One Store to Rule Them All? or: Can Anyone Stop Amazon ?

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I don't see who it is going to be in the e-book arena. The EPub readers are fractured and fighting among themselves as well as fighting Amazon. Amazon essentially has one front, EPub Readers. BN has Amazon, Sony, Kobo, and the niche market. Fighting on one front is doable, fighting on two fronts is a bit silly, fighting on three or more fronts is down right insanity.

I'm not sure the average e-reader/e-book customer sees it that way. Most people buy a Kindle, a Kobo, or what-have-you, and buy books from the e-bookstore their device is tied to. Most know nothing about Calibre, DRM-stripping, etc., and aren't even that interested. Most don't know about Smashwords too, I'd wager. The typical e-book reader is not the same as the typical Mobileread visitor, I suspect.

Even then, they are not in the best position because Amazon has its entire non book related market to bring in money and help the Kindle out. Amazon is probably not losing that much on e-books, thanks to Agency pricing. I doubt Amazon is losing that much on the devices.

B&N's losing money, so they may be able to do some partnerships (rumour is that Waterstones is interested, though those same rumours suggest they may house-brand it which would destroy the benefit of the Nook brand name). Sony's also losing money, and not as focused on e-books as the other competitors (even Amazon, with its many business units, is more focused on e-books than Sony, I believe). The reason Chapters/Indigo sold Kobo to Rakuten is that Rakuten has piles of cash on its balance sheet and wants to invest in the e-book market, so Kobo is the one that poses the biggest growth threat to Amazon, IMO. Globally I don't see Amazon losing their #1 position anytime soon, but in key markets where there's a strong retail player for Kobo to partner with we'll likely see stronger competition.

[jmaejr]

Amazon can certainly be stopped...by the people that shop there.

If everyone that was frothing at the mouth every time Amazon raised prices, added double DRM or anything else to get people all worked up into a frothy frenzy would just stop buying stuff there that certainly would stop Amazon, and any other company.

Yeah yeah people say they shop elsewhere or only buy DRM free books, however, strangely enough they also tend to be the ones frothing the most.

I always voice my opinion with my wallet and I am not afraid to let the company or person know exactly why I do not buy their product. Case in point the Wife and I were at a farmers market today and were looking to buy a local wine, I proceeded to question the maker about the process and if it was organic. He said though not certified their growing practice was essentially organic. Then he told me they use RoundUp for weed control, at that point I told him I was going to buy a few bottles until he mentioned he used RoundUp.

The moral is people should not be scared to let people know why they do not buy their products if they don't agree with the business practice.

[Kumabjorn]

Ladies, your view on Amazon is as myopic as Amazon itself. First of, English is the second (or third, has Spanish passed it?) most spoken language on Earth. Unless you have a domination in China you will never be the world dominator. I got a Sony because I wanted to read e-books in other languages than English as well, the Kindle simply didn't provide me with that opportunity, the Sony with support for e-pub does. On the Sony I read books in Swedish, Danish, Japanese and German. People who read in those, and other, languages will always prefer an e-book Reader other than something from the Kindle family. All other languages combined surpass 90% of the languages spoken - and read - on this planet.
Even Amazon doesn't seem to realize that, register a Kindle in the US or UK store and you will be limited to books in English (a few exceptions does exist but they are not worth discussing) despite Amazon having a presence in Germany, France and Spain. So let us loosen our girdles and look beyond the horizon of our own small little nook (pun intended) and realize that Amazon is not going to dominate the world of e-book Readers and as a consequence neither will they dominate the e-book market.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

no businesses give to my candidates/party . maybe i should just stop buying stuff


since i joined B&N's 'club' on a whim i've been buying my hardcopies from them lately. the no purchase minimum free express shipping is pretty handy. i still like amazon but i'll admit its a big + in B&N's favor. i just wish their site was faster and felt more like a community like amazon does.

Don't forget to use those coupons B&N emails to everyone. They can be used along with the member discount. Their recent one was 25% off.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

English is the second (or third, has Spanish passed it?) most spoken language on Earth.

That depends on how you define spoken. Natively? Yes, English is third. If you include people who have it as a secondary language, English is still first.

