B&N: Why are NST sales lagging?

[whiteginger]

I have both the NC and the NST.  I understand the lure of the colorful toy, but I also understand the elegant pleasures of the simple device.  IMHO, the NST has the biggest yet-untapped market: Readers (and I'm using that as a "purist" term )

Readers who enjoy amassing and organizing personal libraries, who want at least one book with them all the time and/or readers who regularly and voraciously read titles from public libraries should flock to the NST with its light weight and storage capacity.

To reach this untapped market and make the NST the must have simple ereader, B&N needs to make a few changes--again IMHO-- to the NST.

LIBRARY ORGANIZATION  Make the shelving system "user friendly."  (I know this is an old refrain)

• As on the NC, have the pop-up "add to shelf" option by selecting any title from the library.  Or, at least, revert to the "unshelved" concept of N1E so that one can tell which books are unshelved and does not have to page through the entire library to add a book to a shelf.
• Fix the problem with SD card sideloads that unshelve themselves anytime a new title is added to the card.

BORROWING FROM LIBRARIES  Make automatic downloads from libraries to the NST possible without having to connect the NST to a computer.

AMASSING TITLES  Make B&N membership and NOOK ownership (any NOOK!) more appealing by offering coupons for non-agency titles and by offering more frequent discounts on NOOK accessories.

I would hope that the first two of these ideas could be offered through firmware upgrades to current NST owners (and that the third WILL be offered to all NOOK owners soon).  If the first two aren't possible for current owners, so be it.  I still think they should be implemented for future owners.  And after their implementation. . .  an ad campaign for NST, the must-have ereader for readers!

[Sycamoetree]

I second all those requests!

[MacMcK1957]

I can offer one more suggestion.  A HUGE market is people with vision impairments who need large print.  My mom is one of them.  Offer an even larger font than the current maximum.  Kindle does.

[kamas716]

Given the small size of the NST, any larger font probably wouldn't work very well.  As it is, the largest font only has 15 characters/line, which give about 2-3 words per line.  I can't imagine only having 1 word per line and being able to read.

[MacMcK1957]

The other thing the Kindle does is allow switching to landscape, which allows more characters per line.

[moose_tracker]

I saw the interview and had a different take on it.. Sounded like the NTS did not do as well as they projected it would.. While the NT did better then projected..  So what were the projected figures, and why did they project them as they did.. I could be they projected the NTS would sell 2 to 1 of the NT, based on the cheaper price and the economy..  Then the NTS sold more 1.5 to 1 of the NT, so it did not sell as well as projected.. (Take whatever # to that 2 million units to 1 million units. or whatever)..  Of course it could be they figured equal sales and the NT out sold the NTS..

All I got from the interview was they missed their mark on projected sales of both units.,

The color is a drawing point for sure.. But the long battery life, and easier on your eyes effects of the e-ink is nice.. It would be nice to have e-ink color.. Someone showed a video of this possibility, but talk around it stated it was prohibitly too expensive at this time..

This is a link is something robotecture brought to the attention on the Nook Tablet general forum..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1xEuR2mLh8   ..  Now mind you this is mirasol display by Qualcomm, not e-ink.. Someone mentioned that e-ink is working on something too, but the colors are not bright enough so there is more work on it.. Maybe that if perfected will not be so expensive.

[flyingtoastr Inspired Wordsmith]

Lynch explained the projections in his interview. Last year BN sold out (completely) of eink readers, so they overcompensated by producing far more NST readers than they needed.

It has very little to do with what you're saying, though they aren't bad suggestions.

[JEJoyce]

Not anymore, it doesn't, at least not on the "Kindle Touch".

Much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the change, but there you have it.

And yes, from my take on it, flyingtoaster's correct in that it's not a case of NST sales "lagging" so much as it's a case of B&N anticipating a possible sell-out and overstocking as a result.

[moose_tracker]

JEJoyce,  Who is wailing and gnashing teeth over the Nook Simple Touch, or the fact it was projected to sell more then it did..

I see some suggestions to help improve sales, and some explaining on the fact that although they projected incorrectly, it does not neccessarily mean the NST had poor sales..

[whiteginger]

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flyingtoastr wrote:

Lynch explained the projections in his interview. . . .

It has very little to do with what you're saying, though they aren't bad suggestions.

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Actually, I did not seriously intend my suggestions to be interpreted as THE (sole) reasons for the "lagging sales."  I, too, read an article in which B&N said that NST sales "lagged behind expectations"--or something close to that--and I realize that might mean that although sales were good, they were simply not as good as expected.  NST specifications and performance and B&N's overproduction and under-advertising and a host of other things I am not aware of--I'm sure all of these had an effect on the "lagging sales."

I, however, am standing by my guns.  I am one of the "readers" described in my untapped market; I love books, and I swore I would never give up DTBs for an e-reader.  (I used to shudder at the vulgarity of such a thought.) Of course, I am a convert: I love my NOOKs.  I willingly overlook the NST's flaws--I patiently reshelve all my sideloaded books each time I sideload a new title to my SD card; I patiently go through the process of connecting to my PC to borrow books; I patiently check for coupons and lower prices at other ebook stores when I add a non-agency title to my wish list.

I frequently tell my other reader friends how much I love my NST and a couple have bought NSTs, but I have not urged  them to buy.  If the NST had a better library organization system, direct interface for borrowing from public libraries, and the lure of B&N membership discounts and coupons (yes, I know there are many free and bargain ebooks, but coupons and membership discounts are a different sort of thing which I could probably never fully explain), I would urge readers to buy it.  Furthermore, I think with a bit of an advertising push, it would sell out B&N's (oversupplied) stock pretty quickly.

