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Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

seattletimes.com

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Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#31

Post by tehstone8 »

paulcole wrote: post #27
OrwellianChild wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. Real-world share-ability and resale is a pretty unsolved problem...

The latter problem seems to be solving itself. Used bookshops are closing and selling used books online is getting less and less profitable.

I suspect ebooks will replace the mass market pulp sort of books while higher quality first-run paperback and hardback books will persist. With a much smaller resale market and books worth owning for more reasons than just one or two read-throughs the whole market looks different.

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#33

Post by peterburkimsher »

This takes "Look Inside" to a whole new level.

It's a neat idea, and a good way to put a public face on their business.

The major reason I'd still prefer to shop online is the reviews. I doubt that those are printed alongside the physical copies. Sure, I could read the reviews on my phone - but why not then finish my one-click "Buy" instead of walking all the way to a store just to look at my phone screen?

I hope that their employees are treated better than those in the warehouses, too. (from what I've heard, it's pretty bad behind the scenes).

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#34

Post by toomuchtodo »

paulcole wrote: post #27
OrwellianChild wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. Real-world share-ability and resale is a pretty unsolved problem...

The latter problem seems to be solving itself. Used bookshops are closing and selling used books online is getting less and less profitable.

Yep. And since DRM can trivially be stripped off of ebooks, I'll be able to carry entire libraries in my pocket on a 1TB microSD card.

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#35

Post by pmorici »

thinkling wrote: post #3

I'm very curious what Amazon is trying to do here. Can the business plan pencil out by selling enough additional goods to pay the store's operating expenses? Is the real goal to expose more people to the Kindle who wouldn't otherwise see one, i.e. it's a Trojan?

They could eventually use these as order pick-up points for customers or launching points for drone deliveries. The biggest pain when using Amazon is having to worry about the package getting stolen or going and tracing it down at the shipping office. I'd rather just drop by the Amazon store on my way home from work get the package and be on my way.

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#36

Post by teirce »

kenjackson wrote: post #30
vnorby wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2013, Amazon had 65% market share of online book sales [1]. It wouldn't surprise me if this was 20% higher now. When customers walk into a Barnes and Noble (or any bookstore) and browse books but don't buy (for example, because they found a cheaper price online), they are most likely to end up on Amazon to complete the purchase. B&N did the work but Amazon got the money. Amazon doesn't have that problem. They don'…

This is an interesting thesis... which is that brick and mortar can work if you also own the online alternative. I never bought books and B&N because I knew I could get the book cheaper at Amazon. The same with toys when I used to shop at ToysRUs. But those are both goods that I'd actually like to buy on the spot. If I know that the price in the store is the same as online, I'd probably do a lot of in store purchases…

I used to hold this viewpoint until I watched a video (I can't seem to find it now) that made a pretty good point. The point was something along the following: "I like book stores. I like going in and flipping through the books. Sure, I could buy the book on Amazon for $4 less, but if I keep doing that eventually book stores won't be around. And I like book stores."

Ever since then, I usually try to buy the book in B&N or wherever, provided that's where I am at the time.

(Something like a campus book store and textbooks, however, is an entirely different case...)

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#37

Post by anindyabd »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #33

This takes "Look Inside" to a whole new level. It's a neat idea, and a good way to put a public face on their business. The major reason I'd still prefer to shop online is the reviews. I doubt that those are printed alongside the physical copies. Sure, I could read the reviews on my phone - but why not then finish my one-click "Buy" instead of walking all the way to a store just to look at my phone screen? I hope tha…

According to the article, even though you can't see all the reviews, you can see at least one review or a rating: "Below each book on the shelf is a card with either a review or a rating from the site."

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#38

Post by alttab »

atarian wrote: post #14
thinkling wrote: post #3

I'm very curious what Amazon is trying to do here. Can the business plan pencil out by selling enough additional goods to pay the store's operating expenses? Is the real goal to expose more people to the Kindle who wouldn't otherwise see one, i.e. it's a Trojan?

Amazon.com started off with books, but now they sell everything. I can only imagine what an innocent-looking bookstore from Amazon will eventually become in a decade.

Imagine, you roll up to the fulfillment center yourself. You laugh to yourself that its basically a Walmart.

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#39

Post by alttab »

devindotcom wrote: post #22
tom-_- wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are the prices displayed? They should match the .com price, and I assume the .com price can change frequently.

The price isn't displayed - you see the standard/printed price on the book itself (i.e. $25 in usa) and then take it to one of several little stations that tells you the current price on Amazon ($16.94 or whatever, you save X amount). You can also scan barcodes on each little review placard with the app and it'll pull up the price. Not ideal, I'll allow, but since the prices fluctuate there's not an easy way to do it…

Digital signage would also produce some level of shopping anxiety as it could lead to situations where customers saw prices of books change automatically while on the shelves.

Re: Amazon opens first bricks-and-mortar bookstore

#40

Post by williamstein »

devindotcom wrote: post #22
tom-_- wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are the prices displayed? They should match the .com price, and I assume the .com price can change frequently.

The price isn't displayed - you see the standard/printed price on the book itself (i.e. $25 in usa) and then take it to one of several little stations that tells you the current price on Amazon ($16.94 or whatever, you save X amount). You can also scan barcodes on each little review placard with the app and it'll pull up the price. Not ideal, I'll allow, but since the prices fluctuate there's not an easy way to do it…

I'm there right now and loving it!!! It's fun scanning the books and seeing the price be so much cheaper than the suggested retail. The selection is massively more interesting and less stale than other bookstores. Also very seattle oriented.
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