At least if you believe Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ative_speakers

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

That depends on how you define spoken. Natively? Yes, English is third. If you include people who have it as a secondary language, English is still first.

At least if you believe Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ative_speakers

You need to be very proficient in a foreign language if you are going to enjoy literature in it, and even if you include those that has it as a second language I doubt that you surpass Chinese. One example, it is the second language in Japan, but very few can make themselves understood beyond simple road instructions or friendly greetings.

[calibrated]

I find this whole subject somewhat odd. Amazon's the market leader right now, but that doesn't mean it will always be so. B&N/Nook, Google Ebooks, Sony, and Kobo aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and there are large parts of the world where Amazon doesn't rule the roost.

There was a time when GM held 60% of the domestic auto market, now it's 22%. Back in the 90s, Apple went crawling to Microsoft to beg them to keep making software for the Mac; today Apple is worth more than Microsoft. Things change. Don't panic.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by calibrated

There was a time when GM held 60% of the domestic auto market, now it's 22%. Back in the 90s, Apple went crawling to Microsoft to beg them to keep making software for the Mac; today Apple is worth more than Microsoft. Things change. Don't panic.

While I agree, there's a caveat. The eco-system model makes it harder to change. Once you own piles of e-books from Amazon, are you likely to switch to Kobo, or vice-versa? Some will, but many won't. With a car, or a model of computer far newer than your previous one, you're almost starting from scratch each time.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by scrapking

With a car, or a model of computer far newer than your previous one, you're almost starting from scratch each time.

OTOH, my family has so much invested in Microsoft products (we're a Windows household), there's no way we would switch to an Apple product, even if we were so inclined to do so (which, on the whole, we're not. If my artist daughter ever stops being a luddite, maybe...)

[tubemonkey]

I have less than $20 in content invested in my devices, so it would be painless to switch platforms.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Ladies, your view on Amazon is as myopic as Amazon itself.

Ladies?! That itself comes off as a bit myopic.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I have less than $20 in content invested in my devices, so it would be painless to switch platforms.

If you're an unusually low purchaser of content, then it's obviously easier. Myself, I've purchased over 100 books on Kobo in my first two months with them alone (their discount codes are addictive). I would only consider switching to a competing provider if I could also install the Kobo software (such as if the competing product was an Android tablet).

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

OTOH, my family has so much invested in Microsoft products (we're a Windows household), there's no way we would switch to an Apple product, even if we were so inclined to do so (which, on the whole, we're not. If my artist daughter ever stops being a luddite, maybe...)

It can be done, especially since Macs can emulate Windows, but I guess that speaks to the core point that the heavier your investment in a platform/ecosystem, the less likely you are to change. The longer Amazon's in a market leadership position, the more you look to them for streaming video content, for music, and for other things, the less likely you are to give them up as your e-book provider.

[wizwor]

Books were a customer acquisition tool, an excellent online experience was an acquisition tool, Prime was a customer acquisition tool, and the Fire wass a customer acquisition tool. You guys talk about customer acquisition as if it is some kind of trick or cheat. Business is about customer acquisition and retention and Amazon does both better than anyone else. Bezos uses different words to describe this...

Originally Posted by Bezos

We have so many customers who treat us so well, and we have the right kind of culture that obsesses over the customer.

Originally Posted by Bezos

We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.

Originally Posted by Bezos

You have to use your judgment. In cases like that, we say, ‘Let’s be simpleminded. We know this is a feature that’s good for customers. Let’s do it.

Originally Posted by Bezos

I love people counting on me, and so, you know, today it’s so easy to be motivated, because we have millions of customers counting on us at Amazon.com. That’s fun.

There are lots more, but Amazon is doing well because they provide good value to their customers while other companies are trying to squeeze every penny out of each customer. No one will beat Amazon that thinks treating customers well is cheating.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

[snip]So let us loosen our girdles and look beyond the horizon of our own small little nook (pun intended) and realize that Amazon is not going to dominate the world of e-book Readers and as a consequence neither will they dominate the e-book market.

These would be better points if: (1) 80% of the e-book market weren't in the US; or (2) the market for people who speak 5 languages weren't so small; or (3) you weren't so condescending.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by scrapking

Ladies?! That itself comes off as a bit myopic.

You prefer; Bitches?