The NOOK Simple Touch--Love at first touch for people who simply love to read

[ steps off the soap box, embarrassed by her own zeal for this issue ]

[Jadjuka]

I'm not surprised there's a huge lag. When the N2E first came out it was sold out everywhere. So naturally the sales will slump the next year; especially with the release of the nook tablet.

Just wait and see. It seems every other year B&N comes out with a new e-ink e-reader. First came N1E then the next year nook Color. Then came N2E and then November 2011 came the nook tablet. I'm expecting a new e-ink and watch that too will go out of stock. In return sales will slump for nook tablets because...theyre a year old and people already have them. 

No concern at all really. 

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

Nook e-ink sales are "lagging", in my opinion, because the general public wants tablets.  Personally I would never want to read on a tablet but the N2E is a "readers device" not a general usage device.  Being a reading device, to most people, seems to be a secondary need.  For me, I have a full-blown Android tablet as well as my Nook.  They each serve different purposes.

[shadowcat80]

One reason it maybe lagging is customers who have a nook already may not buy another until their current one dies, I still have a nook 1st edition that functions I want a nook touch but can't afford it right now either but will be getting it later on. Another reason there's three nooks on the market and I would guess some of the lag comes frim color and tablet sales.

[angin-segar]

Another reason that NST sales are lagging is that B & N released a promotional model for Black Friday 2011. People bought this for $79 in the belief that they were getting the $99 NST. They were not. The B & N press release only stated that the promotional version "features a stylish white border." The NSTLE has a black and white case. The regular NST has an all-black case. If this cosmetic alteration were the only difference, that would be fine. Apparently, the hardware and software are not the same. I discovered this when I had to return my NSTLE because the the touchscreen malfunctioned. An employee told me that the Limited Edition has had many problems and that the regular version works much better. He is right.

If an inherently defective product does not alienate customers, then other things might. One must buy the charging adapter separately. Is an adapter really so expensive to produce that the customer needs to spend an extra $10? If B & N can put an adapter in with a refurbished unit, then it can put one in with a new one. B & N's corporate policy is to replace defective Nooks only with refurbished ones. If one buys a new item, one is reasonable to expect a replacement for a defective item to also be new. This is called making the customer whole. A refurbished unit is not the same as a new unit. Who knows what has happened to the refurbished items? They are refurbished for a reason. Technical Support also gave the employee a hard time when he called to get the authorization to exchange the defective unit with another one. The employee had seen this problem before, so he found Technical Support's attitude to be tedious and unhelpful. The exchange was made, but I made some disturbing discoveries in the process. I certainly feel alienated and would think twice about getting another Nook of any type.

[Sun_Cat]

No, the $99 NST does not include the charging adapter. Read the description. (Scroll down to "In the Box.")

At one time I think it did include the adapter, but no more.

[angin-segar]

First Edition came with an adapter. Refurbished Simple Touches presently do come with them. I know both of these facts from personal experience. ONLY new Simple Touches do not have adapters in the package. When I realized that the refurbs have more accessories than the new ones, I found another reason why sales are slipping. Who wants to be bilked when he is already willing to pay full price? My updated post reflects this concern (see above).

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

By the way sales not being as strong as expected is NOT the same thing as lagging sales.  Do people have any reading comprehension?

[RHWright]

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angin-segar wrote:

B & N's corporate policy is to replace defective Nooks only with refurbished ones. If one buys a new item, one is reasonable to expect a replacement for a defective item to also be new. This is called making the customer whole. A refurbished unit is not the same as a new unit. Who knows what has happened to the refurbished items? They are refurbished for a reason.

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For the second time in as many posts/minutes: B&N is not doing anything that is not standard industry practice. And the refurbished units are as good or better than new. Do you not understand what the refurbishment process entails?

Refurbs are put through a variety of QA steps to ensure they meet specifications. They are not necessarily even previously damaged or defective units that have been repaired. They could just be open box returns which can no longer be sold as new (by law in most states). Either way, damage/defects are repaired and even (supposedly) working units are gone over to make sure they are.

So you really don't need to worry about "what has happened to it."

But you're not really worried are you? You just feel the need to bitch.

B&N (nor any other company) has the moral, ethical, or legal responsibility to make you "whole," whatever the hell that means.

They have met their ethical and stated obligation to you by fulfilling their warranty/contract with you, which specific lets you know that they, at their discretion, can replace with a refurbished unit.

And they can replace with new, if needed. It happened back with my N1E.

So, please, get over yourself and this overarching sense of self-importance and entitlement.

[tmr4]

The original NST was $139. When B&N dropped the price to $99 they removed the adapter, one would assume to not lose money at the reduced price. As for the limited edition NST having different hardware and software, I'd take a store employee's statements with a grain of salt. Either out of ignorance (probably) or outright lie, I've found store employees say whatever they think the customer believes about the situation. In your case this was that the limited edition version was a completly different model. Could be true, but it isn't very believable.

[ginger-maci]

I think the NST would sell better if it were cheaper. I bought a NC last year, and I just bought a NST a few days ago because I am soooooo tired of having to constantly recharge it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my NC, the colors and magazines are great, surfing the web is a breeze, and my kids use it as a second computer, therein lies the problem. It has to be recharged every few hours like a laptop, so between my kids and I, sometimes I have to charge it every day. When I read about how long the battery life is, I decided to try it, and so far it is great. Anyway, getting back to how to increase sales, the NST is an e-reader in the purest terms, so I think if it were at or under $50 it would sell better. When it first came out, it was $150. Why on earth would anyone pay that for a small black and gray reader when I can get a mini ipad for just $100 more? For that extra money,I'm getting a lot more bang for my buck- youtube, apps, great internet, etc. So I think it just comes down to money: if I wouldn't have been able to catch it for $80, I wouldn't have bought it.