4 ms·

The Fallacy Of The B&N Fallacy

20 points by mikecane 14y ago

podperson 14y ago
Interesting article, but it seems like it starts in the middle of a conversation and I'm missing a bunch of context. BN is abandoning hardware? Thinking about it? It seems to me that BN has got something fundamentally wrong with it and I don't understand it well enough to figure out what it is. Fundamentally: if I am in a BN staring at a book that I want to buy, how is it impossible for BN to sell it to me at a price competitive with Amazon -- and it's not even close. I'm guessing the deals they negotiate with publishers suck, or the deals publishers sign with Amazon suck. In any event, BN is getting reamed. My guess is BN loses money on Nooks, so selling them as a generic Android device isn't going to help it any. I visit BNs frequently and it is gradually turning into a toystore with a coffee shop. Unless Toys'R'Us missed a huge opportunity by not providing coffeeshops and a couple of magazine racks for its customers, I don't think this is long-term viable. Again, I don't know what's broken at the core of BN but I suspect it simply needs to negotiate better deals with its suppliers. It provides a GREAT shopping experience except for that pesky price part.
- Thrymr 14y ago
  http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298902 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298902
- nobleach 14y ago
  I think BN made a rather large mistake in trying to sell an extremely limited amount of apps in their store. Many of the apps are available for free, but BN felt it was okay to charge. The book situation is exactly as you say. I wonder if Amazon is losing money.
Terretta 14y ago
mike cane, you excerpted the wrong bit of the original article: • Create a first rate storefront+reader on Android and the web. • Shift more resources into the iOS app and make it better than anybody else’s. • Perform a series of commerce-oriented experiments, e.g. subscriptions, bundling, in-book payments, etc. The bit you quoted and respond to is what he said other people's advice was. Note the sentence AFTER those bullet points: "Those are all good but I’d argue that doing this wouldn’t solve B&N’s problem in the long term." The actual advice was to exit the app business entirely: • Discontinue the tablets. • Milk the eink cow until it topples over. • Make an awesome storefront. • Discontinue the reading app and license somebody else’s.
- mikecane 14y ago
  Ouch. There's the link in my post so people can go to it. Tx.
bokglobule 14y ago
I think the comments about e-Ink "going away soon" are badly misplaced. The distinct advantage that e-Ink displays will always have over displays like the iPhone, Android, etc is their ability to be used in direct, bright sunlight. Try sitting on the beach and reading a novel on an iPad. Can't be done.
- greyman 14y ago
  I am not so sure. You are right about the beach, but honestly, how frequent is this case? Many people read at home most of the time. I myself actually own Kindle, and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the device, but I am not still sure if I'll buy next generation if it wears down. The advantages of e-ink are still not that substantial, and I find myself read more often on iPhone or iPad. In the future, I find it more probable to own something like iPad mini or a very big smartphone, and not owning e-ink reader. For the rare occasion when I am on the beach, there is still printed stuff available. To sum it up, IMHO the biggest problem with e-ink readers is that the advantage of e-ink don't outweigh the inconvenience to having another device. (unless the e-ink technology will substantially improve).

20 points by mikecane 14y ago

Interesting article, but it seems like it starts in the middle of a conversation and I'm missing a bunch of context. BN is abandoning hardware? Thinking about it? It seems to me that BN has got something fundamentally wrong with it and I don't understand it well enough to figure out what it is. Fundamentally: if I am in a BN staring at a book that I want to buy, how is it impossible for BN to sell it to me at a price competitive with Amazon -- and it's not even close. I'm guessing the deals they negotiate with publishers suck, or the deals publishers sign with Amazon suck. In any event, BN is getting reamed. My guess is BN loses money on Nooks, so selling them as a generic Android device isn't going to help it any. I visit BNs frequently and it is gradually turning into a toystore with a coffee shop. Unless Toys'R'Us missed a huge opportunity by not providing coffeeshops and a couple of magazine racks for its customers, I don't think this is long-term viable. Again, I don't know what's broken at the core of BN but I suspect it simply needs to negotiate better deals with its suppliers. It provides a GREAT shopping experience except for that pesky price part.

Thrymr 14y ago
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298902 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298902
nobleach 14y ago
I think BN made a rather large mistake in trying to sell an extremely limited amount of apps in their store. Many of the apps are available for free, but BN felt it was okay to charge. The book situation is exactly as you say. I wonder if Amazon is losing money.

Terretta 14y ago

mike cane, you excerpted the wrong bit of the original article: • Create a first rate storefront+reader on Android and the web. • Shift more resources into the iOS app and make it better than anybody else’s. • Perform a series of commerce-oriented experiments, e.g. subscriptions, bundling, in-book payments, etc. The bit you quoted and respond to is what he said other people's advice was. Note the sentence AFTER those bullet points: "Those are all good but I’d argue that doing this wouldn’t solve B&N’s problem in the long term." The actual advice was to exit the app business entirely: • Discontinue the tablets. • Milk the eink cow until it topples over. • Make an awesome storefront. • Discontinue the reading app and license somebody else’s.

mikecane 14y ago
Ouch. There's the link in my post so people can go to it. Tx.

bokglobule 14y ago

I think the comments about e-Ink "going away soon" are badly misplaced. The distinct advantage that e-Ink displays will always have over displays like the iPhone, Android, etc is their ability to be used in direct, bright sunlight. Try sitting on the beach and reading a novel on an iPad. Can't be done.

greyman 14y ago
I am not so sure. You are right about the beach, but honestly, how frequent is this case? Many people read at home most of the time. I myself actually own Kindle, and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the device, but I am not still sure if I'll buy next generation if it wears down. The advantages of e-ink are still not that substantial, and I find myself read more often on iPhone or iPad. In the future, I find it more probable to own something like iPad mini or a very big smartphone, and not owning e-ink reader. For the rare occasion when I am on the beach, there is still printed stuff available. To sum it up, IMHO the biggest problem with e-ink readers is that the advantage of e-ink don't outweigh the inconvenience to having another device. (unless the e-ink technology will substantially improve).