I'm just happy this all we have to whine about!

[Desert_Brat]

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Sardonicus wrote:

So an expression of concern or dissatisfaction should only be heard once per message board?  Twice?  How many? 

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It should be like lending:  one board, one whine, one time ... no caps ...

[Mupples]

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AlanNJ wrote:

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Jenniisme wrote:

I got an email this morning saying that a lot of ebooks were going to be priced at 1.99.

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From Borders?  Do they need more hard drive space or something?

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I want an answer to this question.

[drafnel]

@Ya_Ya

Well, I guess we disagree on most points, except the idea that cost doesn't dictate price and that each person bases their purchasing decisions on their own personal valuation.

[ABthree]

@Doug_Pardee

I'm sure you're right.  Personally, I don't think I'll comment on pricing again until we find out next month what's going to happen to the Agency Model.  Everything that could be said had been said several times, and is searchable.

Besides, I just paid $12.99 for an eBook when the paperback is going for $11 and change, so I'd be consigned to the Outer Darkness by the "I WON'T PAY MORE THAN $9.99 CROWD!!!" anyway, if they found out about it. 

Here in Chicago the Borders situation is similar to LA, and probably for the same reasons.  Of 23 stores within 25 miles of my front door, 12 are closing with the bankruptcy; as posted yesterday that understates the case, because it doesn't count the "stealth" closings in December and January that weren't included on the "complete" list.

On the Good News side of the ledger, the local store (within walking distance -- an unfamiliar concept in LA, I know, but work with me here) had dodged the bullet.  For now.

[frantastk]

I think part of the problem comes from people browsing in their bookstores and seeing a dtb priced at, say, $4.99. Then see the e-book is $6.99 and come here and complain that e-books are way more expensive then the dtb, not taking into account that that $4.99 book was sitting on the bargain table. Should publishers/book sellers lower their e-book prices to the lowest dtb version of that book? I mean if B&N ends up with a bunch of one title and puts them all on clearance I don't think it's reasonable to expect they will lower the e-book price to be below the dtb just because they had to put it on sale to get rid of it.

Personally, I buy an ebook because it's worth it to me, whether it be $20 or $2 depends on the book. Okay, I've never bought an ebook for $20 and would probably have to save up for a couple months to be able to fit it into my budget. I buy books for the content not the format. I never sold or lent my dtbs so it's not any different to me.  

With a lot of Borders stores closing their doors I think we'll definitely be seeing some good sales on paper books from them. If we had any Borders near here closing I would definitely be stocking up for my kids.

Fran 

[Ya_Ya]

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frantastk wrote:

I think part of the problem comes from people browsing in their bookstores and seeing a dtb priced at, say, $4.99. Then see the e-book is $6.99 and come here and complain that e-books are way more expensive then the dtb, not taking into account that that $4.99 book was sitting on the bargain table. Should publishers/book sellers lower their e-book prices to the lowest dtb version of that book?

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Again, we're sharing a brain.

Case in point.  When the hardback goes to the bargain book table at $4.99, the paperback version doesn't automatically drop to $3.99, does it?  Do people complain about that?  No, they just buy the hardcover...

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

Everybody seems to forget that you need to pay for gas to get in the car to go to the store to purchase the DTB...If a bookstore is 1/2 hour away then it's probably costing more than the price difference just to go to the store.

With an e-book I just press the cute little button and seconds later I have my book.  I like that. 

[JohnP51]

Looks like the whiners just got off work.

[Colleen_Rose]

In a perfect wolrd - I would moderate all message boards and get to make all those decsions. Until that time I guess I will have to deal with whining about book prices; customer service problems; I derserve an upgrade and/or free extended warranty; and I didn't do my research on the product so B&N sucks posts.

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Sardonicus wrote:

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Colleen_Rose wrote:

. . . but keep in mind, most on the board have heard it before.  . . .  They are entitled to their opinion, but I would rather they search out existing threads and post there.

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So an expression of concern or dissatisfaction should only be heard once per message board?  Twice?  How many? 

Suppose a newbie Nookie registers tomorrow and immediately searches for "ebook pricing" and accesses all that has been written before.  Should they then never post their take on it?  Since it has been said before, should they just swallow their frustration because we have "heard it before"?

Suppose the newbie Nookie posts on "existing threads" as you'd "rather".  Wouldn't that bring the thread back to the top?  And then . . .  wouldn't all of us who have "heard it before" be exposed to their "whining" anyway?

(If anyone has ever - in the history of these boards - already said what I've just said, I apologize.)

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[Sardonicus]

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Colleen_Rose wrote:

In a perfect wolrd - I would moderate all message boards and get to make all those decsions. Until that time I guess I will have to deal with whining . . .

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Well . . . yeah.  That's about it.

The GOOD NEWS:  You/we get to whine about it.

[krisket]

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Sardonicus wrote:

I also wonder:  Is whining about whining considered whining?

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Isn't whining about whining metawhining? Seems popular around here...just sayin'...

[RSC_Nook]

I guess at times I have seen a DTB for less than an eBook, but I also have yet to be invited into a B&N to grab free book after free book after free book like they have invited me to with my Nook.

