B&N: Why are NST sales lagging?

[Ya_Ya]

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ginger-maci wrote:

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? 

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Some people actually value reading and a pleasant reading experience.

Reading from a backlit screen isn't pleasant.  Reading eink is like reading a book, but without any of a paper book's cons.

I think the N2E is easily worth $100; I'd buy it over a refurbed NOOK Color at the same price tomorrow if something happened to mine...

[Byteguy]

As wonderful as it is (and it is wonderful), I think it's just that the majority of people have learned to look for "flashy."

Too many of my friends won't even look at the NST.  To them, it feels like they're being asked to look at a color TV versus a black-and-white TV (and a b&w that doesn't get all the channels).  They don't understand the fundamental difference between the two.  Those that do actually try an NST have bought one and love it.

[MacMcK1957]

A friend of mine bought the Color, then tried out my NST.  He went out and got an NST for reading, and rooted the Color to turn it into a basic Android tablet.

[kamas716]

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ginger-maci wrote:

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.

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I think you pretty much answered your own question.  The NST is an eReader (for people who like to read) and the IPad, NC, NT, Kindle Fire, etc. do more Apps.

I don't want a bunch of Apps on my eReader.  I don't want to surf the web on my eReader.  It becomes too easy to get distracted.

I bought my wife a NT for her birthday because she wanted to read magazines (in color) and play games and surf the internet.  They work for us because we want to do different things with them.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet and my N2E.  They each have their own purpose.  Anyone who doesn't appreciate the N2E for what it is shouldn't purchase one.

I purchased my Galaxy because it was the best Android tablet I could find.  I purchased my N2E because it was the best e-reader I could find.  I won't purchase  a Nook Color nor would I consider purchasing the Nook Tablet.  I want best in class (and I won't consider an iPad either).

[moose_tracker]

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ginger-maci wrote:

....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....

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That is technology.. As technology improves the price of those without bells & whistles go down. Think of what Amazon sold it's Kindle for intially (either $250 or $350).. Now, I too at the time said "Yeah right.. Not me.. And waited for the price to be reasonable..  But people did buy it at that price due to it being the latest & greatest..

My first computer was from Radio Shack.. I know it was over $1,000 and it was for two floppy disk drives and zero, zip, nada.. Memory.. All prompts were at the Dos level...  Would I spend $1,000 dollars now for that???   No way!!! 

I kept on spending mucho bucks for technology advancement at that time, until I learned.. Don't buy the latest & greatest...  Wait until what you want, has it's price reduced to where you will buy in.

Thus, I never got an ereader until this christmas.. Price was right due to the NC & NT, Kindles and other tablets on the market having brought the price into a resonable range, for an ereader.. And reasonable for the NT also.. That would have been a $600 or more ticket item, if it was offered at the same time the first Kindle was on the market for $250-$350...

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

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ginger-maci wrote:

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.

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It wasn't $150 when it first came out. It was $139. As for your question, I preordered one at the original sale price because it did exactly what I wanted it to do and it was worth the cost, to me. I have never regretted that purchase. I already had a NOOK Color, and an Android phone. I received an iPad as an anniversary gift from my husband in October. I have a 17.3" quad core laptop wth a terabyte of hard drive space, an i7 processor, and 6 GB RAM. My computing and tablet needs are already filled. I wanted a pure ereader and I got one.

That you didn't find value in the NST at its original price doesn't mean that no one else did or should have. We all have different needs and different feelings as to what is worth paying for, when, and why.

[SaintPeter]

The only reason I have not bought one is the lame shelving system.  I have had me N1E since Christmas 2010 and read hundreds of books on it.  I love it and use it all the time.  The shelving on it is pretty bad (although fixed significantly by the 1.5 update), but the NST shelving SUCKS.  I bought a NST for my folks this Christmas and sideloaded a bunch of books on it.  When I went to shelve them I was just floored at how USELESS the interface is.  Pathetic.

Amusingly, when I was in a local B&N I took a look at one to see if the firmware had been updated.  The salesman came over and tried to sell me on it.  I explained the issues I had and he looked puzzled.  He tried exaclty what I had done - go to the book, try to shelve it - just like the NC . .  totally failed.

Seriously, if I heard shelving was fixed I would leave work THIS SECOND, blow off all my meetings, and buy it TODAY.

I am unshocked to read all of the shelving comments in these forums and really wonder if they're planning to fix it.  If not, they deserve to lose to the Kindle.

[AlanNJ Inspired Bibliophile]

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SaintPeter wrote:

The only reason I have not bought one is the lame shelving system.  I have had me N1E since Christmas 2010 and read hundreds of books on it.  I love it and use it all the time.  The shelving on it is pretty bad (although fixed significantly by the 1.5 update), but the NST shelving SUCKS.  I bought a NST for my folks this Christmas and sideloaded a bunch of books on it.  When I went to shelve them I was just floored at how USELESS the interface is.  Pathetic.

Amusingly, when I was in a local B&N I took a look at one to see if the firmware had been updated.  The salesman came over and tried to sell me on it.  I explained the issues I had and he looked puzzled.  He tried exaclty what I had done - go to the book, try to shelve it - just like the NC . .  totally failed.

Seriously, if I heard shelving was fixed I would leave work THIS SECOND, blow off all my meetings, and buy it TODAY.

I am unshocked to read all of the shelving comments in these forums and really wonder if they're planning to fix it.  If not, they deserve to lose to the Kindle.

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Personally I have not used a Kindle Touch but I've seen reviews that, believe it or not, say the Nook interface is superior to the Kindle.  Universally almost all reviews I've seen rate the Nook Simple Touch higher than the Kindle Touch.   It's obviously user preference but grass always has a tendency to be greener on the other side.