books I look at today. One that was $12 I wanted to get is now $19.95, the next one I wanted the same thing had happened. Might be time to get a kindle after all!

O..."

Was it just that certain book or did you notice a lot of them changing? I hope not. I may have to end up reading regular books then.

Several. Both Blind Descent, $10 cheaper for Kindle
Fatal System Error, $8 cheaper for kindle.

Both these titles jumped from 12 to 19.95 the same day.

Thanks Rick. I didn't realize that the Nook was compatible. YAY! I get a lot of my books from the library to.

I check out books with my Kansas Overdrive library alot. Load them with ADE no probs. Just that their selection is pretty slim yet and the wait can be a month or more on a popular title.

I have noticed that too!!! And they don't give the discount for the ebooks!!!!!! They better start now if they are raising prices!!! I saw an artical that Barnes & Noble is up for sale as of today so I wonder what that will mean for the future of the Nook.

Ack, I just made a separate thread about B&N up for sale, and clicked on this thread afterward. Sorry.

Actually, the raise in price is probably a part of the company's long term nook strategy. If you remember, a couple of months ago, publishers were fighting with Amazon because the company was forcing them to sell hardcovers for $9.99.

The publishers wanted a business model that worked a little more like print books--a low initial publication price (many in-store hardcovers debut at 20% off in stores), a raise in price after the initial demand tapers off, and a price reduction when the paperback is published. That's what BN offered them--which is why they staged a fight with Amazon. And Amazon largely caved. Their prices will likely rise soon.

Some publishers, Simon & Schuster and Hatchett in particular, are talking about delaying the premiere of ebooks so that they arrive between the publication of the hardcover and the paperback. That's their way of combating the low prices forced on them by ebook retailers.

Basically, the ebook market is quite volatile. I keep seeing references in articles to the shift from CDs to MP3s for music, but the comparison doesn't quite work. When the RIAA finally caved and worked with Apple to create a legal downloading system, iTunes was the only option, and they had the power to sell music on their terms. (Remember, the RIAA hated the idea of $.99 songs.) Amazon had that power for a while with the Kindle, but the nook broke their monopoly before the market truly stabilized under their model.

There will be many changes in the months ahead as publishers & retailers try to push through their agenda while buyers are still willing to adapt to it.

I guess my biggest concern is that with the prices, is that the membership doesn't give a discount for any nook or eBook products. And if the prices are going to be the same as physical books then a discount is needed.

I did notice that a book I wanted to purchase 2 weeks ago when it first came out was $15 as an ebook and this week it went down to $10. So maybe there is hope!

As for the future of B&N, its my happy place. I love to be there and I love that my Nook let's me be there pretty much any time I want. And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. So I look at the corp cutting back but definitely not going away. Maybe I'm naive but I think what B&N is doing is what a lot of cos are doing to survive. So it makes me believe the co will survive :-).

About the book referred to above called Fatal system error, it is 14.27 on BN and 12.99 on Amazon. While it is a little cheaper for the Kindle, I would rather have the NOOK and have the ability to go to multiple places to get my books then have the Kindle and be handcuffed to Amazon.

And you will see changes, both good and bad, on ebooks as the publishers find out exactly what people will pay...I also feel like as the ebook format becomes more popular, prices will go down

I'm mostly concerned with Barnes and Nobel's willingness to provide a discount on their end. The eBook publisher war will subside but if the prices remain higher I will start buying my ebooks elsewhere where I can get them cheaper than B&N. I've already found a few stores that sell them online that are less expensive.

I'd like to see the membership discount extended to ebooks, too. If they don't offer a discount, I'll might let my membership expire without renewing it. That'll depend on how often I buy physical products from their website--I do like the fact that members get free 2-3 shipping on everything now. That's enough to win my loyalty from Amazon.

Truthfully, though, even if the prices are slightly higher at BN than at other ebook retailers, I'll still probably buy from BN. It's not that I like to spend money, but I want to continue to support a physical bookstore. The features of the nook that really sold me were the "more in store" features (free essays to download, free browsing of titles while in store). Their ebook reader is designed in such a way as to draw owners into their brick & mortar stores rather than drive them solely to the website. I like that--I don't want the brick & mortar stores to disappear.

(Also, I'm a former Borders Group employee, so I'll buy from BN any day over Borders.)

I did let me membership lapse. If it does change to allow a discount for ebooks then I will renew it. Even the B&N employees don't get discounts on the Nook or its products.

I still buy books from B&N. But only the ones $10 or under.

As I said, B&N is my happy place. I've learned to appreciate it even more since I've gone back with my Nook. I sit and read while at the cafe and check out new books coming in. I try TP make it there once a week to get the latest free books. I love the stores and I love my nook. I just wish I could love the prices again.

Has anyone heard about B&N selling itself? If this happens, what's going to happen with the Nook? Will it become obsolete?

Nan wrote: "I'd like to see the membership discount extended to ebooks, too. If they don't offer a discount, I'll might let my membership expire without renewing it. That'll depend on how often I buy physica..."

My Aunt worked over in La Vergne, TN and now I hear they're outsourcing to the Philippines.. They say that she won't get her severance package if she doesn't stick around and train them to do her job basically.. Oh, and she was three years from retirement, and she's worked for them for the past fifteen years. The way they're treating their employees is enough to make me shop anywhere BUT Borders.

@Meghann Don't worry about the selling thing. The most likely thing to happen is it'll effectively be an inside sell to Len Riggio, whose family has been running the company for years. It probably won't change anything, be it the brick and mortar stores or the Nook department.

Obviously I'm not familiar with your aunt's situation, but as a current employee (and have been for nearly 7 years), I'd say the company has overall been very good to their employees. When the economic crunch really hit, they were going out of their way to ensure everyone was still keeping their benefits even though they had to cut plenty of hours. Plus, during the holidays they kept new hires to a minimum in order to keep current employees at as many hours as they wanted. So, while there are definitely going to be instances where treatment is off, I think it's unfair to imply the whole company has been treating their employees poorly.