I have had Jim Tressel's 'The Winners Manual' on my I want to buy it lost for 3-4 years.  shock, suddenly it is FREE for like 2 weeks, bam, got it on my Nook.  I have actually heard a lot of good things about the "Beer is Proof..." book.  I home brew and am very into beer.  BAM it is free last week.

Meanwhile I have found A LOT of eBooks cheaper than the paperback on B&N.  SURE I did not also go to target, meijer, maybe a 1/2 price books to see if it was cheaper there too, but I am not spending 45 minutes trying to save $2.00 MAYBE.

You have to look at the overall picture.  between the $5.00 sales, and the free books, and the TONS of $0.99 deals etc I bet I can get 50 GOOD books (ones I would really consider reading) for maybe $20.00 at most.  do that at a real book store - bet you can't

BTW, in the middle of all this, I did not get a eReader to save money anyway.  I got one because I love the idea of having a bnch of books on a single thin device.

finally, I will leave the whole market conversation out of this, but suffice to say if you go into applebee's and they charge you $1.89 for a coke, it really does not cost them $1.89 for the coke.  AND they coke they give you for $1.89 (carbonated from machine) is CHEAPER to them then the same coke you can get via a vending machine in a bottle that is more expensive to produce.  this happens all the time.  all the time

[Theriot_Publis…]

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Coanda-1910 wrote:

Borders published a list of stores they'd be closing; amongst other places you can find it here. You can also just use their store locator, and you'll note stores which are closing in the results will be appropriately marked.

In your case, of the 8 stores within 25 miles of St. Louis, MO, 2 will be closing: the ones in Ballwin and Chesterfield.

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Oh noes!  My Whitehall, PA store is closing.  But it looked and felt cheap... like a dirty Walmart.

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

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Ya_Ya wrote:

Again, we're sharing a brain.

Case in point.  When the hardback goes to the bargain book table at $4.99, the paperback version doesn't automatically drop to $3.99, does it?  Do people complain about that?  No, they just buy the hardcover...

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You'd be surprised...

[scott88]

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drafnel wrote:

And why shouldn't people voice their disatisfaction that the digital version, which is cheaper to produce and distribute, and which requires giving up all priviledges of fair-use including sharing, giving away, and reselling, is more expensive than the physical version?

Shouldn't the loss of utility described above be coupled with a reduction in price of equivalent value?

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You can no that because one gives up those things  just ignore the benefits of the ebook format. Does not the benefits of the format offset some or all (depending on the individual) the cons?

[kathylcsw]

These are public forums and as such everyone should be free to post whatever they want to. If someone would prefer not to read whining about prices, customer service, how much better other ereaders are, etc they can choose not to click on those links. It is really very simple.

While I have found this a warm and welcoming place it can be downright viscous to anyone who dares complain about anything. I would guess that most people complain and would be done with it if there was not so much engagement and hostility from other members. It is normal to complain when you feel as though you were not treated as you think you should have been. Venting is actually a healthy way to deal with frustration and this is an outlet devoted to readers and eBooks. Not everyone has a 100% positive experience and it doesn't always feel that these boards are open to those people. This should be a place for respectful and open exchange of ideas, thoughts, and experiences rather than a Stepford Wives like place where whining and complaining leads to attacks.

[OneCraftySAHM]

The closest Borders to me closed a few years ago, I was totally bummed as I used to buy tons of kids books for my children there, it was fun to go in and let them pick out a book for themselves, I suppose I miss that part.  Unfortunately, there are no close bookstores to me anymore, they've all closed.  We have found a half price bookstore about 45 minutes from us that is really great, but I have to admit that if I want a book, whether it be in ebook or physical format, if I want it bad enough I'll pay whatever for it, lol.  If I look in nookbooks and find it, I buy it, I don't then go and see how much it is in paperback or hardcover.  I bought the nook for numerous reasons, and one reason was to not have so many books laying around collecting dust

[scott88]

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Doug_Pardee wrote:

Added: Why are so many stores closing here? My guess: high real estate prices mean high lease prices and high labor prices, but the books sell for the same prices as elsewhere. It's got to be harder to have a profitable Borders store here than in an area where real estate prices are more sane.

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Depends on the volume the store is doing. If the location with higher rent has a large enough volume of sales it can be more profitable then a location with lower rent. The higher rent has be offset by the fact that the location is going to get more people in the check out line.

[LarryOnLI]

I have purchased (as opposed to downloaded for free) 12 B&N eBooks (I refuse to say NOOKBooks, I think that is a ridiculous marketing name).

For each of these purchases I read the description of the book, considered reviews, and/or recommendations. I then looked at the price of the book and being a very cheap person, decided whether I really wanted to spend the listed amount of money for the book based on my evaluation of how much I would enjoy reading it.

In NO CASE did I even consider looking up the price of a DTB version of the book, since what I wanted was an eBook and the DTB price had no place in my evaluation.

So as a result I have no idea weather I paid more, the same, or less than the DTB for each of the books I purchased.

NOR DO I CARE!

Now back my book (has anyone noticed how much easier it is to read a NOOK at work without getting caught by the boss, than a DTB).

[Ya_Ya]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

You'd be surprised... 

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Holy Mother of God...  

(I shouldn't be surprised, though.  Former restaurant experience tells me people will complain about anything - and they're particularly grumpy and entitled when they're hungry.)